School has started in the FSU

[mendeleyev]

The countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia operate on a standardized calendar so each year the first day of school is always on 1 September, even on a Saturday. However Sundays don't count so this year school began on Monday the 2nd.

There are several terms, all of which apply to this event and each are used to describe the day:

первый звонок (First Bell)

1 сентября (1 September)

Днём Знаний (Day of Knowledge)

Use any of the three and the other person will know instantly that you mean the beginning of the school year. Ukrainian terms are almost the same but spellings vary slightly from Russian.

Schooling is one of those areas where the cultural differences from East to West can be quite pronounced and if your lady has a child and you've not already asked about "First Bell" and expressed to her your wishes that her child has a successful school year, you need to "get crackin'" as the expression goes. Your knowledge of her life and culture will help promote you  to the head of the class, so to speak.

To learn more and see videos and photos use this link: http://www.russianwomendiscussion.com/index.php?topic=16091.msg342024#msg342024