Having a passion for travel and in need of a second core history class, I decided sophomore year to sign up for the intercession trip to St. Petersburg, Russia. Any student who has or is planning to study abroad knows that an open mind is imperative for survival.
Personally, I never knew how open “open” was until I stepped foot inside the former Soviet Union.
For those of you who define freezing as standing down at the Point wearing a tank top and jeans, think again. You truly do not know what frigidity is until you have experienced the sub-zero Russian climate in January. For you extreme skiers, keep in mind that after a day on the slopes you go home to heating, a hot shower and a washing machine. I had to thaw my feet with a blow dryer because central heating is as foreign to Russians as legal prostitution is to us.
Despite the extreme climate, it seemed as if culture shock was an even greater obstacle. At times it felt like we were in a war zone, always having to watch our backs, making sure we had our ‘papers’ and remembering not to make eye contact with the locals. We witnessed the Russian mafia rob one of our own, saw a dead body lying on the side of the road and experienced a true Russian Orthodox Christmas and the immense culture it entailed. But we were not scared. We became more aware of our surroundings, appreciative of our own backgrounds and felt lucky to be able to have this opportunity.
Regardless of the weather and culture shock, the educational experience was absolutely phenomenal. Imagine learning in lecture about the 900-day siege of Leningrad and then walking through the 186 mass graves of the helpless civilians who died during the siege. Russia was our classroom, and it was a remarkable, unforgettable experience that is truly hard to put into words.
In the limited space I am given, it is difficult to convey the amount of history, respect and knowledge one gains from studying abroad. My apologies for not making this account more humorous, but in all reality I feel that studying abroad is one of the most educationally and culturally stimulating experiences a college student can have. As much as we love Fairfield, it is not going anywhere. The opportunity to study abroad comes once in a lifetime, so if you do one thing in college, take advantage of this remarkable prospect.
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