Back at RGGU

Здравствуйте из России! Hello from Russia! I’ve been in the Motherland for about a week now. Moscow is quite gloomy during this time of year (the weather, not the Russian spirit). In fact, it is raining right now. The view outside my bedroom window, with the Stalinist architecture located just across the courtyard and the dark clouds hanging from the sky, reminds me of a scene from a Cold War film. I am just waiting for the fog to clear, revealing a KGB agent dressed in black and ordered to keep an eye on this “Americanetz.” Okay, enough of the imaginative. No more Cold War, and no more Soviet Union. This is the Russian Federation after all!

So what have I been up to? What a great question! Here are the most important (and interesting) things:

My flight to Moscow: Long. I first flew from D.C. to Frankfurt, Germany, where I had a six hour layover before my flight to Moscow. In the spirit of adventure, I decided to explore this European city for a few hours. While riding the metro, I met a gentleman from Angola, who told me all about his business adventures in South Korea and China. As it was also his first time in Frankfurt, we decided to put our heads together in an attempt to master the German metro. Despite our best attempts, we had to ask the locals for help. Thankfully, many of them spoke English and were more than happy to show us the way. When we reached the center of the city, we said our goodbyes, leaving me to wander around the city on foot and take some pictures before returning to the airport for a traditional German meal: beer and sausages with a side order of potatoes. Thus went my mini German adventure. Next stop, Moscow!

First night in Moscow: I landed in Moscow at 8pm Moscow time. By this time, I was completely exhausted and highly delirious from lack of sleep during my nearly 24-hr travel ordeal. Thankfully, I did not have to take the metro to my new home – my cultural adviser met me at the airport and accompanied me on my 40-min drive to the apartment. As I slipped in and out of sleep in the back seat of the taxi while listening to the Russian pop music playing on the radio, I caught the occasional glimpse of this beautiful city. I saw the Kremlin lit up in all its glory, Red Square,  Arbat, Cathedral of Christ the Savior, and other classic sights in Moscow. The city is truly magical in the evening; it’s no wonder there’s a song appropriately titled “Moscow Nights.” Suddenly I saw fireworks exploding across the sky. Am I hallucinating? Are these manifestations of my imagination, or of my delirium for that matter? Then it hit me – today is Moscow’s 865th birthday, and the city is erupting in celebration. I then arrived at the apartment, where I was greeted by my host mother. After my fill of tea, potatoes and vegetables (kindly prepared by my host mother), I slept…. No, I crashed… and for 14hrs.

Rest of the week: The remainder of the week was less eventful. I slept a lot to minimize the effects of jet lag. I practiced my Russian at the nearby open-air market, where I bought fresh bananas, apples and blueberries from a lady who kindly complimented my Russian. During my next trip there, she told me about her grandson, who is learning English at a nearby elementary school. On Monday, I took a placement exam at the university. And on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, I had review sessions with three different professors at the university. Formal classes begin on Monday. The rest of the week was filled with trips to Red Square and Gorky Park, as well as trips to the store. I also studied grammar and vocab words to prepare for classes on Monday. The evenings were filled with cooking sessions and unforgettable conversations with my host mother.

Needless to say, I am excited to begin classes tomorrow. I look forward to getting back into an academic routine, and I am excited to meet new people. I already had the privilege of being introduced to students from Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Germany and Japan when I went to the university’s international students’ office. Yeah, I can already see that this is going to be a great year.

*Note below: (top left corner) Me signing the language pledge. The six pictures after that (going from left to right) were taken in Germany, while the remainder of the pictures were taken in Moscow.

In less than 24-hours, I will board a plane headed for Moscow. The only word that I can fathom to describe my pre-departure feelings is “bittersweet.” I already miss Holy Cross – the friends, the professors, the campus, the familiar atmosphere, the classes, Cool Beans, and everything else about it. It was especially difficult when the first day of fall classes began and I was nowhere near campus. A knot forms in my stomach whenever I think about Holy Cross……..

Those feelings are only secondary to the excitement I feel about study abroad. I’ve been looking forward to the opportunity to study abroad ever since I applied to college. And for over a year now, I’ve been looking forward to studying in the country that I will soon call my second home: Russia.

Was study abroad the right decision for me? Although I leave for Russia tomorrow, I can respond with a confident “yes.” During the summer study abroad program, I felt a strange attachment to Moscow. It felt so foreign yet so familiar all at the same time. I only scratched the surface of the city during those six weeks. Now I can’t wait to discover the rest of Moscow on my own.

