by Svetlana Goryacheva
Member since:
June 4, 2006

HOW SMALL OUR WORLD IS!...

November 22, 2006 01:53 PM EST
views: 66 | comments: 37

I must admit I am a great lover of good music – my personal collection has more than 500 cassettes and about 200 CDs with classic, pop, folk, rock ballads... virtually anything what I ever heard and found worthy of listening and keeping.  

Another passion of mine is Internet. My home connection is rather slow and old-fashioned – a 56-modem plus seventeen hours total per month (sometimes more when I have some extra money and therefore can allow myself to buy a new card) – but still it’s priceless for me. Not only it is the greatest help possible in my research – it’s obvious – but when I think about all those wonderful people whom I met through World Wide Web (and some of them I was later privileged to meet and know personally), I can’t help but feeling the deep sense of gratitude to the guys who have made such progress possible. 

Just recently, after reading my dear Danish-Canadian sister Leah’s article about her most favorite radio station, AM 740 (http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474976840878) I decided – for the first time in my life – to listen to the radio station online. Since I have no streaming Internet connection, I wasn’t sure it would work, but it did, and did almost perfectly. It was early morning in Russia (about 7 am) – the time when I have free Internet access every weekend – so I could just relax in my chair, forgetting about minutes passing by, putting the headphones on and listening to the pleasant music flying in the air... just like the clouds in the sky which know no borders, no limits, no restrictions, just soaring whenever they choose. 

I just call to say I love you,

I just call to say how much I care...

I always loved this composition, and it seemed that even my cat Basya was a little surprised seeing me rocking back and forth in the chair and joining Steve Wonder in his marvelous song. Since English is not my native language, not everything I could understand, but these few words I was able to catch were enough to raise my spirits high – for the whole day to come!  

When it was a time for me to sign out and have my breakfast before going to job, I left a short note for the people from AM 740, telling how much I appreciate their work:   

Hello, I'm listening to your radio online from Moscow, Russia, and I definitely like what I hear! Thank you so much for the wonderful, spiritually uplifting music - and my special thanks to my dear Canadian friend Leah Christensen who told me about your radio station. Cheers! 

From Russia with love - Sveta Goryacheva  

And I meant it “from the bottom of my heart”... :-)  

You can easily imagine how pleased I was when, checking my mailbox today, I’ve found a response from the station’s Program Director, Gene Stivens:  

Hi Sveta, WOW - you just might be the furthest-away listener we've heard from to date.  Moscow ! Leah has been a super-fan of our radio station for many years, and we appreciate the many many people she's told about us. So, welcome to the AM 740 'family' - glad you're listening. Cheers.  

The furthest-away listener? WOW indeed! :-)) 

Can I ever imagine only some years ago that I would be able to listen to a Canadian radio station sitting in my Khimki apartment before my PC with my cat playing merrily at my feet? 

Can I ever imagine only some years ago that I would be able to contact people who live across the ocean, who wake up about the same time I’m ready to leave my working place and go home for supper? 

Our modern world is really so small. 

Maybe that’s what makes it so exciting.  

 

Love and cheers – Sveta   

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Comments: 37

Mark Jepsen Nov 22, 2006, 3:04pm EST
Sveta, this is a wonderful reminder of the simple pleasures that make life special. Technology can be a double-edged swprd... it offers us new capabilities, opens up new venues, but rather than making life easier it seems we make it more complicated. As always, technology is but a tool, neither good or bad, until we choose how we'll apply it to our lives. Thank you for reminding us about the good side... maybe too many of us have become blase' about such things and now take them for granted.
Svetlana Goryacheva Nov 23, 2006, 1:42am EST
Dear all - thank you so much for your kind comments and have a happy, rewarding Thanksgiving Day! :-)

Love and blessings - Sveta
Leah Christensen Nov 23, 2006, 10:30am EST
To my dear Russian sister, Sveta!!

I just now, found your wonderful article. Thank you so much!!! I'm glad you wrote this I am going to make SURE that my dear friend Gene Stevens sees this. I will also invite him and the rest, to join Gather.

I know all the people from the station personally, as I live relatively close to Toronto. Though I was unable to meet with my friends this time, I was in Toronto on Tuesday.

