Moscow: Not Easy, but So Worth It Past Review
By Chris S (Linguistics; Russian Studies, The University of Texas at Austin) for
American Councils (ACTR): Advanced Russian Language & Area Studies Program (RLASP)
Absolutely worthwhile. The culture is vastly different from anything I was used to, which was challenging, but in only five weeks I feel like my experience has prepared me for almost any other country I could find myself.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
The food in the cafeteria was quite good and, perhaps more importantly, free-- however, like anywhere else in Russia, vegetarians beware: almost all of the food has meat in it. I would suggest acquiescing to eating at least some kind of meat (fish, chicken, etc.) on the trip. It isn't impossible to find vegetarian food, but when you're ordering in Russian it can be very hard to be entirely sure of what you're getting and what it contains. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
The city is mostly safe, as long as you travel in groups (3 or more, ideally), and stay especially aware of your surroundings at night. Regarding health, there were no serious illnesses that I was aware of on this trip. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
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Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
I was able to practice my Russian with practically everybody. We encountered a number of Russians who spoke at least enough English to help us along when we got stuck, but for the most part all conversations with anyone outside of our fellow students were in Russian. I, personally, loved this, but I could see it being a daunting situation for someone with less prior exposure to Russian |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | This isn't Paris: study Russian for as long and as hard as you can before this trip. You won't flounder here without the language, but being able to meet and speak to Russians, and see how they live, and where they go for fun, is the heart and soul of this program. |
