Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

A truly unique Russian experience in the EU January 16, 2023

By (Russian, Middlebury College) - abroad from 09/01/2022 to 12/16/2022 with

Learn Russian in the EU: Daugavpils, Latvia - Semester Abroad Program in Russian Language and Political Science

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
Aside from learning more about the Russian language and becoming more comfortable communicating with the language, I learned a lot about Eastern European culture. As a result, I now have a deep appreciation of the region, which I wouldn't have gained if I did not study in the program.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 1 month - 6 months

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

It was a great experience all around. I took nine classes, which were all taught in Russian.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

* Food:

The food is good, but there is a lot of cream, potatoes, and minimal vegetables.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I never had any issues, but everyone who got sick or needed to visit the doctor could get an appointment quickly.

* Safety:

I never had any issues, and apparently, incidents are very rare, but while I was there, someone flashed a gun at a few of my friends, and another friend was jumped in Riga, and his phone and passport were stolen.

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

Finances

* 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)

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? ~$60

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? Yes
How much did the program encourage you to use the language?

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

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? Advanced
What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? Around level 300 during language school at Middlebury
How many hours per day did you use the language?

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Host Family
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Host Family
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
  • International Students
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?
  • Travel Opportunities
  • The culture and history of Daugavpils
  • How Russian-speaking the city actually is
* What could be improved?
  • Class schedules could be more consistent week by week.
  • Some classes were repetitive
  • Classes were long (75 mins)
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? It can get very cold and it snows a lot.

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 Blazer
Craving 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.'

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

Normative grammar I (Lexics)
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Instruction Language: Russian
Comments: This was an amazing class about Russian linguistics. It was my first time taking a class like this and I really enjoyed it.
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Practical Russian II
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Instruction Language: Russian
Comments: I think this was my favorite class. It was a great mix of speaking and practicing Russian and instruction.
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Culture and Information Communication 2
Course Department:
Instructor:
Instruction Language: Russian
Comments: This was a very interesting yet challenging course. We primarily discussed the major issues present in society today.
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Post-Soviet-Studies
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Instruction Language: Russian
Comments:
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European Studies in Trans-Border Perspective
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Instruction Language: Russian
Comments: This was an interesting class but the entire class was based on student presentations. I felt like it got repetitive pretty fast.
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NATO-Russian relations and Baltic States defense policy
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Instruction Language: Russian
Comments: I thought this course was a waste of time. There wasn't much instruction as the entire class was based on presentations but we got through half of the presentations we initially expected.
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Modern Russian literary language: Morphology II
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Instruction Language: Russian
Comments:
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Normative grammar II (Phonetics)
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Instruction Language: Russian
Comments: I enjoyed this class but it was based upon grammar and speaking, rather than phonetics.
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Russian conversational language and communicative linguistics
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Instruction Language: Russian
Comments:
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Area Studies
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Instruction Language: Russian
Comments: This was an interesting course, which everyone took, on the history and culture of the Baltic States
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