Learn Some Russian
While we are floundering with what to do next, I thought I would share some websites that we have used on our journey. Learning a bit of Russian certainly helps when you travel. We bought a quick reference Russian/English book but when you really needed a word fast, it was useless. Learning the basics like Thank you, Bathroom, One, Two, Three, are necessities. And learn the word for half.
Example
We ventured out to the market to get some food. The market is similar to a Farmer's Market. Lots of vendors selling various items from Dairy to Meat. We wanted to purchase some cheese. Simple here in the states; cheese is prepackaged, sliced, with expiration date. Not so in the Far Eastern part of Russia. First we had to decide which cheese we wanted as all the signs are in Russian. We looked foolish trying to decide, "is it swiss, havarti, provolone?" Based on the color and shape of the huge chunk of cheese, we pointed. For those who have not traveled yet, throw out everything you learned as a child...pointing is a great way to communicate! The clerk took out the cheese and asked us a question (like we really understood???) We looked at her like a deer in headlights so she took out a knife and placed it on the cheese. She looked at us and said Da? Finally, as word we understood! We said "Nyet" proudly (a Russian word that is a necessity). Finally we were communicating in Russian (OK, only 2 words but hey, we were on a roll!). She moved the knife again and said Da? Nyet, too big. We went through this routine a few times before we got the size we wanted. Had we learned the Russian word half or quarter, we would have been out of there much sooner!
Oh, and by the way, Spanish does you no good either in Russia. Instead of Da, I kept saying Si. SoFlaDad would elbow me and say we are not in Latin America!
My point is using the below web sites will help you navigate your way through Russia. Learn the basics before you travel and point for the rest.
http://www.learningrussian.com/free.htm
http://www.livelaughlovelearn.com/gloss/
http://www.alphadictionary.com/rusgrammar/index.html
http://www.seanet.com/~ejones/Russian_words.pdf
While we are floundering with what to do next, I thought I would share some websites that we have used on our journey. Learning a bit of Russian certainly helps when you travel. We bought a quick reference Russian/English book but when you really needed a word fast, it was useless. Learning the basics like Thank you, Bathroom, One, Two, Three, are necessities. And learn the word for half.
Example
We ventured out to the market to get some food. The market is similar to a Farmer's Market. Lots of vendors selling various items from Dairy to Meat. We wanted to purchase some cheese. Simple here in the states; cheese is prepackaged, sliced, with expiration date. Not so in the Far Eastern part of Russia. First we had to decide which cheese we wanted as all the signs are in Russian. We looked foolish trying to decide, "is it swiss, havarti, provolone?" Based on the color and shape of the huge chunk of cheese, we pointed. For those who have not traveled yet, throw out everything you learned as a child...pointing is a great way to communicate! The clerk took out the cheese and asked us a question (like we really understood???) We looked at her like a deer in headlights so she took out a knife and placed it on the cheese. She looked at us and said Da? Finally, as word we understood! We said "Nyet" proudly (a Russian word that is a necessity). Finally we were communicating in Russian (OK, only 2 words but hey, we were on a roll!). She moved the knife again and said Da? Nyet, too big. We went through this routine a few times before we got the size we wanted. Had we learned the Russian word half or quarter, we would have been out of there much sooner!
Oh, and by the way, Spanish does you no good either in Russia. Instead of Da, I kept saying Si. SoFlaDad would elbow me and say we are not in Latin America!
My point is using the below web sites will help you navigate your way through Russia. Learn the basics before you travel and point for the rest.
http://www.learningrussian.com/free.htm
http://www.livelaughlovelearn.com/gloss/
http://www.alphadictionary.com/rusgrammar/index.html
http://www.seanet.com/~ejones/Russian_words.pdf
posted by SoFlaMom | 12:37 PM
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