Live from Russia: Students Share Their Experiences Abroad

This summer, participants in the Advanced Russian Language and Area Studies Program (RLASP) are blogging from Russia! Ten students, who each received financial aid to study abroad for the summer semester, are writing short articles, or “blogs,” about their experiences living and studying in Russia.

The Advanced Russian Language and Area Studies Program (RLASP) has over 35 participants studying in Vladimir, Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia this summer. Participants are enrolled in intensive Russian language courses, live with host families, attend weekly excursions with their Resident Directors, meet with peer tutors, and absorb as much Russian culture as possible during their stay.

Each semester, a financial aid committee awards several students funding from the U.S. Department of Education (Fulbright-Hays). This summer, fellowship recipients were asked to write about their impressions of Russia and their adventures living abroad. Each Wednesday, new blogs are posted online on the program’s homepage: www.acrussiaabroad.org under “Student Notes.”

Sarah Diaz studies Political Science and Russian at Barnard College. She explained some of the differences between her hometown and Moscow: “As a New Yorker, I like to claim to have seen and heard everything, yet thrown into the conundrum that is Russia, I must reluctantly acknowledge that you can’t see this in America. One moment I see a sea of mullets, next, models in the latest fashion and highest heels possible accost me. The babushkas of the city roam the streets, ruling over all happenings of the city. There is a conflict seemingly in the time period, thought, and social etiquette in Russia.”

Jason Jones, a student at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and currently studying in St. Petersburg, described his studies: “After the first few days of classes, I began to feel less pressured and more at ease while at school as I was immersing myself into Russian study. When I wake up in the morning now, I’m always looking forward to classes, because I know that I’m learning so much and am so happy to be in this position with the help of ACTR. My plans for using Russian in a future career or profession have been cemented by the fact that I’m just here in Russia, using Russian in everyday conversation. After about two weeks studying in St. Petersburg, I can say that I would want to come back and study Russian at an even higher level, possibly reading works by writers such as Dostoyevsky and Pushkin, in Russian rather than English.”

Julia Baker, a student at George Mason University, used her blog entry to give advice to future students studying abroad in Russia. One of her pointers: “You will develop your own style of interpretive dance when trying to explain what you want in a store. The I-don’t-know-if-the-problem-is-with-my-phone-or-my-SIM-card one is super fun. Even if through dance you have only succeeded in making the clerk even more confused, don’t worry! It was a good language workout for you, and you’ve given the clerks an interesting story to tell when they get home. Everybody wins.”

To read Sarah, Jason, and Julia’s complete blog entries and those of our other fellowship winners, please go to the RLASP website: www.acrussiaabroad.org. More information on the Advanced Russian Language and Areas Studies Program is also available here.