study abroad

Nicholas Seay Participates in American Councils’ Eurasian Regional Language Program

By Nicholas Seay

Nicholas Seay, a second-year PhD Student in the Department of History spent two months this summer learning Tajik through the American Councils Eurasian Regional Language Program (ERLP). The ERLP program provides high-quality language instruction and specially designed cultural programming for students studying the languages of Central Asia, the South Caucasus, Russia, Ukraine, and Moldova. Languages available to study include Armenian, Azerbaijani, Turkish, Georgian, Chechen, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Romanian, Bashkir, Buryat, Tatar, Yakut, Persian (Dari, Farsi, Tajik), Pashto, Uzbek, and Ukrainian.

Karakul Lake, Tajikistan

While the COVID-19 pandemic led American Councils to cancel in-person language learning programs, the majority of classes were still offered online. “The ability to continue to work towards the language skills necessary for my research while ensuring that students, staff, and instructors had the opportunity to work safely during the pandemic made this a unique opportunity. I am very happy to see American Councils working so hard to ensure that all programs are carried out safely,” Nicholas explained. In both Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 American Councils programming will continue to operate online.

Nicholas Seay Giving an Uzbek Language Presentation

Nicholas first traveled to Tajikistan in 2017 as part of the State Department’s Critical Language Scholarship program for the study of Persian. Iranian Persian (sometimes called Farsi) and Tajik Persian are closely related. While Iranian Persian served as Nicholas’ initial encounter with Persian, his research interests in the history of cotton production in Soviet Tajikistan have led him to redirect his focus towards Tajik. As Nicholas described, “One advantage of studying with ERLP was the ability to study the specifics of the Tajik language and begin to understand regional dialects within Tajikistan.”

In the future, Nicholas hopes to combine his Russian and Tajik language skills in archival and oral history work in Russia and Tajikistan. His summer online studies were partially funded by support from the History Department at Ohio State and with the support of a Fulbright-Hays Fellowship from the U.S. Department of Education. Nicholas will be hosting a virtual information session on October 5th at 3:00 PM for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students interested in pursuing similar opportunities with American Councils ERLP and related programs. To RSVP for this information session, follow the link here.

Summer language programs and FLAS in a time of uncertainty

By Eileen Kunkler, CSEES assistant director

Peterhof Palace, Russia

As a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic, plans for summer 2020 for many have been upended. In the past few weeks, most of us have had to make radical changes to our personal and professional lives, including cancelling study abroad and travel plans for the foreseeable future, learning how to teach or take classes online, and caring for children, loved ones, and pets while working from home. In point of fact, this article was written from the comfort of the author’s home with her trusty dog by her side, instead of in the pet-free confines of Enarson Classroom Building, and most of you reading this will presumably be doing something similar from your own home offices. And the situation does not seem likely to change within the next couple of months. Recent university restrictions prohibit travel for most of the summer, study abroad programs have been cancelled, and almost all colleges and universities have decided to keep teaching online for the summer until there is more clarity about the pandemic and its duration.

Park Pobedy, Moscow, Russia

From the student perspective, summer semester, or quarter for those of us from an earlier vintage, was the chance to study abroad, to visit a foreign country or continent, to explore the world and young adulthood with a degree of independence and unfettered by family or typical routines and obligations. This is not to say that studying abroad is frivolous or without academic rigor. Summer programs are appealing exactly because they combine both, the chance to experience something different, as well as plunging into research or learning about language, history, art, culture, etc. in depth and hands-on. For language students in particular, summer programs offer the opportunity to study a foreign language intensively and usually in an immersive setting, whether abroad or at one of the many U.S.-based language workshops. These summer intensive programs give students the opportunity to make significant progress in the development of their language skills, typically studying the equivalent of two semesters of language courses over the period of six to ten weeks.

Mikulov, Czech Republic

For decades, CSEES has been a Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship granting institution, and the hundreds if not thousands of CSEES summer FLAS awards over the years have funded graduate, and more recently undergraduate, students to focus on language studies during the summer. Many readers may have at some point received a FLAS, whether from CSEES or another institution. FLAS alumni are spread throughout higher education institutions across the country, graduate programs, and government agencies, creating a lasting network that supports and advocates for the study of foreign languages in the U.S. If you have ever attended an area studies conference, you know that more than one introduction or conversation has been started by sharing a FLAS reminiscence.

