My friend Alexander, who is Russian, told me an interesting story about a trip he made to Damascus, in Syria, a few years ago. He was working in a city in the heart of Siberia as an interpreter for a dancing group, composed of boys and girls aged between about fourteen and seventeen. They were a very professional dancing group, as they’d all started dancing at about the age of six, and had been training intensively since then, every day, learning many different types of dances, so it was very impressive to see them. It was a real pleasure for my friend to work with them, and to see them dance so often. Every time he looked at them, he couldn’t help admiring them, as they danced so magnificently, better than many adult dancing groups that he’d seen.
Anyway, they travelled to Damascus in July or August, in the middle of summer, so it was rather hot in Siberia at that time, about twenty-nine degrees Celsius, so everybody was sweating. He said to them before they left, “Don’t forget where we are going, we’re going to Damascus, very close to the desert, and it’s going to be something like forty-seven or even fifty degrees.”
When they arrived at the airport, however, and got out of the plane, they didn’t believe that they were in a desert region, as they all felt a little bit chilly! When it was announced at the airport that it was just eighteen degrees, they couldn’t believe their ears.
The next day, however, the heat wave came, and it was blistering hot. The temperature reached forty-seven degrees, and so during the day it was almost impossible for my friend and his group to go out into the street without staying in the shade. They could walk along covered walkways, or stay under the canvas awnings of cafes, but it was absolutely unbearable to be in the open.
My friend said that during the daytime in the summer there it is just like a dead city, with nearly empty streets with only very few people walking here and there and no other signs of life. But when the sun goes down, at about nine o’clock in the evening, life there really begins. All of the people come out into the streets, the cafes and restaurants open, and the social life starts. They go to parties, visit each other, buy, and sell things, go to the cinemas – everything starts at nine in the evening and carries on until about two or three in the morning. For my friend it was like an upside-down world, as in Siberia everything closes at about nine, life finishes and everybody goes to bed.
Another thing that surprised Alex was that whereas in Russia it’s very unusual for children to go out with their parents to restaurants and to places in the evening, in Damascus it’s normal. The children may be three or four years old; you will be sitting and drinking and talking, and the children either sit down next to their parents or, more usually, run around between the tables and play. This was so unusual for my friend to experience, especially as Russia had been so restricted because of the Iron Curtain and he’d never had the opportunity to travel abroad before.
Their dancing tour was a great success. They were in several cities – Damascus, Aleppo and two or three more, and in each place that they danced the audiences went wild. They applauded and called for encores again and again and again. They were accompanied by a small group of musicians playing Russian instruments, balalaikas, and this was very unusual for the local people who were mostly Arabs, as their music was absolutely different, so they were altogether amused, amazed and thoroughly entertained.
They were especially successful in Aleppo, as thirty thousand Armenians live there. Armenia was a republic of the Soviet Union, and when they learnt that a group from Russia were playing, and also that they played music by Khachaturian, the famous Armenian composer, they flocked to the performance. They were fantastically well-received. The audience applauded and encored them many times and were very enthusiastic, maybe because they liked this music so much and felt a deep connection with it.
They stayed in a beautiful five-star hotel, with luxurious facilities, swimming pools, huge four-course meals, top-class service, and things like this, and that was such a surprise for my friend, who had never been out of Russia before in his life. It was an absolutely fantastic experience for him, one of the greatest experiences of his life.
Balalaikas in Syria
1. Where did Alexander travel?
2. What was he doing then?
3. How did those teenagers become professionals so early?
4. When did they travel to Damascus?
5. What was the weather like in Siberia when they left?
6. What did Alexander warn his group about?
7. What surprised them when they arrived at the airport?
8. What was the temperature like the next day?
9. How could they get around in the city during the day?
10. What was Damascus like during the daytime?
11. When does life really begin?
12. What do the locals do in the evening?
13. Is such a vivid night life typical for Siberia?
14. What was another thing that surprised Alexander?
15. Had he travelled a lot before this trip?
16. How did the audience meet the group?
17. What was unusual for the local public in terms of music?
18. Where were they especially successful?
19. What could be the reason for that?
20. Whose music did they play among others?
21. How did the audience receive them in Aleppo?
22. Where did they stay?
23. What facilities were there at those hotels?
24. Why was it such a great surprise for Alexander?
25. What did he think of that trip?
Balalaikas in Syria
Training 1
My Russian friend Alexander made a trip to Syria some years ago. He was working in a city in the heart of Siberia as an interpreter for a dancing group, composed of boys and girls. They were a very professional dancing group, as they’d all started dancing at about the age of six and had been training intensively since then. Every time he looked at them, he couldn’t help admiring them, as they danced better than many adult dancing groups that he’d seen.
Training 2
They travelled to Damascus in the middle of summer. When they arrived at the airport, however, it was announced that it was just eighteen degrees, so they couldn’t believe their ears. The next day, however, the heat wave came, and it was blistering hot. The temperature reached forty-seven degrees, and so during the day it was absolutely unbearable to be in the open.
Training 3
During the daytime in the summer Damascus is just like a dead city, with nearly empty streets with only very few people and no other signs of life. But when the sun goes down life there really begins. All of the people come out into the streets, the restaurants open, they go to parties, visit each other, buy and sell things, go to the cinemas – everything starts at nine in the evening and carries on until about two or three in the morning.
Training 4
Their dancing tour was a great success. They were in several cities, and in each place that they danced the audiences went wild. They applauded and called for encores again and again. They were accompanied by a small group of musicians playing Russian instruments, balalaikas, and this was very unusual for the local people, as their music was absolutely different, so they were altogether amused, amazed and thoroughly entertained.
Training 5
They stayed in a beautiful five-star hotel, with luxurious facilities, swimming pools, huge four-course meals, top-class service and things like this, it was an absolutely fantastic experience. This was so unusual for my friend, especially as Russia had been so restricted because of the Iron Curtain and he’d never had the opportunity to travel abroad before.