Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Summer Break

Привет всем! Looks like it's going to be a long summer break for you and a busy summer for me:) From now till the new academic year my family will be going back and forth to Charlotte, NC to settle things concerning our new residence, my husband's new job and our kids' new schools. In addition to that we are still working on getting visas for our trip to Russia in August. (What a lengthy process!)...

I haven't seen my family and friends in Russia in 7 years, and it's quite a job to find presents for all of them now. Which size clothes to bring? :)))))) Maybe I should go with 'one-size-fits-all' baseball caps?

Please, don't despair and look forward to more Russian lessons from me after this summer is over. I can't wait to start producing again!

С любовью,
Наталия.

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

Здравствуйте, Наталия!

And yet it seems I should be saying пока already! I am sorry that there will be no more Russian lessons until August: I have been studying Russian for the past year in a so-far futile effort to be able to speak to my prospective in-laws in Russia (My fiancée speaks fluent English, though she's still very pleased I am making the effort). Your lessons are a wonderful reminder of some of the basics of language I have learned, and I of course pick on some new expressions that do not come up in class. It is always good to hear spoken Russian regularly and see how another person explains language complexities.

Have a wonderful trip to Russia, enjoy some fresh квас, and I look forward to your new lessons when you return!

Jesse

P.S. The visas really are a bit of a nightmare, aren't they? Another reaons to understand Russian: it gives me a better chance of knowing what I've done wrong when I get a ten minute long dressing down by the UVIR officer when I tried to get my visa registered...

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing your native language with us.

Anonymous said...

thank you, and I hope everything works out well for you.

Anonymous said...

thank you, and I hope everything works out well for you.

Anonymous said...

Natalia, I just found your podcast and wanted to thank you for being an amazingly awesome person and making it. You're my new hero. Seriously.

My best friend is Russian and his mom's name is Natalia too. That almost makes us family.

Learning languages is a hobby for me and your podcast is helping me get a feel for Russian so i can decide if i want to take the time to become fluent. I'm trying to decide between Russian and Arabic right now. I bet a lot of people face that same dilema.. But anyways..

Thanks-you for this podcast!

Nicolás

Anonymous said...

Good luck, and thanks for doing the show. :D

Anonymous said...

Привет, Наталия! Как у вас дела? I recently returned from Russia myself (I'm American, but had both business and pleasure to take me there) -- Краснодар (pleasure) и Москва (business). Just found your site, and I hope to be a regular listener, as I'm hoping to make Russia a regular destination of mine.

Have a great trip (I'm sure you will; it's a neat place), and I'd love to compare notes on what you noticed v. what I noticed (I'm doing this with the Russians in my area -- and we're finding that we've noticed many of the same things. Пока и удачи!

Yours,
Томас

Anonymous said...

i love you, Natalia. ya liubliu tebya! Keep talking to us, we ARE learning, trust me.


Ivan

Scotland UK

Natalia said...

Thanks, guys, for all your support! I am writing from Charlotte, NC. Went to see several houses. Things are looking good!

Sonja said...

I noticed the podcast was not updating, and after a long procrastination I finally came here to see what was up. Summer vacations are lovely, as long as we get our Russian lessons back in the fall! Hehee. In trying to learn Russian, I am making use of everything I can.
I'm not far from Charlotte, and my sisters go to university in albermarle. Have fun, and good luck!

Anonymous said...

Hey Natalia, I've been listening to your podcast for the past few months and I have to say I love it! I'm half Russian and absolutely adore the language and I'm so glad that you created such an acessible platform for us iPoders to begin learning. Keep up the excellent work! Hope all is well :)

Anonymous said...

Hi, Natalia,

Kak dhila ( КАК ДЕЛА MAM)

I am an indian, working with an advertising agency, a, I've been listening to an Italian podcast for the past few months. in fact I was trying to get channel to learn Russian language. Then i fount this pod-cast, thank god. I love Russia (more the old USSR) and like the language. you know when I was small I used to get lot of stories and story books written by Russian authors. Then I fell in love with Russia.

By the way thanks a million to you for giving people like me to learn the language. Its like accepting a new culture.

If you wouldn't mind I have suggestion, that if you could add the English pronunciation and its meaning in writing. it will be easy to read and study.

Hi to your baby girls too!
Keep up the good jobs.

Luv

Shaji

Anonymous said...

Natalia, thank you very much for your interest of sahring your beautiful language with such an incredible dedication.
Please continue.
Luis

Bro Trevor said...

Hi Natalia,

I've enjoyed your podcasts. Have a wonderful summer vacation and trip to Russia.

Please make sure to get back into the podcasting groove when you get back!

Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Natalya!
Spaciba za vsyevo! ya ochen rad schot ya naitu vash podcast! i'm a student studying russian and actually just back from a semester studying abroad in yaroslavl russian. your podcasts are wondering and keep me upbeat with my russian during the summer where classes are lacking! looking forward to more podcasts!

inappropriate content said...

Hello Natalia--I just returned from 6 weeks in Russia, and your lessons were invaluable. Thanks so much for your podcast!!! Russia was as amazing as I had hoped it would be, and I can't wait to return. --Steve

Natalia said...

Tina, I am glad you are so excited about the Russian language. Congrats on your success! To help yo advance in your Russian I'd suggest one-on-one classes with a tutor, or simply staying in Russia with a Russian family for a while:) If you look at the poll I have on my site, 62% of my listeners are 'absolute beginners'. If I had to target more 'advanced' crowd it would make sence to create a different podcast. Всего хорошего! И надеюсь, я не потеряю вас, как слушателя:)

Anonymous said...

