The Joy of Russian

“Today is jarka?” Sebby asks me after school, hoping to be able to walk home without a coat. (Jarka means “hot.”) Another mom smiles at his mixed sentence. Me too.

As our time here in Bishkek grows short, I am trying to appreciate all the things I will miss. I haven't even left yet and I already miss so much about this place. I miss it for myself and I miss it for my children, who don't fully realize how much will change. The cracked sidewalks overgrown with green, the mix of languages on the street, the smells of shashlik and samsa, the marshrutkas stopping and going continuously – I will miss it all.

Of course, one of the biggest things we will all miss is the language. Misha and Sebby move from English to Russian so naturally, speaking Russian at school and with their friends, English at home and on Skype. The fact that both languages are a part of their day is so obvious that they take it for granted, and I love that they do. Thanks to two full school years of immersion, they've picked up the most intuitive sense of the Russian language, a naturalness that Josh and I can only marvel at. While it's true that we parents can boast a larger vocabulary and therefore a high comprehension rate, we have nowhere near Misha and Sebby's ability to chatter away with ease.

A morning serenade from Sebby:

In this video, Misha and Vladik play Tankovi Boi (Battleship with tanks):

The boys play a lively game of football (soccer) in the schoolyard after lessons.

Fun with chalk in the schoolyard after school.

I'm a sucker for chalk.

Toktogul, the school's guard, is fascinated by Native Americans. All the kids love Toktogul.

If we go to the movie theater to watch a cartoon, they don't blink an eye at the fact that it's in Russian.

Misha walks into the living room, picks up his cat and coos to him, “Ti moi malusinki!” with perfect Russian intonation. (You're my little tiny one!)

Last week when Sebby was chatting on Skype with my parents, he was telling them how he liked to play “strelki,” a marble-like game played with checkers. When my parents asked him how to play, Sebby paused for a moment before launching into a several-sentence long Russian explanation that just poured right out of him.

In this video, Sebby "reads" a book to himself. He knows the story well, and he retells it wonderfully, with lots of intonation.

We overhear Misha and his friends whispering bad words in Russian and giggling, experimenting. As you would expect, Sebby picks right up on forbidden words, throwing them around later when he draws a card he doesn't need during a game of Uno. (The upside of this is that they know very few English bad words.)

This video makes me laugh. Misha is trying to show Vladik how to play a game on the iPod, a game which Vladik keeps insisting that he already knows how to play.

When the boys pick books to read at bedtime, we end up with a mix of Calvin and Hobbes, Green Eggs and Ham, Vini Puh idyot v Gosti (Whinnie the Pooh Goes Visiting), and Krotik i Zontik (Mole and the Umbrella). Sometimes if I need a break, Misha reads to Sebby, casually switching between alphabets.

When they run around outside, they use only Russian, with their friends and with each other. Misha has no problem running around outside for hours with his friend Vladik, popping into little stores to buy kirieshki (flavored croutons, which I think are disgusting). Sebby hates to be left behind, so often he grabs his scooter and demands to tag along. The brothers stick up for each other. Sebby can hurl insults in Russian as well as anyone in his age group. (Classics like “Ti ni znaesh nichevo!” - you don't know anything!)

Misha in his first-grade classroom.

Russian is a very rich language, and each of us has been introduced to different areas of it. Sebby, being the youngest, is exposed to the cuter, softer, laskovi (affectionate) side of Russian. Words can be made cute in a diminutive way, much like Spanish does (like “gato” to “gatito”), but Russian does it with every single word. When mothers or teachers talk to their children, this is the style of Russian that they use, and naturally, so does Sebby. Sebby doesn't say “solnze” (sun), he says “solnichka;” he doesn't say “slon” (elephant), he says “slonik” or “slonyonik.” “Horoshi” (good) becomes “horoshinki” and “shtani” (pants) becomes “stanishki.” They don't drink "vada" (water), they drink "vadichka." Even the word “ladno” (OK, as in, “Well, OK, I should be going) becomes “ladninko.” Names do the same thing – I am often “Tamarachka,” Sebby is sometimes “Sebichka” or "Sieva." Misha can be “Mishachka” or “Mishulia” or “Mishania” or "Mishutka." Strong, intimidating Russian names like Alexander, Pavel, Dimitri, and Evgenia melt into Sasha, Pasha, Dima, and Jenya. I love the fact that these nicknames are used even into adulthood.

Misha was born in Kyrgyzstan, but it was Sebby who grew up here, from two-year-old toddler to four-year-old preschooler. His language ability exploded, twice over. We've been told that both boys speak with native-Russian accents, and Sebby in particular. Sebby was at the perfect age to absorb Russian like a parallel first-language.

