Reflections

Hello Readers,
I went to class today, I took a quiz I though I was prepared for, whoops. So now I shall have to crack down on the books this weekend. I have a lot of verbs, nouns, adjectives, you name it I have to learn it. But I suppose that is why we go to college to learn new things and challenge our minds.

In high school I took two years of Spanish. I hated every minute of that class. (sorry Senora if you happen to read this, but you probably knew this already) That class murdered my GPA, and I whipped my hands clean of it by my Junior year. As it turns out I wouldn't have needed the foreign languages to get into Ripon College. I was thankful to have already hit the wall and knew how to study before I hit college. That's right Senora I'm thanking you for 2 years of hell.

I decided freshman year to prove that I was able to learn a foreign language and took German for a semester. I really enjoyed it, but knew I would never do anything with it so that ended my foreign language studies, or so I thought.

Sophomore year I found the most amazing study abroad program in Scotland. I was so excited, I planned it all out, applied, and was accepted. It was perfect, I could study business and not have to worry about a language barrier. I could visit Ireland-- (I'm just a wee bit Irish... and in case you were wondering yes that is sarcasm) Then reality set in. $$$ chaching- no way to afford it. So I resigned myself to staying on campus, enjoying college and working my many on campus jobs.

Then by random chance I heard about studying abroad in Russia-- it was cheap. I applied, got in, financial aid worked out, I quit my jobs-- and here I am. In a country I'd never considered visiting, let alone living in and learning another foreign language. If you haven't surmised yet, foreign languages aren't my cup of tea. So this experience is defiantly different then what I had in mind. Yet in so many ways it is so much better. I jumped head first into a country I knew practically nothing about. Now I'm living in St. Petersburg, a city of 5 million, which as you saw from yesterday's post is HUGE for me. I'm taking 3 Russian history classes, each of which are worth 3 credits. And I am taking the mandatory 9 credits of Russian language. I often ask myself if I have lost my mind. But then I realize that this is SO COOL! I'm in RUSSIA, I'm learning RUSSIAN, I'm seeing things I've never even heard of.

If someone a year ago had told me I would be studying in Russia right now, I would have called them a liar and laughed in their face. Probably not very nice, but I wouldn't have been able to control it. But I have learned that the future is unpredictable. (Hell Russia's past is unpredictable). Life is short-- so I've decided to enjoy this trip. I've had a blast already. I've been abroad now for almost a month, its hard to believe. Who knows what the future has in store?