Thinking on my feet...
Aug. 18th, 2005 09:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alexpgpI went for a walk last night after dinner and perambulated into some of our Russian colleagues outside the Polyot hotel, where they were taking a break from a rather ebullient birthday celebration going on inside. The birthday girl, as it turned out, was one of our security escorts, and I was immediately invited to stay and help celebrate (and not given much choice in the matter).
I would be surprised to find there to be much fear of public speaking in Russia, for virtually everyone I've run across at such parties seems to have no trouble rising to and on such occasions to deliver some well-chosen words expressing best wishes. (I don't know, perhaps this can be explained by cultural differences, the availability of "Dutch courage," or my being utterly wrong.)
In any event, as the toasts progressed around the table, I got to wondering what I might say in what I figured was the unlikely event that I would be asked to rise and contribute my two kopeks.
I did not think fast enough, and figured wrong.
Because suddenly, the Boss™ rose and exercised his prerogative to pass the toast-proposal baton to moi, whereupon the urgency in coming up with something - if not eloquent, then at least a peg or two above tongue-tied - became acute.
I managed to string together some words, which were well received. In the end, the "source" for my words was not far from the first three paragraphs of this post, followed by an apology for my lack of eloquence, and closing with the exhaustion of my entire vocabulary of Old Church Slavonic, "Многая Лета" ("Many Years"), an ancient birthday greeting.
(And now - <drum roll> - I must go off to support the morning meeting).
Cheers...
I would be surprised to find there to be much fear of public speaking in Russia, for virtually everyone I've run across at such parties seems to have no trouble rising to and on such occasions to deliver some well-chosen words expressing best wishes. (I don't know, perhaps this can be explained by cultural differences, the availability of "Dutch courage," or my being utterly wrong.)
In any event, as the toasts progressed around the table, I got to wondering what I might say in what I figured was the unlikely event that I would be asked to rise and contribute my two kopeks.
I did not think fast enough, and figured wrong.
Because suddenly, the Boss™ rose and exercised his prerogative to pass the toast-proposal baton to moi, whereupon the urgency in coming up with something - if not eloquent, then at least a peg or two above tongue-tied - became acute.
I managed to string together some words, which were well received. In the end, the "source" for my words was not far from the first three paragraphs of this post, followed by an apology for my lack of eloquence, and closing with the exhaustion of my entire vocabulary of Old Church Slavonic, "Многая Лета" ("Many Years"), an ancient birthday greeting.
(And now - <drum roll> - I must go off to support the morning meeting).
Cheers...
