Update: 2 Months in Russia
It has been exactly 2 months since I have been in Russia. I arrived on January 18th and today is March 18. I haven’t been updating this blog, but I will make more effort to do so. I will post more so I can track my progress, maybe do some dorm review/information post, class/textbook reviews, more photos of Moscow, etc.
Class + Life
I have been enjoying my life here. I really like MGU, my professors and my class. It was slow in the beginning, but the difficulty level is picking up now, and it doesn’t feel as relaxed (which I prefer). We had 2 Americans, 2 Japanese, 1 Chinese, 1 Cuban, 1 Korean, 1 Turk, and then me. Just last week, one American student went back and also a Japanese student left too. I thought it was so nice that he left our class with a Japanese pen each, even though we didn’t talk too much. Hiro, was the youngest and seemed the most motivated too. I think he wanted to study in Moscow after he graduated. Greg, who was a year older than me, will go to the army afterwards. I think we have an interesting mix of students.
Language Update
Well, since last week (or maybe the week before), I have learned all 6 cases. Of course I am not perfect at them still, but I have made a lot of progress in 2 months. Before I came back to Moscow, I only knew 2 cases (Nominative & Prepositional). Right now we are learning various verbs of motion, prepositions, and prefixes (по-, у-, при-, об-, под-, в-, вы-, etc etc etc). I think it is a bit challenging for me, but I just need more practice. Especially using them while speaking. I think reading is my strong suit (At least at the moment), while I need more help with listening and speaking. I guess I need to expand my vocabulary perhaps. I still have my same notebook- already on page 164! It’s funny looking back at old mistakes I made.
Update: Anki, Russian Scholarships, МГУ, Blog Updates
Language Update
Wow, I can’t believe it has almost been 3 months since my last blog post. Of course I have been studying Russian despite abandoning this blog for a bit, but I have gone through some major life crises, unfortunately. I am still making progress, but a lot slower since I have come back to California. It seems like I cannot function whenever I am in this city. Anyways, I have been using Anki (http://ankisrs.net) since Summer- it is a flashcard system where you can download packs on your phone and practice. It is a great and easy way to practice and only takes about 15 minutes- I downloaded Russian 500 Nouns, and it really helps with picking up vocabulary. I am thinking I need to learn more adjectives now, so maybe I will download an adjective flashcard set.
Scholarships
So, for those of you that are also interested in studying in Russia for a bachelors, masters, specialty, or PHD degree, I found out that the Russian Ministry of Education offers scholarships every year to foreign students. It seems as though they provide full tuition, monthly scholarship, and dorm accommodation- although the website is very unspecific regarding the application process, etc. Unfortunately, the Russian government has a quota for each country, and I called to find out in the USA they only offered 1 student a scholarship last year. You need to call the Russian Embassy in your own country to find out more about the application process, deadlines, etc. http://en.russia.edu.ru/enter/1906/ is the link to the 2012 scholarship page in English, the 2013 scholarship is only in Russian language.
I am thinking about still applying for the scholarship next year, but I am pretty doubtful I would get it. Right now, I just want some change, and I would be happy and lucky to study in another country, if it is something that I think I would benefit from.
МГУ
Still waiting to hear back from MGU / MSU this month as to whether or not I am able to study Russian language from January-June. Thinking about it makes me a bit nervous. I hope I will be able to handle the course, improve my language, etc. I am worried about everything- cost, class, social aspects, and returning to the US. I am a very shy person, and I don’t want to bore people to death because I can’t have interesting conversations in their language due to my lack of skill.
Blog Updates
As you might see, I have been messing around with the blog template and design, and I am even thinking about switching everything over by getting my own domain, hosting, etc because it might be more beneficial in the long-run.
Lomonosov MSU
Well I applied to the Russian Language Program at Lomonosov Moscow State University. If everything goes through then I would be staying there for Spring Semester, which is still a pretty long time (from January-June). I am hoping to hear back from them soon. The program is actually cheap compared to classes at the university in my hometown. Fulltime student tuition at MSU or 30 academic hours (I think this is 15~20 quarter credits) + flight costs is about the same cost as non-matriculated tuition at UW Seattle for 15 credits (=1 year of College Russian). Pretty sad (that education in the US is so expensive). I started my new job, but I am still a little worried about costs to cover 6 months being abroad.
Today I studied a couple hours of Russian. I think I am much more comfortable with Prepositional cases, plurals, etc now. I was working on Chapter 4 workbook exercises but didn’t get to finish. Hoping I can get through the whole thing this weekend, so I can focus on Chapter 5 over the week, which is geography- eh I am not looking forward to it. I was looking ahead and Chapters 5,6, and 7 seem pretty difficult. If I can finish Chapter 6 though, then I have made it through 1 quarter of college Russian, studying out of a class! The more I think about it, finishing the entire book by the end of the year might even be an attainable goal- but very ambitious. Maybe I’m crazy then. This means 3 chapters a month:
September: 6, 7, 8
October: 9, 10, 11
November: 12, 13, 14
December: 15, 16, 17
моя pусская тетрадь 