avrelia

So, we have safely arrived into the New Year. It went rather well – I would say unexpectedly well, since I didn’t expect anything in particular.

We went to celebrate the New Year with a group of Russian-speaking MBA students&families – people that we don’t know enough to call friends, but interesting and pleasant guys.

Still – meeting New Year is always a risk. But this time it went very nice: the table was abundant with food and drink (our hosts having just returned from Cuba, there was a lot of rum), the conversations never died out leaping on strange and diverse topics such as cemeteries in Cuba and New Orleans, the might of China, and tanks T-34. the apogee of the night was, naturally, the midnight moment – and as many Russians note, in North America it lacks a certain something – the sound of chimes in the clock on the Spasskaya Tower in Moscow Kremlin. Now, of course, the New Year is coming with or without the bells, but it is a very nice bells, and, more importantly, we are so used to it that it gives the whole thing a new and poignant significance.

So, our hosts found and downloaded the chimes sound – and after it stroke twelve, we’ve heard the dearly familiar bells. In the instant everything felt right. After the bells we’ve had a surprise – an old USSR anthem played. We all remember it played at twelve – up to thirteen years ago, and everyone can sing the words we’ve learned at school (the music is again Russian anthem, but the words are different.) However, the words here were different – it was a really old variant, from the thirties, with Stalin mentions. The combination of it all produced a curious effect of ironic and slightly embarrassed joy. None of us misses the Soviet Union particularly, but listening to the old anthem has brought a kind of nostalgia to us. So we laughed and laughed some more. As a result we’ve met New Year with laughter, which I am very happy about.

Then there were dances with incredibly mish-mashed music, tea, and more talking. It was all good.

And now for something completely different:

A Korean song with cartoon for your listening pleasure. I have no idea what it is about, but it is fun:

http://kr.fun.kids.yahoo.com/comicsong/cs71/