Notes about my summer days. A couple of days ago my parents and me visited a place, where we lived when I was a child, and where we have never been since then. It is a little town located near to Nizh

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Vera

Notes about my summer days. A couple of days ago my parents and me visited a place, where we lived when I was a child, and where we have never been since then. It is a little town located near to Nizhniy Novgorod, surrounded by forests and three rivers. Its population counts about 20 000 people, most of whom are occupied at the shipbuilding and sewing factories. But it is mostly famous not for the industry, but for its citizen Valery Chkalov - a pilot who made the first non-stop flight from Moscow to Vancouver through the Northern Pole. The flight took place in 1937. A year after that Chkalov tragically died examining a new model of planes. In his honor, his native town was named Chkalovsk, and Stalin ordered to build there a House of Culture in a shape of a plane as a memorial. It reminded the building of the Northern River station in Moscow. It also has a spire and monumental forms. This features are common for the Soviet architecture of the first decade after the Second World War. But in opposite to buildings of the late 1940s, the Chkalovsk House is not pompous and over decorated. It has strict proportions, square windows and laconic walls that make it close to the style of constructivism. The house, where Chkalov was born is now a memorial museum, some of the planes he was flying by are situated in a big garage. They are available for the visitors and attractive for children, who can climb by the special ladder and glance into the pilot cabin of that very plane that traversed the Northern Pole in 1937. After visiting the tourist points I went over the places connected with my private history. I have found my kindergarten and school, the school where my parents worked, and finally the house where we lived. We moved to Chkalovsk in 1993 and enjoyed living there. My parents remember our first year there as one of the happiest in their biography. The strong economical crisis that was growing in the mid 1990s turned the city into the poverty and depression. In 1998 my father got an invitation to work in Peru and we left Chkalovsk forever. I like Chkalovsk mostly for its views, for its wild but picturesque river quays and beaches, for its quiet streets with wooden houses and front gardens, from which one can hear sizzling of grasshoppers or voices of roosters. I was happy to realise that nothing has changed there during the 20 years of my absence, and my parents, affected by nostalgia, got a desire to buy a summer house on one of the Chkalovsk quays.

Corrections · 3

This is part two:

After visiting the tourist attractions, I went back to the places connected with my personal history. I have found my kindergarten and school, the school where my parents worked, and finally the house where we lived. We moved to Chkalovsk in 1993 and enjoyed living there. My parents remember our first year there as one of the happiest in their life. The serious economical crisis that was developing in the mid-1990s turned the city to poverty and depression. In 1998, my father got an invitation to work in Peru and we left Chkalovsk forever. I like Chkalovsk mostly for its scenery, for its wild but picturesque river quays and beaches, for its quiet streets with wooden houses and front gardens, from which one can hear the sizzling of grasshoppers or the crowing of roosters. I was happy to realise that nothing has changed there during the 20 years of my absence, and my parents, affected by nostalgia, got the desire to buy a summer house on one of the Chkalovsk quays.

private -- personal -- There is a difference in meaning. Private is more "secret" or "confidential". Personal relates more to myself.

biography -- is more something written and usually after the end of milestone in the life of a person or organization or even after someone's death.

serious is a better word to go with crisis.

economical -- is actually a very different meaning. It is more like "efficient" or "inexpensive". For example: I drive an efficient, economical car.

economic -- relates to the economy

scenery -- is how nature looks -- mountain scenery, forest scenery, etc.

the sizzling of grasshoppers or the crowing of roosters -- you could also say: ...hear grasshoppers sizzling or roosters crowing...

That was a very interesting story and very well written. I enjoyed reading it. Thanks.

Hi Vera,

Your text was long enough that I decided to divide my comments into two sections. Here's part one:

Notes about my summer days.

A couple of days ago my parents and I visited the place, where we lived when I was a child, and where we had not been since then. It is a little town located near to Nizhniy Novgorod, surrounded by forests and three rivers. Its population counts about 20 000 people, most of whom are employed at the shipbuilding and sewing factories. But it is mostly famous not for the industry, but for its most famous citizen, Valery Chkalov - a pilot who made the first non-stop flight from Moscow to Vancouver over the Northern Pole. The flight took place in 1937. A year after that, Chkalov tragically died testing a new model of planes. In his honor, his native town was named Chkalovsk, and Stalin ordered to build there a House of Culture in a shape of a plane to be built as a memorial. It remind me of the building of the Northern River station in Moscow. It also has a spire and monumental forms. These features are common for the Soviet architecture of the first decade after the Second World War. But in contrast to buildings of the late 1940s, the Chkalovsk House is not pompous and over decorated. It has strict proportions, square windows and laconic walls that make it close to the style of constructivism. The house where Chkalov was born is now a memorial museum, some of the planes he flew by are situated in a big hangar. They are available to the visitors and attractive for children, who can climb up the special ladder and glance into the cockpit of the very plane that traversed the North Pole in 1937.

"have never been" -- that would mean you still haven't been there, but earlier you said you "visited". So it's a small grammar point, but your writing is very good and I thought you would like to know that small difference.

You can use either "close to" or "near", but not "near to"

occupied -- can suggest that they are not paid, but rather just "kept busy". For example, "On holidays we occupied ourselves with reading and hiking and just sitting around."

examining -- would be more if the plane was on the ground and being looked at. I am sure he was in the air and flying it.

laconic -- that's not a very common word and probably not for architecture. In fact, I had to look up the meaning myself. I'd use something like "simple" as a contrast to pompous for architecture.

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