So, at long last, two days before I leave, I have received my host family information! I will have a host dad, host mom, and a host sister (but it doesn't say her age.) I am going to try and email them before I go. I don't have much information about them, but I am so excited to meet them next week!
Packing is essentially done, I'm just finishing a few projects around the house before I go.
Oh, and this isn't related to my trip to Russia, but my (American) family is probably going to be hosting an exchange student for this upcoming school year through AFS! We had an in-home interview for it yesterday. The girl that we might be hosting is 15 (my age), from Thailand, and she has a lot of similar interests. It sounds like she would probably be arriving around 2 days after I get back from Russia, which seems sort of crazy, but I don't care- I'm excited for the possibility of having family members from all across the globe.
Nina
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Friday, June 8, 2012
12 Days
Привет!
What happens in 12 days? THAT'S RIGHT! I WILL BE IN DC! Which means the first leg of my journey to Nizhny Novgorod, Russia! We spend approximately a day and a half-ish there before boarding the plane to Moscow (still not clear on how we're getting to Nizhny from Moscow- I'm guessing taking a train or something- but we have a direct flight to Moscow from DC.) I think I'm as excited for the orientation as I am for actually going to Russia, just because it's the start of it all. Yesterday I got a memorandum thing in my email all about the NSLI-Y orientation, and today I got my final flight itinerary/e-plane-ticket to DC from my home city [classified because this is a public blog, though probably the only people who bother to read it know me personally.]
Last week I made a photo album online with pictures of my town/life in the U.S. to show my host family, and it came in the mail yesterday. I'm really excited to show it to them, because I'm guessing it will be a good conversation starter. Unfortunately, I still don't know anything about my host family. I've been stalking my email like a crazy person for the past week because I think all the other American Councils Russia summer groups have gotten their family's information already, but the Nizhny group still hasn't yet. I would kind of like to have an older host sibling, since I'm the oldest of two in my house (my sister is 2 years younger than me). It would also be fun to have a much younger host sibling, because I love little kids. But I don't really have any preferences. I'm sure I'll love whoever I end up with, and I know I'll feel bad later if I go into the whole host family thing with any strong set opinions before I even know anything about my host family. So I'm keeping an open mind, but I desperately want to know! I just checked my email again. No, really.
The good news is, I now officially leave in less than two weeks! Which means I can't be more than a week away from getting my host family information.
Cheers to staying positive!
-Nina
What happens in 12 days? THAT'S RIGHT! I WILL BE IN DC! Which means the first leg of my journey to Nizhny Novgorod, Russia! We spend approximately a day and a half-ish there before boarding the plane to Moscow (still not clear on how we're getting to Nizhny from Moscow- I'm guessing taking a train or something- but we have a direct flight to Moscow from DC.) I think I'm as excited for the orientation as I am for actually going to Russia, just because it's the start of it all. Yesterday I got a memorandum thing in my email all about the NSLI-Y orientation, and today I got my final flight itinerary/e-plane-ticket to DC from my home city [classified because this is a public blog, though probably the only people who bother to read it know me personally.]
Last week I made a photo album online with pictures of my town/life in the U.S. to show my host family, and it came in the mail yesterday. I'm really excited to show it to them, because I'm guessing it will be a good conversation starter. Unfortunately, I still don't know anything about my host family. I've been stalking my email like a crazy person for the past week because I think all the other American Councils Russia summer groups have gotten their family's information already, but the Nizhny group still hasn't yet. I would kind of like to have an older host sibling, since I'm the oldest of two in my house (my sister is 2 years younger than me). It would also be fun to have a much younger host sibling, because I love little kids. But I don't really have any preferences. I'm sure I'll love whoever I end up with, and I know I'll feel bad later if I go into the whole host family thing with any strong set opinions before I even know anything about my host family. So I'm keeping an open mind, but I desperately want to know! I just checked my email again. No, really.
The good news is, I now officially leave in less than two weeks! Which means I can't be more than a week away from getting my host family information.
Cheers to staying positive!
-Nina
Saturday, May 26, 2012
The dreaded visa application
So, this morning, I very productively woke up and dutifully filled out my visa application. It is now somewhere in the depths of FedEx.
A girl posted this on one of the NSLI-Y facebook groups, and I think it describes the process of filling out a visa fairly accurately:
http://thetimeistudiedabroad.tumblr.com/post/22049230037/when-i-try-to-apply-for-my-visa
But it was a learning experience, as I hope to travel to many more countries in the future. You guessed it, that means more visas!
