REAL RUSSIA: HOW IS IT LIKE?

“I had never expected to fall so much in love with Russia and its people”

This is what Enjoy Russian Scholarship contest’s participants say. Those of them who have already been to Russia and is able to understand the language. Our students come to Petrozavodsk to see the real Russia, to experience people’s hospitality and start speaking Russian of course. British traveler and blogger Katherine has written a great story about her Russian trip. Read and think for yourself if you want to learn about Russians from media or come to actually explore it.

Katherine about her trip to Russia

Будь здорова! cried a chorus of voices when I sneezed enormously on my midnight flight to Moscow. This was the first time I’d been surrounded by Russian speakers and the first time I’d ever traveled to Russia. On my way off the plane, a man lifted my suitcase out of the over-head compartment for me. My taxi driver shared his bag of pumpkin seeds with me. A woman offered to take my photo after seeing me struggling to take a selfie – two minutes later she was flat on her back in the middle of red square determined to get both me and St Basil’s in the picture. I was at the ballet when I felt a tap on my arm as a girl offered me some of her chocolate.

The hospitality and kindness of Russians is overwhelming. I was only in Russia for four days in order to run the Moscow Marathon. I had never expected to fall so much in love with a country and its people. Ultimately I want to learn Russian to be able to understand the country more completely as it is so often misrepresented in the West. Russia through the eyes of a Westener is frankly a shock – it exceeds all expectations! I had no idea it would be so full of sunshine, with so much energy and be so well-organised! I promised myself, as I ran around the city, that I would find a way back to Russia, to travel to its far corners, documenting the people I meet and the beautiful landscapes. I blog about my travels and want to be able to present the real Russia, not the repressed version our media feeds us. If it’s only greeting “privet” to your neighbours, chatting to the person next to you at the bus stop, laughing with the lady at the supermarket, or trying to coax a smile out of the man behind the bar; energy is exchanged. Small points of understanding are reached. Misconceptions are broken down. Even at beginner level, it is still possible to change the way people think. It is still possible to have a powerful impact on their day. In this way I would hope to break down some of the walls dividing west and east and show the world Russia through my eyes.

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