The First Blog

Hi everyone,

For the next nine weeks I will be attempting to maintain this blog as I study abroad in Russia this summer.  I hope to use this website as a place for my friends, family, and any interested watchers to keep an eye on how I am doing at the Russian State University for the Humanities (RSUH) in Moscow.  I am sure that I will have many interesting experiences, whether they be positive or negative, and I hope to share them with as many of you as possible.  

As a bit of background for anyone who hasn't checked in with my life in a while, I am at The Ohio State University attempting to double major in International Studies (specialization in Intelligence and Security) and Russian.  Having taken a full years worth of Russian at OSU already, this program will give me another full years worth of Russian credit with only nine weeks of study.  I plan to use this adventure to gage how far in Russian I should attempt to go and I hope to develop a bond with Russia's fascinating culture. 

With only one year's worth of Russian at my disposal, I admit that I view surviving in Moscow as a challenge at this point in time.  Learning how to enhance my communication with Russian natives and focusing intently on my studies are my main goals while at RSUH, and I am sure that many stories will come of it.

I do hope that my blog will encourage any readers to study abroad at least once in their life.  Even if I should have challenges while trying to learn the language, there is no doubt in my mind that study abroad will be one of the best things I've ever chosen to do.  Whether you read this from Cincinnati, Columbus, or elsewhere, I hope this encourages you to try and immerse yourself in a different culture one day and reap the benefits that are bound to come from it.

While I cannot promise constant updates, I will do my best to report everything exciting that happens to me.  Phone calls and texts are expensive so please send me an email at polivka.8@buckeyemail.osu.edu or find me on Facebook if you have any thoughts for me and this blog!  

I hope everybody has a great summer and I can't wait to come back to the US at the end of August!