Study abroad is an opportunity that I just cannot pass up. I would be kicking myself in a week if I decided to return to Holy Cross for my junior year. I am so grateful to even have the opportunity to embark on this life-changing experience.

Family and friends – I will see you guys in just 10 short months. My adventure has begun. I shall return with some awesome stories.

And now pictures of family and friends…….

From left to right: My little brother (conveniently rockin' a Sader Nation shirt), me, Dad and Mom. Missing from the picture is my older brother, who was at work at the time. He showed up later.

I leave Los Angeles in just two days. Man that came fast! It finally hit me how much I am going to miss my family when I am gone. Of course, I anticipated this feeling ever since I applied to study abroad; however, now that my trip is only a few days away, I can no longer repress those feelings or put those thoughts into the backburner. Reality has set in. Study abroad is here. Let’s go!

I took this picture of the university - The Russian State University for the Humanities - during the summer study abroad program. University courses will certainly advance my language skills. However, how do I maximize my language growth both inside and outside of the classroom? The answer: a language pledge.

“We, __________ and __________, agree to use Russian as our only form of written and verbal communication while in Russia. We understand that any violation of this pledge will result in a 5-ruble fine.”

With the current exchange rate, 5 rubles comes out to approximately $0.16. That doesn’t sound like much. However, if we continue to violate the pledge, our wallets will certainly take a hit. Thus, there is a monetary – in addition to the personal – incentive to follow the pledge. The money collected throughout the year would be donated to a Russian charity.

The language pledge is an essential component of linguistic immersion. Language proficiency can only be achieved through complete immersion in the language. The pledge itself is simplistic, consisting of only 33 words (not counting our names). I myself surfed the web in search of language pledges to model our pledge after. All language pledges seem to consist of three sentences or less. The simplicity of the wording, however, leaves so many unanswered questions. This includes: Does the pledge apply to email and skype? How do I keep up with current events when my current language skills do not allow me to read about a complex issue in Russian, or to read a Russian newspaper in its entirety? Does listening to English-language music, or watching a movie in English, count as violations of the pledge? Can I read any books in English? Is the pledge applicable when I travel outside of the country? What happens if there is an emergency situation?

– Skype and email: I know that I will rely on skype and email to keep in contact with family and friends back home. They will have to be exceptions to the rules established in the pledge. I will simply have to keep skype and email to a minimum.

– Current events/Music/Movies/Books: As you know, reading about current events, listening to music, watching a movie or reading a book do not necessarily constitute “forms of communication.” Nevertheless, if I am constantly surrounded by English in newspapers, music, movies and books, I will not maximize my language growth. To solve this problem, I loaded my Ipod with Russian and classical music. I will not bring any movies to Russia. If I wish to watch a movie, I can go to a movie theater or watch a classic Russian movie. Books will be kept to a minimum – I will bring no more than 5 English-language books to Moscow. In terms of current events, I will slowly transition from online news sources to Russian newspapers as my language skills progress. This will not only improve my language skills, but allow me to learn about various topics and issues from the Russian perspective.

– Travel outside of the country: Traveling during breaks will be secluded to areas within Russia itself or within Eastern Europe. The pledge will remain in effect.

– Emergency situations: Safety is the number one priority. English will be permitted during emergencies.

As you can see, I still need to figure out some of the details of the pledge before I sign it. I feel that the pledge should apply to speaking, reading, writing and even listening with few predetermined exceptions (ex: email and skype). I am determined to make a good-faith effort to abide by the pledge while I am abroad. I will let you know when the pledge is complete!

It’s that time of year again. I don’t mean “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” (thanks Andy Williams). What I am talking about is, of course, that last stretch before final exams.

There are exactly 16 days left until I am completely done with this semester. Within that time, I have: three essays, an art project, a Russian exam, and two final exams. Am I stressed? Of course. Have I been getting enough sleep? I’ve forgotten what sleep is. In the midst of this stress and exhaustion, the Russian club decided to take a day trip to New York.

Last week, the Russian club sponsored a trip to Brighton Beach. For those of you that don’t know about Brighton Beach, it’s a neighborhood in Brooklyn known for its high population of ethnic Russians and Russian-speaking immigrants. We ate at a Russian restaurant and explored the countless number of shops, all while speaking in Russian. It was a fun cultural and academic experience. I can’t wait to go to Moscow with these students this summer!