Thanks so much for publishing this article, and for linking mine, so that others may find this wonderful station.

My friend Norm Edwards read an e-mail from another friend of mine, Clive, who lives in France. When I called Norm to tell him I'd heard him read Clive's message, he told me that he had also received a copy of yours from Gene, and was impressed that AM 740 had been discovered by so many from so far away.

Thanks again, and the good folks at AM 740 WILL see this message! I'll make sure of it!!

BTW, the song you quoted by Stevie Wonder is one of my favourites, and was a a favourite of my step-mother's father. Perhaps that was him form Heaven sending you a message through the radio. That kind of thing happens to me all the time, and I would not be surprised if it also happened to you. AM 740's music director Brian Peroff, has a GIFT FROM GOD for playing the ring song as a moment in a listener's life that they'll remember forever.

Thanks so much for this!!

Love and hugs from your Danish-Canadian Sister
-Leah
Donald H. Nov 23, 2006, 10:41am EST
Sveta..........it is indeed a small world. I enjoy my global work & meeting people such as yourself. The Internet has made my work easier, communicating has adpated to whole new level &as you say it is great!
Svetlana Goryacheva Nov 23, 2006, 10:44am EST
Dearest Leah - I'm moved (and humbled) beyond all words! :-)) As for the song I mentioned, it is very special for me because of... because of... you know WHOM, as well as (I suspect) many other people here on Gather. :-) I certainly dream about the day when he calls me to say these very words... from the very bottom of his heart. Maybe it's no more than a dream, but dreams like that help us to move on, regardless of everything.

And, please, don't forget to give my best regards to Gene and everybody else from the radio station! :-)

BIG, WARM hug and much love from Moscow - Sveta
Svetlana Goryacheva Nov 23, 2006, 10:46am EST
Thank you so much, dear Donald, and have a happy holiday! :-)

Warmly - Sveta
Leah Christensen Nov 23, 2006, 10:51am EST
Dear Sveta.

Yes I know to whom you refer. I wish he would call you RIGHT NOW, then move to Moscow, hug you, kiss you, and never let you go!!!

Doc is absolutely right about the internet making the world smaller, and making international work easier. Without the internet I'd have never met wonderful people like yourself, Doc, Dorine, and of course Walker. I love the internet, and I love all of you people.

Thank you again for publishing this, and for your wonderful comments!!

Love
Your Danish-Canadian Sister
Leah
Webduck * Nov 23, 2006, 12:14pm EST
Dear Sveta,
I too love the internet for the same reasons you do. When the Net first got going, I could see that it was going to be the pipeline for the world so that we could speak to one another 'face to face' almost. No goverments talking for us, or posturing one way or another. We are people first and formost. I value all the wonderful friends I have made here and elsewhere on the net.

Warm Thanksgiving greetings from WA state to you!
Dorine H. Nov 23, 2006, 5:27pm EST
Isn't the internet a great gift! I love meeting people from everywhere and enjoying learning by reading all kinds of things that were not available in the 1970s.

You are an excellent writer, impressively so for a person for whom English is a foreign language. I try to imagine how good you must be in Russian. :-) You are better in grammar, spelling and general English composition skills than many native speakers of English! Give yourself a pat on the back.
Leah Christensen Nov 23, 2006, 6:39pm EST
Dorine is right, Sveta. Your writing is amazing, and you sound wonderful on the phone. I am glad you joined Gather, giving the world a chance to get to know you.
Svetlana Goryacheva Nov 24, 2006, 12:10am EST
The more I read your kind and warm comments, dear friends, the more I understand just how small our world is and just how much I have to be thankful for in this world... may God bless you! :-))

Love - S.
Svetlana Goryacheva Nov 24, 2006, 12:41am EST
No, dear Peter, I didn't see the movie yet, but I certainly heard the song with the same title performed by Matt Monroe. So "From Russia with love I fly to you... " :-))

Warmly from Moscow - S.
Leah Christensen Nov 24, 2006, 12:49am EST
Sveta, you have got to see that moviem it's my favourite movie ever made. Canadians modest? Not this one.....or is that the Danish side in me? LOL

But seriusly, you have GOT to see that movie, dear Sveta!!
jennifer -shhhhh Nov 24, 2006, 11:27pm EST
Sweet. What better use for technology, than to bring us closer to each other? Thank you, Svetlana.
Svetlana Goryacheva Nov 24, 2006, 11:42pm EST
Dear Leah - I'll certainly try to find the movie on DVD. :-)

Dear Jennifer - yes, and this sense of closeness to each other is the one which makes our lives full and meaningful.

