chat with Albena and Maxim

Hello, everyone!

I decided to make myself useful so I tried to translate something. This is the transcripion of a chat with Albenka and Max, from 6th of April, which I found in a bulgarian sports site - www.sport1.bg

I haven't finished yet, so I post only a part of it. Sorry if there are some mistakes and inaccuracies, I'm not very good at translation

So, here's the first part:


Question: Do you think, that the state allocates enough funds for sport?

Max: As much as possible. We would like it to be more, but it depends on the resources available.
Albena: There can always be more. I’m impressed by Russia, sport is a state policy there. Since 1999, sport is neglected here. It’s good for the health, it would help the young people not to drink and take drugs.
________________________________________

84.54.178.151 @ anonymous :

Why the most questions are answered by Albena?

Max: Nonsense! Because, when I answer, I always find myself in the howlers of the day (I’m not sure about the translation of this word. In Bulgarian we say “pearl” when someone has said something very funny, but I don’t think this word can be used in English with the same meaning). She answers faster that me as a precaution!
________________________________________

83.228.50.144 @ 84.54.178.53 @ anony :
Hello! Congratulations for the gold! I wish you all the best! When will we see Ina on the ice?

Albena: I hope at Grand Prix in October, then in February. You’ll see her on the ice soon, she competes in ice dance. She’ll take part in every show, which we’ll do in Bulgaria.
________________________________________

213.145.127.250 @ anonymous :
What’s your next aim?

Albena: To have some rest, to recover from all the stress that has accumulated through the year. Everything that we had as aims and tasks for this year, we have achieved.
Max: To go skiing in Bansko, Pamporovo or Borovec at last. Then I want to go to the seaside. I’d like to see something of life at last.

85.196.158.12 @ anonymous :

Do you love each other? Do you have sex?

Max: Of course we have sex. Sometimes you have to
________________________________________

89.215.43.116 @ тошо :
Do you think, that in some competitions you were robbed by the judges?

Albena: Enough with this theme. We’ve had good and bad moments. Whatever happened was for the best. All bad is for the best, as my mother says. (a Bulgarian saying, I’m not sure if there is similar in English) I don’t regret anything. That’s how a sportsman and a character is built, when there are hardships.
________________________________________

91.148.152.19 @ 7474 :
Is there any chance for us to see you at the next Olympics?

Max: There is a chance - 50/50. You will either see us or not!
Albena: Maybe at the Paraolympics or those for the Veterans.
________________________________________

91.148.152.19 @ 6 :

Is there someone greater that Pliushchenko on the ice ? ;-)

Max: Yes, there is, Yagudin. Generally, there’s no one greater than him!
Albena: I agree. You are not Pluishchenko, are you???
________________________________________

195.24.42.162 @ LSFC :

Would you like your children to follow in your footsteps?

Albena: No.
Max: It depends on the state of the Bulgarian figure skating then. Otherwise I’ll send them to train with Maleevi sisters, to become tennis players.
________________________________________

77.85.12.243 @ Nora :

First I’d like to tell you that you are really incredible and with your strength and fighting spirit, you showed and I hope you’ll continue showing, that Bulgarians can and are number 1 ! You are great!!! I’d like to ask you, what is the formula of success? After so many times when you were underrated, how do you find the will and strength to go on?

Max: There’s no formula. You have to work hard and to enjoy doing it.
Albena: When you work hard, the good results will follow.
________________________________________

How was the trip to Japan? Did you have some trouble? Did you experience something new?

Albena: There were some problems. We were on the plain for 18 hours and we had an emergency landing in Alaska because one of the passengers became sick. We are used to such long flights.
________________________________________

195.24.36.34 @ ALEX_D_GREAT :
What is the feeling when the judges mock at your hard work!? The question is mainly for Albena. Max is such a happy-go-lucky ( I had some problems translating this, in Bulgarian is used the word “perde”, which means “curtain” – someone who doesn’t care what the others will say about him), that I don’t think he is that hurt.

Max: I can say that their attitude toward us has helped us. The more they underrate us, the better we become.
Albena: It’s always a very, very unpleasant thing. It’s vile and it’s hard to endure. But we have never claimed a foul, and Maxim is right, we have become better. There were a few times when they have really mocked at us.
________________________________________

213.226.5.6 @ драго драгоев :

Which skaters are you on good terms with, off the ice?

Max: With Tihonov, generally. We don’t have a lot of enemies.
Albena: We are on good terms with everyone, but to be close friends, it’s not easy, because we all live in different places, all around the world, it’s not easy to visit each other.
________________________________________

88.87.6.63 @ anonymous :

A question for Maxim. Why didn’t you stay in Russia to train and compete, the conditions are better there. Congratulations for the second world title !!!

