Thank you – spas’ibo
Thank you for the… – spas’ibo za…
… friendly help – p’omosh dr’uga
… invitation – priglash’eniye
… flowers – tsvet’y
… gift – pod’arok
… good advice – hor’oshiy sov’et
… attention – vnim’aniye
… hospitality – gostepri’imstvo
… warm reception – t’epliy pri’em
Thanks a lot – bolsh’oe spas’ibo
Thank you in advance – zar’anee spas’ibo
Welcome – pozh’aluysta
You are so kind – vi tak dobr’i
Question:
Russian women are professed to be educated, family oriented, reliable, loyal and helpful… All these things appear to be cultural differences from American women. Could you explain where the origin of these cultural differences comes from? Is it the way Russian girls are brought up, etc?
Answer:
In order to understand where the cultural differences come from, let’s see what culture is. According to Wikipedia, “Culture … generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activities significance and importance. … Culture is manifested in music, literature, lifestyle, painting and sculpture, theater and film and similar things.”
People who have been brought up and live in different cultures have differences in expressing themselves, in their view on life, behavior, customs, tastes, dressing, etc.
Below are several examples of cultural differences.
Many more examples can be found on the subject. I hope the idea is clear. Many kinds of cultural differences can bring misunderstanding.
Here is another question which may arise: “Why do people from different cultures marry?” Although there may be difficulties and misunderstanding between people, people sometimes find a missing part of the puzzle in another person with different view on things. Much patience is needed though.
As psychologists say, marriages between Russian women and American men are harmonious. Husbands get authority and status, and wives are given, in exchange, peace in family and well-being. In such families each of the couple is ready to make concessions and on the whole, nicely performs the role.
My opinion on these relationships is: trust. If you found the right person, if you met a nice woman don’t worry about the “why”…too much, there is no one answer. Trust and enjoy.
The notion ‘Russian women’ includes women from Ukraine and Belarus as well, as they have very much in common. Women from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan have, as a rule, “asian” cultural differences.
Please note that besides cultural differences there is one more important thing: personality. So you should be very careful in your choice.
Are you familiar with official holidays of Russia?
Do you know how to pronounce them in Russian?
Labor Day (May 1) – den trud’a
Victory Day (May 9) – den pob’edi
Russian Independence Day (June 12) – den nezav’isimosti
Day of Consent and Reconciliation (November 7) – den ed’instva
New Year Days (January 1-2) – n’oviy god
Orthodox Christmas (January 7) – pravosl’avnoye rozhdestv’o
Defenders’ Day (February 23) – den zash’itnika
Women’s Day (March 8th) – zh’enskiy den
