Привет from the New Intern

Всем привет! My name is Emily, and I’ll be interning at Liden & Denz in St. Petersburg for the summer. This is my third time in Russia, and my second time living in Petersburg, and I’m excited for another summer of Russian language, rain, винегрет, and vending machines that serve coffee in tiny cups.

I’ve been studying Russian on and off for about seven years. As an undergraduate I majored in international relations and Russian, and spent eight months studying abroad in St. Petersburg, and returned the next summer to teach English in Voronezh. At the moment I’m a graduate student studying creative writing. I write short stories and also translate contemporary Russian fiction and poetry, and have come back to improve my language skills and find up-and-coming Russian writers to translate for an English speaking audience. It also seems that there are about 7,000 new coffee shops since I’ve last been here, and I’d like to see them all.

In my spare time, I’m a competitive rock climber, and am excited to explore St. Petersburg’s climbing scene. There are lots of great gyms around the city and some good outdoor climbing up north in Karelia, where there are often summer festivals and competitions. When I’m not climbing, I like to go to art museums/galleries and simply wander around the city, especially the canals. Even though the weather here can be a bit iffy, I live in Colorado, where it is absurdly hot and dry in the summer, and I’m secretly happy to have a rainy cold summer in Petersburg.

Emily, currently studying Russian at Liden & Denz St. Petersburg