Vladivostok: Unpolished but Beautiful

Don't get me wrong — my study abroad experience was generally excellent, and provided me with great opportunities to socialize and improve my Russian — it's just that many aspects of studying on this program, and at this university were stressful. I was the only American on my program at the time and, though I found others who spoke English and treated me very kindly, my roommate was particularly cold to me, cockroaches would occasionally fall on my face from the ceiling while I was sleeping, and the building managers would yell at me for the dirty conditions of my room, even after I had just spent the day cleaning.

I got the feeling that I wasn't particularly well-liked by my teachers, for reasons unknown to me, and my grades reflected this much (though I was diligent and had great attendance). Luckily, after a month of study, I managed to make some friends (a couple of my Korean classmates would invite me to eat in their rooms, and a friendly English professor and student of English invited me to stay with them in their homes). Most of the time, I would study in my room, wander around downtown (which was under renovation, but beautiful in its own way), and do some grocery shopping.

The food in the stores is worth the visit alone — pickled mushrooms, carrots, anything you can think of, aisles upon aisles of sweets, food imported from Korea, Japan, and China, and all sorts of uniquely Russian foods. The food and wandering are perhaps what I miss most about my stay in Vladivostok.

As for the university itself, it reminded me most of a mall, with dormitories attached as a side-thought. There were grocery stores, cafés, classrooms, bedrooms, a post office, an elevator, ATMs, etc, all mashed into one giant building complex. I must say it was quite convenient, being able to get anything I needed within a 5-minute walk.

Though there were rough times during my stay in Russia, I feel that overall it was a really good experience (perhaps because it was so rough). If you are interested in REALLY improving your Russian, the Far East is a great place to go (less tourism = less English influence), though the culture isn't strictly Russian. I don't regret my choice of program, and felt really sad when I had to leave. As I've said before, sometimes rough is good, and I will forever think fondly of Vladivostok.