Module 5

MY BURYATIA

Warming up. Read and dramatize the following mini-dialogues. Make up your own short situations.

A. Introducing the Republic of Buryatia

Florence: Hello, my name is Florence. I am from France. What is your name?

Nikita: Hi, my name is Nikita. Nice to meet you, Florence.

Florence: Nice to meet you too, Nikita. Where are you from?

Nikita: I am from Buryatia.

Florence: Where is it?

Nikita: It is situated in Russia. This is a republic which lies near Lake Baikal.

Florence: Oh, Lake Baikal? Of course, I know where it is. So you should live in the Eastern Siberia.

Nikita: Yes, you are absolutely right, Florence.

Florence: What can say about your republic? It sounds so exotic to me.

Nikita: Buryatia is named so because of native Siberian people “Buryats”. In 17^th century Russians came to explore the lands of Buryatia, and since then Russians and Buryats have lived together friendly and shared their traditions and cultures with each other.

Florence: I would like to come to Buryatia, Nikita.

Nikita: Welcome, we like to have guests in our republic.

B. Introducing Ulan-Ude

Jack: What can you say about your city, Bair?

Bair: First of all, you should know about Ulan-Ude is that this is a capital city. It is the capital of the Buryat Republic located in the Eastern Siberia. There are two rivers: the Uda and the Selenga.

Jack: When was your city built?

Bair: It was founded in 1666 by the Russian Cossacks.

Jack: Ulan-Ude is such an ancient city.

Bair: Yes, it is quite old. It had another name. It was called “Verkhnedudinsk”. It means “the city situated on the Upper Uda river”.

Jack: When did the city get the name of “Ulan-Ude”?

Bair: It was renamed in 1934. In the Buryat language it means “The Red Uda”.

Jack: That’s interesting.

C. Talking about the Buryat Culture

Seseg: Well, Mitchell, how do you like your stay in Buryatia? Do you like it here?

Mitchell: Everything is fine. I never expected that summers in Siberia would be so hot and sunny!

Seseg: That’s why our republic is often called “Sunny Buryatia”.

Mitchell: It is sunny indeed.

Seseg: Did you like the Buryat cuisine?

Mitchell: I think it is very fat. But still it is excellent. I like your buuzy very much. They are so tasty and nourishing.

Seseg: This is our favorite meal. What do you think about museums of Ulan-Ude?

Mitchell: I find them quite interesting. I liked the Arts Museum after Sampilov. Buryat artists are very talented.