On October 5, 1957, every newspaper in the country had a
front page photograph of Sputnik. The
Soviets had launched the first satellite, and America was losing the Space
Race. This meant we were also losing the
Cold War.
At night, we turned our eyes to the sky to catch a
glimpse of Sputnik passing overhead.
During the day, we turned our eyes to the American education system to
see how we could catch up to the Soviets.
At my high school, the students swung into action and
asked the school to provide Russian language classes. The school did. They chose Mrs. Hunter, a local resident who
grew up in Russia, to teach the classes; it proved to be a good choice.
The classes were held twice a week after school. Mrs. Hunter was enthusiastic and optimistic
as we navigated the language. Russian
has a cool alphabet (that’s a plus) and a strange idea of what is plural and
what is singular (that’s a minus).
She brought a samovar to class and we got to try Russian
tea (not a plus or a minus). She invited
the students to her house for a Russian Easter party. The class visited the Russian Orthodox
church across the harbor from our town.
It is fifty-three years since I took those classes. I don’t remember much of the Russian
language. I do remember that Mrs.
Hunter was delightful. Most of all, I
remember a story that Mrs. Hunter told us and a song that Mrs. Hunter taught us.
The story that Mrs. Hunter told us is how Edward Hunter, an American
journalist, proposed to her. She was
sitting on a sofa when he got down on one knee, looked intensely into her eyes,
and said, “Yellow Blue Vase.” She had no
idea what he meant. He repeated, he continued
to look intensely, and then showed her an engagement ring.
Then it dawned on her: he must have asked someone how to say “I love you”
in Russian. The phrase sounded like “Yellow
Blue Vase” to Edward. Once she figured
out what he was saying, she said, “Yes”.
The song that Mrs. Hunter taught us was Подмосковные вечера ("Moscow Nights"). Here is a 3-minute version in English:
. - . - . - .
FOOTNOTE: Mrs. Hunter’s husband coined the word “brainwashing”:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Hunter_(U.S._journalist)
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NOTE: Doug's best stories have been collected into a book: Puppy Out Of Breath. Price = $11. You can purchase a copy at http://www.puppyoutofbreath.com
Nice to read. I was recently talking to a Greek friend of my parents' about the Orthodox church services. She was surprised I had had that church experience. I remember it well (and remember how to say Christ is Risen in Russian.)
ReplyDeleteHow come I can't order your book on Amazon? I have tried.
Congratulations on the book! I remember the excitement (when my mother and sister and I did two Chicken Soup books.)
Frances Salorio