At school, Misha arm wrestles, teaches his friends origami, draws pictures, chats over lunch – all in Russian.  School children are already starting to develop a huge vocabulary related to their studies and activities. Misha knows more math terms in Russian than in English (He murmurs “ravno” as he writes an equals sign, he talks about 'plus,' 'minus,' 'greater than' and 'less than' and 'equations' with their Russian terms). The texts that first-graders read are full of challenging vocabulary. In addition, he juggles ushu terms, violin terms, and slang. Both boys say “blin!” (like “darn” or “rats”) – a word that is quite funny because it actually means “pancake.” They also say "boje moi!" (my god!), "nu..." (well...) and "nichevo sebya!" (a bit like "no kidding"). Misha even corrects mom and dad when we say something incorrectly in Russian. And his ability to write in Russian cursive with mostly correct spelling really amazes me.

Misha wrote this thank you letter all by himself. It says, "Thank you for the encyclopedia. I really love books. I will read it every day. And I want to know everything in the book."

Misha continues to enjoy the violin.

Fridge magnets, Latin plus Cyrillic alphabet

 During a goodbye party with one of Josh's classes, Misha regales the students with the song "Shiri Krug." The students were amazed at both boys' Russian, saying they sounded like their nephews and little brothers.

Pizza with Josh's class. They know me as well because I taught them for several days while Josh was sick.

While Russian has a huge volume of endearing terms, it also has just as many obscenities. Josh, being a guy, has much more exposure to this side of Russian. People have often commented that English in comparison has a very meager selection of swear words. Some of our local friends who watch American TV shows ask why the actors simply repeat the same swear words over and over instead of adding a little variety! Russian obscenities relating to bodily functions and organs abound, and each of these words can be changed into any part of speech you desire, used as strengtheners, both positive and negative. Lewd expressions and dirty jokes are in no short supply either. Of course, these terms are not used in isolation, they're used in greater contexts about life in general, working out, driving, repairing, working, relaxing. And when men and women interact together, the level of obscenities drops dramatically.

Being a mom puts me in the area of young children and school-age children, giving me access to all the laskovi words as well as the general fields of raising children, marriage, husbands, family, school, balancing housework and employment, etc. Of course, women use obscenities too – but to a lesser extent. Josh and I both have increased our Russian ability considerably by taking daily individual lessons while we have been here. In the beginning, reading Harry Potter was a involved endeavor, and now we are very satisfied to be able to read Russian literature. Of course, reading it with a teacher is a huge help, because whenever I don't understand a word, or who is speaking, or the cultural context, or the historical context, or an old Russian Soviet term that's no longer used, my teacher can explain it. I have really enjoyed Bulgakov's Master and Margarita (a difficult but interesting read) and Dog's Heart, as well as short stories by Chekhov and Pushkin. And above all, we have thoroughly enjoyed Kyrgyzstan's most famous author, Chingiz Aitmatov. He has a clear yet powerful writing style, describing Kyrgyz life and the influence of the Soviet system with amazing description and detail of daily life. Our daily lessons coupled with plenty of informal interaction with friends have given us the confidence to use Russian in any situation.

It's a good thing that Josh and I had two years of experience learning Russian in Bishkek from before, otherwise I don't see how we could have kept up with the kids! I can only imagine how difficult it would have been coming here this time with no Russian, as the kids did. Talking to Misha's teachers, listening to Sebby's teachers' explanations of who bit whom, going to parent meetings, communicating with Misha's friends when they come over to play, helping with first-grade homework – these are all things that we feel very lucky to be able to now. It's knowing the language that has allowed us all to experience Bishkek in a much more real way, giving us an inside look and a fuller appreciation of life here. It's wonderful learning a language together as a family.

Meeting two cute little girls visiting from Uzbekistan.

Bunk bed wars

Triple duet? Trio?

Yan, Misha, and Pasha dig in to the pepperoni.

Misha and Sebby sit on the couch playing the iPod, barely aware that they're talking in Russian.

Living in America, the boys' Russian ability will inevitably become more passive, but we are confident that they have such a solid base now that they will never truly lose it. Of course, we're taking boxes of Russian books and plenty of cartoons and movies with us, so that we can continue to keep their Russian alive. The thought of leaving Bishkek makes me sad, especially leaving behind our friends and the boys' wonderful school. But I console myself knowing that I would be equally sad if we stayed another year without seeing Misha's and Sebby's loving grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins waiting in America. The boys are excited to see their relatives and the country they've been away from for the better part of three years.

And we are all eager to see my new nephew Harry, born May 5. Congratulations, Tanya and Aaron!

Little Harry