Everything has a beginning. It all started back in 1994 when the need to understand some elementary Russian language took on a life of its own. It started innocently enough with a cassette tape course in beginners Russian. I did get as far as the letters A, M, K, O, T. Then I moved to Germany, Guten Tag! Again in my overwhelming need to learn the elements of conversational Russian, it quietly sneaked into my gray cells. This time on 905 cd tapes (only kidding). With hard work and diligent study, paced between copious amounts of Bitburger Pils, I was pleased to confirm I obtained fluency in the Russian letters of A, M, K, O, T. Progress to be sure.
Crunch time had arrived. My fluency in the 5 letters, learned very well, along with an occasional Zdastvooyte, Preevyet, Dobriy vyecher and Mne zhal all got me through until February 2020. Then it happened. I was moving to Russia. I need to learn the language post haste. I found numerous Russian language aids like:
- 2000 Russian Words in Context
- Teach Yourself Beginners Russian
- Sputnik An Introductory Russian Language Course, and my very favorite;
- Learn to Read Russian in 5 Days.
I moved to Atlanta and learned to speak southern. Howdy all! All the while, lurking deep in the confines of my mind were A, M, K, O, T!
Fast forward to my arrival at Domodedovo on a late Friday afternoon from London. I had scripted out a basic hello conversation which prompted a 2 hour discussion with the very efficient Border Control Agents centered around prolific use of Da’s, Nyet’s, Sorry I don’t speak Russian and a Welcome to Miami under my breath. After arriving in Vladivostok my extensive knowledge of A, M, K, O, T letters did serve me well. After 4 months here in my adopted land, I have gravitated from A foreigner, to THE American, to OUR American. The miles between the and our is immeasurable.
My study habits have changed a bit. I do my vocabulary flash cards, my Cyrillic alphabet practice, my sentence construction and my word palatalization ( you try it 🤯). I have been embraced warmly here. The locals see me trying with the little I know and I actually solicit anywhere between a up-turned lip, a scowl, or a genuine smile. I know I am making progress when my dearest mother-in-law tells my wife he actually knows some Russian!!
My Date With a Russian….Language is fickle. The more attention she gets, the stronger her gentle embrace.
Our American….I think a statue is in order.
