Do you really want me to give this a title? I can't come up with titles Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Academic rigor and intensity were both less than I expected. Resources I cannot complain about, however.

On-site administration of your program

We had some pretty serious difficulties getting our passport visas renewed, which was the administration's responsibility. Some of us received our new passports the very day that the old visa expired, which, to put it lightly, was cutting it close. However, our administrators were at least very kind to us and were clearly trying their best, so I can't rate this very high, but I can't rate it too low either.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I can't complain about my hostess — she was very generous and clearly tried very hard to make me feel welcome. My complaints are largely personal ones about the distance to the office, but I suspect that that was unavoidable.

I don't really get how this relates to the program, but the food in Moscow was fine.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I felt very Russian when using the metro and walking around, but I felt rather like a sore thumb in my mainstream class and at lunch, and I had a lot of classes with other Americans which isolated me from other Russians as well.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I did not need to visit a doctor for any health issues, but all of my experiences buying toothpaste at pharmacies, for example, were positive. I was unsatisfied with the fact that my host university only offered flu vaccinations on one day that I had a conflict on, but since I returned home in December and got a shot then, I was not too unhappy with this.

I never felt threatened or unsafe in Moscow. I do look like most Russians, though, at least at a glance, so I didn't experience any discrimination, and I strongly suspect that for women and students of color the experience would have been less positive.

If I were studying abroad in Russia again, I would go with Middlebury. But I'm not sure I'd study abroad in Russia again.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

My living expenses basically amounted to $30 each month for transport on the metro and maybe $100 or $150 each month on lunch. Other meals were provided by my hostess. Rent was $950 each month. I naturally spent more than that each month in total, but in terms of essential expenditures, for an American, Moscow is a cheap city. (It is NOT a cheap city for Russians, though, and do not make the mistake of thinking it is. Don't show off how much buying power you have if you don't want to look like a jerk.)

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

Middlebury has the Language Pledge, so you promise to only use the target language. How well we all stuck to that is a different matter.

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• Host Family

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• Host Family

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• Local Students
• Americans

• The professors who were good were great
• Moscow is beautiful for about two weeks in August
• Everybody was in it together, experiencing the same crazy stuff

• More coffee hours to build community among non-native students
• Make professors show up on time and not make islamophobic comments

The Academic or Linguist