Prague, Czech Republic

Despite COVID-19, CSEES’ summer 2020 FLAS program will continue, though in an admittedly abbreviated and drastically altered form. Understandably, many students are disappointed to not have the opportunity to study abroad or experience the camaraderie of studying with a cohort at a domestic program. But many programs are adapting to the current situation that we find ourselves in and are figuring out how to create good virtual, intensive programs for the summer. Additionally, the Department of Education has given FLAS programs temporary permission to award summer fellowships for online programs with case-by-case approval, a break from usual prohibitions against online learning. As a current language student myself, I must admit I started online coursework a few weeks ago with trepidation, but I quickly saw that with a good teacher and program, language learning can be effective online. Programs with long histories of providing quality, in-person instruction are making the leap to maintain what programming they can, and some such as the Critical Languages Institute are even offering a much-reduced tuition fee for many of their programs. Below are a few examples:

This is not meant as an exhaustive list, or to recommend certain programs over others. However, it is meant to say that there are still opportunities out there for language students that are FLAS eligible and ways to keep pursuing language and area studies even in a remote environment. Hopefully summer 2021 will see our world returning to normal. But in the interim, the CSEES FLAS program intends to keep supporting students’ language and area studies learning goals through new modalities, faithfully adhering to its mission.

Unexpected Thoughts from a Trip to Poland

A view across an open plaza, bordered by multicolored buildings and people standing

Old City, Warsaw

By Brenden Wood

My grandmother was a heritage speaker of Polish, and I had always admired her ability to speak in another language. When I came of college age, I wanted to pursue Polish, but I was not able to during my undergraduate career for a host of reasons, the foremost being that it just isn’t widely taught. So, when I arrived to OSU last year to start my M.A. at the Slavic Center, I jumped at the chance to finally study Polish. I had studied Russian at that point for four years, and I was excited to be able to start in on a new Slavic language. Unlike with Russian, however, I had no career goal or aspirations with the language. The language is simply something that I have wanted to learn for a long time, and I am excited to finally have the opportunity to thoroughly explore the language. Therefore, when I had the chance to travel to Poland this past December, I didn’t hesitate.

Weirdly, I had no personal expectations for the trip. My family came from southeastern Poland, by Zamosc, but we have retained no connection with family in the area. My great-grandfather did not leave on happy terms. I did not have any glorious or romantic ideas to reach back into a forgotten past, and hopefully pull something forward. I figured that I would enjoy the journey, and see where it took me.

I toured Warsaw and Krakow and I went on an excursion to Auschwitz. Writing about what is there does not do it justice, but suffice to say that I did not walk away any more distraught or calmly than when I arrived. I instead got an unsettling sensation that I was a witness, and I felt a sense of odd displacement. It wasn’t that they didn’t make a great impression on me, quite the opposite. I think that it was more that I didn’t have any idea how I would feel after seeing these places, ravaged as they all were by history. It was easy to imagine that seeing Auschwitz would give me a sense of closure or understanding, but instead it just left me with a pensive feeling, as if I had left with more questions than when I had arrived. However, these questions now are still not clear.

A white, horse drawn carriage, with lighted Christmas tree in the background

Stary Rynek, Krakow

One particular event sticks out in my head as I attempt to come to terms with everything. I had the chance to sit down for a meal with relatives of a family friend who are natives of Poland, now living in the small town of Siedlec. As most know, Poland has had a difficult century in terms of political independence and stability. After being ravaged by the Third Reich in the 1940’s, Poland fell behind the Iron Curtain, and was subjected in many ways to the authority of the Soviet Union. Sparing everyone the well-known history lesson here, I’ll just say that as a result of this political situation, learning Russian became mandatory, which is what brings me back to my curious dinner in Siedlec.