Max: It’s easy to win for Russia. It’s more interesting when you compete for Bulgaria.
________________________________________

195.24.42.162 @ LSFC :
Are you contented with the state institutions’ attitude towards you, there are a lot of wonderful and successful Bulgarian sportsmen, who feel offended, with good reason?

Max: We are happy with the attention, but we will be happier with the building of the new ice rink.
Albena: I have often said, that we are flattered with the attention, but the politics should have such attitude not only toward sportsmen, but also toward many other people who deserve it.
________________________________________

213.16.48.17 @ Veselin Stilianov :

Do you consider going in for politics, being so popular and loved and if you do, which party will you support?

Answer: Absolutely not! We’ve had enough of politics in figure skating.
________________________________________

91.148.152.19 @ CSKA :
How much does it cost to build a winter palace with 10-12 thousand seats, and couldn’t there be found some investor, who would invest 60-70 mln. euro , knowing that he will be able to sell all the places for shops, restaurants, etc. and money will be returned tenfold? Wembley in England was rebuilt and it costed about 1 billion, but they said they will get back the money tenfold, just from selling coffee ...

Max: You ask, because you want to sponsor the building? Welcome, then! The ice rink doesn’t cost as much as Wembley, but for Bulgaria it’s expensive. If the places around the stadium are used for cafes, it will turn into a big restaurant.
________________________________________

84.54.178.53 @ confuzion :
Hello. First, congratulations... I’d like to ask you, what’s the future of (bulgarian) figure skating, after you quit? Is there someone to step into your shoes?

Max: Unfortunately, the future is very unclear now. Figure skating is not going well, because of the lack of specialists and ice rink. However, with such a president of the federation, we can hope for the best.
________________________________________

82.103.85.74 @ anonymous :
Did the love of the people make you clench your teeth and go on? (I don't know if there is such an expression in english. to clench your teeth means to endure all the hardships and go on despite all the problems)
Max: In general, yes.
Albena: This is the most important thing and the hardest to achieve. The judges are 9 or 10, and the audience - thousands. It’s very hard to win the love of the audience.
________________________________________

91.148.152.19 @ 3 :
Do you observe the development of Bulgarian figure skating? Now they are building ice rinks…

Albena: Where do they build them? We’d like to go and skate there!? There is a development and we’ll help as much as we can.
Max: A strange question, considering that Albena is the President of the Federation. We have to observe.
________________________________________

82.103.85.74 @ anonymous :

Albena, aren’t you afraid of Max’s many fans, the same question for him as well…

Albena: No.
Max: No. (hehe, he said “jelezen sam” which means something like, I’m an iron man. but it’s expression, of course, so if someone wants to translate it… )
________________________________________

Wow Kat!! That's awesome!! Thank you for translating this, it was a very interesting chat

Some of the questions, I couldn't imagine asking them, but good for them for replying



xoxox

Kat! Thanks so much for the translation (which, by the way, is really really good ).

Quote :

Is there any chance for us to see you at the next Olympics?

Max: There is a chance - 50/50. You will either see us or not!
Albena: Maybe at the Paraolympics or those for the Veterans.

Quote :

Would you like your children to follow in your footsteps?

Albena: No.

Well, in my opinion, that is the only sane answer to that question.

Thanks again, Kat! (And thanks in advance for any other translations you might do-- you're very good at them!)

Thank you SO much for this link! I 'm glad you skipped the question...
" Do you have sex?", I can't even imagine sth more absurd to ask a couple off the ice... :albino: But answering such an idiocy is a BIG challenge, so what did Max say..."Yeah, we have to..."

I just loooved the question about sex and Max's answer imagine that! I suppose it was asked by someone very young, one of those kids, who just can't imagine people older that 25 having sex

Grace, thanks. I still don't feel very confident of my translating skills, but you definitely helped

More to come later!

Lacey wrote:

I 'm glad you skipped the question...
" Do you have sex?", I can't even imagine sth more absurd to ask a couple off the ice... :albino: But answering such an idiocy is a BIG challenge, so what did Max say..."Yeah, we have to..."

Kat wrote:

suppose it was asked by someone very young, one of those kids, who just can't imagine people older that 25 having sex

Yes, I admit there were very stupid questions, but Max knows how to answer

Second part:
________________________________________

82.103.85.74 @ :

Why did the judges underrated you for so long?

