Back to the Wintry East for an Internship Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Classes were great. I really liked the teaching style, and the instructor is really wonderful. Sometimes, we had assignments that seemed like just busy work, but they didn't take long, and they actually did help in some ways. Overall, a great class.

On-site administration of your program

Really accommodating and interested in our success. They checked in regularly to make sure we were doing alright and that we were happy with our internships, classes, housing situations, etc. We had face-to-face meetings often to discuss any issues or to go over upcoming events and had weekly email contact. Very well organized and professional.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Nice living quarters in comparison with anywhere else I've lived in Easter Europe. Clean and private. Maids take out the trash, clean the floors, change the linens and towels (usually you change linens, etc. on your own, but if you are nice to the maids, they'll offer). The kitchen was my biggest complaint, as there was very little beyond burners and a sink. By that, I mean, that's all there was besides countertops.

Food wasn't provided, but of the food that we ate at restaurants, it was all really good. A little expensive, but it's Moscow, so you kind of expect that.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I felt integrated, but it was because of the efforts of my internship rather than the program itself. From the stance of just the program, I felt like we were a little bit isolated from "the local culture," in that we and all the other foreign students were put together on one or two floors of the residence complex, so we never really interacted on a day-to-day basis with Russian students. We did get to meet lots of cool people from all over the world, but they weren't Russians.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

It's just kind of a given that when Americans are in Eastern Europe, they WILL have digestive issues. I think everyone dealt with that in our program, but other than that there were no major. We had insurance provided as part of the program, but none of us had to use it. There were pharmacies everywhere, including in the university, so we had no problem getting access to medications, antibiotics, etc. (though none of us used them).

I never felt in danger. The police are in force and, unlike other areas in Eastern Europe, seem to actually be concerned with the safety and wellbeing of people. Best to stay off the metro after 9:30 or so, but that's perhaps more so to avoid the smell of drunks. I didn't have any confrontations or problems. The people in general were very nice and accommodating.

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

Food was expensive, as were most commodities, but housing was very inexpensive. Overall, I spent somewhere around $65 a week plus housing, which was about $300 for the whole three months.

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

It was really up to us to use the language or not use it. We definitely spoke amongst ourselves in English a lot of the time, but we also used Russian everywhere, as we went out a lot to see sites.

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• Hotel

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• International Students

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• Americans

• Internship with the Gorky Institute of World Literature
• Classes
• New friends

• Cooking facilities
• Communication

The Academic or Linguist