Today you can hear a lot of gossips about nearly dead Belarusian antennae which are still saving their statuses only due to previous merits, and that their last mutual international event was a dramatic catastrophe…
“Myth is the hidden part of every story, the buried part, the region that is still unexplored because there are as yet no words to enable us to get there. Myth is nourished by silence as well as by words.” (c) Italo Calvino
But is it really true?
Myth #1: Belarusian culture is not unique at all!
Since old times Belarus was one of the main European crossroads. Despite this fact it managed to form its unique cultural space, where tolerance, hospitality and versatility are the major peculiarities.
For one week in Belarus the participants of the event “East or West, Maslenitsa in Belarus is BEST!” by AEGEE-Minsk and AEGEE-Grodno had a unique chance to taste the most delicious winter holiday – Maslenitsa: the main reason for doing that was saying “Good-Bye” to Itchy-Witchy Winter and “Hello” to Sunny-Bunny Spring by eating tons of pancakes, drinking litres of the national drink “Krambambulya”, dancing stirring round dance chorovod and kryzhachok, singing national song Kupalinka and jumping over the burning sculpture of Winter.
Myth #2: Belarus is more Soviet than European country!
We are extraordinarily attentive and careful about our history. We are not reviving the past, we are a little bit nostalgic. We respect our roots as they are a vital, but not the only part of ourselves.
The participants of our event had an outstanding opportunity to walk in the Soviet shoes by a unique ceremony of initiation into pioneers. Each participant was rewarded with a red tie and under the applause of young “Komsomol” members took the oath to be faster, higher and stronger.
By this we have estimated a new trend. Since now it is out of date to be a duke or an earl!
Myth #3: Participants worked like slaves to have their meals!
In a catchy workshop on cooking the traditional Belarusian dish – draniki – the participants were granted with a top secret information, our grannies’ recipe for that popular potato pancakes, served with sour cream, mushrooms, roasted slices of meat and home-made cottage cheese.
Note that on this event the Belarusian national record of 2012 on high-speed draniki eating was cruelly beaten by hungry participants after our intense social program.
Myth #4: Participants were obliged to dance all night long to get the keys from their apartments!
Nobody said that being a “homo AEGEEan” is an easy duty to carry. Nobody promised that life is not so complicated.
However, our honorary participants managed to cope with every complicacy. They visited courageously three night clubs in Belarus as well as survived after European Night, Sauna and Farewell Parties.
Myth #5: Belarusians have invented a time machine!
During the event our participants could dive into different historical epochs. They were welcomed in Belarus by an enthralling performance of medieval knights, then they were transmitted to the cosy “hata” (house) atmosphere of the 17th century Belarusian village in a national museum of architecture and traditions at Strochitsy and city tours along historic sites of Minsk and Grodno, moving directly to Soviet times and finally returning to the active and modern life of both cities.
Myth #6: Belarusian girls are the most beautiful in Europe!
Of course, this rhetorical question was not written by the antennae themselves, but whether it is myth or not you can judge only after attending our events.
Eight young, brave and fierce AEGEEans from all over Europe did not believe such absurd canards and attended our Maslenitsa event to say good bye to Winter and hello to Spring together with us!
What about You?
Written by MythBusters Katarina Chernyavskaya (AEGEE-Minsk) & Katia Surmach (AEGEE-Grodno)