Every place has something special about it that even people who have only been there once know about. For example, thinking about California makes you think about sunshine and Hollywood. Thinking about Washington, D.C. makes you think about the White House and the government. Thinking about Paris makes you think of the Eiffel Tower and fancy pastries. In Russian, this type of “specialness” is called an особенность (ah-SO-ben-ist).
What do you know about Russia? I think many people would probably think about St. Basil’s Cathedral, a Russian church which is located on Red Square. In Russian, this church is called красная площадь (KRAS-na-ya PLO-shad). Or, some people may think about Russsian nesting dolls, which are those wooden dolls that have smaller ones inside. In Russian, these are called матриошка (ma-tree-OSH-ka). However, if we think about the Ural Mountains, the part of Russia where Ekaterinburg is, I bet even fewer people would have anything to come to mind at all! In fact, I didn’t even know much about it before coming here in September!
So, what is the Urals' особенность (ah-SO-ben-ist)? It’s been interesting to learn about Ekaterinburg and the Ural Mountain region from the perspective of local people.
