Thread: Need help with the never-ending soda guy

Hi everyone. I work with a really nice Russian guy who insists on buying me soda every day. I don't really like soda, but I'm forced to drink it because he always buys me one anyway, even when we argue over it for several minutes, and I hate wasting stuff more than I hate soda. I'm thinking maybe he really doesn't understand how much I DON'T want soda....or that if he does it would make more impact if I spoke to him in Russian (he has a hard time with English).

I need to know how to say, "I don't want any soda today." Can anyone help?

Originally Posted by fionuir

Hi everyone. I work with a really nice Russian guy who insists on buying me soda every day. I don't really like soda, but I'm forced to drink it because he always buys me one anyway, even when we argue over it for several minutes, and I hate wasting stuff more than I hate soda. I'm thinking maybe he really doesn't understand how much I DON'T want soda....or that if he does it would make more impact if I spoke to him in Russian (he has a hard time with English).

I need to know how to say, "I don't want any soda today." Can anyone help?

When you say "soda", you mean "plain water with some gas in it", correct? The Russian name for this is "газировка" (gazirovka), but if it has some other stuff, too, then it is "лимонад" (leemanad, "ee" as in "beetle").

Я не хочу газировки -- Yah nye hachoo gazirovki ("oo" as in "boot")
Я не хочу лимонада -- Yah nye hachoo leemanada

bold vowels are stressed.

soda like coke, or dr. pepper

Tell him you're allergic to soft drinks.

'У меня аллергия от...'

Then fake a seizure and there you go: no more unsolicited drinks from said Russian.

Originally Posted by fionuir

soda like coke, or dr. pepper

That's "leemonad" then. Or you can just use the product's name. If I were you, tho, I'd just say "I don't like this stuff". I actually do not, and all my friends and colleagues know that. But then I'm "bad manners", YMMW. In the worst case you can say "my sugar level is way too high, and I'm being cautious"

thanks!

Wait a second Fionuir. I know you already said thanks, but do you even know how to pronounce what they told you to say since it is written in Russian? Well if not, here are some examples of what you could say.

I don't want soda: ya nyea hochyu gazirovki.
I don't like soda: mne ne nravitsya gazirovka.
thanks: spaceba

Funny story though.

Yes this story was very funny. I was cracking up....like WHAT! I've never heard this before. But I have heard that russians will feed you until you're stuffed like a turkey. ) Plus I learned a new word today...soda. gazirovka...

Thanks
MEDVEZ 03'

I may be wrong but I guess this Russian guy thinks that fionuir is just being polite when refusing from soda, that's why he insists . That's pretty common among Russians.

Originally Posted by medvezhornok7

Plus I learned a new word today...soda. gazirovka...

Beware that the official term is газированная вода ("aerated/carbonated water"), gazirovka is a bit informal. Also, they used to say "содовая" but that's not very common these days.

he is very nice, it just escalates to the point of being ridiculous where he just keeps saying over and over, "what kind, what kind," and i'm saying, "no victor, i don't want any. no. no. no." and he'll walk away and i'll think it's over and he'll come back to my desk and hand me a root beer or something. this happens on a daily basis. i can't even think about all the calcium being leached out of my poor little bones.

i've been trying to learn phrases and whatnot to communicate with him at least just in the workplace, but scientific russian is not a very accessible area, you know? but do you guys wanna know the really, REALLY funny thing? if i speak Spanish, he understands me better than if i speak English.

I learned a new word today...soda. gazirovka...

Me too !!! My russian boyfriend told me how to say it, hahaha, what do ya know. So now I learned somthing too!

fionuir . This story just gets funnier and funnier. It sounds like a true Russian to me. Although, if this is the least of your worries on the job, then you've got it pretty good.

Fionuir, why don't you just ask him to buy you juice or something?

we don't have juice in our tiny little lab. just a soda machine and a water cooler, so usually he gets me a diet dr. pepper, which i suppose is the least of all the soda evils. besides that i chug about 3 liters of water a day, so i figure it's not damaging me too much. :P

also, my job is really fabulous all things considered. my boss is also russian, and she's awesome. we chat about movies and art all day long while we work, and about her sons. we lend each other books. she always has something fascinating to talk about, usually about her youth in russia. she has this great quote that she got from her husband that she uses whenever someone is asking too much of her. i guess an american equivalent is "you want to have your cake and eat it too." her phrase is much better though, i think: you want too much; fish to eat and d!ck to sit on.

Originally Posted by fionuir

fish to eat and d!ck to sit on.

No! not to sit on! That's the point. Get your stuff and don't let them screw you. Even though for a chick it might be the other way around