Heeey, everybody!
We are currently holding a contest on our facebook page: YOU have the opportunity to become an actual CHARACTER in our book! Check it out. All you have to do is propose a great topic for an upcoming article! 
HEY FANS!
As you probably already know, we have the Eto Belarus Detka book coming out THIS SUMMER! So even though we're a bit less active here, LOTS of new content will be waiting for you in the book ;)
Nevertheless, lots of stuff will be happening on social networks: updates, contests, giveaways, and more fun stuff. So be sure to follow us on Facebook, Vkontakte and on Instagram! Also, check out this awesome article Citydog.by did about us! 
The language situation is definitely one of the bigger mysteries of Belarus. To a foreigner the Belarusian language may appear to be a hermit, as the majority of Belarusians use Russian (not Belarusian) in their daily communication. But don’t judge too quickly as there are some good reasons for this, especially when looking into the Belarusian history.
Some facts about the Belarusian language: 1. Belarusian is a Slavic language, distinct from Russian and Polish, which are its close relatives. Another close relative of Belarusian language is Ukrainian with whom it shares 84% of common vocabulary. Belarusians are generally able to understand Ukrainian. 2. Belarusian has been the official language of Belarus only since 1918. However its roots go way back, as it is believed that Belarusian was the official language in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (the largest European state from the fourteenth to sixteenth century, included parts of present day Belarus, Lithuania and Latvia, Ukraine, Poland and even Russia). After this period the Belarusian language has been spoken and used sporadically mainly by certain intellectual groups and in the countryside, but 3. never has it been a language spoken by the majority of Belarusians. One of the main reasons for this is because Belarus has been occupied by Poland and Russia (think Tsar period and the Soviet Union) and these states forced their own languages onto the calm and accepting Belarusians. While Belarusian is studied at most public schools, and the majority of people understand Belarusian perfectly, there’s really no place to use it in the vastly “Russified” outside life, so the language gets forgotten. This means that even if locals wished to speak Belarusian in public – it probably would not come out perfect right away, without some practice. There is even a word for a Belarusian-Russian mix – “Trasyanka,” – where words you don’t know in Belarusian you replace with Russian ones, and it’s anything but cool to speak Trasyanka. Nevertheless, the current situation of the Belarusian language is a promising one: if even 10 years ago, Belarusian-speakers were considered to be either opposition or “people from the village”, or just really strange people, outcasts (all very unpopular social roles) – now, the language is more and more associated with a cultural revival, a rebirth of the Belarusian identity, supported by the state. The desire to speak Belarusian has grown greatly among the youth; many are even ashamed they do not speak it. More and more private cultural revival initiatives are born, offering Belarusian language classes that are becoming very popular among Belarusian youth. Belarusian language is now used widely on street/info signage and public transportation (despite some funny situations involving “Lacinka”, a Latin script for rendering Cyrillic Belarusian: the infamous YouTube video, where an unprepared foreigner attempts to pronounce the names of Minsk’s metro stations written in Lacinka, and fails miserably). Speaking Belarusian is important for the Belarusian identity and many acknowledge this fact, however it is also a struggle since the Russian language is deeply embedded in the culture and mentality of most Belarusians. Nevertheless, it’s very important to keep the language alive and who if not Belarusian are able to do this, Eto Belarus Detka! 
What is your opinion on the current (or past!) situation involving the Belarusian language? Where is it going? How should it be ideally? Please, share your thoughts!
Read more about Belarus on our newest platform HiFive Belarus! 
The Belarusian Superwomen. We are astonished by them. They dress up like models, wearing the high heels with glamour, work full time, come home and take care of the household and can be for 95% classified as good cooks. They know what they talk about and are obedient. My god, Belarusian men must be the luckiest in the whole world!
An interesting, and at the same time shocking, detail is the gender balance, or better said the gender unbalance because according to official statistics, in early 2014 Belarus had 4.401 thousand men and 5.067 thousand women. This has to do with the well-documented fact that Belarusian men tend to die much younger than women. Male life expectancy in Belarus is about 67 years, for women add 10 years to this number. This explains the struggle of women in Belarus to find a good husband to be, as the choice is simply limited. And considering the difference in life expectancy, it might explain one other aspects of Belarusian culture - the Babooshka - caretakers of the family, life and everything else. Could it be because of these Belarusian Matriarchs, that we have such strong, astute superwomen? So what is the secret of the Belarusian Superwoman? Is it possible to have it all or is there a cost? Let us know your thoughts. Read more about Belarus on our newest platform HiFive Belarus! 
