My colleagues, the test will cover golden Kerpolas and the Church Slavonic Past Review
By Alec L (Political Science And International Studies, Trinity University) - abroad from 02/01/2013 to 05/24/2013 with
CIEE: St. Petersburg - Russian Area Studies
I did a lot of growing up in Russia. Realized a lot about myself, and found my world views completely changed. Most people chose to study abroad in easy countries where the language is easy and the parties are common. Russia is a country that will challenge you in a way that you have never been challenged before. It will frustrate you at times, you will sometimes laugh at the Russian approach as you begin to adopt it, and you will find yourself loving the country more and more as your time there continues. Probably one of, no, THE best experience of my college career.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | None |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The classes for the program were not very difficult. I did not have too much homework every night, but this is by design I believe. Much of the learning is done outside of the classroom during interactions with your host family and the city as a whole. The professors were also happy to discuss their approaches to Russia and enjoyed instilling in us Russian points of view. One thing I should mention, and it is a big one. This program is totally absent of Communist and Cold War studies. I expected to learn a great deal about the Russian view of the Cold War and how life was under the Soviet Union. I thought excursions would be to museums about Soviet life. I had one class out of 5 discuss the Soviet Union, and even that was for 2 days out of the entire semester. When visiting the Kremlin, we only saw old churches, and nothing of the Russian Seat of power. The program focuses very much on old Tsarist Russia and the Orthodox church, the latter more so on excursions than the classroom. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The administration was very competent, though organization as a whole was rather lacking at different parts of the semester. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Excellent. I loved my host mother. She was an excellent cook and didn't try to baby me. I knew others who had very different experiences however, with host mothers who could be rather judgmental. Those host mothers were the exception however, not the rule. |
| * Food: |
Food at Smolney wasn't that great. Food at home was excellent. Food in St. Petersburg can be rather expensive but very good, but the liquor is cheap and so is the shwarma. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Russia has this way of integrating you into the culture even if you don't really speak the language. I went to Russia with 3 semesters of Russian under my belt and found that I was woefully underprepared for everyday use. This changed pretty fast however and by the end of the program, I was conversational. This to say, the cultural integration is a matter of living life in another country. Learn to act and behave like Russians and you will find yourself understanding the Culture much more than if you just acted like a tourist. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I personally did not have a need to engage with the healthcare. |
| * Safety: |
St. Petersburg is like any other big city; if you act a fool, prepare to suffer the consequences of your actions. Be aware and be smart and you won't have much to worry about. |
| 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) |
You can make travel as cheap or as expensive as you'd like. There were weeks where I spent about $100 dollars on food, alcohol, and entertainment, and there were weeks where I spent $25 in order to save money. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Probably about $50. |
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 |
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| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Beginner |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | First semester of Second Year Russian |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | 10+ |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Talk to Russians in Russian. Also, spend time at Udelnaya. It's a market on the north end of the blue line at Udelnaya Metro Station. It's filled with Communist memorabilia and people who are very interested in selling it to Americans. Be careful though. Some merchants will jack up the price if you tell them you are from America. Just use your best judgment about it. Usually, in my experience, if you were trying to speak in Russian, they liked you. |
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? |
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? | Savor your time in Russia. It's over way too soon. Also, don't take Amex. Amex is persona non grata in Russia. |
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 Nearly Native or Trail BlazerCraving the most authentic experience possible, perhaps you lived with a host family or really got in good with the locals. You may have felt confined by your program requirements and group excursions. Instead, you'd have preferred to plan your own trips, even skipping class to conduct your own 'field work.' |
