Cold Weather, Warm Heart
Here in Portand, the winter weather consists mostly of dark gray skies and drizzling rain with moderate temps. But once a year, the rain turns into snow. Everyone is seized with a sense of wonder if the snow actually sticks. Sleds are tested on our hilly neighborhood roads - you won’t be driving if the snow sticks anyway, not in this city. Snow men are lovingly rolled - I saw a group of six sitting roundly on patio furniture, having a barbecue in someone’s yard (a dangerous pastime for snowmen).
On one such day this winter, while out on a walk in the cold, I encountered something I hadn’t seen before. I saw a neighborhood family (from child to gran), bundled up and sitting out on their driveway around a warm chiminea. They had a sign that read “Free Hot Chocolate!” and one of the children waved at me wildly. Did I want some? Of course I did. Their mom offered me various toppings while warmly pouring hot chocolate from a large thermos into my cup. I accepted two marshmallows, beaming with delight.
A little kindness goes a long way.
Olive You
It was Christmas Eve and my Grandma was working her magic in the kitchen. The dining room glowed with warm light and good smells were wafting down the hall. If I craned my neck I could make out the Poinsettia tablecloth and a couple of small, cut glass dishes - one filled with cranberry sauce and the other with black olives.
Liking black olives was on a long list of things I had in common with my Grandpa. And so it was with a wink and a knowing smile that my Grandpa would sneak them out and into my hands before the big meal was ready.
Avoska
In general, I enjoy words and I take pleasure in adding new ones to my vocabulary. After all, words are just another medium for painting pictures and articulating thoughts.
There are certain words that don't just give you a name for something, they give you access to a concept that would otherwise be really hard to understand, or even talk about. I first spent time with this idea when I heard the Radiolab episode, New Words, New World.
Now consider how some words are unique to a specific language without a direct one-to-one translation. This takes the idea to another level. Is it possible to think differently in different languages? I think so.
Of course my insight as an English-only speaker is limited. However, I know that the ability to describe a complex idea simply with the confidence that you’ll be understood is powerful. Applying this idea to shared collective experiences and nuanced emotions is particularly compelling.
These are just a handful of examples that have captured the imaginations of English speakers:
“Hygge” - The cozy, intimate feeling of gathering with friends around a fire in the winter. (Danish)
“Schadenfreude” - The joy you feel at another person’s misfortune. (German)
“Saudade” - a pleasure you suffer, an ailment you enjoy. (Portuguese)
With these kinds of thoughts on my mind, I asked my bi-lingual co-worker to tell me a Russian word that could describe something in one word that would take several in English. She humored me and that is how I discovered that a netted string bag is called an Avoska in Russian.
It’s my understanding that the root of the word avos’ means “maybe” in Russian. And that in the historical context of the USSR, there was quite a lot of uncertainty about whether there’d even be anything available to take home in your bag.
Now I not only had a new word, but a better sense of context and history for an object that I had formerly only known as a cute, trendy, produce bag.
Do you have a favorite word that articulates a bigger concept?
Becoming A Bird Nerd
Books have a tremendous capacity to surprise and delight us. For example, recently I read a book (The Genius Of Birds) about birds and I was touched to discover that there are birds that sing for the joy of it, birds that use tools, and birds that collect things in the color blue. I’m becoming an entry level bird nerd, what’s your favorite fun fact about birds?
