Program Reviews

Vlad and Martina (the program directors) are really great people to get to know, and I learned so much from my experiences living abroad in Russia. They both helped me every step along the way - including getting my visa, connecting with my host family, an in-person orientation for the program, and so on. During the program, I lived in Nerekhta for a month (near Kostroma) and I also lived in Voronezh for a month. There were plenty of opportunities for doing fun things all over the city as well as outside of the city, including a little bit of "free time" to do whatever I wanted - and I enjoyed being able to work as an English teacher abroad. This would be a great program for someone who speaks Russian very well, or even an absolute beginner.

Spending 5 weeks teaching English at a summer camp in Nerekhta ended up solidifying my decision to invest in Russian for the rest of my college career.
At the time, I only had two semesters of Russian language learning under my belt. It was enough to get by, but communication struggles were very common. However, this is the perfect opportunity to pick up the language -- I ended up skipping an entire year of the Russian language sequence at my university once I returned to school in the fall.
My host family was very sweet, caring, and understanding. They were just as happy to have me and learn about me as I was them.
Though the schedule over the 5 weeks was pretty tight, we were lucky enough to be provided with excursions to the major nearby cities over the weekends. Our transport and stays were covered even then.
Both the counselors and young campers were eager to befriend the English-speakers and teach us plenty of Russian words and phrases that you wouldn't learn in a classroom
Overall, it was a great program -- especially for the cost -- and I saw more of Russia than I did on my formal study abroad program in Russia later on.

I had never been to Russia before this program and thanks to Crossroads Eurasia, I got to experience the country, meet awesome people, improve my Russian language skills, and even propel my career back in the United States! The volunteers in Russia were fantastic and very welcoming thanks to this excellent program.

I knew no Russian prior to the program, so the great amount of independence expected of the program participants in navigating the city was difficult at first but turned out to be rewarding in the end.

The social scene was great--including planned group trips and getting to hang out with both Russian and international assistants who were around my age.

I highly recommend to anyone who wants a good work experience, while improving their Russian and seeing the country. Plus, how many people can say they worked in Russia?? Not many. You'll come back with lots of stories and new friendships, that not many others have experiences

I have participated in a number of work and study programs in Russia, and Crossroads is by far one of the best. I worked as an English teacher with Linguist and as a translator for Livestock Link in Voronezh, Russia. The experience helped me to develop marketable skills and has really given me a great jumping-off foundation for further travel and work in Russia and other post-Soviet states. The work itself was fun and left a lot of room for flexibility and creativity. The program is well-executed, and the staff is extremely friendly and supportive at every stage of the process.

I interned in Ryazan, Russia through Crossroads Eurasia in Summer 2012. There are really no words that can describe the experience, except that it was absolutely life-changing, and one that I know I will never forget. I taught English and Spanish at a small private language school, and one of the most valuable experiences was the fact that practically all of my students became my friends. I even had a summer romance. :) Three years later, I am still in touch with a few of the students and teachers at the language school. Ryazan was a wonderful city and the fact that my host was a girl my age really gave me an authentic, fun experience. It was very easy to join her and her friends in going out to bars, plays, to the circus, etc. I would definitely recommend the program to anyone. It's about as authentic as you can get if you really want to experience the Russian culture.

In the summer of 2011 I worked as an English teacher in Ryazan’. I was on my second trip to Russia and was curious of my trip would be in comparison to my first time. My experience in Ryazan’ was honestly one of the best experiences of my whole life, although it was only for one month. My host family was very hospitable. I had a wonderful hostess who became like a sister to me in the time that I lived with her and her family. Her parents only spoke Russian, so I was able to get very good practice with speaking and enjoyed having conversations with them. They made me feel like a son to them.
I was the instructor of the adult class, and luckily my students had prior knowledge of English. I felt a little bit foolish at first when I went to my first class expecting everybody to be at a low level of English knowledge (I started with the ABCs) and then found that many of them could hold a conversation in English. I worked with them to expand their vocabulary on a variety of topics and to help with to increase their fluency and comfort in speaking English. Some of the topics we discussed were travel, entertainment, food, family, and politics. I was very proud of the progress that my students made in the month that I worked with them, and I am delighted that I still keep in contact with some of them. Overall, my experience as an English teacher was wonderful and completely worthwhile. I truly enjoyed working with my students.
Outside of class, there was plenty of time to explore Ryazan’, meet new people, and just plain have fun! One of my favorite things to do while there was to meet up with the other volunteers and hang out with them and a group of Russians who we had befriended. The Russians we met are some of the nicest and most genuine friends I’ve made and I’m glad that I can call them friends. Aside from meeting people, Crossroads set up some nice excursions, including a trip to the city of Kasimov and a camping trip to Brykin Bor. Brykin Bor was a very peaceful place and the people who we stayed with, the Klimakov family, were very hospitable and lovely people. I was also fortunate to go on an evening trip to Konstantinovo, the birthplace of poet Sergei Yesenin, and on a camping trip with some of my friends to a lake where we swam at midnight. Needless to say, if I were to visit Ryazan’ again, my to-do list of visits would be huge!
If I could, I would go back to Russia and teach English and do it all over again. It was a truly worthwhile and amazing experience.

I had a wonderful time in Voronezh. It really is a chance to get to know the real Russia. I'm still friends with most of the Russians I met there. It's a great way to learn Russian and learn about the Russian culture. One of the best parts of the program was that you do have a lot of freedom to make your trip how you want it, and there are lots of opportunities to converse with Russians. Living in Voronezh gave me more of an open mind, a different perspective on life, and I learned a lot about another culture as well as my own. I learned a lot, and I had so much fun along the way. Also, the weather in the summer is great! I 100% do not regret my choice in going to Voronezh.

Vlad is a great resource and understands American and Russian culture both very well. He is also easy to get along with! Another important thing is that Vlad did a good job of choosing the fellow Americans that go on the trip with you. The Americans were adaptable, charismatic, and had a sense of humor. This proved to be a humongous help when things didn't go smoothly, and the other Americans acted as a support group for me.

What you get out of the program depends on what you are willing to put into it. My best advice, SPEAK RUSSIAN! You are there to teach English, but after class, get out and explore, meet locals, go to movies, or just the supermarket. CrossRoads helps get you to Russia, it's up to you to take advantage of the opportunity.