Although there were several programs offering summer programs in Russia to choose from, I had from the beginning decided to choose SRAS. At least two professors and several of my colleagues recommended SRAS to me. The reasoning? Well I think my favorite piece of advice, and one that I have come to agree with, was […]

A semester or year stay abroad requires considerable planning. If you will be spending winter months in most SRAS locations, luggage can quite easily become unwieldy, which can mean airline charges for overweight bags. Planning what you need in advance can help you avoid this (and help you avoid forgetting something important). Invest in good, […]

Bishkek is located in a valley, which means you don’t have to travel too far outside of the city to find a decent place to hike. One quite easy but very scenic hike is Kashka Soo, located at a small suburb of the same name about an hour outside of Bishkek. It features a beautiful […]

The walk from the Курская metro station to where our classes were held at HSE is lined with a number of small cafes and convenience stores. Typical of the average college student, we often stopped in one of these cafes on our way to class. Below are my reviews of the three cafes most frequented […]

As part of our SRAS program in Irkutsk, our group took a trip to Ulan Ude, a city about an eight hour train ride east, on the other side of Lake Baikal. Ulan Ude is the center of Buryatia, a republic within Russia that is the homeland of the Buryat people. The Buryats are native […]

My time in Vladivostok has been memorable. There were extreme positives and extreme negatives for me while living in the Far East and here is my overall review of the semester. Courses The SRAS program I took, Economic Development in the Russian Far East, combines language study with the study of the economics and geopolitics […]

What is life in Kyiv really like? Very often when people in the West think of cities in Eastern Europe, they think of cold, grey landscapes and shortages of basic goods. Kyiv today, however, is a vibrant, colorful place overflowing with street culture, great food, and a global assortment of goods. To help you stay […]

I embarked on the Cuba-Russia Connection program offered by SRAS in May of 2018. However, this incredible program really began months before me landing in Cuba. SRAS’s communications with me and the resources they offered before the study abroad trip helped set me up for the great experience that was the Cuba-Russia Connection. SRAS emailed […]