Diplomas, diplomas everywhere. We still haven’t quite figured out what that’s all about. You get them for everything you do, whether you participate in a one day pottery making course or an 1 hour English class. The diplomas are falling from the sky and getting one actually makes you feel kind of special. Many hang them up on walls to prove their participation in all these unique gatherings.
It’s pretty amazing how many diplomas one can collect in 2 years in Belarus. After giving a basic two-hour English class (actually you can’t even call it a class, it was more a conversation with some nice Belarusians who wanted to practice their English), I was very surprised to find a nice diploma in my hands! Yet, the feeling of accomplishment was unbelievable. Some say it's a classic "carrot" - a small feel-good reward to make you want to be good and useful again. Some believe it is a memento from the soviet era: diplomas were huge back then! If you wanted people to know you're somebody - you'd show them all your diplomas. The diplomas are for sure a great recognition and probably make a nice souvenir, so we definitely support this for us a bit strange tradition. However, maybe we would advise to make them a bit more colourful and sparkling. We don’t mean glitter and diamonds but maybe some pictures or play with different formats? It’s just an idea. We feel that you are special enough, dearest reader, to receive your own diploma. You've accomplished a lot today! Give yourself a pat on the back and feel free to click on this diploma (it's a .PDF), print it out, write in your name and hang it on your own wall of fame! 
What are your thoughts on these diplomas? Are they important as little celebrations and recognition of accomplishments, or are the accomplishments themselves enough? Share with us!
Read more about Belarus on our newest platform HiFive Belarus! 
There are many inaccurate and funny stereotypes concerning Belarus. While the French think of Belarus as “White-skinned Russians”, the Germans label Belarus simply as “Gas Transit Country”, the Italians prefer the term “Terra Incognita” and Latin Americans refer to it as “Cuba Europea”. But probably the most common stereotype that foreigners hold towards the Belarusians is closely linked to the French version: White-Skinned Russians.
Russia and Belarus are the two countries that are often being mixed up by foreigners. Many believe that we are talking here about one and the same country, meaning that Belarus is Russia and Russia is Belarus, and others just think that Belarus is a place inside of Russia. 
This confusion sometimes causes much frustration to many Belarusians living inside and outside of Belarus. Besides the almost not existing coverage on Belarus (except on some political occasions), the cause of much confusion derives from the wrongly used way the country’s name is translated in many countries namely ‘White Russia’ instead of the legal name of the Republic of Belarus. Yes, also we in The Netherlands are guilty in wrongly translating Belarus as Wit-Rusland, which literally means White-Russia. Other countries in the world seem to make the same mistake (Info graphics).
Share your thoughts on the relationship between Russia and Belarus! What have you seen, what have you heard? What do you think Belarus should be called in your language?
Read more about Belarus on our newest platform HiFive Belarus! 
The mystery of the toilet with just a hole is a perplexing one. One to which we can’t seem to get a straight answer. This phenomenon does concern the ladies much more than the men, but we feel strongly about covering the issue nevertheless. So imagine: you are all dressed up and excited to visit the theatre. You enjoy the first half, and come intermission time, you, naturally, visit the WC. You enter the restroom and everything looks normal, until you open the door of a toilet stall and find nothing but a hole in the ground. To make things even worse there is usually not even toilet paper hanging in the small cabin, so you have to go back and get the toilet paper that is usually located next to the sinks. Yes, like an old fashioned French camping toilet. The feeling of glamour and style disappears very fast once you are squatting on one of those hole toilets.
It may seem strange to a foreigner’s eyes, but here squat toilets are quite a common feature, so if you ever come across one - here is our users guide:
We have tried to uncover the mystery of these squat toilet especially in places you least expect them, places like cinemas, theatre and the circus. Is it because of hygienic reasons, as you don’t have to sit on a hundred –times-before-you-used-toilet-seat or does is have to do with the easy cleaning of a squat toilet? We haven’t figured it out yet. But maybe you can? We would simply love to hear your about your experience with these amazing inventions! Feel free to comment and like us on facebook! Read more about Belarus on our newest platform HiFive Belarus! 
We call it the Belarusian pride: the cleanness and greenness of its cities. This is probably one of the first things foreigners notice after spending some time in Belarus, and it is also the first thing you will hear from a Belarusian when they are talking about their country. And for a good reason too!
