A pleasant time in Petersburg, but would have liked more depth. Past Review
By A student (Russian; Political Science, Wellesley College) - abroad from 01/22/2014 to 06/08/2014 with
Bard College: St. Petersburg - Liberal Arts study abroad at Smolny College
It was worthwhile to me to be in Russia during such an interesting time politically, and it did help my language skills, although not to the extent that I'd hoped. I think I also gained more confidence in my speaking and in my ability to live in and navigate large foreign cities, and gained a lot of language comprehension, especially in my all-Russian classes. Gained interesting insight into the situation in Ukraine, and in US/Russia relations generally
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The RSL were pretty intensive, and the regular classes I took were for the most part excellent, but they were in no way as rigorous as classes at Wellesley. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Mike, Elena, and Nastya were all super-friendly and helpful. You could tell they really cared about our well-being, even if this sometimes translated into their being somewhat over-protective. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I requested a relatively-involved host family, and was quite happy living with them, although I think if I had been there longer I would have liked a family who were a little less concerned about where I was all the time. But overall they were very nice and made me feel welcome and at home. |
| * Food: |
The food got a little monotonous at times, and was a little heavy on the meat for my taste, but it all tasted fine, and if anything my host mother over-fed me. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I did not feel as integrated with the local culture as I had hoped, I found it more difficult than I expected to make friends with non-American students at Smolny or with other people my age in Petersburg. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I did not have any experience with the healthcare system while I was there. Not being able to drink the water was a minor inconvenience, but I never got sick from the tap water that I accidentally drank. |
| * Safety: |
I never felt particularly unsafe, but then I used common sense and took precautions. I got yelled at by drunk men a few times while walking home late at night, but I made sure I was with friends, or made sure to call friends/have them call me when we arrived at home. I would not have felt comfortable taking a gypsy cab on my own, but with friends it was fine. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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) |
I did not find myself spending more than, say $50/week (at most.) Most of my money was spent on transportation, museum passes, occasional nights out, and snacks, and while Petersburg is a pretty expensive city, I did not find these things unaffordable. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Probably $30-50? |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Eat a lot of what your host family feeds you, the stolovaya is also pretty cheap compared to going out to lunch in a restaurant. Make sure to get one of the Russian student ID cards (not an ISIC card for discounts at museums, on trains, etc. which are much more expensive for foreigners, even foreign students.) |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
I felt that the program could have done a better job encouraging us to speak more Russian, but many of the students were not inclined to do so. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | RUSS 301 (3rd year advanced Russian) |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Go to events (plays, movies, poetry readings, concerts) and make use of Russian tutoring. Obviously, make Russian friends, take more classes in Russian than you initially think you'll be able to. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? | 0 |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I knew this to an extent before, but you really only do get out of the program as much as you're willing to put into it. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Avid AdventurerThe wardrobe you packed was better suited for a semester of camping than club hopping. Outdoorsy, you might forgo a crazy night out for an early all-day adventure. You'd rather take in the rich culture of an old town than the metropolis of a modern city, but for you getting off the grid is ideal. |