My host and hostess both spoke broken English, but each commanded a decent vocabulary and passive understanding of the language. My host spoke excellent Russian, while my hostess had a better command of English. Naturally, they both spoke Polish pretty well. My command of English is that of a native, and my abilities in Russian, although by no means native, are not paltry. My Polish is definitely more primitive, but I can communicate and understand. What ensued over dinner was a conversation in a mixture of three languages, a conversation which conveyed to me sadness, anger, fear, but, above all, great pride. My hosts love their country dearly, and are proud of all that has happened there. What was odd for me, was that I understood the events we discussed not as a student of Poland, but as somebody who has long studied Russia and the Soviet Union. When at a loss for a word, my host and I would revert to Russia to clarify a word, while I would revert to English with my hostess. It was a bit disconcerting to use Russian at the table, as it clearly made everyone a bit uncomfortable. My hostess did not retain her knowledge of the language, and it clearly had been something that she had not made a point to remember. My host, who used Russian at work, had been forced by the nature of his profession to retain a technical command of the language. However, it clearly made him too uncomfortable to have to rely on Russian with me when we were all at a loss for words.

Probably the most interesting takeaway from this pleasant dinner was when we discussed how things had changed in Krakow. They told me that prior to the 1990s, Krakow had fallen into disrepair. They were not specific as to why the city was allowed to literally crumble, but it was clear that it was the result of a lack of funding and motivation under the communist regime.  The answers are clear: feeling trapped by communism, the Poles were more focused on survival than maintaining the city and allowing the communists to enjoy the beauty and pride of Krakow. What was a bit perplexing was that the people of Krakow, who so clearly loved their city, allowed it decline to the point of shame leading up the 1990s, but immediately began to rejuvenate the city once Poland was once more democratic. The people of Warsaw had leapt to repair Warsaw after the war, even though they were at that time falling under the yoke of communist rule. This perhaps seems as if I am running circles around something with a clear answer, but I still pause and think. The anger toward the communists and the Soviet Union was tangible from the conversation, but so too was the pride at how Krakow has been revived. What is unclear to me is how this pride was maintained as a beacon and hope for all those years, but now seems to render itself both positively and negatively. It is positive in that they revived a beautiful city rich in history and culture, but negative in that this beauty is now viewed as a reminder of vindication for decades of being wronged. That is at least how it is seems to a humble foreigner.

A poster with writing in Polish with a skull at the top and a red star with a hammer and sickle in it

A 1940s Anti-Soviet poster

I am still mulling over a lot of what I saw and discussed with people when I was there, but I nevertheless keep returning to that unsettling sensation I got while there. As I said, I felt a witness in a distant way to everything that has happened there. I see the logic and reasoning behind the fear, anger, and sadness. I also understand the pride. Being a student of post-Soviet space, I understand the importance of historical memory, and the difficulty that it poses to each individual. It was odd to be connected to Poland by blood, albeit distantly, but to understand it better through the lens of the Russian language and post-Soviet politics and memory. It was a very interesting trip, and I look forward to return.

Learning Russian in Kazakhstan

By Brenden Wood, MA student in Slavic and East European Studies

Bright blue lake between mountain peaks

Big Almaty Lake

When I told people that I was going to Kazakhstan this summer on a fellowship to study Russian, I got funny looks and funnier attempts at saying “Kazakhstan.” Most people would just take a gander at the spelling or think through the pronunciation, and instead ask why was I not going to Russia, since I was going to study Russian. I was never really sure how to respond. I had a hard time putting my finger on “why Kazakhstan to study Russian?”

Upon arriving, my question was soon answered by my host-mother, who said it was “because Kazakhs speak the best Russian.” I admit that I scoffed at this, and I’m sure that there are a few people north of Kazakhstan who would as well. Full of answers as always, she, with the help of her son, gave me a very interesting answer, one now that I do not dismiss as the mere words of a woman who is proud of her country.

Kazakhstan is a multilingual land. Generalization is never good, but I would hazard that almost all Kazakhs speak Kazakh and Russian, obviously with varying degrees of proficiency. That being said, Kazakhs typically spoke Kazakh with each other at home, although they often spoke on the streets in Kazakh as well. That isn’t to say that Kazakhs don’t speak Russian at home, but it seemed from my experience, along with what I gathered from others in my two months there, that most Kazakhs spoke Kazakh at home. However, there still remains a large population of ethnic Russians, and Kazakhs make up a relatively narrow majority in their own country, accounting for roughly 10 million of the 18 million citizens. Don’t forget the Soviet legacy either, where Russian was, and still is, the language of official and business communication. Knowledge of Russian, if you want mobility and opportunity, is essential, and is a bone of contention as Kazakhstan works to define itself in Central Asia and the post-Soviet space.

