Back At It
So, we've now long since passed the point at which we can still post pictures of our Germany adventures and call them "new," so we're back to finding something interesting out of our language study days to tell you about.
In short, everything is going along much as it was before we left. We're back into our routine of classes every day, it's getting colder, and there's really not a terrible lot to tell you about. I (J) have been finding it harder to study as much in the afternoons now that there are two kids to look after, but we feel that it's more important for B to catch up some, so we're going to continue to have her go to class 5 days a week. You could be thinking about both of us, me especially, as I feel like I've hit some kind of ceiling and am plugging along lately without feeling like I'm making much progress.
But, aside from dry, boring language stuff, what do we have to tell you about? A few things come to mind, actually. Matthew has started to crawl, which is neat. B tried to get a video of that, but you know how hard it is to get kids to cooperate with cameras. Steven's big news is that he's making progress with the potty training, and has managed to go in the potty at least once or twice a day for the past few days (a little M&M bribery doesn't hurt, of course)!
Also, last weekend, the local school for foreigners' kids had a "Fall Festival" at which there was a yard sale of sorts, and some games for kids. We went with the kids, and despite it mostly being geared to pre-teens, we did find some things for them to do. Steven decorated (with help) and ate (without help) his own cookie, as illustrated below.
Actually, Steven's gotten into helping Mommy cook lately, and we've been putting the apron that his grandmother made him to good use:
Then, later Saturday afternoon, I went downtown for a meeting with the newly founded "Expat Book Swap Club." Those of you that know me well know that I love to read, and it was nice to get some variety in my library. I traded two books and about 5 DVDs that I hated for a huge bag of interesting-looking books! OK, I know you don't care, but for me the opportunity to have new and interesting English-language books is huge.
And that's about it, I guess. Since this post is so short, I thought I'd introduce a possible new segment of the blog for your perusal: Interesting Russian Cultural Note of the Week. If it gets good reviews, maybe we'll try to come up with something on a regular basis, so be sure to let us know what you think in the comments. We've pretty much given up on finding more of those What Is It? items for you, as we've gotten so used to most everything that it's hard to remember what seemed strange when we arrived.
This week, our IRCNW is based on a movie I had to watch for a recent assignment: Ирония Судьбы, или С Лёгким Паром (Ironia Sudbi, ilyi S Lyogkim Parom), which could be translated "The Irony of Fate, or Have a Good Steam." We had heard a lot about this film since we got here, as it's probably by far the most famous Soviet film ever made, and is sort of the Russian version of It's a Wonderful Life, the beloved classic film that gets shown every holiday season.
I wasn't sure how much I'd get out of it, since we didn't have it in English and the dialogue moves quickly but I loved it! If you can track down a subtitled or dubbed copy, go watch it - it's brilliant, and has lots of good Russian cultural things interspersed! And with none of the stuff that makes it impossible to recommend any film made these days (unless some lighthearted drinking would bother you).
The basic story of the film is this: in the Soviet Union, party planners have designed everything to be mass-manufactured, including housing. As a result, all the houses look identical (remember your comment when we first got here, Rich, about how the buildings in our pictures looked "just like where Jason Bourne was filmed!" That's because all buildings pretty much everywhere in Russia look like that.) The first few minutes of the film are a cartoon reminding people about just that fact, and I tracked it down on youtube for you:
Anyway, the main character Zhenya is getting ready for New Year's night, which he's going to spend with his almost-fiance Galya. Before they meet, however, he goes to the banya to steam with his buddies in their annual New Year's Eve tradition. While there, they toast the new stage in his relationship and they all get quite drunk. They go to the airport to see off one of their number to Leningrad, but by mistake Zhenya gets put on the plane in his place.
When he wakes up, he's in Leningrad, but everything looks so similar and he's so hungover that he doesn't realize it. He takes a taxi to "his" address, which looks exactly like his real address in Moscow. His key even fits in the lock, and he collapses on the bed. Of course, when the owner of the apartment (Nadya) gets home, she freaks out and orders him to leave. He won't leave what he thinks is his own apartment, and they argue. Then her boyfriend shows up and wonders why there's a strange man in her bed. In their attempt to explain it to him (and on the phone to poor Galya, who's sitting in the apartment back in Moscow convinced that Zhenya is off womanizing, especially when he calls from some woman's apartment), they end up wondering if maybe fate brought them together for a reason.
I won't give away the ending, but it's very good. The New Year's night definitely is a memorable one for everyone involved, and their lives change. If you get a chance, and want to watch something a bit different from your typical Hollywood fare, give it a try.
OK, so that's about it for this week. And for you grandparents and really close friends who read the blog, here's a cute little video of the boys to make your day:
