RUSSIAN PROGRAM IN ST PETERSBURG AND MOSCOW

THE MONTH OF JUNE WAS STILL WHITE NIGHTS IN ST PETERSBURG WHEN SEVERAL CLEMSON STUDENTS TOOK ADVANTAGE OF A GRANT TO STUDY RUSSIAN LANGUAGE THERE.

Rachel Bedenbaugh had already taken 2 years of Russian before leaving. She lived with a Russian family: "I not only caught onto the language quickly, but immediately fell in love with the people and the culture. I received the Language Department's scholarship last semester to study abroad in St. Petersburg, and those five weeks were some of the best times of my life. Through the Russian Department I have not only been exposed to a new culture and a beautiful language, but also to great friends, chances to travel abroad, and important leadership skills that I will carry with me for the rest of my life."
Mark Webb, a Biological Science major, knew no Russian and took 5 weeks of intensive language classes in the mornings with outings and visits to other towns in the afternoons and weekends: "A year has passed. The first trip to Russia has become a part of my autobiography. Hermitage’s collection is not just dim pictures from NPR’s series or illustrations from my art books anymore, but vivid images in my head. Raskolnikov’s room now means so much more than just a few epithets in the book. Russian people, the beautiful Russian countryside, instead of being abstract notions, now hold a firm spot in my memory." Mark plans to return this summer.

Newsletter Spring 2002 Department of Languages Clemson University Editor