Rolling mountains with grass and trees with a bright blue sky and clouds

Medeu

Not following where they were going, my host brother clarified for me quite well here. He said that since Russian is the language of official communication, Kazakhs speak Russian almost exclusively in formal settings, meaning that they speak less colloquially, using Russian primarily only in circumstances that demand proper grammar. Therefore, your average Kazakh speaks Russian correctly and articulately, better, my host family thought, than your average Russian.

A lake bordered by mountain slopes

Lake Kolsay

This obviously is an opinion, but it nevertheless made me pause to think, and, I shall admit, that I don’t necessarily disagree. Granted I was only there for two months, living in Almaty, where official language is much more prevalent than in the countryside. They did not contend that Kazakhs produce better literature or art with the Russian language, and they spoke strictly from a communicative point of view: for a foreigner or a native speaker, Kazakhs are easier to understand. It was a thought provoking conversation, and one in which I am glad that I had the opportunity to engage. It made me think a little deeper about travelling to a country to study a foreign language that is a foreign language there, even though the people speak it as if it is their native tongue.

Reflections on the October Revolution from the World Festival of Youth and Students in Sochi

By Brenden Wood, MA student at the Center for Slavic and East European Studies

2017 was a monumental year in Russia’s history, marking the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution. It marked the beginning of a transition of astronomical proportions for Russia, making the leap from the rubble of autocracy, into the unknown of the communist era as part of the Soviet Union. 1917 was a springboard for Russia and her people, as they witnessed the greatest conflict the world has ever seen, the dawn of the nuclear age, the Space Race, and the Cold War, all concluding with the “end of history,” and its aftermath.

I thought of this all, ironically, at the 21st hour of my 23 hour trip to Sochi, Russia. It was October 12, 2017. I was en route to take part in the 19th World Festival of Youth and Students. The festival, organized and facilitated by the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY), was being hosted by the Russian Federation. The federation was initially founded in 1945 in an effort by the allied nations to promote peace, democracy, and friendship among the youth of the world. However, after being labelled as a means for the Kremlin to spread communism, many western affiliates and participants withdrew, leaving predominantly socialist and Soviet backed organizations and members. The first festival was held in 1947 in Prague, and from its start adopted a pro-peace, anti-imperialist agenda. I had no inkling prior to September of that year of the festival’s traditional agenda, not until I received an email from the commission in Sochi and the U.S. signed “In Solidarity.”

Olympic Park in Sochi, Russia, where the World Festival of Youth and Students was held. Photo by Brenden Wood.

I had applied simply out of interest in a trip to Russia, where I would be able to meet with other students and young professionals from across the globe. As a graduate student at the Slavic Center, I have a strong personal interest in Russia and particularly in the Russian language. Admittedly, I had a little trepidation about the festival. Not because I was concerned with my safety or to travelling to an unknown land (I had been to Russia before), but because I had no idea what I ought to expect. Traditionally, the festival has a strong socialist character. Even if I had not read up on the history of the festival prior to coming, it would not have taken long to figure out some of this tradition: pictures of Che Guevara peered at me from all angles, I was asked multiple times which American communist organization I represented, and I even bumped into a delegate from North Korea.

Brenden Wood with three time Olympic gold medalist wrestler Aleksandr Karelin

However, there was much more to the festival than anti-imperialist seminars and rhetoric. Among the participants, I felt there to be a genuine interest in learning about where you were from, what you were doing there, and your personal history, regardless of ideology, nationality, or gender. Over 20,000 people from over 180 countries took part. I was able to share brief moments on a common ground with people from all walks of life. For some, I was the first American they had ever met. I can only hope that I represented our country well, and made as good an impression on them as they all made on me. It was a valuable opportunity to create a good impression, and the Russian Federation seized the opportunity to facilitate a spectacle of enormous proportions. As the host country, Russians were the largest group represented. I had the chance to become acquainted with many, and I even got to finally meet a pen pal I have had since I was a sophomore at the University of Vermont.

