Всем привет from the new intern at Liden and Denz, Riga!
Всем привет дорогие читатели! My name is Patrick and I’m the new intern blogger at Liden and Denz, Riga. I’m a 3rd year student at the University of Oxford studying Russian Language and Literature. Having spent the first part of my year abroad in Estonia, I then spent 8 weeks in Daugavpils, a week in Vilnius and have now come to Riga to study at Liden and Denz. It’s safe to say, I’ve been all over the place.
I started studying Russian in school, 9 years ago, which is a scary thought now I can see it typed on the page. Languages have intrigued me for as long as I can remember, as I spent four years living in Germany, and so was exposed to foreign languages from an early age. I believe that this exposure really pushed me forward in my language learning pursuits; I realised that you interpret the world through a foreign language in a completely different manner. It’s more than just a different framework for communication; but a completely different system of self-expression. Although German is similarly challenging, it was through Russian that I was really able to appreciate this.
I originally chose Russian because it was something different; a language other than French or Spanish, and one rarely encountered when living in the UK. What began with a choice for something different, blossomed into a love of all things Russian, its vast literature in particular. From Tolstoy’s tomes to Solzhenitsyn’s satire, I have pretty much consumed it all. That being said, I quickly got up to speed with real-world Russian language and culture after I spent a summer in St Petersburg living in a дача, though I found the flowery language of Russian literature came up a lot – especially among wise old babushkas.
When I’m not working on my Russian, I’m an avid reader and massive film fan. Or else you can often find me in a pub as is natural for anyone from the UK.
I can’t wait to share my experiences of studying Russian abroad and life in Riga – keep an eye out!
Patrick, currently studying Russian at Liden and Denz, Riga.
