A puzzle

Yesterday I was puzzled by my nine-years old son’s question “Mom! How old should I be to marry a girl?” I asked him if he knew a girl he would like to marry. He confessed to me that he liked three!!! girls in class, but he has not decided yet whom of them he should choose. When I asked him what did he like in each of them, he told me that the first of them was beautiful, and all his classmates had fallen in love to her. The second girl was clever, and it was interesting to speak with her. Finally, the third girl was lively and cheerful, and it was funny to play with her. What a difficult choice my son had to do! When I told him that the best time for him to get married would be after finishing a University, he became very upset and told me that he could not wait so long. In fact, in different cultures there are different stereotypes about the ideal age to get married or have children. In my native country young people usually get married and have children (at least the first) in the age between 20 and 30, where as in Canada people do not hurry to get married and acquire themselves with children. It usually happens after 40 or even later. Sometimes it is difficult to guess whether the parents or the grandparents are near the child because a lot of women decide to have their children after 40 or even 50.

Job satisfaction

There are a lot of criteria for job satisfaction. Different people have different opinions at this point. It is indisputable that a person must really be found of his/her profession to enjoy his/her job. Another very important factor is the environment at the working place. If atmosphere at work is friendly, a person feels comfortable and confident. The work should be interesting and challenging. Dealing with the same routine work five days a week is boring. Finally, it is a great advantage if the job is well paid. Some people have two (or even more) jobs at the same time – one for the soul and another - to support themselves. If a person has a favourite job with a high salary he/she is really lucky. It is not easy to find your own way. Some people know exactly to what occupation they would like to devote themselves. They have a goal and approach it step-by-step. But some people cannot understand what is their destination in this life, and get an education in order to please their parents. Sometimes young people have a dream to become a dancer or a musician, for example, but their parents insist that they study business because it is considered to be more profitable profession. Sometimes when people realize what their favourite job should be, they give up their occupation and begin a new career. That is why I do not agree with the practice when children are separated in different specialized classes in elementary school. It is urgent to give the child a time to discover what subjects they like and what subjects they do not.

Zoo

I spend a wonderful weekend! I managed to accomplish a lot of activities that I can be proud of myself. I visited Calgary zoo, went skating, swimming, was at the dinner at our friends’ house and purchased some furniture for our apartment. However, there was a negative thing – I did not even approach to my English studies although I planned a lot of useful things to do, and I feel guilty about this. The weekend flied as a couple of hours and as a result I am sitting at night doing my homework, but suddenly I felt a strong irresistible desire to share my opinion about visiting zoo. So, here I am – writing my blog at 12.42 a.m. Well, now let’s talk about zoo. I did not expect that it was so huge! We managed to visit only several parts of it. First we visited African savannah. There were giraffes, hippopotamuses, snakes and a lot of other exotic animals. Then we visited a rain forest, and it impressed me so much. The temperature and humidity were so high that it was difficult to stay there for a long time. There were waterfalls with hot water, so the steam from the water made it difficult to see clearly. The animals were admirable and funny. My younger son, however, did not want to see anything except grey hen-sized birds that were running among the visitors. All that he wanted to do was to chase those birds. There is a popular fairy tale in my country about the hen named Riaba. That hen produced a golden egg to grandfather and grandmother who tried to break the egg, but it was not so simple. That puzzle was solved by a mouse which ran along and caught the egg with its tail. As a result, the egg fall from the table and was broken. My son knew that story well, and was sure that those birds were the hens Riaba. He followed them and begged them to produce an egg for him.

Spring

Hi everybody! Did you notice that spring came to Calgary? It is really surprising because at many other provinces of Canada there is winter with lots of snow and frost. However, in Calgary the nature is awaking from its winter sleep, and you can feel the smell of spring in the air. To tell the truth, I expected colder and longer winter with lots of snow when I came to Canada in August 2007, but my first winter in Calgary appeared to be beautiful and sunny. I am happy that I am so lucky to live in the sunniest and cleanest city in the world. I really like the sun and the fresh air of Calgary! For some people Calgary seems dull and entertainmentless
(I really don't know if there is such a word in English), but for me it is not the most important thing in the life. I have a family here and some friends. At weekends I prefer to go to the nature to make burbecu with my friends or simply to walk in the park. Being close to nature helps me to relax and to look at some things in my life with different eyes. I like Calgary beautiful nature and wild life. It is surprising for me that wild animals here don't afraid people. So I would never change the walk in the park to going shopping.

A mysterious concert

Hi everybody! I hope you are enjoying your weekend. I’d like to share with you my impressions about the concert I visited last weekend. It was a concert of a vocal group Camerata from my native country, Belarus. Although it was founded in the 1980th in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, I have never heard Camerata’s music when I lived my native country. There were many Russian people at the concert, so I had a possibility to chat a lot without exerting my brains. It was so relaxing! At that moment I felt as I appeared in my native country among native people. When I heard the first sounds of musical composition, which was performed in unusual and unbelievable style, I was shocked. There was no music at all! The singers imitated sounds of different musical instruments, birds, wind and waves. They song in English, Russian, and Belarussian. Camerata’s experimental style combined classical and modern traditions. The concert included pieces of different genres, from classical and ethnic to jazz, often interwoven into each other, giving birth to totally new and uncommon combinations. Their compositions were very special, with a variety of plots. The singer’s voices were so strong and pure, and they so harmonised to each other that admiration of audience was indescribable. The performance was impressive and successful. I think listening to Camerata is a unique experience having quite a magic effect. I urgently recommend you to visit their concert if you will have such a possibility in future.
I was surprised to realise that I had to come in Canada in order to get familiar with the creativity of this unique Belarussian group.