Victory Day at the American College

Author sends his warm wishes to Quivering Reed - to my dear teacher Renee Buck.

This story was told by my old friend. For several reasons, we met a few years after separation. He moved to the United States with his sick wife, and when she died, he used their remaining savings together with the monetary help of their children to put on her grave a monument under an Orthodox cross in a monastery cemetery about fifty miles north of  New York City. After finishing all the necessary things, he was left to live with his children in America, hoping that it would be easier to overcome the acute pain of loss. Seeing that her father was having difficulty finding himself, his daughter asked him to think about improving his spoken English. He said, "Why not?” He remembered how difficult it was to communicate with doctors and nurses in hospitals, caring for his wife. His daughter wrote down his name in the list of students taking beginner courses in the fall semester. He was relieved of silence, began to speak, and began to learn the necessary words and conversational terms. Then there was a winter month course in January, and the spring semester began in February. Fall and spring semesters,  are free for students. This education is funded by the State Government to make English-speakers of residents of other countries who come to become citizens of the United States of America. Immigrants from Latin America and East and South-East Asia accounted for the main contingent of students.
**
Spring Training schedule was such that the latter lesson was to be held the evening of the ninth of May. My friend knew that the first part of the last class will mark the completion of the course, but the second will be a friendly meal. Having agreed in advance with the help of the teacher, each student brought something tasty to the common table. The peaceful atmosphere of the semester was a humdrum - day by day, lesson by lesson. And all of sudden it made sense: The ninth of May! This is the Day of Victory. The teacher, radiating sympathy for others, was a charming young lady, and her students were men and women from Latin America, Persia, China, Korea – all aged from 30 to 50 years old. My friend was the only one from Russia and was significantly older than the others. So for was this day is the Day of Victory? Where is Eastern Europe, with the epicenter of World War II, and where there is a Latin America or Central and East Asia? How to tell about the Day, how to break through the fence of the necessary concepts expressed in words that the lessons are not met. Yes, everyone came out of their countries, in their schools become acquainted with the English language, but what is about their pronunciation?! It is the porridge in the mouth. To pretend that you are in another country and the circumstances above you? It's very simple to celebrate - drink a glass - two vodka shots at the family holiday table, watching the parade on TV. Maybe it is testing for falseness? – My friend thought. But he will not forgive himself the moral weakness. "Do what you must, and come what may!" - The idea came to him in return. It was clear that a formal speech will not work.  But all college classes were equipped with screens and speakers connected to computers, in turn, connected to the Internet. So, he needed a video sequence or clip with bright music. This would be the leading show – a presentation remained to say a few explanatory sentences and recite the lyrics. Yes, of course, it had to be the words of the song. It was supposed to be a song of David Tuhmanov and Vladimir Kharitonov.  It was supposed to be "Victory Day"!
Yes, unfortunately the college computers without a Cyrillic keyboard! Searching for a song in the college was done only through Google.
**
My friend watched and listened to versions of "Day of Victory" by Muslim Magomayev and Lev Leshchenko. Bright, rich tones of Magomayev’s voice was accompanied by expressive photographs order bearers – soldiers. Pictures were made of Poklonnaya Gora in Moscow. But there were concerns that our Victory Day will be perceived by foreigners only as a tribute to the departing heroes of old people. In fact, under this pretext, in Europe and in America ceased to celebrate Victory Day, saying, old people are gone.
My friend also wanted to convey the idea, perhaps, little understood by most people of Asia and the Americas.
Nazi Germany needed the land and subsoil of the Soviet Union, "purified" from the population. The peoples of the Soviet Union had to be destroyed. If the peoples of Europe could timidly hope that the collaboration with fascism would save them, then the Soviet people did not have such an alternative. "To be or not to be?" - The question was the only way. To stand to the last! Therefore Victory Day in Russia is the symbol of the Renaissance people, doomed to total destruction in enemy intentions. It is a symbol of the Renaissance of the twentieth century.
It was necessary to show the viewer from another distant country, that this day will always be a modern holiday and joy of life of the people who saved themselves from the fatal historical woes.
The friend chose the final concert in honor of the 65th anniversary of the Victory in the central arena of the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. Gray-haired and strong, in a circle of friends, artists, Leshchenko sang the song. He discovered the beauty and power of this song over 35 years ago, as a young artist. He sang. Shining eyes, boys and girls, children and the elderly in the audience sang. The whole stadium was singing with him - from edge to edge.
**
The teacher has approved a proposal to make the presentation of the song «Victory Day» a brief opening statement at the end of the holiday lesson. And my friend, anticipating the show, said in English a few words about the essence of the Second World War. He said that the horror of the treacherous attack on Pearl Harbor was remembered by everyone in the United States. However, the Nazis created dozens of such disasters, bombing sleeping cities of the Soviet Union in the early hours of the attack. He did not forget to say a word about the profound gratitude of Russia’s allies - the U.S., Britain and France. And he said that out of the allies only the USSR and France have experienced the nightmare of occupation aimed at the destruction of the people.
Meanwhile classmates set the table, and sat before the screen, taking plates with treats. My friend talked about «Victory Day», read his translation of the lyrics into English and pressed start played the accompanying video. Women immediately lit up with answering smiles, looking at the extravaganza of happiness on the screen. Men, a few moments later, put aside the plates and also turned their gaze intently at the screen. A sense of communion for the Feast of the Renaissance left at all: ovation after the song ended, pensive people. The discussion resulted in brief replicas of approval - vocabulary yet to replenish and improve pronunciation. But, as a friend noted, after this short presentation of improvisation all felt that they had something to talk about, but the answers to the questions: where is the police department? Or - how much is this shirt? Or – where is the museum? Or – it is an elephant or a bus? Although everyone knew the undoubted importance of these questions and answers.
**
My friend remembered that on May 12 the United States widely celebrated Mother's Day. So he pleased the students of Italian song "Mamma" (composer Bixio and poet Bruno Cherubini): marvelous voice of Magomayev praised women and thanked all the mothers of the Earth.
**
In a conversation with my friend, I learned that this presentation was his fourth in the school year. Before he recorded a CD slide show with the English language of his ancestors, Moscow and Moscow region, made a similar slide shows of the winter campaign of the Polar Urals and the House of the fantasy-dream, where he compiled the photos of interiors of homes and gardens in Russia and in America. And all this he showed to the students in the class. Why are you doing this? - I asked him. He smiled and replied that there were several reasons. First of all, - he said - I always want to show the expanse of Russia. You have no idea how great the contrast between the world of landscapes of the East Coast United States and the blue sky domes of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, or happy faces of tourists in the endless snows of the Polar Urals! What are the eyes of the people of America and the Asia-equatorial viewing such Russian landscapes and subjects?
You know – my friend continued - passion is communicating to with new people. I really wanted to help my teacher in her class, to make it a memorable course. Associative learning is always the most effective.
And finally, you know the magic of colleges and institutes for a long time. - Communication with students throws off your shoulders a few decades. The ability of invention and experiment is revived. We are Russian. Do not feed us bread, give us something interesting to think up!
*****
My literary hero and I are grateful for the excellent work of the teachers at Howard Community College, MD, USA. Their names are Mrs. Renee Buck, Mrs. Nicolette Moore, Mrs. Michelle Rodriguez and Mrs. Zethene Spinner.
*****
This work is the author's trial at English translation of his prose miniature http://www.stihi.ru/2013/05/13/8943 . The author will be grateful for any comments. Errors in the text are my faults only.
The author thanks Catherine Sheliga for help in translating and editing.