Ready for Russia!
Here it comes! My trip to Russia!! I'm leaving for Russia tomorrow (Monday, 12th November) for about two weeks.
I have been planning to visit this country for about a year and half. Russia is one country that has fascinated me ever since I was a child. I was and am a big fan of the Soviet/Russian space technology! We Indians almost always have a universally good feelings toward Russia, and I'm no exception. My fascination with Russia came full circle when I moved to America for my graduate school. Ever since my initial friendship began with Russians early during my graduate school, I have been fascinated by the history, culture, and language of Russia. I do not know exactly why, but I continued to bond particularly well with the Russians. Some of the best friends I made are Russians. Even today, majority of my friends are Russians, and I am now participating in more Russian cultural events than any other cultural events. Many people are telling me how "almost Russian" I am! May be, I was a Russian in my previous life (if there were to be a previous life!). HAHAHA!
Tough as it is, I'm persevering to continue my pursuit of learning the Russian language. I am very happy to say that I'm semi-proficient in Russian, and by the compliment-showers that I get from native speakers, I think I have a "neutral" accent and not such-a-bad vocabulary! I'm very happy with my effort of the 3-semester Russian language study, and I will continue to pursue it as long as I can.
Another thing that I grew close to in the past few years is the Russian culture, the Russian way-of-life, thought, etc. Learning a language not just entails learning to conjugate verbs, or memorizing vocabulary, but also involves deeply understanding a culture. Then and only then, can one claim to be a "master" of a certain language. No wonder many people do a Study Abroad program when majoring in a language. Unfortunately, I can't do a study abroad program, but I will take this two-week opportunity to visit Russia to see everything I learned about with my own eyes!
It will be great to finally see the places that I read about, the places that I heard descriptions about, the cultural aspects that were taught in the class, etc! Most importantly, it will be great to catch up with some old friends. Wow, how exciting this whole thing is! Overall, I'm VERY excited to visit Russia. This is THE place I always wanted to visit, and I just can't wait for the firsthand experience of Russian culture!
I will be flying first to St. Petersburg, one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Then, I will go to Moscow for about 3 or 4 days, and return back to St. Petersburg. The entire trip duration is about 13 days. I'm looking forward to enjoying every bit of it.
PS: I *will* update the popular "Russo-Travelo-Meter" once I reach Russia. I look forward to making it 100%. ; )
I have been planning to visit this country for about a year and half. Russia is one country that has fascinated me ever since I was a child. I was and am a big fan of the Soviet/Russian space technology! We Indians almost always have a universally good feelings toward Russia, and I'm no exception. My fascination with Russia came full circle when I moved to America for my graduate school. Ever since my initial friendship began with Russians early during my graduate school, I have been fascinated by the history, culture, and language of Russia. I do not know exactly why, but I continued to bond particularly well with the Russians. Some of the best friends I made are Russians. Even today, majority of my friends are Russians, and I am now participating in more Russian cultural events than any other cultural events. Many people are telling me how "almost Russian" I am! May be, I was a Russian in my previous life (if there were to be a previous life!). HAHAHA!
Tough as it is, I'm persevering to continue my pursuit of learning the Russian language. I am very happy to say that I'm semi-proficient in Russian, and by the compliment-showers that I get from native speakers, I think I have a "neutral" accent and not such-a-bad vocabulary! I'm very happy with my effort of the 3-semester Russian language study, and I will continue to pursue it as long as I can.
Another thing that I grew close to in the past few years is the Russian culture, the Russian way-of-life, thought, etc. Learning a language not just entails learning to conjugate verbs, or memorizing vocabulary, but also involves deeply understanding a culture. Then and only then, can one claim to be a "master" of a certain language. No wonder many people do a Study Abroad program when majoring in a language. Unfortunately, I can't do a study abroad program, but I will take this two-week opportunity to visit Russia to see everything I learned about with my own eyes!
It will be great to finally see the places that I read about, the places that I heard descriptions about, the cultural aspects that were taught in the class, etc! Most importantly, it will be great to catch up with some old friends. Wow, how exciting this whole thing is! Overall, I'm VERY excited to visit Russia. This is THE place I always wanted to visit, and I just can't wait for the firsthand experience of Russian culture!
I will be flying first to St. Petersburg, one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Then, I will go to Moscow for about 3 or 4 days, and return back to St. Petersburg. The entire trip duration is about 13 days. I'm looking forward to enjoying every bit of it.
PS: I *will* update the popular "Russo-Travelo-Meter" once I reach Russia. I look forward to making it 100%. ; )
Labels: Russian Stuff
posted by Shriram at 8:02 PM Permanent Link
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