Studying in Russia on this program was the best part of my college experience Past Review
By Thomas K (Russian, University of Wisconsin - Madison) for
American Councils (ACTR): Advanced Russian Language & Area Studies Program (RLASP)
Aside from the language and culture, I grew a lot as a person while studying abroad in Moscow.
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 courses were very helpful in furthering my knowledge of Russian. The reason I did not give it a perfect score is because I feel that we could have been given a bit more homework. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
ACTR did a good job of organizing the program. I had a great host family, the teaching was superb, the excursions were interesting, the long trips were fantastic (we went to Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan during the fall semester and Sochi in the spring semester), and if I had any questions the resident director was always available to help and was very knowledgeable about Moscow and Russia. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Probably the best part about my experience was my stay with the host family. A great way to learn the language and find out so much more about the culture. |
| * Food: |
Great food. Don't be afraid of the mayonnaise! |
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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: |
Moscow is a big city so you have to be careful, but I didn't feel like it was less safe than New York. At orientation we were given good information on how to stay safe and if we got sick there were western-type clinics where we could go for treatment. |
| 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 made great gains in my Russian language ability-I started the program at the intermediate level and left speaking at the advanced level. I had a lot of opportunities to speak Russian-with my teachers, host family, and all of the Russians at the university where we studied. |
| 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? | If you are really serious about learning Russian then this is the program for you. |
