mon: conversation, grammar
tues: lit., culture
weds: grammar, phonetics
thurs: grammar, conversation, lit, culture
fri: conversation, phonetics
each class is only in russian, and each class is 90 mins. so on thursday, i'm in class for 6 hours of only russian. its pretty intense.
conversation is easily the most frustrating class. we have been talking about such issues as international finance, how to fix the current credit crisis, progressive vs. flat income taxes, and other such complex issues. which is incredibly frustrating for me because with my limited command of the language, its impossible to make a complex argument one way or the other without asking for help every other word. i'd much rather be debating the merits of horses vs. dogs or something, which i can sort of do, rather than trying to explain why putting up trade barriers would be bad for the economy. maybe they just think we should be talking about important things cause we're the highest language group...
now, here's a picture of the school, literally:
ok, so thats the chapel in the middle of the school grounds, but still, its pretty ridiculous. the facility was originally meant as a monestary for nuns after elizabeth, peter the great's daughter, decided to not accept the throne and to become a nun. however, she ended up getting the throne later, anyway. our building is located on "the dictatorship of the proletariat street," next to the smolny institute, where lenin started getting people excited about the revolution. literally. so thats really ridiculous.
i guess thats about all for now. going to novgorod this weekend, a city thats small on population but big on history!
and uncle kevin, you're right. the baltika's good stuff!
10 comments:
LITERALLY!
have you guys debated energy yet?
Trade barriers are tough because it has so many far reaching effects on a nations macro economy
you're in the CHOIR?!? have they heard you SING?!?! xo, sis
Were you able to witness the "March for the Preservation of St. Petersburg"? Was it recommended that you stay away? If you can't comment that's okay, I wouldn't want you arrested for "using obscene language in a public place".
Be smart. Stay Safe.
with love,
Uncle Kevin
PS. Have you tried any of Yarpivo's products? Pat and John's company distributes both Yarpivo and Baltika.
no, i haven't really heard about that. we don't get much news here because there isn't any english lang. news, and i only have had internet access for a few hours a week. fortunately, however, the russian government isn't so ridiculously to care about censoring on the internet, so i can say pretty much whatever i want. and no, haven't tried any yaripivo, i'll have to look into that.
Apparently there is a group of subversives in St. Petersburg akin to historical societies in the U.S., who are opposed to indiscriminate demolition of buildings like your school so companies like Gazprom can build on the land. As with any conflict, there is probably more to it than just this one issue.
Is there a prominence of buildings like your school in style and/or age in St. Petersburg? If so, that would make it difficult for new construction. Periodically that has been an issue here in Philadelphia.
Have a good one,
Uncle Kevin
I'd say its pretty NUTTY that they have you debate those topics in Russian.
Tim,
I have enjoyed reading your blog. Your course work sounds challenging, your school is amazing and your stories are captivating.
Take Care,
Love,
Aunt Anne
Yo Tim,
What's happening?
Uncle Kevin
I'm a bum, that is all. Sorry.
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