Large green parks are a typical Belarusian feature. In the city of Minsk you may come across the central children's Gorky Park, the huge, pine-filled Park Chelyuskintsev, and the amazing Botanic Gardens. Many smaller parks are found throughout the city, even far from the centre, with interesting sculptures that remind you of the Belarusian past. It seems that a lot of people are responsible for the greenness in the cities. In the summer a group of people in green uniforms appear and do their work diligently, taking good care of the soil, the trees and the beautiful looking flower beds. The result is visible, touchable and smellable. Thank you, green ladies and gentlemen for such an oxygen treat! There is a big respect for the green grass area especially in the cities. You won’t find people walking on the grass, but instead they will walk carefully around it. Sometimes, when taking a shortcut (meaning walking on the untouched grass), you can’t stop but feeling like you any moment can step on a mine (why else would no one walk here?) No one can disagree with the cleanness in Belarus. Why are the streets of Belarus so clean, we wondered many times? Is it because it benefits from a lack of tourists clogging the streets? Or are there a huge amount of trash bins spread out through the country? Or does it have to do with the delegation of Municipal Orange Fairies that come out at night to clean the streets? To all three of the above questions we can surely respond with a YES! Not much tourism is happening in Belarus, many trash bins are located in the cities and you will find many fairy-like ladies and gents in orange uniforms with only one thing on their minds: to get rid of all the dirt and waste the city has collected during the day. Usually in groups of three or more, they gloriously roam the dark streets, meticulously cleansing every corner. Do you agree? Did you find Belarus to be super-clean and neat? Have you had any pleasant (or not so much) encounters with the Orange Fairy Squad? Share your experience with us! Read more about Belarus on our newest platform HiFive Belarus! 
Picture this: electronics shop, people are scrambling to get hold of a washing machine, a television, or a refrigerator, piling it all up in their shopping cart and running to the cashier as if their life depends on it.. To a foreigner it might seem like it's Black Friday, but do not be fooled: this is no sale day.
This scene takes place regularly in Belarus, during every inflation crisis. It also happened about a month ago: just before the New Year's holidays, jumps of the Russian Ruble affected the Belarusian Ruble, causing it to be less valuable. So you see the people running to the stores to save their money, ASAP! Every day is of importance, prices can change at any minute, the exchange rate is completely unpredictable. The shops can't change the prices right away, so people have a very small window to invest their soon-to-become less valuable Rubles in electronics (as well as other valuable things). Some are very happy about this: that fridge they wanted and needed for so long is now "cheaper" than it will be tomorrow. Others are borderline desperate: these guys are buying 2-3 TV sets with the hope to sell them for profit later. The whole thing looks quite humorous from the outside, almost like a blast from the soviet past: enormous checkout lines and totally empty shelves. Not so much fun when you're on the other side. But, Eto Belarus Detka! Anything can happen in Belarus, the country filled with surprises that we love to write about. Feel free to share with us your inflation madness experience! Read more about Belarus on our newest platform HiFive Belarus! 
You won’t need to worry about not getting enough movement in Belarus. At least when you are travelling on foot. This has to do with a large quantity of stairs that you have to climb every 50 meters. The stairs will find you everywhere - the underground crossings, the metro entrances, the many buildings that somehow do not have any elevator build in them and, of course, the buildings where the elevator just seems to take a break now and then.
Occasionally, we found ourselves on the wrong side of the street while stepping out of the metro, only to realize that we must dive into the labyrinth of stairs once again in order to go the right way. Lots of concentration and lots of movement there! And while you are at it, you may as well help an old lady that also found herself (just like you!) climbing the stairs and carrying heavy bags. Just some weightlifting to go with your cardio. The stairs in the apartament buildings are something (if you are totally lucky) you don’t have to experience. However, if you live in a flat for a longer time, there is a big chance that you will find your elevator in a defective state now and then. Meaning that you have to climb your way up or down and be grateful that you live only on the fifth floor (for the ones that live on the sixth or higher, just embrace the mantra ‘Eto Belarus Detka’). One of the advantages of the Belarusian stairs comparing to (for example) the Dutch is that you start counting the levels at 1st floor, while in the Netherlands the first floor is the ground floor. This means that for a Dutch person there is always one level less to climb on the Belarusian stairs, and this knowledge is quite a relief during those moments when its you against the stairs. And if you are a bit more lucky - you might get stuck in an elevator, and if you are super lucky - this may be with 4 neighbours, their dog and their garbage bag. Yes, this happened to me once, and it was a hilarious experience. This is the chance to get to know your neighbours better, while breathing in their faces and rubbing your shoulder against them. You also get to know their humor and start planning an escape strategy together. After 40 minutes of being stuck, we started to be very grateful for the smelly garbage bag that they took with them, as we figured it could save us from starvation. How to survive in a stuck elevator -- 5 tips:
|
RSS Feed
