Russia.

I'm planning on going to Russia next summer. Summer of 2010. I hope I get into the Study Abroad program. I would be living in Moscow and taking more language classes at one of the universities there. This may surprise anyone who didn't know that I'm studying Russian.



Lots of people have been really surprised when I tell them I'm learning Russian. Actually, what they do most of the time is scrunch up their face and stare at me, then ask, "You're learning Russian? Why?" They often manage to pack as much disgruntled confusion into that last "why" as they possibly can. I suppose that when people inform other people that they're studying French or Spanish or German, they don't really get that same reaction. I don't really know for sure. But most people are puzzled by Russian as being my choice in language learning.

I haven't figured out why Russian seems to be slightly repugnant to a lot of people. But to be honest, I'll admit that if my mission hadn't brought me to Bulgaria I probably wouldn't be studying Russian right now. I probably wouldn't be so interested in Eastern Europe and Slavic languages. I don't exactly shudder at the thought that if I had gone to South America on my mission I might be a Latin American Studies major, but it just feels right to be a European Studies major. At any rate, my life has headed down this track and that's where I'm following it. Russian seems like it would be essential to any Eastern European expert's repertoire. Besides that, it is pretty dang important politically these days. Just because the Cold War is over doesn't mean that Russia and Russian can be ignored.


Besides, Russia has always seemed hardcore to me. The language is more difficult than most Western European languages. It presents a challenge that I'd like to see myself overcome. In terms of Russia itself, it's cold there. Historically the lives of the Russian people have sucked, but they keep on going. They have a rich culture and an amazing set of literature written by some great minds. I read Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment as a senior in high school and it blew my mind. If I ever have an excess of time on my hands in my life (sigh) maybe I'll read something that Tolstoy wrote. I wish he could have been just a bit less long-winded. Orson Scott Card wrote a charming little book called Enchanted that is tons of fun and harks back to Russian mythology/fairy tales and so forth. I love it. I will read it again this Christmas and I can't wait.


Well yeah so that's what I have to say about Russian right now.


P.S. I love traveling, so going to a new place that is hardcore and cool like Moscow just sounds amazing to me. Вот и всё.