Приветик from Patricia, our new intern in Saint Petersburg

Всем привет!

My Name is Patricia and I am a university student from Austria. I have just finished the first year of my master’s degree in history focusing on economic and social history at the University of Vienna. Besides that, I am also about to finish my bachelor’s degree in Slavonic Studies, focusing on Russian. I will be interning at Liden&Denz in St. Petersburg for the next 5 weeks.

I fell in love with Russian after my first lesson at a language school in Vienna. After that I decided I had to master this beautiful language as well as I could. So I started a bachelor’s degree in Slavonic Studies, even though my schedule had already been packed with studying history and working at the same time. Nevertheless, I began spending more and more time on cramming Russian grammar and catching up on my reading about Russian history. Studying Slavonic Studies gave me the opportunity to learn a lot about Russian literature and popular culture. But what is theoretical knowledge about a language and a country without the experience of applying this knowledge by travelling there?

With that question in my mind, I decided to seize the opportunity of spending a summer in Nizhny Novgorod. My interest in Russian culture and history was taken to another level after that stay. I met so many open-hearted, interesting people, some of which I still consider really close friends. Other than that, my first stay in Russia really helped me improve my Russian skills. Before I got there, I was extremely shy at actually speaking Russian and applying my knowledge of Russian grammar. Staying there and chatting with my newly found friends from all over Russia, made improving my language skills seem extremely easy and I became so much better without even noticing it.

Back home, I still kept in touch with some of the friends I had met and went to visit them in Moscow. Also, my motivation to master the Russian language only got bigger and bigger, because I became aware of Russia being so different from what the common stereotypes that I’ve had in mind had suggested.

Still, there was one thing on my bucket list, I just needed to check off. I had never been to Saint Petersburg. So, I decided to face a new challenge and applied for an internship at Liden&Denz. I am really excited about exploring this wonderful city and keeping you posted about my experiences studying and living in Saint Petersburg. Besides that, I am hoping to provide you with some interesting information about Russian Culture and History.

До скорого!