Max: It’s their job.
Албена: We can’t complain. We’ve had good and bad moments. You can’t enjoy the victory, if everything runs on wheels.
________________________________________

195.138.138.102 @ azazaz :

First congratulations for the title. Which is the next big event that you’ll participate in?

Max: We’ll participate in the rest event.
Albena: This is related to our decision to quit or to stay, but we haven’t decided yet.
________________________________________

91.148.152.19 @ ahha :

Which other sports are you interested in?

Max: I like skiing, the giant slalom, snowboard. Especially some interesting sport shows. Occasionally I watch Formula, but I don’t watch American sports. I also like hockey – to play and watch, but you can seldom see it on Bulgarian TVs.
Albena: Mostly I like to watch sports when Bulgarians participate – I like volleyball, biathlon, once I liked to watch rhythmic gymnastics, now I watch it on rare occasions, because the Russians spoiled the sport. Just elements, no choreography. It’s always interesting to watch world championships though.
________________________________________

91.134.15.143 @ stenly_pi4a :

Do you realize, that you made history with those 2 world titles and do you know what they mean to Bulgarians?

Albena: Yes, we do. But we don’t think ourselves some kind of historical persons. It ‘s nice that we can make people happy, this is one of the few good thing that have left for them.
________________________________________

91.148.152.19 @ aqw :
Maxim, where is it better – in Russia or in Bulgaria?

Max: I like to be in Bulgaria more, because when I go in Russia, everything is bigger and it oppresses me. Also, the summer in Bulgaria is very nice.
________________________________________

217.18.242.26 @ anonymous :
Is it true, that all skaters, except Maxim, are gay?

Albena: No. There are a few, but it’s not because of the sport. In America and Canada there are a lot of gay people. There are not so many in Europe.
Max: They want to show they are beautiful...
________________________________________

89.215.43.116 @ тошко :

How do you feel without practices, without competitions, how does it feel to be out of sport?

Albena: We are not out of sport yet. We are having a rest at the moment. On the other hand, there’s no rest for us, because, as it happened last year, we’ve been attacked by journalists and fans, we’ve been giving interviews, etc. We’ll have some rest in the summer.
Max: Super. But we’ll have to start training again for our participations in shows.
________________________________________


89.215.43.116 @ тошко_ботев1912_фен :

Hello! I’d like to tell you that you are genius! My question is – will you quit? And will you get married at last? You are great, please continue making us happy!!!

Albena: Our favourite question at last!. We’ll get married at last! We were offered a cost-free wedding party, so there is no getting out of it now!!! When we make the decision, we’ll inform you. You’ll know.
________________________________________

87.126.15.121 @ Samo Slavia :
Who do you think are the first, second and third ice dance couples at the moment?

Max: I think we are the first, the Canadians are second and the French - third.
Albena: I agree, but I think the question was who are the top three, except for us. So the Russians are third, but we are not big fans of theirs, because the have potential, but they are not showing it and developing.
________________________________________

85.91.136.59 @ Spartak Varna :

Hello, Albena and Maxim. First, congratulations for your second world title. My question is: Which was the most memorable year for you since you’ve been competing?

Albena: Maybe this year was the best, the worst – two years ago.
Max: For me, the worst was 2001, I fell sick with bronchopneumonia and Albena’s leg was cut. The Nice incident.
________________________________________

122.133.168.231 @ ruby :

Congratulations! Albena & Maxim! I am Japanese. 1. Which do you like in your programs?Music and clothes? 2. Where do you like in the town in Japan? 3. Japanese fan say "we want to buy your dvd". Is the sale scheduled? I'm sorry. I do not understand a lot of Bulgarian languages. Please come to Japan again. Thank you for wonderful actings,especially a Japanese song!

Albena: Generally we have several favourite programs. Sarabande by Jon Lord, this was our free in 1999. The second one – Haendel, with which we won silver medal at the World championship in Dortmund. And the third – this year’s Seven deadly sins. We love our Japanese fans and we lie their culture. I like to go to Japan. We’ll participate in shows there in june, july and august – 8 shows in June and 4 in August.
Max: We like Japan. Many people ask us about the DVD, we’ll do it soon. Even if it’s not for sale, we’ll do it to give as a present.
________________________________________

82.236.234.217 @ anonymous :

I’d like to ask you, how did you manage at first, speaking different languages, and a question to Maxim, do you find any difference between Bulgarians and Russians, in their mentality?