A kiosk station inside one of the event centers

The opportunity to travel to Sochi gave me a chance to truly reflect on what I am studying. As charming as the Russian language and culture are, they are but a part of the experience I endeavor to understand. I was in Russia for roughly 10 days, departing October 12th and returning on the 22nd. By no means is 10 days a long time, but neither is it a stretch which can be dismissed. Monumental events, such as those of 1917, can transpire in such a period of time. The festival was not by any means reminiscent of the events of that fateful year, but considering my journey relative to the events of 1917 puts things in perspective. Moving 5,600 miles one way and back and taking part in a global festival with over 20,000 participants in less than 10 days is no insignificant event in the context of an individual’s life. But, contrasted with the events of 1917, my journey is as negligible as a flake of snow in a blizzard, a part of a broader, far greater experience, an experience which has touched, and still touches, millions. It is a humbling thought.

Delving into Dissertation Research: A PSI Summer Experience

*We are republishing this post from autumn 2017 on an older blog that CSEES maintained on its website.

Nikki Freeman is a PhD student at OSU in the Department of History.

Woman standing under a large red sign spelling "Warszawa"

Nikki Freeman in Warsaw, Poland

 

Receiving a research grant from the Polish Studies Initiative allowed me to spend six weeks in Poland conducting research for my dissertation, “A Time to Rebuild: The Education and Rehabilitation of Jewish Children in Postwar Germany and Poland, 1945 – 1953.” My research explores how the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee worked alongside the Central Committee of Jews in Poland on behalf of Jewish children to reconstruct Jewish life after the Holocaust. In Warsaw, I studied archival documents that detailed the creation of children’s homes, schools, and summer camps. I also gained access to important Polish-language secondary literature at POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews. In addition to conducting research for my dissertation, I took a short weekend trip to Gdańsk where I visited the brand new Museum of the Second World War. I am so excited to share these experiences with OSU students as I prepare to teach my own courses on the Holocaust and the Second World War. Thanks to the Polish Studies Initiative, I was given the opportunity to start research that is absolutely essential to my dissertation and in November, I plan to return to Poland for a longterm research trip.

A red brick building with large glass front.

POLIN Museum

A Summer in Warsaw at the Institute of Aviation

We are republishing this post from autumn 2017 on an older blog that CSEES maintained on its website.

By Jason Scheele

This summer I worked in at the Institute of Aviation in Warsaw, Poland. During my time at the Institute of Aviation, I worked on modeling the forces on a helicopter blade during flight using a series of computer programs called Computational Fluid Dynamics. The work I completed this summer granted me an in depth look at the programs used in the aerospace industry today. I also gained first-hand experience solving real-world problems from start to finish, which will benefit me for the rest of my career in aerospace engineering.

Luckily, I lived close to the center of Warsaw, only having to travel 20 minutes on the tram. Nearly every day after work, I traveled downtown to explore Warsaw and experience the Polish culture. I very quickly fell in love with the city of Warsaw because of its amazing public transportation system, cleanliness and of course the delicious traditional food that could be found all over the city. I found the Polish people to be extremely friendly and I was quite relived that nearly everyone spoke English, especially if they were under 30.

I also traveled to the Polish cities of Krakow and Lublin. I enjoyed the lively nature of Krakow and had the opportunity to visit Auschwitz. I believe that everyone should travel to Auschwitz once in their lifetime because the absolute magnitude of the death camp cannot be portrayed through any media, only by going there personally. Lublin, on a brighter note, was an amazing small town in the southeast of Poland and seemed to be a great place to raise a family or attend a university.

Outside of Poland, I also traveled to Amsterdam, Brussels, Prague, Budapest and Lviv, Ukraine.

I am extremely grateful to the Center for Slavic and East European Studies at the Ohio State University and especially the Polish Studies Initiative for the amazing opportunities that it provided to me, traveling through Europe this summer truly gave me a much broader prospective of the world, all of the different cultures, languages, and individuals that live here. It was a truly amazing summer thanks to the PSI.

