Time to Say Goodbye, До Свидания Moscow!
It’s time for me to say goodbye, seven weeks in Moscow have come to an end.
Moscow is a city that definitely grows on you. At first it really didn’t seem like a place where I wanted to spend 5 weeks of my summer. However, in the end I stayed even longer, extending my stay by two weeks!
I had the opportunity to live with a Russian family for 6 weeks. I experienced first hand Russian hospitality, and some interesting outlooks on the world. As I extended my stay at short notice, my last week was spent in a shared flat. This was a great experience bonding with other students. I was lucky to live with 3 Italians – I never had to cook! It was surprising how often we spoke Russian together too. Although, whether our conversations were really Russian, rather than a new Russian, Italian, and English creole that only we understand, I’m not so sure.
I can’t thank enough all the teachers and staff at Liden & Denz for their help and for such enjoyable lessons. 4 hours of lessons each day can really exhaust you, but the teachers always make it interesting, so that you concentrate from the first minute to the last.
7 weeks is nowhere near enough time to master Russian. I still make many grammar mistakes and it still feels at times that Russians are speaking at a million miles an hour. Nevertheless, I’m really happy with my progress, and how much more I understand.
I’m not sure when I can come back to Moscow. All I know is that I definitely will. The city makes all the time spent trying to sort out a visa completely worth it!
До свидания!
Лоуренс
Lawrence Toye, currently studying Russian at Liden & Denz Moscow