Stories From The Russian Flagship Program

SPONSORED BY THE RUSSIAN FLAGSHIP PROGRAM

BY ELIZA HERNANDEZ

I originally intended to spend summer 2020 in St. Petersburg, Russia, immersed in Russian history, language, and culture;. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, my plans changed drastically and I was invited to instead participate in a virtual study abroad program. I won’t sugar coat my initial thoughts: I was very upset. I fully intended to live in St. Petersburg and I even went as far as to map out all of the excursions I would take with my fellow classmates.

As the summer went on, however, I learned a lot and still had a positive experience, even though I was not physically in Russia. The program’s facilitators were extremely helpful, offering additional tutoring in Russian and going the extra mile to expose us to native speakers from across Russia. My favorite part of the program was that every week, we would meet with native speakers who were also in college (or close to our age) to discuss slang, family life, relationships, etc. and how life was different in Russia and the U.S. for young adults. This was the experience I imagined having if I had been able to travel to St. Petersburg!

Of course, an online program could never copy the experience of traveling abroad, but I would say that my summer was fantastic nonetheless and I’m so thankful that I had the opportunity to advance my language skills and immerse myself in Russian culture and history.

BY LUKE STOERGER

Had I actually traveled to Russia in an alternate timeline where COVID-19 never occurred, my summer would have been quite different. But, my virtual study abroad program managed to retain a degree of authenticity and intensity despite the format, and my summer was effectively consumed by Russian.

For the first time, I was being instructed solely in Russian on a variety of topics, like history and geography, in addition to the fundamentals of grammar and phonetics. This was a daunting challenge, especially given frequent international connectivity issues. My schedule featured 3-4 hours of lessons each day with a matching amount of time needed to complete homework. I studied Russian in a previous summer, but 2020 made my homework a much more solitary affair than before, thanks to a lack of nearby classmates. The American students in my group were all older than me - graduate students and even teachers - and I also met many Russian university students. Once a week, we gathered to discuss American and Russian cultural differences, forming pairs of pen pals, and going on virtual tours of Russia’s cities and the countryside.

Ultimately, although I missed out on the authentic living experience of St. Petersburg, I was still able to accelerate my Russian. Sometimes I think back with sincere gratitude about our Russian instructors working so late into their evenings in Moscow and St. Petersburg to teach us Americans who were going to class in the morning and early afternoon. My summer was just a taste of life abroad, but motivated me to keep my spirits up until the pandemic comes to a close, so that I can continue this journey in person.

ILLUSTRATION BY TRACY FU