Student Experience

When I opened my information packet from ACTR I was so excited. I was flipping through the sheets of information with such joy. Then, I reached the form for staying with a host family. At that time I had decided that I was going to stay in the dorm. I wanted to not have to answer to anyone while here, plus, you never know what family you will get. You don’t know if the family is going to be good to live with or not. I put the sheet to the side without another thought. A week later I was looking through my packet of information again, and I decided to just look over the host family application sheet. As I was looking through the form the thought of living with a Russian family became kind of exciting. I took a few days to think about, and I decided that I wanted to be with a host family.

As I answered the questions on the form I began to think about what my family would be like. I began to think about all the good times we could spend together. When I finally found out who I was going to live with I was ecstatic.

We made it to Russia, and the day came when it was time for me to meet my host family. I and a few other students had gone out and bought flowers for our meetings. I stood there with my flowers looking at all of the women who could have potentially been my host mother. I was so nervous and excited. My name was called and I got to meet my host mother. I gave her my flowers and she told me they were beautiful. Then, we left for her home. When we arrived I met her mother and her five-year-old daughter.

Since that first meeting I have loved staying with my host family. One of my favorite parts of the day is sitting in the kitchen with my host mother, sipping tea and having great conversation. I enjoy waking up in the morning and going into the kitchen to see my host grandmother. She always asks how I slept and about my plans for the day while I eat the delicious kasha she has made me. I feel at home here. Even though we speak Russian I sometimes forget where I am. I walk outside and expect to be in America just because my host family makes me feel that I am at home. No matter how rough my day has been I always feel relaxed and comfortable in my host home with my host family.

One afternoon I was on the metro with my tutor, fumbling through a Russian sentence and the man beside us begged my tutor to speak to me in English. I was apparently getting on his nerves. I was so angry, but once I arrived at my host home and talked with my host family I began to relax. I feel a comfort here that I would not feel in a dormitory with an American roommate.

Deciding to stay with a host family was one of the best decisions I have ever made. My Russian has improved because of my interaction with my family, and I have found a home here in Russia. I am so glad I took a second look at the host family application form.

Samantha Tawfik

University of North Carolina, St. Petersburg, 2010

"Let's go for a walk."

I readily agreed. The weather had been grey-scale and rainy for most of the day on Sunday, and it was depressingly cold for a summer's day. Only around 8 pm did the stormy clouds part to blue skies and sun. Tanya, my host mom, and I set off for Palace Square (Дворцовая Площадь) from our house, passing by the Mariinskii Theater and the Cathedral of St. Isaac's on the way. On our way to Palace Square, Tanya was excitedly pointing out sights that I should have ingrained in my memory. "There's a run-down church that's getting renovated! And there's another church! Oh, look, a fountain!" I followed her quick steps, struggling to keep up with her pace.

On our way back, we took a small detour in the Aleksandrovskii Garden. Leading me by the arm, Tanya took me to the fountain that was in the center. "Look at the arc in the middle. If the sun hits the fountain in just the right spot, a rainbow appears. If we had left just a little bit earlier, we would have seen it." I leaned against the fountain and stared up at the sun, in complete disbelief that it was almost 10:30 at night. Reaching into my bag, I fished out two 10-kopeck coins, one for her and one for myself.
"Ah, you have to throw the coin as far as you can, you know that?" The farther the throw, the better chance that the wish will come true, right? The wind up, and then the throw. I watched as my coin disappeared into the sunlight and somewhere into the fountain.

"Your coin practically flew!" Tanya exclaimed gleefully.
I wished that I could stay in St. Petersburg, not only for the summer, but for the year and more. In the past five months that I have been here, I realized that I still have so much to see and learn, and that I have barely scratched the surface. I am just beginning to understand what it is like to live here and I have finally adjusted to the daily rhythm of the city. I am finally beginning to understand the Russian character and soul, and at the same time, I am finally beginning to realize that I still know nothing at all about this enigmatic and historic city. It's not just my wish to return to Russia, it's my goal, and I will find a way to come back here.

St. Petersburg, for better or for worse, I have fallen deeply in love with you.

