advice about exchange program in Moscow

[David Kaiser]

I would advise against Moscow. Although it has more amenities and
services, it's hard to actually study Russian there. Many locals speak
English and there are lots of distractions, such as bars (my students
spent lots of time and money at the Hungry Duck), other Americans,
expensive shopping, etc.

I studied Russian in Perm for six months prior to starting my MA and it
helped me tremendously. Perm is probably too remote for a large study
abroad group, but a second-tier city with a moderate number of
foreigners and English-speakers such as Ekaterinburg or Nizhny Novgorod
would be good candidates. Good luck.

DKaiser
MA, Universty of Arizona
PhD Candidate, UChicago

>
>Dear colleagues,
>I would be immensely grateful for any advice you may be able to offer.
I
>have recently begun a job at the University of South Carolina, and my
>department is extremely interested in establishing an exchange program
>between USC and the Moscow State Linguistics University.  I have a
couple
>of concerns.  First, have any of you had exchanges with Moscow State
>Linguistics University, and, if so, what kind of experiences have you
(and
>your students) had (i.e. academics, housing)? Second, what do you think
>about an exchange to Moscow, as opposed to a smaller and perhaps safer
>city? Finally, given the current political and economic upheaval
(though
>obviously none of us can predict what is going to happen there), would
it
>make more sense to stay out of Moscow?
>My email address is KalbJ at garnet.cla.sc.edu, and I'd really appreciate
your
>help!
>Thanks so much,
>Judith Kalb
>Dr. Judith E. Kalb
>Assistant Professor of Russian
>Department of Germanic, Slavic, and Oriental Langs. and Lits.
>University of South Carolina
>Columbia, SC 29208
>phone: (803) 777-9615
>e-mail: KalbJ at garnet.cla.sc.edu
>


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