Click here to read the blog written by students who participated in Wintersession in Moscow in 2012.

In the words of the Wintersession-in-Moscow 2009 participants…

The most valuable feature of this course was that it was in Russia. We would experience or see things in our explorations that we didn't really understand and then we could go to class and have a discussion about it, in Russian with a Russian.

Moscow is amazing and the course was very balanced so as to let us get the most out of this experience, even with the different levels of proficiency we'd each obtained prior to the course.

It was valuable that we had 5 or 6 different teachers for various classes, because we were exposed to many different styles of teaching … the course that focused on practical Russian … was extremely useful. We learned etiquette, how to order in a restaurant, how to behave as a guest at a Russian home, and so on.

I loved the older teachers, because they revealed fascinating opinions about the USSR and modern Russia… I would have loved to learn more about them and their histories.

The classes where professors lectured about culture in Russia were especially interesting, because we were learning about themes such as women in Russia or the metro system while having the class conducted at a level we could follow along…

There was a good balance between homework and sightseeing, and both contributed to our understanding of Russian.

The Russian students that accompanied us on the excursions were the most valuable resource of this course. Not only did we speak Russian in a non-threatening, real life situation, but we spoke about quotidian things that are often left out of the classroom (dating, shopping, complaining about friends, etc.).

I would highly recommend this course to any student of Russian, especially if she is not going to be able to go abroad for a semester or a year. Three weeks is not long, but it is enough to get a taste of Russia and understand the Russian people and their culture a bit better.

The course provided very strong cultural immersion and improved my oral skills significantly. The cultural program and daily visits to museums and galleries contributed a lot to my learning and were an amazing opportunity to experience first-hand what we have learned in the classroom. The classes we had at RGGU were very interesting and diverse and gave me a deeper insight in Russian society and life which complemented my studies and enhanced my overall experience. Interacting with the Russian faculty was also a very rewarding and stimulating experience which made our stay in Moscow even more meaningful.

I wanted to practice my Russian while studying and living in the Russian capital and having the opportunity to visit all of the sites described in some of my favorite Russian novels.

Now I feel a lot more comfortable speaking the language…

I totally recommend this course for anyone who is studying Russian or is even slightly interested in the country. When I arrived in Moscow, I realized that all the days of learning Russian in the classroom were worth it.

Just being in Moscow was the best part of this class!