Who we are....

I have found this through a friend on the Facebook, in Russian, and decided to translate it in English and add to my journal so the English speaking people would be also read this and enjoy/criticize or comment:). Also, I am adding some of my comments as well just to make it more fun…Comments by a Russian residing in Iceland…

(Taken from the Business Journal, here is a link)

A Canadian, a teacher of English language, residing in Moscow, made these interesting observations.

1. Russians do not trust cheap things. True

2. An English word “bargain” cannot be translated adequately into Russian language. True

3. Despite the fact that Russians do not trust cheap things, they still love “free lunch”. Very true to Americans and Icelanders as well!

4. A Russian person, who has acquired a certain level of power, feels that it is his/her responsibility to press those who are below him/her.

5. In Russia, it is common to call for a lazy waitress by referring to her with an aggressive scream “Devushka”!

6. It is necessary to have good skills of working with your elbows while using Moscow subway system.

7. In Russia, you can drink beer seating on a bench in a park without being arrested (probably not anymore due to some new laws on beer…)

8. Russians love to get together in the kitchen and talk late about “life”. Very true

9. Russians usually avoid talking about work.

10. During any meeting or some gathering in Russia, people usually split right away according to the gender.

11. There are lots of policemen in Russia, most of which don’t do anything.

12. Russians don’t throw away anything. Never.

13. However, if a Russian throws half of his things, nobody will notice.

14. A stranger usually refers to you by a “man” or a “woman”.

15. It is not customary to say “thank you” and “please” among Russians. True indeed

16. A Russian saying “Impudence – is a second happiness (in life)” cannot be translated into English adequately.

17. Russians drink lost of vodka. It is not a myth.

18. You don’t have to be afraid for your life while walking in Moscow at night time.

19. Russian men believe that feminism caused the collapse of the West and the historical mission of Russia is to resist.

20. Myth about myth: Russians believe that Americans think that bears walk on streets of Moscow. But that myth is just a pure Russian invention. In reality, Americans think that all bears in Russia are long dead. Very funny

21. Russians completely do not comprehend when a foreigner from the West comes to have a permanent residence in Russia. Very true..cannot understand…

22. Dentists in Russia are surprised when you come just for a routine check-up. The same goes for doctors.

23. Russians drink tea with a whole centimeter of sugar on the bottom of the cup. Very true, have nknown people like that…

24. All Russians, from youth to old, abuse the usage of smiley. J Very true, love using it!

25. Number of parenthesis in email message or in SMS relates to the importance of the message. E.g., “Birthday celebration is tonight)” means simple birthday, but “Birthday celebration is tonight ))))))” – means something fabulous and fantastic. Not sure..

26. Moscow has the best subway system in the world. Probably…

27. Despite the best subway system in the world, there are million of Muscovites that refuse to use it and spend half of their lives in traffic jams.

28. Russians will use any little excuse in order to offer chocolate – “your birthday is in 4 months? Wow….Chocolate for everybody!” Not sure about that..

29. People who speak other language than Russian automatically become suspicious.

30. Don’t be surprised if you are invited to a New Year’s celebration at 11.30 PM. They drink champagne, cognac; eat herring salad, salad “olivje” in the kitchen and then, the celebration lasts for another 3 days. Very true!

31. The only alcohol-free zone in Moscow – McDonald’s.
32. A smile without the reason makes Russians angry. Very true!

33. Borsch, golubtsu and pirogi are actually Ukrainian food.

34. Russians do not put their older parents into homes for elderly and do not send their kids away when they are 18, instead, they all live together in one-room apartment.

35. Despite the fact that the roads are narrow and horrible traffic jams, Russians still buy gigantic jeeps.

36. Sushi is more popular in Russia than in Japan.

37. In fact, Japan is more popular in Russia than in Japan itself.

38. Russians are very friendly, if you only know then for 10 minutes. If you know some Russian for at least a week, then you will get invited to his house and be introduced to his family. Very true

39. Russians are quite emotional and passionate people, even though they do not show emotions in public, they cry, laugh and scream and play more than Italians.

40. Russians are much more concerned about the philosophical side of life than the material side. They have songs for any life situation. True indeed.

