Russian Language

Russian. Русский язык.

как дела? меня зовут ерен. я из америки. сеичас я изучаю русский язык в молдове.

Learning Russian is definitely one of the most challenging aspects of my experience in Moldova so far. My English mouth cannot mesh 3 or 4 consonents together and make it sound smooth and comprehensible as everyone around me. Oh, and rolling r's is also quite entertaining. Nevertheless, I'm trying and can at least understand a lot more than I can speak which is a good start.

In the very beginning, after four hours of over-active brain malfunction(Russian lessons), Neha, the other Russian learner and I would gobble to the turkeys nearby, and they always gobbled back! These were the first real conversations in a foreign language I had in Moldova - Turkish! To my surprise, the better my Russian became, the worse my gobbling became and the turkeys didn't always respond with their outstretched necks and fluffed-up feathers that I had become so fond of. Perhaps the real reason was they were tired of a silly human pestering them all the time.

Officially, before swearing in as a volunteer, I had to take a language acquisition test and I passed the Intermediate-Low level which is what I needed to start working. I'm proud of myself for getting that far in only two months, but I definitely need a LOT more to function in the work world and FAST! I'm still learning the basic words such as ice and sponge, while I also need to shove into my brain words like Non-Governmental Organizations, sustainable development, and strategic plan.

Even when I do finally have a word stick in my brain somewhere, the grammar craziness kicks in! Then I have to learn how to change the ending of the word fifty different ways depending on what comes before or after the word. This is when I start muttering the same word as many ways as I know how until someone understands me. Trying to figure out Russian grammar is like trying to build Mt. Everest with small pebbles one at a time. Sometimes I just want to start throwing handfuls of pebbles into a massive body of water. Kerplunk!

Since moving to Ceadir-Lunga in the south a month ago, I still haven't found a tutor. But I have my eye on a young English teacher at one of the schools I met last Friday who seems really nice. I can certainly use all the help I can get! даваи!

Mom! Thanks for the Russian stickers for my keyboard.. here's the result of my first project using it! I attended a fundraiser concert for a NGO that supports disabled children, filmed it and gave it to them as a present. This is the shortened version.