Здраствуйте Наталия :)

i just found this podcast last week and have been slowly playing catch up. hopefully by time you return to recording additional shows i will be up to date.

i have always been drawn to the russian language and have long awaited a way to get started. in high school russian was not offered, but other languages were. i settled on spanish. although it wasn't russian, being latin based it helped me to understand a little of similar languages. still, i longed for some exposure to russian. :)

i think the language intimidates me to some extent, being a native english speaker myself. hopefully i can take a russian course at the local college and not fail miserably.

one thing i would REALLY love to point out. when i am on the run, i usually have only my trusty iPod with me, and would like to see the lessons/lyrics that go with your podcast. i found that i could copy/paste your lessons into the LYRICS portion of the lesson's .mp3 tag under iTunes and... wham it works on the iPod. it even displays the russian characters perfectly.

i am a mac user (recent convert) so this may not work in windows, but just thought i would share what i found. i have been adding text to each of the lessons as i go. :)

hope you return soon and are having a nice vacation.

-jason

Anonymous said...

I've just started listening your podcasts.
I've been interested in Russian and its alphabets because they're beautiful. However I don't see any other podcasts to learn Russian other than yours and think they are valuable to Russian learners.

I've just finished lesson 1 and really liked your lessons. I hope I'll be able to use some expressions some day when I have a chance to visit Russia by listening "A Spoonful of Russian."

I understand you're a busy mom however I'm hoping you won't stop posting new lessons no matter how long it takes.

I hope you had a nice trip to Russia and looking forward to your return!

- Eri from Japan

Anonymous said...

Hi Natalia,
Thanks so much for your podcasts! I've been listening since last fall (post-Katrina), and I'm so glad to learn that you are close to settling into a home of your own again. This year must have been hard, and through it all you have continued to help so many people through your podcasts.
I've been trying to learn Russian because my husband and I are adopting a 1 year old boy from the Kemerovo region in Siberia. A Spoonful of Russian has been very helpful to us. Russia is a beautiful place with wonderful people. Knowing some of the language when we first traveled there in August certainly helped us see and know more of the culture. I can't wait to learn more for when we go back to get our son!

I hope your trip to Russia this August was wonderful. I'll be interested to hear how your summer went and I'm excited for the next Spoonful of Russian installment.

Thanks again!

-Emily in AZ

Anonymous said...

Hi

I have just discovered your podcast and I think it is great! Thank you so much for taking the time to do it. Looking forward to your return and a new lesson!

I am a complete beginner so your podcast is perfect!

Thank you so much

Michelle

Anonymous said...

Hi Natalia. I've enjoyed your podcasts so much that I signed up for an introductory Russian language course at my college, and although I'm only 3 weeks in, I love it! Thanks for the inspiration and I hope you and your family had a wonderful trip.

Kelly

Anonymous said...

Hi Natalia,

Your podcast is so wonderful! I'm an absolute beginner so I appreciate the pace and level of your podcasts. I'm not really ambitious, but it is very neat to be able to say "Happy Birthday" or "How are you" to my Russian buddies.

pnut

Massachusetts

Anonymous said...

I just discovered this podcast and I've listened to serveral of your lessons, thank you so much! You see, I have a friend who is Russian, and it means a lot to her when I speak her native language

Anonymous said...

Natalia, we miss your show. I adopted two young children from Russia in early May and they are home with us now. They have listened to your first 12 lessons and we are hungry for more. Bring the show back when you return from Russia. KY

Anonymous said...

Спасибо, Наталья!
Отличные подкасты :)
Случайно попал на ваш блог. Вот люди озадачиваются как выучить русский, а я наоборот - пытаюсь выучить английский...

Anonymous said...

У Вас ошибка на странице откуда можно скачать текст уроков и аудио-диалоги:
"Зачем бы, девушки.." бы->вы

Natalia said...

@ "У Вас ошибка на странице откуда можно скачать текст уроков и аудио-диалоги:
"Зачем бы, девушки.." бы->вы"


........Спасибо, что подметили ошибку. Она исправлена!

Unknown said...

I just found your podcast on itunes. As a recently-graduated undergraduate with advanced russian under my belt, but nowhere to use it, your program is great for keeping my language abilities up!

Anonymous said...

We are adopting two teenagers from Russia and I was looking for a way to learn Russian.

I was excited to come across your podcast.

Thank you

Anonymous said...

I have always felt a connection to Mother Russia even though I am a US citizen. I got a hold of a Katzner dictionary and I am baffled... I don't know where to begin. This site or podcast or whatever you wish to call it is worthwhile because it is Russian that any ordinary person can use and perhaps learn how to prnounce effectively.

Спасибо

Anonymous said...

Natalie, I started talking on line to a lovely young lady from Moscow and wondered how to comunicate to her in Russian on line? She does read and write in English but I would like to surprise her

sixty-five said...

Just came across your charming site and podcast. I studied Russian in college many years ago; emphasis was more on reading than speaking. Hope you will resume the lessons soon!

Teresa Peschke said...

I miss your show! when is it coming back?

User2000 said...

Summer's over! :)

Natalia said...

User200 and others: Yes, I know summer's over, but we are still trying to settle in Charlotte. It's a lengthy process, but fear not, my friends. It'll hapen:)