Learning Russian in Central Asia: Hayden Hayes Explores Kyrgyzstan

By Hayden Hayes, undergraduate student majoring in International Studies and Russian

The decision to study abroad in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan was one of the most important decisions of my life and it was made possible by the Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowship that I received for the summer of 2017.  It was my first time leaving the country, as well as flying, and I did not know what to expect.  Many of my friends and family had never heard of the Central Asian country I was traveling to and wondered why I had chosen Bishkek to enhance my Russian language skills, rather than Moscow or St. Petersburg.  Prior to departure for my 30 hours of travel, I began to ask myself these same questions.  However, upon arrival in Bishkek I realized why Kyrgyzstan was the perfect place to study Russian.

Downtown Bishkek

After settling in with my host family, I began my intensive study of Russian at the London School of Languages and Cultures located in central Bishkek.  My weekly schedule usually consisted of 20 hours of class every week, with lessons specializing in grammar, writing, reading, and conversation.  In addition, we participated in individualized tutor  sessions and excursions to cultural destinations on a weekly basis.  Each class session was entirely in Russian, which was coupled with the complete immersion of living with a host family.  This immersion in the language at all times contributed toward a rapid development in my language skills.

While in Bishkek, I lived in an apartment building from the Soviet era on the outskirts of the city with a Kyrgyz family, which spoke both Russian and Kyrgyz.  My host family was definitely a rewarding part of the trip, as they were eager to help me practice the correct pronunciation of new words and discuss the news of both Kyrgyzstan and the United States.  One of my favorite memories will be the long conversations that took place with my host dad after dinner about various topics of politics, culture, and life.  Some of the most interesting talks centered around the upcoming Presidential elections in Kyrgyzstan, as well as the nostalgia for the Soviet past that is shared among the many members of the older generation in the country that lived during the Soviet era.

Ala Archa National Park

During my time there, I noticed that most individuals in Bishkek speak both languages, but some of the people I met spoke only Russian.  The appearance of Russian in Bishkek is due to the migration of Russian speakers to the area during the Soviet era, however, in recent years there has been a push to focus more on Kyrgyz language education in schools, as well as the implementation of a Kyrgyz proficiency requirement for possible Presidential candidates in the Kyrgyz Republic.

Part of the reason that I chose to study in Bishkek was due to the fact that there are fewer English speakers in the city

My host family did not speak English, which forced me to learn the language at an even faster pace.  In conjunction with this, my daily twenty-five minute commute by marshrutka (local shuttle vans) also forced me to use the language in a colloquial context as I communicated with fellow passengers.  The minimal amount of English speakers in Bishkek proved vital as it forced me to improve my weakest language area: speaking.  Prior to the program, I found myself being able to understand the grammatical concepts of the language, but having a difficult time expressing my thoughts in spoken language.

Fairy Tale Canyon

After completing the program, I found that my speaking and listening abilities greatly improved as I can now hold substantial conversations on everyday topics.  Part of this was due to being constantly immersed in Russian everywhere I went in Bishkek, but the most beneficial part of the program were the Language Partner sessions that were organized through the London School.  These two-hour peer tutoring sessions took place three times a week after classes.  During these sessions, we would meet with a local student and explore the city together while only speaking Russian.  These activities greatly improved my speaking ability and provided an insight into the cultural and political views of my generation in a country 7,500 miles away from home.

Now that the program is finished and I have returned to Ohio after my two-months in Bishkek, I plan to continue studying advanced-level Russian at Ohio State and hope to improve my language skills even more while at home.  In addition to this, I plan to study more about the politics and culture of the area as it is truly fascinating.  I hope that I can return to this country someday and once again enjoy its beautiful landscape and the hospitality of its people.

 

Lauren Sayers: Studying Justice in Poland

Lauren Sayers is an undergraduate student at OSU studying criminology and criminal justice. The Polish Studies Initiative (PSI) awarded her a scholarship to study abroad in Warsaw, Poland in the summer of 2016. Read about her experience below. Find out more about PSI here.

