Return to Russian Studies!
Almost two years ago, I tried to learn Russian. Remember this post, where I showed you all of my hard work? Then I became lazy and undisciplined, and gave up. Suddenly there's a renewed desire to put my linguist cap back on and redeem myself! So, today I enrolled again in beginning Russian classes through the adult education program in my community. The class is called "Russian the Fun Way" and the course description is:
"Explore something new and have fun this summer learning the basics of the Russian language. You will learn the Cyrillic alphabet and easy conversation skills. We'll also discuss interesting historical and cultural facts related to Russia and neighboring countries which pertained to the former Soviet Union."
Maybe this class is too basic for me, but it will be a nice refresher on basic Russian phonetics and phrases. I'm already a pro at writing the Cyrillic alphabet. :)
If my blog audience continues to grow, perhaps it could lead to more sponsored travel opportunities. However, all blogger tours associated with LiveJournal are conducted in Russian, not English. I'm completely lost in this environment, as I experienced during the Sochi journey. All other participants of the expedition were Russian, and almost all announcements were made in the language. I understood only a few words in each sentence.
My classes start on 16 July, and will meet each Thursday for 2 1/2 hours for six weeks. Cost for the course is $135 USD. If it's interesting to readers, I will discuss the language lessons and classes on the blog. Wish me luck! :)) And please share my blog with other English speaking Russians who may be interested!