open;

[schild]

Who: Network folks who are in Locke for Xmas
Where: A community center (let's say it's the same one from the first aid thing)
When: Backdated to December 23
What: Christmas/Holiday Party!
Warnings: Shenanigans? Kissing?

[ Ah yes, come one, come all! As per the plotting, let's just say Ryan put out a message that went something like this:

Hey everyone! I was wondering how many of us are stuck here in Locke for the holidays. I'm used to parties and celebrating with friends, so I figured, why not do that anyway! It'll be a Network-only thing, so don't be shy. And if you wanna help, just let me know!

And thus your character finds themselves here, a part of christmas cheer and echoes, surrounded by free food and tinsel and even Mistletoe... The Christmas party! And by Christmas I mean Santa and reindeer and all that lame stuff. ]

[ Feel free to start your own top-level comments I mean seriously, if you need an excuse for dumb shenanigans this is it. ]

Comments

[chernobolt]

Astrophysics! [Kara's smile could probably blind the more photosensitive now]

The university here has a much more advanced program than the one I was previously attending, and it is so amazing to have access to such wonderful equipment and professors! I am incredibly lucky, even if some of the work makes me wish to pull all of my hair out on occasion.

[hustru]

[She nods, thoughtfully. Ponders what to say to that - she really doesn't want to have to answer questions about her own studies, explanations tend to end up always too short for really facilitating understanding and then it just gets awkward... so she isn't sure how to continue from here. But maybe.]

English isn't a problem? [It wasn't much of a problem for her, but she knows that Nordic peoples tend to speak English to a much higher degree than people from other countries, a lot of her course literature and even whole courses were in English before coming to Locke, too...]

[chernobolt]

Ah, well... [she tilts her head to the side, then laughs sheepishly]

I made certain to pick it up before the day of my arrival, so I am able to converse and understand my classes. But it is a difficult language, and I am still confusing the words and idiots more often than I would like.

[case in point, her attempt to use the word 'idiom' correctly. Kara smiles wryly, taking a small sip of her vodka]

And when I am excited I forget which language I am supposed to be using. It is a little embarrassing! But I suppose such things are to be expected.

[hustru]

Easier than Swedish and German. [And some others, probably, but those are the only ones besides English that school had her to learn. And she never attempted any others.] Easier to not have to switch between three, too. [Finnish with her family, English when the country's language isn't enough, and then the national language of the host country... She's seen that on the few exchange students back home who attempted to learn Finnish. And other people migrated to her university town for some reason.]

[chernobolt]

Oh, I could imagine! I am very fortunate that the others I know are fairly similar, so there is not much clashing in my mind.

[she sighs a little]

I am not as skilled with languages as I wish I was, so I have to say that I am a little jealous all the same.

[hustru]

Me neither.

[Because languages involve talking. She's having enough issues talking to people in her own native language, with the added worries about pronunciation and appropriate choice of words, and the question if she understood perfectly what the other person said... Yeah, other languages make it even harder.]

Are you alone here? [With her language, that is, though the question doesn't really specify at all.]

[chernobolt]

[it takes Kara a moment to answer the question. part of it is to ascertain that she understands which sort of alone she means (they're at a party, after all) and the rest is to really think about it. is she alone here?]

In a way, I suppose. There are not very many people from the Ukraine here - the most I have seen is in the church I attend, but many of them are very old.

[she shrugs]

But I speak with my family still, so I am not as alone as it first appears. Especially when I am at such joyous occasions as this!

[hustru]

Either old or have children already?

[She nods - that sounds incredibly familiar. She sometimes gets the feeling that she is the only Finn who is neither here with their parents nor their children, or immigrated thirty years ago... Or isn't first generation at all. It's a good while since she's had the chance to speak her native language with someone her age, in person, anyway.]

[chernobolt]

[she nods as well, expression a little wistful now. Kara doesn't regret coming to America, but there are still times when she sorely misses even the small things about Ukraine]

Exactly. And I do appreciate that they seem to take being my self-adopted grandmothers very seriously and are always offering me food, but it is...not what I am used to, I suppose is the correct word.

[self-appointed, but ok...]

[hustru]

It's still better than living in the countryside.

[Where there would be no congregation or other groups of foreigners more or less specific to one's own land. Sure, she did not come here to only talk to her own, but sometimes... it makes living among Americans easier to sometimes be able to pull out of it.]

