And so the tale begins…

July 28, 2016

For the Tale of Three Cities Dialogue, each student is placed in a homestay in central Moscow. I am staying with Oksana, who lives in the north next to the Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics. The area is very popular and attracts many tourists from around the world. As part of the program, I have a single bedroom in a small, two-bedroom apartment, and am fed breakfast and dinner everyday. I did not anticipate to stay in a large apartment, as Moscow is a very expensive, metropolitan city. After we leave Moscow at the end of July, we will visit Kazan, where we will stay in hotels for several days. For the final week of our trip, we will stay in a hostel in St. Petersburg. I have never stayed in a hostel, so I am curious to see how they differ from hotels and other housing options while traveling.

Our program has five students, making it one of the smallest Dialogues during the summer 2016 semesters. Although I was initially nervous about the group size, I have been able to form friendships with each person and assist them in translating—I am the only person in the program with Russian language experience, so I have been working assist the other four students in navigating around Moscow. We each come from very different backgrounds, culturally and academically, thus giving us the chance to learn from one another throughout the summer. I am excited to explore Russia with my classmates and professor, and hope to assist them with their Russian language studies.

Written By

Elisabeth Borja

Hello! My name is Elise and I am a senior at Northeastern University. I have a major in Communication Studies with two minors in International Affairs and French. I will be apart of the Tale of Three Cities Dialogue of Civilizations program, which takes place in Moscow, Kazan, and St. Petersburg, Russia. I hope that this Dialogue of Civilizations program will help me improve my Russian language skills, as well as educate me on the many parts of Russia that aren't shown in Western media. A fun fact about me is I speak three languages: English, French, and Russian. I am very eager to share my experiences with you for the next several weeks, and hope you continue to read my weekly posts!