So why Russian? Why a blog about out of all things, the Russian language and culture? Well, first off, I LOVE to write. Hence, this blog. It's interesting because I am not a stranger to the Eastern European culture. My whole family is from the Balkans, which was once part of the Former Yugoslavia. I grew up in a very traditional, ethnic upbringing, the kind of family that couldn't stop laughing at the first time they ever saw "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" because they thought the movie was about them (because it pretty much could be). Anyways, if there's one thing I had a knack for growing up, it was picking up languages. I aced Spanish. I took some French and some Italian. But as far as perfecting a fluent language? I was lost.
Until my folks recently advised me to pick up Russian. I live in a dominant Russian community, it'd look good on the resume and my folks are THE best career advisors. Some may go to college counselors but I go to my folks because they know me the best and from experience, they are always right.
So here I am; Russian book with CD in one hand, a Starbucks in the other, and a laptop on my lap programmed to Yahoo! Russia (or technically, Yahoo! по-русски). Not only do I want to simply learn the language but the culture, the lifestyle of the average Russian, the history...and the internet is one of the best tools to learn all kinds of new things.
So grab a cup of coffee (or a shot of vodka) and follow!