Needless to say, it was nice to get off campus and explore Brighton Beach with other students and the Foreign Language Assistant. I feel like I have a clear mind once again. Now it’s time to work on those papers and prepare for the exams. Wish me luck!

The moment I stepped foot on this campus, I wanted to meet Holy Cross’ second most famous (after Clarence Thomas) alum: Chris Matthews. Last week, I did just that.

Chris Matthews came to campus to promote his new book titled Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero. Of course, he talked about the life of Jack Kennedy, specifically his military and political careers. The speech then took an emotional turn when Matthews described the moment he learned that President Kennedy was assassinated.

I can go on and on about his talk. But there was a moment in the speech that continues to resonate in my mind. After discussing the GOP field and the political climate in Washington today, he began to talk about this country’s future generation of political leaders. He said that today’s political climate discourages the young generation from pursuing careers in public service, especially at the national level. As a result, this country will be forced to choose among so-called “second class” politicians. Matthews suggested that the young generation needs to have the courage to enter politics and enact change from within. Without courageous, motivated people that are eager to change Washington, “politics as usual” will continue. As a political science major that aspires to work in the government, I took this to heart.

To my dismay, the book sold out within minutes of the presentation. But that didn’t stop me from meeting him. I waited in line for an hour in order to shake his hand, thank him for his speech and have him sign a post-it note. I plan to buy his book soon and put the signed post-it note inside of it. But Matthews made up for the book by agreeing to take a picture with my friends and me! 🙂 On a side note, he’s really funny and really nice. The Chris Matthews you see on Hardball is different from the REAL Chris Matthews.

Bob Woodward…. Clarence Thomas…. Harry Thomas…. Chris Matthews…. Who’s next?

Last year, I fulfilled my dream of meeting Bob Woodward. He gave a speech to the Holy Cross community about government secrecy and the dangers of “closed door” activities in Washington. His speech still resonates in my mind whenever I walk into my political science course. Of course, I purchased his book and had him sign it after his speech concluded. It’s my most cherished book on the bookshelf.

This semester is equally rewarding in terms of speakers. In February, I had the privilege of witnessing the Honorable Clarence Thomas receive an honorary degree from Holy Cross. Just last week, I was invited to attend a reception with the U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines: Harry Thomas. As an aspiring Foreign Service Officer, I took advantage of this opportunity to ask him questions about the State Department, life in the Foreign Service, and other topics of interest. Tomorrow, I will attend a lecture given by Chris Matthews, who is also a Holy Cross alum. I am going to arrive early so that I can sit near the front and take pictures! Without a doubt, I am going to purchase his latest book and have him sign it. I am so happy that I had/have the opportunity to meet these famous alumni before I go abroad to Russia!

I am going to be as honest as possible with this post. A few days ago, I dealt with the fact that one of my closest friends at Holy Cross decided to transfer. Now I know what you are thinking. If I read this as a prospective student, I would question whether or not Holy Cross was the best place to spend the next four years of my life. In fact, if I read this, Holy Cross would make it to the bottom of my list of desired colleges. I always envisioned college to be a utopian paradise (with a few dislikes every now and then). Sadly, this is real life, and the ups and downs do not simply disappear.

So what happened? Like me, Tim left Los Angeles to study at Holy Cross. Unlike me, he wanted to study business. If you know anything about Holy Cross, you know that Holy Cross does not offer a business major let alone business courses. So he struggled with the fact that he was at a school where he could not pursue his academic interests. Finally, he had enough and decided to transfer to a school in California where he could pursue a business major.

Is Holy Cross the perfect school? The answer is no. No school is perfect in every sense. Life is not perfect. I love Holy Cross for all its ups and downs, and I know that it is a great place for me to pursue my academic interests. But it is not perfect. This is what makes college a growing experience – it forces us to take the good and the bad, and to maintain a positive attitude regardless of what life throws at you.

So yes, Tim went to the wrong school. Before he left for California on Friday, he seemed very happy. It’s hard to see him go, because in college, it’s inevitable that you will grow close to so many people. You live together, eat together, walk to classes together, and even explore Worcester and Boston together. I still walk around campus thinking that I will see him later in the evening or catch up with him on the weekend. Yet, that will not happen anymore. But I can’t help but be happy for him. He made the right decision to transfer, and I wish him all the best.

If you are in the process of applying to colleges, I encourage you to really research each school and think hard about what you want to do in life. No, you don’t have to have a definite plan for post-graduation – just think in general terms about what you would like to do. In this way, you will choose the right school. Whether or not that is Holy Cross is completely up to you.