Way to Russia Talk Lounge

deskware7 · Frequent Guest Joined: 07 Jun 2004 Posts: 67

What makes a woman a babushka? Is it her age, income level, lifestyle or something else? I see the term "babushka" sometimes in Russian writings and wondered about its meaning.

Camrade · Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2005 10:49 pm Post subject:

age

old lady = babushka
also babushka means grandmother

Jutrzenkapolska · VIP Joined: 16 Sep 2004 Posts: 534

Also a name of a wooden doll.

A babushka also usually dresses in flower prints, drinks morning till night, scares the bejesus out of passing children and meets with other babushkas to 1) trade war stories 2) agree that things actually weren't so bad under socialism. Razz

Katyara · Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2005 1:14 am Post subject:

Some babushkas are really mean. They pretend to live under socialism and growl at teenagers and kids. I have one in my house. She is cussing at people all the time and she stinks, 'cause she doesn't take a bath for like weeks, or maybe she just doesn't wash her clothes. Well, anyway, not all babushkas are like that. There some pretty cool ones. Like my grandmother and most of my friends' grandmothers, they are all pretty funny and awesome.

Slava45 · Just Starting Joined: 25 Feb 2005 Posts: 1

Katyara · Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2005 1:43 am Post subject:

I somehow agree, but you know how boring it is to listen to the war stories when you are 16??? Sometimes it is pretty interesting, but it is more interesting to go out with friends anyway!

Skip · Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2005 2:03 am Post subject:

Jutrzenkapolska · VIP Joined: 16 Sep 2004 Posts: 534

Well, actually, I confess I loved listening to my grandmother and her friends talk about life during the war.My granny is a good storyteller,one and two, her war story is amazing.

She was my age when Germany invaded Poland and her father and older sister were killed.The war forced her to drop out of high school and hold two jobs to be the sole breadwinner for her family.She had a job in the ticket booth at the Warsaw railroad, so she was there at the first shipment of Jews to Treblinka.As an eye-witness, of course.Unbelievable.

Katyara · Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2005 2:24 am Post subject:

My grandmother is a good storyteller too. But she doesn't tell sories that often, she is more of a... how to phrase it... modern grandmother... I don't know... she just doesn't tell stories... She might tell me something about my childhood, when I was 1 or 2, but other than that she doesn't really tell stories.

vorteks · Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2005 2:31 am Post subject:

Skip · Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2005 2:45 am Post subject:

Katyara · Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2005 3:10 am Post subject:

Thanx. I appreciate my grand parents very much.

cyndy22 · Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2005 3:27 am Post subject:

My Devushka, (grand father) died when I was 9. Of course I was just a child, but it is sad that I know so very little about his life in Belarus where he was born and lived until coming to US. Even my dad is in the dark. And the fact that he was an orphan doesn't help. So I agree that there are experiences and information that grand parents have, and let's face it- their lives were more difficult than ours. It's nice to know these things so your family can retain some pretty amazing stories not to mention that you will come to understand your grand parents better, as real people who have had very incredible life experiences.

Jutrzenkapolska · VIP Joined: 16 Sep 2004 Posts: 534

Yeah,I know what you mean.Both of my grandfathers died when I was a toddler, don't remember either one. One of my grandfathers was also a teenage war survivor and later went on to survive a Soviet prison and labor camp but unlike his wife, categorically refused to talk about any of the experiences and generally kept it secret.Well, that was his right.

Camrade · Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2005 9:55 am Post subject:

2cyndy22