The parental visit is coming to a close already, only a few short days left. So far it has been a charmed visit -- things I was worried about came together, the weather has been cooperating nicely (rain turned to sun when we went to the beach but the heat wave in Almaty or 100+ temperatures broke into showers just in time), and the inhabitants of my adopted country have stepped up spectacularly. My parents have been treated to every sort of fried, boiled, or baked dough, lots of tasty bits from various animals, and a wide range of fresh melons, berries, and veggies from the garden, the farm, and the woods. We waved hello to Russia accross the border and today are less than 3 hours from Kyrgystan.
As far as translation, I just want to tell one story. Then I'll be out of Internet time.
I was trying to explain the organic food movement to my host mother, as explained by my parents, first thing in the morning over dishes of berries and fried delicacies. I was searching for a way to explain, and remembered reading ingredient boxes -- there was some word that was a cognate, but was it conservative or preservative? The latter seemed to make more sense, so I put it through a Russian accent and continued. It was only when my host mom asked me why I kept saying that word that I realized my mistake. After laughing to myself for a minute, I explained to my parents why she was confused. After all, why would anyone in their right mind want to put condoms in food in the first place?
I'll tell you about all the English words I've forgotten some other time. Suffice to say that my mom said, "Booze" and I stared at her. After searching my brain for logical associations (bows?) I had to admit: "I don't understand what that word means," translating a phrase I often say in Russian. They kindly gave me synonyms, and the word came back, but that was a very, very, very disconcerting moment.
More later if I get my act together!
Love,
Nora
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Nora,
Your folks gave a great presentation last night about their trip. Joe Kennedy ran the slides, and there were UMW baked treats and Kazakh treats as well (Nearly covering the table!) We brought our kids, Evan and Margaret, and they enjoyed hearing about another culture. At the end, your mom shared this posting from the blog regarding translating mishaps. Every one was laughing hysterically, and then Evan, who was in the front row next to Jack Harkness turns to Jack and says, "what's a condom?"
It was a very funny moment!
Little did you know that your translation would lead 9 year olds to learn more about the birds and bees. As my wife Joy said, what better place to learn about something like that than at church?!
Peace and best wishes to you!
The Walkers
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