Program Reviews

I achieved greater gains in speaking Russian than I could have hoped for in less than four months. The language classes were very small (usually 3-4 students per class) and so the wonderful teachers were able to give individual attention to each student in the program. I had a wonderful experience with my host, and I loved hanging out with my peer tutor-- both of whom helped to improve my conversational skills, and were always happy to suggest a new restaurant to try, or place to see in the city. I absolutely fell in love with St. Petersburg, I hope that I will be able to return (and travel elsewhere in Russia) soon!

I am so thankful and lucky to have found my study abroad program through American Councils Eurasian Regional Language Program (ERLP) in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Having developed an interest (edit: passion) for Russian and Central Asia and all things former-Soviet, I knew I had to take my studies of the region's languages and culture one step further and actually go study abroad in Central Asia. Since I had the most exposure to the Kazakh culture and language (I took a quarter of Kazakh at Stanford) I decided to apply to the ERLP after hearing about it from a friend who had embarked on the same program. It was a magical experience from the beginning: the pre-departure orientation in Washington, DC, was helpful and inspiring. Once I was in Almaty, however, I realized how much support American Councils gave me during the 8 weeks there. I met my host family the night I arrived in Almaty, and they were wonderful! My apartment was a short walk away from the Metro, which was a straight ride to the university, KIMEP, where I took my Kazakh language classes. Every week, I met with my peer tutor, an Almaty resident, also a student around my age, who spoke with me in Kazakh and Russian, took me to interesting places in the city, and answered any questions I had about the city, living in Kazakhstan, and about the culture there. During the program, we had a few excusions, such as one to Charyn Canyon (the Grand Canyon of Kazakhstan), to the Big Almaty Lake, a weekend excursion to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (read: AMAZING EXPERIENCE!), and another weekend trip to Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan, which we took by train (it's a 12-hour train ride each way through the steppes of Kazakhstan, also an amazing experience that I highly recommend). During the week, I met with my Kazakh language professor each day for several hours of classes, and we even had lunch together everyday, which I recommend, as your language teacher (in whichever country you study abroad in) is a fantastic partner in helping you to know the country, culture, and language better. My professor was very kind and always wanted to know how I was doing, what I thought of the city, living there, and even was like a second mom, making sure I was drinking hot tea, eating enough, and sleeping enough! Overall, the experience of studying abroad through American Councils ERLP was fantastic and I would recommend it in a heartbeat to anyone interested in studying abroad in Central Asia and expanding their knowledge and experience of the language, culture, and history of this breathtaking region of the world!

American Councils did an excellent job in compiling all of the logistics of the program. I was very well taken care of while in Azerbaijan. But, at the same time, they continually challenged me to leave my comfort zone in order to experience more of what the culture and city had to offer.

American Councils found internship placements that matched my current and future interests, providing me with the opportunity to increase my own skill set, as well as create an international network of contacts.

In addition to the internship placements that American Councils set up for me through OPIT, I was also able to take Azerbaijani language classes, which not many people have the opportunity to do.

I would highly recommend this program.

Study abroad in Russia is very different from study abroad in any other country. Many aspects of the summer in Moscow were challenging and required a change in mindset. The American councils BRLI program was very helpful in preparing students for the realities of studying abroad in Russia. In general some of the complaints of students were that the dorms weren't suitable. These students generally had troubles with adapting to everything in Russia. American councils told students never to say "This should be different" while abroad, and this was the perfect advice to set the stage for the summer. The BRLI program was well managed and students were given many opportunities to meet Russians and fully immerse themselves in the culture. Concerning the internship aspect of the program, students were placed at internships depending on their interests and level of Russian ability. People considering the BRLI program should consider whether they've attained a sufficiently high level of Russian to gain something from an internship (approximately three years of study in my opinion). Overall, the summer was amazing, the program wasn't academically overwhelming, and at the end we took a (free) cruise from near Moscow to St. Petersburg, getting a taste of many different Russian cities along the way.

My favorite part of studying abroad with ACTR was our weekly excursions. We went to a KHL hockey game, Moscow, Pskov, the Catherine Palace, and other places around Russia. It was a lot of fun to explore Russia with my classmates.

The classes were great too - while they were rigorous in schedule it was the best way to improve my Russian. The professors have all taught Russian as a foreign language for at least five years. They speak English and can help you understand a concept in English, although I recommend trying to understand it in Russian as it will help you more.