[chernobolt]

I suppose that depends! I had only been living in a large city for perhaps two years before coming here, so it would be a very familiar place even if the people were not.

[she tilts her head thoughtfully, contemplating both options, before laughing gently]

I guess it is a question of whether one prefers ploughs or pysanky.

[hustru]

Pysanky?

[Is that an English word? It doesn't sound like it, but English seems to have incorporated so many words form other languages that you never know.]

[chernobolt]

Um, yes. [Kara pulls on a few strands of her hair, looking a little sheepish. she considers trying to explain, then discards the idea immediately and simply waves a hand dismissively]

It is nothing! Do not mind it, my words sometimes slip away from me.

[hustru]

[No, no, she wants to know. Let her stare intently. It obviously cannot be some type of drink or food, even if it vaguely sounds like that... Though that might just be because her encounters with Russian were mostly Russian tourists in the distance and food and alcohol.

Hm. Something like ploughs but just in the city... she'd almost say cars but that would make no sense. What did they not have back home...]

Subways?

[chernobolt]

Easter eggs.

[her face is a little red now and she's staring very steadfastly at her feet. Kara has always had a penchant for making poor comparisons, even before the language barrier had reared its ugly head, and it's more than a little embarrassing to be reminded of this in a setting that isn't exclusive to her family]

They are incredibly intricate, you see, and much more refined than threshing wheat or the like.

[hustru]

[OH.

Now it is Siiri's turn to be awkward. She always assumed that those were an American thing, as she only encountered them here. Well then.]

Can you do them?

[chernobolt]

Oh yes, of course!

[Kara's head snaps up and her demeanor brightens again almost instantly]

It is one of my very favorite traditions of the holiday, and I like to think that I am rather talented at them. My brothers and I compete a little to see who can make the most complicated design every year.

[hustru]

Are you doing it here as well?

[Because if she does, Siiri will definitely ask to be allowed to join and be taught how to do it, the eggs looked really nice and she would like to learn how to do it...

And that makes her think of her little sister. Especially on Christmas, thinking of her family just makes her really homesick, so she will try to concentrate on the other part. Talking about family is for another time.]

[chernobolt]

Probably, so long as something ridiculous does not happen when the Easter season comes around. It will be the first time I have made them all without help, though! So it is bound to be exciting.

[she's not sure how well they'll all turn out, but she's looking forward to having complete creative control over all those eggs]

[hustru]

Could I join?

[And, well, could the other woman teach her, though she hopes that that is an obvious implication... otherwise she'll spill it out in a bit.]

[chernobolt]

[she tilts her head in surprise, although not unpleasant in the least. painting the pysanka is always something she enjoys doing with friends; it would have been a bit lonely to do it alone]

Certainly! It is not very difficult to get the hang of, so even if you have never done it before I am sure you will get the hang of it quickly.

[hustru]

[She nods, finally downing some of her drink. It gives her a moment to think and phrase the next part.]

I like crafts. It shouldn't take long for me to learn. [Between knitting, woodwork, sewing and dying, some work with metals and all kinds of paperwork and painting things she has basically done everything that is crafts and ventures into artisan territories that there is, she should be able to do get a hang of this quickly.

She just hopes that her words don't come off as bragging or putting the difficulty of the art down.]

[chernobolt]

That is wonderful to hear! I am not always so good with delicate things such as that; when I was younger I would always smash an egg or two and spend the afternoon crying over it.

[she laughs a little, unbothered by any possibly bragging]

I suppose that is why I am so much better at wrestling - there is not much finesse required.

[hustru]

What wrestling?

[She's never done any herself, the only sport that one needs other people to that she ever wanted to learn was ice hockey and that just... did not happen, so her sports are all of the possible-as-one-person variety: Swimming, hiking, cross-country-skiing, running, and so on. But she assumes that there is more than one, what they usually mean by it in the states and what she has seen back home seems pretty different and then the oil wrestling that she saw on a TV show about Turkey once looked... also very different.]

[chernobolt]

Competitive wrestling! Ah, I think that it is called the free style here?

[she beams, clasping her hands together. wrestling was something she really truly enjoyed, and talking about it was always nice]

It is the reason why I am here to begin with - the university has given me a scholarship for the sport. I do not wish to let them down so it takes up a great deal of my time in the upkeep with things like the jogging and the gym going and the team practicing and the like.