Love,
Nina
A girl posted this on one of the NSLI-Y facebook groups, and I think it describes the process of filling out a visa fairly accurately:
http://thetimeistudiedabroad.tumblr.com/post/22049230037/when-i-try-to-apply-for-my-visa
But it was a learning experience, as I hope to travel to many more countries in the future. You guessed it, that means more visas!
Love,
Nina
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Thoughts, and Cheburashka :)
So, after publishing my last post, it occurred to me to write about a really great experience I had last weekend. In February, I participated in a Russian Olympiada (a competition of spoken Russian) where I met some kids that were heritage speakers of Russian. They participate in a local Russian children's theatre group that performs at nursing homes, libraries, etc. For Russian Victory Day, last weekend they performed at two different nursing homes with significant populations of Russian people. There were a bunch of kids of all ages, and they performed different poems and songs related to Victory Day. I got to participate- I performed a poem called Война, Война (War, War) and I also got to announce each of the presentations in English for any American people in the audience. It was a really wonderful experience, because practically everything was in Russian and it was great immersion. I am to the point where I can understand a lot of what is said in Russian, but it's harder for me to speak it myself. One of the things I am most excited about in going to Russia is letting the Russian part of my brain take over and just having the opportunity to speak it whenever I want to!
On a random note, I am watching the end of Saturday Night Live right now and am getting teary eyed because it's the end of the season :'(
On a more Russian-related note, here is a picture of my very favorite Russian cartoon character! His name is Cheburashka, and he is a cheburashka. His best friend is a crocodile named Gena, and he was found in a crate of oranges, being mistaken for an orange.
Okay, bye for now!
Nina
On a random note, I am watching the end of Saturday Night Live right now and am getting teary eyed because it's the end of the season :'(
Okay, bye for now!
Nina
Thursday, May 17, 2012
In the meantime...
Well, it's been a while since my last post. Since then, I have completed all three of my Russian placement tests (1 grammar, 1 reading and listening, and one oral) and sent all my paperwork to the NSLI-Y/American Councils people over in DC. I also had to send in a picture of myself, which will the first impression that my host family has of me. Probably the most stress felt over a single photograph that I have ever experienced.
The only things I have left to do in the 34 days left until I leave for orientation in DC are fill out my visa application, which I will probably get in the next week or so, get my host family information (early June sometime) continue studying Russian, and pack! I think I'm going shopping this weekend, it will be a long process....
My school stuff is all starting to wind down. I have a big paper due on June 1st, about two weeks from now, so once that hurdle is over I can seriously think about leaving!
Until then,
Nina
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
First Post
Hi Everybody!
I should probably start by explaining the title of this blog. Firstly, the name From Russia with Love was already taken.
The mango part is because mangoes are my favorite fruit, and some people call me Mango. So, now onto the slightly more complicated and way more interesting Russian part. This blog is a place for me to document my adventures in Russia, where I will be spending the summer. On March 15th, 2012, I checked my email and found out that I had gotten a scholarship from the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (also known as NSLI-Y), to study in Russia for 6 weeks! I leave towards the end of June, and I will be in Nizhny Novgorod, which is the fifth most populous city in Russia. I will be staying with a host family and taking Russian language classes at the Linguistics University of Nizhny Novgorod during the week, along with a group of other American high school students. I have been learning Russian for approximately 2 years already, but I am incredibly excited to further my knowledge of the language and culture. I hope that you will come along for the ride!
~Nina
I should probably start by explaining the title of this blog. Firstly, the name From Russia with Love was already taken.
The mango part is because mangoes are my favorite fruit, and some people call me Mango. So, now onto the slightly more complicated and way more interesting Russian part. This blog is a place for me to document my adventures in Russia, where I will be spending the summer. On March 15th, 2012, I checked my email and found out that I had gotten a scholarship from the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (also known as NSLI-Y), to study in Russia for 6 weeks! I leave towards the end of June, and I will be in Nizhny Novgorod, which is the fifth most populous city in Russia. I will be staying with a host family and taking Russian language classes at the Linguistics University of Nizhny Novgorod during the week, along with a group of other American high school students. I have been learning Russian for approximately 2 years already, but I am incredibly excited to further my knowledge of the language and culture. I hope that you will come along for the ride!
~Nina
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