Max: We don’t have any problems with the languages, you’ve seen us coping with press conferences and interviews. The Bulgarian and Russian attitudes of mind are similar. I like being in Bulgaria. Some Bulgarians surprise me, because they want to get something without working for it. By the way, I speak Bulgarian, two forms of Russian and English.
Albena: there is a difference in the mentality. In Russia people value their past, their culture. We have very ancient history, but we don’t value it. I have no problem with languages – like Max, I speak Russian, English, a little French, German and a few Japanese words.
________________________________________

84.238.194.52 @ Милка Димитрова - Со :

Do you plan to present another show in Sofia, and if so, when will it be?

Max: Yes, we’d like to, not only in Sofia, but it takes time to organize.
Albena: We haven’t set an exact date.
________________________________________

212.25.39.96 @ Георги Пламенов Геор :

Are you happy outside of sport ;-)

Albena: Yes!
Maxim: Our whole life was sport, we are only now outside of it. We are happy.
________________________________________

91.148.152.19 @ rtttt :
Is it financially profitable to be a figure skater?

Albena: Every elite sportsman has some financial profit. This is not the most important thing. The sport itself, the skating itself gives us pleasure.

Max: First we’ve invested a lot, in order to get something back. The important thing is to reach a high level and then you'll have your investment returned.

Thank you Kat for your time!!!
You did a brilliant translation...of course, I haven't read the one in bulgarian but when I read this I felt it as an interview taken in english...so, good job!!! Don't worry

Quote :

Why the most questions are answered by Albena?

Max: Nonsense! Because, when I answer, I always find myself in the howlers of the day (I’m not sure about the translation of this word. In Bulgarian we say “pearl” when someone has said something very funny, but I don’t think this word can be used in English with the same meaning). She answers faster that me as a precaution!

well...it has a little bit of truth in it. ok a lot....
But this is what makes Maxim so..so...so Maxim!!

Quote :

Why did the judges underrated you for so long?

Max: It’s their job.
Албена: We can’t complain. We’ve had good and bad moments. You can’t enjoy the victory, if everything runs on wheels.

I couldn't agree more!! It's true that you feel it differently the 5-6th time. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't win..when it's obvioius!
I loved Albena's answer when she said she had enough with this question. I understant that its tireing at some point. And you have to take care how to answer, say the truth and yet upset no one...bah!!
As for Maxim saying that judges 'made' them better was an awesome answer! Eventually, we'll have to thank to judges too

Great answers!!

Thanks again for both parts

Kat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You've made my day!!!!!

P.S. Do they really have sex???? Oh, my!!! I have always thought skating together is quite enough

Thank you so much, Kat! It's a really fun and interesting read!

Kat wrote:

91.148.152.19 @ ahha :

Which other sports are you interested in?

Max: I like skiing, the giant slalom, snowboard. Especially some interesting sport shows. Occasionally I watch Formula, but I don’t watch American sports. I also like hockey – to play and watch, but you can seldom see it on Bulgarian TVs.

Good call, Max. American sports are extremely boring.

Quote :

217.18.242.26 @ anonymous :
Is it true, that all skaters, except Maxim, are gay?

Yes, every single male figure skater, except Maxim Staviski, is gay.

Quote :

89.215.43.116 @ тошко_ботев1912_фен :

Hello! I’d like to tell you that you are genius! My question is – will you quit? And will you get married at last? You are great, please continue making us happy!!!

Albena: Our favourite question at last!. We’ll get married at last! We were offered a cost-free wedding party, so there is no getting out of it now!!! When we make the decision, we’ll inform you. You’ll know.

Oh my Lord, a free wedding! Well, that is like the biggest money-saver in history. How fabulous! Unless it means that whoever is giving them the free wedding gets to make all the decisions about it, then it is less fabulous.

Thank you so much, Kat, for translation of this chat!!!

cute_n_gorgeous wrote:

P.S. Do they really have sex???? Oh, my!!! I have always thought skating together is quite enough

hihi, I thought so too, but obviously we were wrong

Grace, about the gay question, I guess the same person would have thought Max was gay too, if he wasn't with Albenka Speaking of which, do you know, are there really so many gay people in figure skating or it's just a urban legend? Just curious, because a lot of people seem to think so.

By the way, I've just read a very interesting interview with Linichuk and Karponosov, I'll translate it when I have time. Just to tell you in advance, that Karponosov calls figure skating world "a snake's nest" and... well, you'll see

Kat wrote:

Grace, about the gay question, I guess the same person would have thought Max was gay too, if he wasn't with Albenka

I had that thought as well.

Quote :

Speaking of which, do you know, are there really so many gay people in figure skating or it's just a urban legend? Just curious, because a lot of people seem to think so.