Thank you both, dear friends, for your kind comments! :-)

Warmly and lovingly - S.
Leah Christensen Nov 25, 2006, 10:07am EST
You are more than welcome, dear Sveta. Thank you for just being you,

Love
Your Danish-Canadian Sister
Leah
Jennifer F. Nov 27, 2006, 12:31am EST
I love the internet too -- it's cool how I can sit in my office or at home and learn interesting things and cyber-meet people from all the corners of the earth. I feel especially blessed to have connected with you, Sveta, since I've been fascinated with everything Russian my entire life and to have a real-live friend in Moscow is just so exciting for me.

Now that the topic of DVDs has come up in the previous comments, one of my favorite hobbies is to rent foreign-film DVDs. It really makes me feel connected with the entire world. What a great idea to explore foreign radio stations -- I'll look into it. I can feel a new hobby coming on!
Aoiri Obaigbo Nov 27, 2006, 5:52am EST
hello, svetlana, what does your name mean? Let's make the world even smaller by advocating more acceptance among the races and tribes. I will like to see Moscow through your eyes if possible. Join my creativworkshop group and make your Love Story available to the group.
Svetlana Goryacheva Nov 27, 2006, 7:47am EST
Dear Jennifer - I've just recently bought a DVD player, and the best friend of my late Papa downloaded and recorded for me some of my most favorite Russian films of all times. It was awesome! :-) If you want to understand Russians and Russian mentality better, I would recommend you Eldar Ryazanov's "Ironiya sudby" ("Irony of Fate"), if it is available in English - NO typical Russian New Year would seem complete without this movie shown on TV, just like without the bottle of champagne or the portion of "olivier", how we call the Russian salad! But this is the sublect of one of my next articles, so please, stay tuned! :-)

I'm also deeply moved to meet so many people here on Gather who are interested in everything Russian... it makes me feel proud for my country and its rich heritage.

Dear Aoiri - I will be very happy to join the group. :-) As for my name, in Russian it means "light" - or "bright", or "fair", or even "luminous", since the word "svet" has so much nuances in Russian. And, of course, it is so indescribably wonderful to have friends and contacts from different countries and different continents - every one of us has his/her own unique experience to share with others, and thus enrich each other's lives.

Cordially from Moscow - Sveta
Britten L. Dec 14, 2006, 12:09pm EST
Sveta - I have a more personal question if you don't mind. What is your age? My sister was over in Moscow a few years ago as a "missionary" of sorts. She was friends with a young lady by the name of Svetlana. ( I am not sure how common your name is there? If you would rather not answer I understand. I just thought if you were indeed the Svetlana she knew, it would indeed be a small world!
Svetlana Goryacheva Dec 15, 2006, 1:21am EST
Dear Britten - I'm 37. :-) And, sorry as I am to disappoint you, I'm sure that I'm not the Svetlana your sister met in Moscow. I didn't know personally any American in Moscow a few years ago. In fact, my name is one of the most common in Russia, so there are as many Svetas in my country as Pedros in Brazil, if not more. ;-)

Warmly - S.
Leah Christensen Dec 15, 2006, 1:37am EST
You know I absolutely love your name, Svetlana. When my step-sister's husband told me before their third child was born that they were stuck for names, I suggested "Svetlana" if the baby would be a girl. The baby was a boy, and they named him Tye Louis.

Love
Your Danish-Canadian Sister
Leah
Svetlana Goryacheva Dec 15, 2006, 2:00am EST
It is also one of a very few purely Russian names still in circulation. :-) Most of others are derived from other languages, like Greek, Latin or Hebrew.

