My Study Abroad Experience in Russia
By Audrey Dahill
I used my STEP grant for a twenty-day study abroad program in St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia. I took a class with my group at the Saint Petersburg State University of Economics that focused on Russian culture, history, politics, and society. The other component of the trip involved touring famous museums and sites around both cities. I was able to take the information learned in the classroom about Russian culture and society and apply it to the real world when touring the two cities and interacting with locals. Some of the sites we visited in St. Petersburg were The Hermitage/Winter Palace, the Peterhof Summer Palace, the Peter-Paul Fortress, St. Isaac’s Cathedral, the Church of Our Savior of the Spilled Blood, and the Mariinskiy Theatre, to name a few. In Moscow, we toured the Kremlin, St. Basil’s Cathedral, The Gulag Museum, a Soviet bunker, and the famous Novodevichiy cemetery.
Before I arrived in Russia, I did not know what to expect. I was worried that having a very basic understanding of the language would prevent me from being able to communicate with everyone and that I would feel like “a fish out of water.” I assumed that most Russians would be hostile towards the group because we are Americans and our nations have poor relations at the moment. Furthermore, I assumed that Russians would be very different than Americans in terms of their hobbies, interests, and outlook on life. However, I soon realized that a lot of my assumptions were unfounded. First of all, a surprising number of Russians speak English rather well because they study it throughout their time in school. Second of all, most Russians were not anti-American whatsoever. When I was in St. Petersburg, I befriended three Russian students from Siberia who were studying at the university. They wanted to know about America because they find it very interesting rather than an enemy. I discovered that they all listen to the same music that I listen to, watch the same movies and TV shows, and wear the same type of clothing. I was expecting there to be more differences than similarities but I was pleasantly surprised to see how much we had in common.
Seeing the amount of similarities between the two nations helped transform me as an individual. I began to appreciate a culture that I had little exposure to before the trip and now my frame of reference has been transformed. I have gained a stronger appreciation for the freedoms that I enjoy in the US that Russians do not enjoy in their nation but I also gained a deeper respect for the values and culture of Russia. Overall, this was an incredible learning experience that has transformed how I view the world.
My favorite part of the trip was my visit to Alexander Pushkin’s home. I first got interested in Russia years ago when I was introduced to Russian literature and decided that someday I would like to attain a level of proficiency with the language that would permit me to read my favorite poems, short stories, and novels in the original language in which they were written, as this was the intention of the authors. On one of our free days, my friend Rebekah and I went to Pushkin’s beautiful home in the heart of St. Petersburg and did a tour of the whole house. The guided tour in English included a lot of information about Pushkin’s personal life and literary career that I did not know about beforehand, so this was a wonderful learning experience. Seeing the place where one of my favorite poets of all time lived and wrote his masterpieces was incredible, to say the least. I could not believe I was standing where he stood hundreds of years ago. I was able to further develop my appreciation for Russian literature and culture through this outing which in and of itself was quite transformative.
One of the most invaluable opportunities to learn first-hand about Russian culture was through my interactions with locals. When I was at the university, I met a Russian girl named Albinka at one of the “meet the local students” events and we instantly became good friends. She arranged to meet with me on one of our free days and she brought along her two friends Dasha and Ilya. They took me on the metro to an island outside St. Petersburg to a tulip festival and amusement park. It was such an incredible experience because I got to learn about these three students and their interests. We ended up having a lot in common and we connected very well. This opportunity was a chance to see what Russian people are really like outside the context of learning about their culture in a textbook. Befriending these three students was a very transformative experience for me because I was able to “expand my horizons” and get to know people who I would otherwise have not met. I have stayed in touch with my new Russian friends and hope to return to Russia someday to see them again.
Ilya, myself, Dasha, and Albinka
Another event that was particularly significant during the study abroad was a professional outing in Moscow. We met with an American lawyer who graduated from Ohio State and now works for a large Russian-Finnish law firm. He is the only non-Russian in the entire country who can fully “read the law” per the codes of practicing law in Russia and is therefore a highly esteemed attorney. He invited the group to his office to talk about what it is like living and working in Russia as an American. This was an interesting talk and I got the chance to speak one-on-one with him afterwards about opportunities for accountants in Russia. This conversation was very important because I am interested in doing accounting on an international level and I wanted to find out more about the opportunities and challenges of this. He told me about how accountants who are proficient with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are able to travel the world to do audit and tax accounting. This conversation was a critical segue into research I have been doing about how to learn IFRS in order to jumpstart my career in international accounting. This outing led to a professional transformation for me because it opened my eyes to future career opportunities.
This project changed my outlook on life on so many levels. On an academic level, I was able to further develop my passion for Russian literature by visiting significant literary sites, including the graves of many famous Russian writers. I was also able to improve my understanding of the language. On a personal level, I was transformed by the friendships that I made with local students. Forming connections with these students taught me a lot about myself and made me expand my horizons. On a professional level, this trip absolutely transformed me. I am majoring in accounting at OSU and I hope to one day practice accounting on an international level by working for a global accounting firm, such as Ernst & Young or Deloitte. These companies seek professionals who are not only proficient in accounting standards, but who also have a global perspective that enables them to contribute to the international network that is fundamentally transforming these corporations. I hope to one day integrate my knowledge of the Russian language and culture with my knowledge of the field of accounting in international auditing. This trip was the first start to making that dream become a reality, and it is for this reason that I am grateful for the STEP program for helping me pursue my dreams.