Lesson 13 - Family Matters

Добрый день, друзья! Как дела? Хорошо? Отлично.
(Hello, friends! How are you? Doing well? Great!)

It's December now, and I am a bit late with my coming back to the 'Spoonful of Russian'. I was hoping to get it started again in November, but....like they say in Russia: "Люди предполагают, а Бог располагает!" Which literally means "People make plans, but everything is in God's hands'.

To quickly bring you up to date we are in our new house in Charlotte, NC and lovin' it! Still lots of things to do around the house to make our home --> thus lack of time for making podcasts:(

For all the listeners who were asking about our trip to my hometown in Russia - the trip did not materialize for a couple of reasons. The Russian embassy told me I had some problems with my Russian passport at the last minute when I had the tickets in my hands! Then the airline company refused to refund us after we told them we were not going to Russia. But enough of that. Let's get to our lesson.

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А теперь давайте окунемся в сегодняшний урок = Let us dive into today's lesson. We are in the middle of great family holidays now. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving (День Благодарения) and now you are looking forward to Christmas (Рождество)! One thing these 2 holidays have in common is family gatherings. Dads, Moms, Grandmas, Grandpas, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, cousins, daughter, sons, grandchildren....get together for a very special time. Would you know how to label a specific branch of your Family tree in Russian? To help you out I made a chart of the family members and relations. All family members have gender-specific names. Please, listen carefully as I pronounce the words. You are welcome to pause this podcast recording, rewind and repeat.


(click on the chart for a larger view) ...




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For the musical part of the podcast I chose a timeless song performed by a singer from the former Soviet Republic of Georgia - Nani Bregvadze. The song is called "Снегопад" or "The Snowfall" where the snowfall stands for the end of one's youth. The singer is pleading with the Snowfall to wait and not to knock on her door. She still has love and tenderness to give, and hopes to share. The text is full of beautiful metaphors and similies. Almost 40 years have passed since Nani sang the song for the first time, but it still resonates in people's hearts, because the theme is eternal.

"СНЕГОПАД"

Я еще не успела испить свою осень
А уже снегопад сторожит у ворот
Он надежды мои как дороги заносит
И грозит застелить надо мной небосвод

Снегопад, снегопад, не мети мне на косы
Не стучи в мою дверь, у ворот не кружи
Снегопад, снегопад, если женщина просит
Бабье лето ее торопить не спеши

Не спеши, снегопад, я еще не готова
Ты еще не успел мою душу смутить
Неизлитую боль лебединого слова
Не тебе, а ему я хочу посвятить

Снегопад, снегопад, не мети мне на косы
Не стучи в мою дверь, у ворот не кружи
Снегопад, снегопад, если женщина просит
Бабье лето ее торопить не спеши

Я еще разобьюсь о твою неизбежность
Голубая метель запорошит мой дом
Я прошу, снегопад, не заснежь мою нежность
Не касайся любви ледянящим крылом

Снегопад, снегопад, не мети мне на косы
Не стучи в мою дверь, у ворот не кружи
Снегопад, снегопад, если женщина просит
Бабье лето ее торопить не спеши
Торопить не спеши, торопить не спеши


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That's it. Now you can call your family members using the words you've learned today. But be advised, when addressing your brother, he might have a negative reaction to the word. It's somewhat close to the English word 'brat' :)

I want to apologize for not answering all of your e-mails. After the move I have taken up some new responsibilities and am very short on spare time. But I still welcome all your input and comments.

This lesson's recording quality leaves much to be desired, but I promise next lesson will be much better.

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