“For the summer semester, I traveled to Warsaw, Poland and took a Statistics course and a course about Social Change in Central & Eastern Europe, while working on a research paper through the Summer School in Social Sciences (OSU) that I have titled “Justice for All? Economic Disadvantage and Trust in Poland’s Judicial System”. The program also took my peers and I to the beautiful cities of Lodz and Krakow. This photo is of a church that I stumbled upon in Warsaw; to me, all of the city’s architecture seems like something out of a fairy tale. The Summer School (also through the Polish Academy of Sciences) was an amazing experience, presenting an academic challenge and opportunities to learn from scholars of many different countries (ex: Macedonia, Ukraine, Romania, Poland); the food was delicious, and the buildings and gardens were exquisite.”

A large, white catherdral

Warsaw

 

Justin Ciucevich’s Romanian and Moldovan Adventure

*We are republishing this post from autumn 2016 on an older blog that CSEES maintained on its website.

Justin Ciucevich is an MA student at the Center for Slavic and East European Studies. He received a 2016 summer FLAS fellowship to learn Romanian. He spent the summer in Moldova and Romania, strengthening his language skills and conducting research for his MA thesis. Read his story below!

A man wearing sunglasses standing next to a large tombstone

Justin Ciucevich

“I was fortunate enough to spend the summer of 2016 improving my Romanian language skills in Chișinău, Moldova. I was afforded this opportunity thanks to funding from the Foreign Language Area Studies fellowship and the Center for Slavic and East European Studies (CSEES) at the Ohio State University. I took part in the Eurasian Regional Language Program (ERLP) offered by the American Councils – a government organization which provides opportunities for (among other things) crucial language training. I can honestly say that my summer in Moldova was among the most enjoyable and intellectually fruitful experiences of my life.

Though I had initially hoped to hone my Romanian language skills through a program in Romania, upon my arrival, I quickly became quite enamored with Moldova. As it was my first time to visit (much less live in) a former Soviet republic, which is also the poorest country in Europe, some culture shock was inevitable. As an ardent scholar of Romanian and, by extension, Moldovan history, I knew that nearly fifty years under Soviet administration (as well as just over a century under Imperial Russian rule prior to World War I) had left a mark on the country from which it was still recovering. While this fact was disconcerting in some ways, it also allowed for me to experience a radically different culture from my own.

I had the benefit of staying with a Moldovan host-family, the Buciuceanu’s. Neither my host-father, Ion, nor my host-mother, Nina, spoke any English – only Romanian and Russian, which presented a wonderful and necessary opportunity for me to only speak in Romanian. In my experience, being forced to speak the target language was essential for gaining proficiency. Despite obvious and expected miscommunications, my host-family spared no effort in assuring that all my needs were met and truly took me in as a son. I was also privileged to have two wonderful instructors who not only dilligently helped me to hone my language skills but also took me on some amazing excursions to the medieval fortress of Soroca, the monasteries of Orheiul Vechi and Curchi, the house of renowned architect Alexie Șciusev, and more.

I also made some very good friends who made my visit all the more enjoyable. I grew close to a girl named Liliana, who was very enthusiastic to show me as much of Chișinău’s culture and social life as possible. My many hours of conversation with her and my other new friends over glasses of Moldovan wine and authentic native cuisine at La Placinte contributed to my increased language proficiency greatly and provided a forum for me to practice what I learned each day in the classroom environment. I would not trade their companionship or assistance in learning the Romanian language and adjusting to Moldovan life for anything.

A town on the shores of a lake

Upon completing the language program Chișinău, I made the bittersweet train-ride across the border to Romania. Part of my funding from the CSEES allowed me to put my heightened command of the language to good use in Romania as I conducted research in preparation for my upcoming MA Thesis. My short stay in Romania could warrant many more pages of reflection but I will conclude by saying that my stay in Moldova and Romania was well-worth any culture shock, discomfort, or hardship that arose. This past summer was not my first time to study abroad but it certainly served as the most enlightening adventure of my life. As I plan on returning to Moldova and Romania as soon as possible to continue honing the language and conducting research, I hope that my experience will persuade anyone reading this to pursue studying abroad – no matter what the objective may be.”