Love and blessings from your sis - S.
Leah Christensen Dec 15, 2006, 4:34am EST
Sveta.

Can you list some of the purely Russian male and female names for me? I'm interested in knowing.

Where does the name Vladimir come from?
Svetlana Goryacheva Dec 15, 2006, 5:14am EST
Dear Leah - I can remember only a few purely Russian female names which are still popular - Svetlana ('light"), Ludmila ("lyudyam milaya", i.e. the one who is always loved by the people around), Vera, Nadezhda and Lyubov (which are the Russian words for "faith", "hope" and "love" respectively). There just as few male names derived from Russian roots - f.e. Vladimir (see below), Vladislav, Vyacheslav, Stanislav, Miroslav (true, the last two more in vogue in Poland and Ukraine than in Russia) - in all these names the root "slav" means "glory". Two other names, Oleg and Vadim, are generally considered to be Russian, but it's more likely that both are of Scandinavian origin, maybe even taken from Vikings. :-)

Vladimir ("vladyka mira", i.e. the ruler of the world) was the name of the Great Prince of Kiev who married a Byzantine princess and was the first Russian ruler to accept Christianity as our country's official religion in 988 c.e.

BIG, WARM hug to my Danish-Canadian sis - S.
Leah Christensen Dec 15, 2006, 5:28am EST
Wow, Sveta, thanks for the amazing information. You're the most wonderful Russian Sister anyone could ever ask for!!!! Thanks so much.

Love
Your Danish-Canadian Sister
Leah
Jennifer F. Dec 22, 2006, 1:34pm EST
Merry Christmas, Svetlana! I just wanted to wish my sweet Russian friend greetings.
Svetlana Goryacheva Dec 22, 2006, 1:58pm EST
And Merry Christmas to you, dear Jennifer, and to all my friends on Gather! :-) It is such a privilege to know you and to share my thoughts and feelings with you. I intend to publish my own little piece on Christmas very soon, so please stay tuned! :-)

Love and blessings - Sveta
Jai S. Dec 24, 2006, 2:20pm EST
WOW is the word :) I am a big fan of all kinds of music from around the world. From the simple village dance music in India to sophisticated compositions of the great Russian composers; to the heart soaring and heart breaking opera music from Italy to the country music of Tennesse. Music is a world uniter, it can put a smile on the most sour face. It is Christmas eve here in Sunny Florida (75 C) the TV is showing passengers stranded in Snowy Colorodo and Foggy London, I pray everyone gets home to their loved ones.

You have a very easy style of writing.
Svetlana Goryacheva Dec 25, 2006, 4:24am EST
Thank you, dear Jai, and have a wonderful (and musical!) Christmas! :-) I am personally going to hear today some beautiful carols performed by Loreena McKennitt.

Blessings - S.
Jennifer F. Feb 2, 2007, 3:23pm EST
Hi Sveta, just wanted to say hi to you. I was thinking of you and this article because last weekend I finally bought a XM radio receiver so I can listen to radio without commercials -- possibly I'm the last person in America to do this because I am very technologically behind -- but isn't it so cool to enjoy GOOD radio programs instead of the every-day stuff? Are you still listening on-line? Anyway, hi to you in Moscow, dear friend.
Svetlana Goryacheva Feb 2, 2007, 3:32pm EST
Thank you so much, dear Jennifer! :-) Yes, I'm still listening on-line, and moreover, now I have an unlimited and (comparatively) reliable Internet connection from home which allows me to use Yahoo! Messenger, do my research and my library job more effectively and, of course, listen to the good music every time I wish! My world has become even smaller - and warmer! :-)

Much love and blessings to you, my dear friend -

Sveta
Jennifer F. Feb 3, 2007, 12:38am EST
That's great. We also just recently upgraded to better home internet and it sure makes Gathering and other on-line tasks more enjoyable. I think we are one of the last families in the U.S. to get into this new century.
Leah Christensen Feb 3, 2007, 12:39am EST
Dear Sveta.

you know I'm abut to make my world much smaller when I get on that plane, on Thursday morning. ;-) Life is amazing!!

Love
Your Danish-Canadian Sister (and Yahoo messenger buddy)
Leah

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