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For a long time, the Russian language has been a personal hobby of mine. I would spend hours every week studying grammar, speaking with tutors, and listening to podcasts for learners. I had put in the work studying Russian, but I craved practical learning and experience in a place that actually uses the language. When I started university, I knew that I wanted to study abroad, and that’s how I found SRAS. SRAS offered Russian classes in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and a trip around Central Asia. At first, I was a little hesitant as I had never heard much about Central Asia but after some research and thinking, I decided to sign up. After a long Spring semester, and a seemingly even longer flight, I found myself walking out of the Manas International Airport ready to spend 8 weeks of my summer living in Kyrgyzstan.
I lived with a host mom, dad, and one of their daughters in an apartment in the middle of Bishkek, near the Kyrgyz National Philharmonic concert hall. I had a great experience with my host family; not only did I get to wrap my head around a new language and culture, but I got to know some really cool and nice people. My host mom works as a banker, dad as a driver, and host sister was on summer break from her studies in Budapest. Every day, my host mom would cook me breakfast and supper. The big staples in my house were eggs, beef, potatoes, and lepyoshka (a circular bread). My favorite meal my host family made was kuurdak, consisting of beef, potatoes, and veggies fried up and served with the beef juices poured over them. Most days after dinner, I would sit in the kitchen with my host family and talk about various topics. My host sister is around my age, so she would catch me up on the Russian-speaking internet culture and ask me my opinions on a lot of different things. I would ask my host dad about life in the Soviet Union, and I found it interesting to hear the perspective of history of someone who actually lived in the USSR. In conversation, we would often run into words I didn’t know, but there was nothing that some Google Translating couldn’t fix and I felt I learned a lot. Some days I would get tired of speaking in Russian, but after either resting or pushing through the pain, it’d always be better. Living with a host family was a great experience. I got to get to know some great people, try some new food, and get an idea of what it is like to live in a different culture.
Four days a week, for four hours a day, I had classes at the London School. Every Monday through Thursday, I would get on the bus around 7:30, grab a coffee from the café near the school bus stop, and get to class. Classes were split into three different topics: grammar, reading, and communication, each lasting 80 minutes. All of my classes were strictly in Russian, which was difficult at times, but helped me develop skills working around my language gaps. Every day that we had classes, we would also be required to complete small homework assignments for each section, and every Thursday we had tests and peer speaking partners. I found the workload to be somewhat intense with just how much we had to do sometimes, but it was always manageable. Being the most exact subject, I had some issues with grammar. A lot of the grammar features we learned about in class had specific nuances with meanings and contexts, so I often needed clarification. My teachers were helpful and open to answering any questions during classes, and I certainly made use of that. My favorite classes were in communication. Our teacher would set up small games for us to play to help with our language learning. One of my favorite activities was when we had to play out different scenarios. We would be given prompts, and we would have to play different roles in a story together. This also helped me get to know the other students in my program and make new friends. We had fun joking in class, studying together, and exploring the city on the weekends.
There were plenty of new things to see and do in Central Asia. In Kyrgyzstan, I did everything from ride horses through the mountains and camp in tents, to watch the local premier the ballet La Sylphide at the Kyrgyz National Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet. At the end of my eight weeks of studying in Bishkek, SRAS took us on a two-week trip around Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, giving us a wider perspective of Central Asia.
We started by taking a charter van over the border to the city of Almaty in Kazakhstan where we spent four days checking out different attractions, practicing Russian with local peers, and relaxing. After our time in Almaty, we flew to the Nukus International Airport in Uzbekistan where we had a tour guide and a bus that drove us all around the country and told us the history of the places we visited. One of the most impressive sights was the ancient center of the city of Bukhara. All of the buildings were built out of sand bricks from the 5th century BC to the 10th century AD, with each architectural design telling its own story. Walking through the city felt like, as our guide would say, “an eastern fairytale.”
I have always been curious about what life is like around the world. Living in Bishkek and traveling around the region helped me gain new perspectives on life and gave me some real unique experiences. I was able to work on my Russian, and improve my conversation by using the language in a practical way. I found the experience a fun and valuable part of my language journey. I’m motivated to continue pushing on learning Russian and hope to travel more in the future. Until then, I have some great memories of all the new people I’ve met, places I’ve visited, and new lessons learned about living with a different language and culture.
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