41. Most of Russians are quite superstitious, and superstition is in fashion among the young. True indeed..I am one of them…

42. Russians are passionate lovers, in public places they argue like bitter enemies and kiss and hug as porno stars.

43. Russians love to criticize its own country, but are awfully offended when a foreigner does that.

44. If a cashier did not break anything during scanning of your groceries, then you got a good service.

45. Russians love McDonald’s, KFC, Subway and Burger King more than Americans.

46. Russians spoil their children and then hope that when the kids are 18 they magically start behaving accordingly.

47. Even if Russians eat more fast food than people in the West, Russians are still healthier.

48. Russians cannot maneuver while backing up. An average Russian driver may take up to 10 minutes in order to make a parallel parking. True, it took me time to learn how to do it well in the States…

49. Winter in Russian is indeed beautiful and Russians fantastically drive cars in the winter conditions. True indeed
50. In reality, Russians are freer than people in the West; there are less laws here and social limitations, and still, the crime level is lower than in the USA or the UK. Not sure now…

An update…

Spring is here in Iceland…well..it is supposed to be summer already since we did have the first day of summer already on April 21st…it was warm last week but this week it is cold and feels like winter, anyways…

Last week Raggi and I went to Akureyri – with the choir to sing in the church for an orthodox special service – Easter…It went well…We left our daughter with my Mom, since we did not want to ride with her for about 400 km each way; it was the first time to leave her for two days .

Here is the choir signing:

Here is the most of our group in front of the van that we rented to drive to Akureyri and Raggi was driving it since he has license to drive 12 passengers.

A husband of one girl from the choir works for the ice cream company, so he invited us to visit the warehouse and offered us ice cream..it was great!

Then, more updates with pictures...

We went to the wedding of a friend in April, here are some photos:

Tamara was behaving all right in the church...for the reception we left her home with the baby-sitter.

The party is starting...

With the bride at the reception.

A choir retreat to a summer house

So...finally, we did something together again with our international choir "Manasija". We have been rehearsing for two times a week now for about two months already, we are preparing for the Palm Sunday service and the Orthodox Easter service....Just to boost ourselves, we decided to get away from the metropolitan city of Reykjavik and go to the country/summer house...

It was a great idea - to get everyone together, relax, sing, eat and socialize....A little bit hard when you have 2 girls of almost 22 months old and a boy who is almost 9 months old...But as usual, mothers take care of the kids and fathers are having fun...But anyways, it was nice to get away, enjoy the scenery and the nature....We rented two summer houses on the lake, right on the lake, there were some green trees around our house and it reminded me of "Twilight", so it made my day :)

Here we are having fun with Tamara (there is a lake in the background):

It was mostly raining all the time, only once we had a chance to be outside for half an hour...then it started to snow and rain at the same time :)

And here is a cute picture of Tamara...


As you can see, snow is gone but the green grass is yet to come...so, things are kind of gray for now...but it is light and still Spring is in the air!

Snow and horses

We went for a walk during last weekend, checked out horses that stay close to our area...

Last day of January

So, we have snow..lots of snow. It is snowing right now. But it is fun for kids, all ages...So, yesterday in spite of my sore throat and headache, I went outside with our girl and enjoyed some vitamin D, that does not come often during winter time in Iceland. She enojyed it as well, she was riding in a snow sledge that we got from Raggi's parents. She was singing and quite happy.

Then we went to some playground and I took some pictures.

Here you can see a little bit of the city of Kopavogur, the Tower, some other buildings.
And here is a short video of her palying in the snow.

Last week of January

So, the New Year has arrived, was a great celebration.

Now, the month of January is almost over. Time goes fast. Financial crisis is still on in Iceland, people are protesting and I hope it brings some change to the politics of Iceland.

We are doing fine, girl is growing, learning some new words. We have got her a new bed that will last her for at least 5 year, I hope and she has been sleeping there for two nights. Well, she does not sleep in her new bed through the whole night yet, but we hope soon she will :)

Yesterday we had a visit form Raggi's aunt and his brother. It happened that Raggi and his brother Ingvar were wearing the sweaters that their Mom got them, so they almost looked like twins :)

Here is the photo of them:

Int he background, there is a painting by my Mom.
And here is a fresh picture of Tamara Lind, Jon Aron, her older brother put her in his sweatshirt, and she enjoyed it a lot:

Christmases are over for some time :)

So....the new year has started, the Russian Christmas is over. We can embrace the New Year with all of our open hearts.

It was a great time, lots of good food, relaxation time and singing in the Russian church as well. I want to say thank you to all of my friends who are so nice and always send us their greetings and nice Christmas cards.

A Serbian bishop who resides in Stockholm, came to present a special service on the 6th of January, at 19.00, so we took Tamara Lind to church with us since kids were supposed to get some presents...I was a little bit worried about her behaviour but it turned out - I was worried for nothing. She behaved so well...quite a nice surprise to her parents. She even was singing a little bit when our choir was performing. I was holding her and I admit, was a little bit difficult to hold her and to sing, but I managed...So, it was great.

Here I have some photos from the Christmas celebration at my Mom's house. Here is Raggi and Tamara Lind, then myself and her again :)

Then, a picture of a sweet couple, who got engaged over Christmas time.

And that was Tamara trying to play the Russian dudochka :)