Welllll... I mean, it is definitely true that there is a higher proportion of gay men in figure skating than there is in, say, football/soccer, rugby, basketball, swimming, etc. But it's definitely not true that every man in figure skating is gay (obviously). In my experience, even in North America, it's maybe about half and half. So if the proportion is lower in Europe, you can work out for yourself that it's not really even a majority of the men who are gay. So it's not uncommon, and everyone in skating is very used to gay people, but it's not as prevalent as most people seem to believe it is.

Trust me, male figure skaters can be just as aggressive in going after girls as any other guy you can imagine.

Quote :

By the way, I've just read a very interesting interview with Linichuk and Karponosov, I'll translate it when I have time. Just to tell you in advance, that Karponosov calls figure skating world "a snake's nest" and... well, you'll see

Ooooooh. Well, I'll be very interested to read it when you get to it!

Grace wrote:

Trust me, male figure skaters can be just as aggressive in going after girls as any other guy you can imagine.

Grace wrote:

Quote :

By the way, I've just read a very interesting interview with Linichuk and Karponosov, I'll translate it when I have time. Just to tell you in advance, that Karponosov calls figure skating world "a snake's nest" and... well, you'll see

Ooooooh. Well, I'll be very interested to read it when you get to it!

Actually, if I remember well, he calls like this the room where the coaches get together during a competition I read somewhere this interview, I have to search for it again.

Vania wrote:

Actually, if I remember well, he calls like this the room where the coaches get together during a competition I read somewhere this interview, I have to search for it again.

Yes, that's true, i was referring to the title, but in the interview the meaning is a little different (not that it doesn't happen all the time ) Unfortunately, I didn't have time for translation today, so... maybe later

Grace wrote:

Trust me, male figure skaters can be just as aggressive in going after girls as any other guy you can imagine.

I'm sure they can be I asked, because this seems to be a common belief and I was curios if there is anything true in it. So many times I've had to argue, because some of my friends just look at a skater and say: "Oh, look at the way he's dressed, the way he moves, he's gay." People just love to jump to conclusions like that. So, I guess some of those aggressive guys are being aggressive, probably because they feel they have to prove something to the prejudiced public

Kat wrote:

I'm sure they can be I asked, because this seems to be a common belief and I was curios if there is anything true in it. So many times I've had to argue, because some of my friends just look at a skater and say: "Oh, look at the way he's dressed, the way he moves, he's gay." People just love to jump to conclusions like that. So, I guess some of those aggressive guys are being aggressive, probably because they feel they have to prove something to the prejudiced public

It's partly that, and it's partly, hmmm... I don't know, overconfidence? In the sense that women in figure skating have grown up without many guys around, and a high proportion of the guys there are, are gay, so the straight ones get used to being able to have their pick of the girls-- kind of deciding who they want, and getting her, because quite honestly in most rinks girls don't have much to choose from. Mostly they grow out of that by the time they're 23-24, but sometimes they just never do...

Yeah, I suppose that it's not very easy to find someone, when you are practicing all the time and your only choice is another skater... It's not fair, though. I mean, for the girls.

Back to the point! I mean, Albenka and Maxim. I've just written it in the bulgarian forum, but in case some bulgarians only read this one...
Albenka and Max will open their own star in the bulgarian "Walk of fame". So if you are in Sofia and you are free tomorrow, thursday, 1 pm, go to Arena Mladost Multiplex, where the Famous Grouse Walk of Fame is, and you'll see Albenka and Max Unfortunately, I won't be able to go, because I'll be at work

Kat wrote:

I'm sure they can be I asked, because this seems to be a common belief and I was curios if there is anything true in it. So many times I've had to argue, because some of my friends just look at a skater and say: "Oh, look at the way he's dressed, the way he moves, he's gay." People just love to jump to conclusions like that

I know
It's because of the costumes and moves

I heard this as well. But it's not true. And I try to explain them.
Plus, who cares?! It doesn't really matter for me.

With allthe costumes and moves, some of them are more masculin than some "men" in other sports.

alexandra wrote:

Plus, who cares?! It doesn't really matter for me.

I absolutely agree with you!

alexandra wrote:

With allthe costumes and moves, some of them are more masculin than some "men" in other sports.

Hehe, yesterday I watched again some videos from the World championship in Tokyo and one of them was Brian's short - Bond, James Bond! He was shooting a gun, boxing and so on. Very Bond, really!
I also remember, I think it was Ilia Kulik at the gala in Nagano, when he showed up with a sword. And... so on. Very macho!