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Ze Russian
Apr. 18th, 2017 09:31 amThrough one of my regular clients, I met Tanya. Tanya is from Moscow and moved to the States about 7 years ago. She barely spoke English at the time, but has a brilliant mind. She's an engineer. Lovely, kind woman. She also marvels at any and all flowers because apparently she grew up in a highrise apartment building and never really saw things grow before. It's all so marvelous and impossible to her.
She takes lunch breaks to visit me on Mondays in my client's garden to pick my brain. She takes pictures of things and sends them to her family back in Moscow so they can see what roses look like, etc.
I like her. She's so, so kind and so fascinated by what she doesn't know. What's not to like? Well, she has this deeply ingrained habit of apologizing. She's always so sorry, Laura, so sorry to trouble you, so sorry I do not know this thing, so sorry to ask, so sorry my picture isn't so clear, oh, sorry, please, forgive me but... I can tell she's honestly troubled by "bothering" me, too. This isn't a language tic.
I'm going to work for her at her home tomorrow, and had gone to her home (back when I still had the Subaru, sob sob) to measure, etc. She wanted to show me her backyard, and as we went inside to get out back, she huffed an angry noise at herself and turned to me to say, "I'm so sorry it is so messy inside." There was an unfolded blanket on her sofa.
When she heard about my car accident, she was the first to message me. "Are you well? Do you need my car? Can I help?" She's so dear, right? But the apologizing... Oh, I didn't mention Victor, her Russian partner who does nothing. He contributes nothing to their shared home, he does no work around the home, but he smiles at me, he's polite when he does speak, and he stands there with his hands in his pockets while Tanya works and learns and apologizes and asks permission for everything.
She wants me to teach her how to grow roses. I think we'll have some Deeply Meaningful lessons on pruning diseased wood and how to encourage healthy growth...
She takes lunch breaks to visit me on Mondays in my client's garden to pick my brain. She takes pictures of things and sends them to her family back in Moscow so they can see what roses look like, etc.
I like her. She's so, so kind and so fascinated by what she doesn't know. What's not to like? Well, she has this deeply ingrained habit of apologizing. She's always so sorry, Laura, so sorry to trouble you, so sorry I do not know this thing, so sorry to ask, so sorry my picture isn't so clear, oh, sorry, please, forgive me but... I can tell she's honestly troubled by "bothering" me, too. This isn't a language tic.
I'm going to work for her at her home tomorrow, and had gone to her home (back when I still had the Subaru, sob sob) to measure, etc. She wanted to show me her backyard, and as we went inside to get out back, she huffed an angry noise at herself and turned to me to say, "I'm so sorry it is so messy inside." There was an unfolded blanket on her sofa.
When she heard about my car accident, she was the first to message me. "Are you well? Do you need my car? Can I help?" She's so dear, right? But the apologizing... Oh, I didn't mention Victor, her Russian partner who does nothing. He contributes nothing to their shared home, he does no work around the home, but he smiles at me, he's polite when he does speak, and he stands there with his hands in his pockets while Tanya works and learns and apologizes and asks permission for everything.
She wants me to teach her how to grow roses. I think we'll have some Deeply Meaningful lessons on pruning diseased wood and how to encourage healthy growth...
