Maren is an alumna of the 2023 VSI (Hybrid) Russian Program through the Bolshoi Ballet Academy Summer Intensive. In Summer 2024, Maren participated in the NSLI-Y Russian Summer Program in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Maybe NSLI-Y was the friendships we made along the way. And I’m not kidding. The relationships that you build during NSLI-Y are priceless and can impact your learning in a way like no other.
In the summer of 2023, I participated in NSLI-Y VSI (Hybrid) during my time at the Bolshoi Ballet Summer Intensive in Connecticut. This is an unconventional NSLI-Y story, I know, but a poignant one no less. During the program, I had ballet classes during the day and NSLI-Y Russian classes along with cultural events at night and on the weekends, in virtual as well as in-person settings. My fellow NSLI-Y participants, Annika and Sio, always made class exciting and something I looked forward to. We loved to practice our Russian together, do the Тройка dance, and sing along to a song from an old Soviet commercial, in which the word хорошо was repeated over and over again. Additionally, our Zoom meetings with our language partners from Moscow proved informative and incredibly fun; from practicing tongue twisters in peer tutoring to exploring Russian music together, we had an amazing time.
This summer, I had the opportunity to participate the 2024 Russian Summer Program in-person in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Jumping into a foreign culture with little knowledge of the language was daunting, to say the least. My first few days, I dealt with immense homesickness, but once I started to connect with my peers, my worries and fears dissipated. Exploring the city with my friends while practicing our Russian proved to be a great learning experience that not only allowed us to push our language skills but improve our confidence as well. We encouraged one another to utilize our language skills with locals and supported each other through our mistakes. Whether it was ordering at a restaurant, buying ice cream, going to the mall, or taking a local ballet class, these adventures with my friends fueled my learning. As I built these friendships, I began to think less and less about my homesickness and more about the excitement of meeting new people and trying new things, no matter how scary it might have been. Also, connecting with language partners allowed my peers and I to gain insight into Almaty’s culture and ways of life in a low-stress, easygoing environment. We often went out with our language partners to cafes, parks, and on excursions into the mountains. Despite the language barrier, it was easy to connect with my language partner. She was eager to share about her culture and hear about mine, easily facilitating cultural exchange.
The friends I made during NSLI-Y solidified the experience as one I’ll never forget. I’m ever grateful for my dearest Сиочка and Аннушка, who I don’t think I could have made it through the program without. Stepping into a new language, especially one as daunting as Russian, can be terrifying, but with your peers by your side, the experience is enjoyable and you can learn so much. Additionally, having access to peers from Moscow online and language partners from Almaty to learn from improved my Russian skills tenfold. Plus, the opportunity to look into the lives of a peer from the target language/ culture gave me insight like no other. All of these incredible people helped me find my love for the Russian language and my passion for international relations. Спасибо всем за все!
I wouldn’t give up this experience and these relationships for anything. If you are participating in NSLI-Y, I have one piece of advice for you: lean on your friends! So yes, NSLI-Y was, in fact, the friendships we made along the way!