Goodbye from Valentina: пока Россия, I’ll see you soon!
Time has come to say goodbye to Moscow already and, just as I expected, my experience here was so intense and full of emotions. Five weeks have gone by incredibly fast and now a part of me is not ready to leave the school, my room, my friends, and my daily routine in this beautiful city.
Once again I have to thank Liden & Denz for contributing in making my time in Russia so amazing. At first, attending Russian lessons in the morning and working as an intern in the afternoon was tough and tiring, but I don’t regret my choice of living this 360° experience at the school. I am so happy with the opportunity I had to work here, to meet the other interns, and to find more information about Russia and Moscow. Nothing was better than writing articles about my personal experience and about Moscow, the city I fell in love with and I will miss so much.
Not only will I miss the city but also studying Russian at Liden & Denz. Lessons here are nothing like those at the university. They are fun, interactive, and so useful to practice speaking and listening. I can’t believe how much I’ve improved in the last few weeks by simply chatting in Russian with the teacher and friends in my group, with no need to spend hours on the exercise book doing translations. Discussing the different topics the teacher proposed, exposing the most interesting news we had read on the newspaper, or simply talking about the Russian culture were incredibly effective ways to widen my vocabulary and to become more confident. After these five intense weeks I feel I am no longer scared of starting a conversation in Russian about any topic and for me this is the greatest achievement.
The lessons in the morning and the internship in the afternoon were only a part of my life here in Moscow. During the first weeks, the sun and warm weather gave me the chance to do what I like the most: walk around and discover new spots in this beautiful city. I also had time to see things I hadn’t seen the last time I came here: Lenin’s Mausoleum was as impressive as I expected, but I have to say that trying all the food markets in Moscow was my favorite occupation during my spare time.
In fact (people won’t believe it) one of the things I will miss the most is food. Yes, I’m Italian, but one of the best parts of my stay when I come to Russia is trying any kind of restaurant. Moscow offers such a wide choice of different cuisines, and I have tasted with great pleasure any kind of dishes, from the traditional Russian чебуреки and пельмени, to my beloved Armenian lavash. My favourites, though, will always be Georgian restaurants: eating хачапури and шашлык every week was a pleasant habit I’m already missing.
And what about my teacher Barbara who was always so kind and cheerful, my flat-mate and now friend Vera… I can just say a big СПАСИБО to all the wonderful people I met here. Thank you because I had the time of my life in Moscow, because now I feel so sad to leave, and because I’m already sure I will come back someday.
Пока пока Россия, I can’t wait to see you again.
