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On the eve of the World Cup final, I wandered to the stadium in St. Petersburg and asked foreign fans what they thought of the Russian tournament. And he asked me to give the answers in Russian – it was interesting, he impressed with this culture this month, to take them with them to England , Brazil, Sweden, Argentina, Belgium and some other dozens of other countries – something special

Many have admitted that further "harash" and "on health" n & # He did not advance. A Belgian said that this toast, which all Russian characters say in all Western movies, is, in general, the main thing that one should know in Russian to escape in any way. which company.

There were also polyglots. A young man and his girlfriend from Malaysia listed in Russian favorite dishes: "pelmeni", "borsch", "ice cream", "stroganoffs" and "shuarma", then said that the word " thank you ". The best Russian words of two guys from Argentina were different: in the first place "beautiful", on the second – "beer". The Brazilian Pedro said that even more than beer, he liked the "samagon", after which he was very good, but the Englishman admitted that he was missing his own drink because "the Russian beer is very bad. " [19659004] It seems to me, in this intersection of cultures – not a clash, ie, merge into one – and there is the main meaning of such an event on a planetary scale, like the Cup of Nations. World. In Russia in general – and St. Petersburg in particular – millions of tourists come every year, but for many, this trip, linked to football, was the first encounter with our country, which might not have happened. This was the case for the 2018 World Cup. After all, if it had not been for him, one of my Colombian friends could have learned Katyusha to fulfill his dream: to sing in Red Square? Now, his dream has come true.

Each of these details is a part of the life of a mosaic a moment that you will not forget, even if you wish. A friend and a colleague from Uruguay, whom I introduced to such a beautiful phenomenon as a "wine" where he tasted venison, said that when he saw the Bambi drawing, he could not imagine that it was so delicious.

with whom we met in the semi-final England – Croatia, take with them another story: he went around the world, bought a ticket for the ½ final in St. Petersburg, because he doubted not that the "canary" would play there I watched Belgium lose to Fr tion. To rebademble it a bit, I told him that after the match, Brazil – Costa Rica asked several questions to Tiago Silva and Kazemir. Lucas's eyes widened:

– God, that can not be! Did you speak to Thiago Silva ? What did you ask him?

– Asked why Neimar cried

– Shit, the perfect question! Guy, I have a world tour in front of me, but it is unlikely that I will meet anything more cool than the one who spoke to Tiago Silva …

This example illustrates how people are socially sick football on the other side of the ocean, especially, closer to the south. And it will be great if, thanks to the World Cup, there will be a cultural exchange in its own right – foreign fans will carry with them the memory of dumplings, moonshine, sleepless nights and Nikolskaya, and in return they will leave everything what they have better. how to root for your favorite team and team, the Japanese and the Senegalese – how to clean garbage, the British – how not to behave at a party (and at home, too). Then the tournament will fulfill all its tasks – sports and social.

Because the rule "the game will be forgotten – the result will stay" works a little differently. The main result of this month was that for a short time all the pronouns in Russian – "I", "you", "they" – there was only one: "we". And in this "we" have united millions of people. The longer it continues, the fewer borders we have – both on the map and in the head.

Let's turn to each other for us.

Egor Bychkov