February 6, 2020

Hello again! It has been an absolutely crazy first full week in Russia! I have had between 3-6 hours of Survival Russian everyday this week which has really helped me step back into this language. I do not know a lot of food words and motion verbs (I need to go etc.) remain a challenge but I know it just takes practice and there will be loads of that while I am here. So this week I have been learning the little things. First of all, I have been to the grocery more times than I can count and am still finding things I am missing. I am hoping to go out and find some vegan markets over the weekend so I can hopefully find more things that are friendly to my diet. Class has eaten up most of my time and energy this week. I have gotten a metro card and this morning my friends and I went out to breakfast. I was able to order my breakfast without certain elements and made it vegan and gluten free! So I am very happy to see my communication improve. I am also very grateful that most Russians are very patient with me as I sound like a small toddler. We received our Metro card and we rode on the metro just one station. It seems pretty straight forward but it is going to take some getting used to in terms of vocabulary. Not nearly as many lines as the London underground. Metro stations are also really pretty here. Mainly covered in marble with quotes or statues on the walls... seemingly out of place in a subway system. Today the Vice-Rector talked to all of the international students and we learned about all the things we can and cannot do. He seems really nice and I believe he may be teaching one of my classes this semester. We also took our written placement test today... I have decided to look at it in the rose/thorn analysis system. The thorn was: My grammar is something awful and I do not remember my cases or how they apply. This was about 80% of the test. The rose of it all however, was though it won't help my grade, I could translate most of the sentences in the exam and could understand the context. I also after 3 hours of Russian class today had to speak for my OPI. This was an unofficial oral exam with someone back stateside... I scored lower than I had hoped. I am bummed that I failed to show the skills I know I have. Tomorrow is our last day of survival Russian and then we celebrate by going to a restaurant for lunch and speaking in Russian the entire time. I am going to finish reviewing my materials so that I prove to myself that I am better than the OPI placement. Talk to you all soon!