Grace Tran

University of Wisconsin, St. Petersburg, 2010

Only a few days after we arrived in Moscow, Russians were celebrating a national holiday called “Den' Rossii”, or “Russia Day”. Unlike other holidays, like Victory Day, Russians don't seem particularly enthused about celebrating it with liters of beer and vodka. In fact, it seems like the only purpose of this special day is to have a day off work. This year, Den Rossia fell on a Saturday. So no day off? That would be a waste of a holiday – it was therefore put off to the following Monday. Taste of Russian mentality.

So, on Den' Rossii, we went out to dinner as a group and then decided to wander around in the streets of Moscow. We went past Red Square on which the official celebration was taking place, where famous Russian rock bands were invited to perform and fireworks were set off (both of which I missed, unfortunately).

Bravely deciding to go on the forty-minute walk from Red Square to the university dorms, we ventured onto Tverskay Ulitsa, one of the main streets of Moscow, which is also probably the busiest. The sidewalk was overcrowded and it took a real effort to keep our group intact. Nobody knew whether to catch up with the fast walkers or wait for the slow ones.

Then, all of a sudden, it happened. I tripped. Over my own shoe. Fortunately the masses of people prevented me from tragically crashing down to the ground. But that was far from being enough to console me from what I was about to experience.

I looked down at my right sandal, the one on which I had tripped. The strap going through the first and second toes that was supposed to hold the whole shoe together was completely detached from the sole. Moreover, the sole was itself decomposed into two very much detached layers of bad-quality shoe material.

I carefully tried to stick the strap between my toes and back into the sole. I was hopeful, it could work. I took a step; I tripped. The sandal was back in its decomposed state.

Up until this point, initial panic and bewilderment had prevented me from clearly realizing what kind of situation this unfortunate event had put me into. I was in the middle of a still unfamiliar city, with only one functioning shoe, and unfortunately no recognizable face in sight.

My situation was so desperate I even considered walking shoeless. But I was in Moscow, and the filthiness of its streets is such that not even a hobbit would dare go barefoot. So that was out of the question.

Thus, the only way for me to move forward was by lifting my right foot high enough so I wouldn't trip. This particular movement required much careful attention, and I repeatedly tripped and destroyed my shoe a little further as I progressed through the crowd of pitiless speed walkers. But practice makes perfect, and I eventually managed to master this injured ostrich walk.

Dare I add that the level of embarrassment of this situation was proportionally magnified by the juxtaposition of me as an injured ostrich and the elegant Muscovite women who all (without exception) walk with an unbelievable ease on stiletto high heels.

A few days ago, I was in class studying verbs of motion (ugh), and I learned that ostriches could go faster than cars. Overlooking the grammar part, I am pretty sure that an injured ostrich would not be able to run as fast as a car, but might nevertheless be able to catch up with a group of jet-lagged American students. And indeed, how relieved was I when I caught a glimpse of the blond hair and blue dress of one of my fellow group members.

After understanding what had happened, she handed me a bright green hair tie that I skillfully wrapped around the sandal and each of my toes. I tried walking. Success! Foot and sandal did not separate. I was finally able to enjoy walking again.

I was conversing with our newly-met Russian friend when I started to feel a slight pain around my toes. I looked down; my middle toe was dark blue. All of a sudden an intense psychological pain got hold of me, and I undid the harmful tie in a split second. What a relief.

But what now? It was probably too late to buy new shoes, and in any case how could I afford them on the main street of the so-called most expensive city of the world?

The practical mind of my Russian friend came to help. Those who are well enough acquainted with Moscow know that the city is full of apteki (pharmacies) open “24 hours”. And they might not have shoes, but they certainly sell medical tape. Fortunately I did not have to describe the product to the pharmacist in my broken Russian, as Tatiana had already asked her for it.

The climber of the group, who claimed she had been using this kind of tape since the age of five, undertook the shoe-mending process. Our friends were enjoying taking pictures and making fun of me trying to stand on one foot while she was fixing my sandal. All in all, the result was a success and I was finally able to comfortably walk back to the dorms with a perfectly functioning pair of sandals.

When you go to Moscow, be prepared to face the fact that dealing with problems will probably be ten times harder, but also ten times more interesting and exciting.

Paloma Jeretic

Haverford College, Moscow, 2010