Met at Liden & Denz: Nerelle Constance Poroch

Nerelle Constance Poroch is an Australian, working as Researcher of Aboriginal People in Canberra. Here is her story:

How did you come up with idea to learn Russian and why in Russia? 

Nothing connected to my profession, I started because my late husband was Ukrainian and we studied Russian together at university. I left university majoring in Russian.  When I was doing my PHD in the 90’s I decided to resurrect my interest in Russian.

A lot of people consider learning Russian a challenge. Regarding your personal experience, do you agree?

Do I consider Russian a challenge? Absolutely.

What do you find easy or difficult about learning Russian?

I don’t think any of it is easy. I would say it is hard to get enough speaking practice. The language is very challenging and you need to enjoy the language in order to persevere.

How does your stay in Russia compare with other trips, either travel or learning a language?

I have not learnt another language in another country. But each country has its own culture. When you live with a family and studying the language it intensifies one’s understanding of the culture. It’s a very rich experience and very different to being a tourist. The experience increases in richness the more I return to Russia.

Going back home, what will you miss about Russia?

I will miss the Russian family that I live with. Staying with a family is very instructive of Russian culture. Of course I will also miss attending operas plays and ballets in St Petersburg.

Nerelle’s work is available at www.winnunga.org.au

James Fox is an English student, a current intern and studying Russian at Liden & Denz St. Petersburg