Beginning and Intermediate Russian students practiced their Russian over Skype with native speakers during their first language exchange of the semester.

"The Skype lesson was very interesting - it was strange at first to converse with a native Russian speaker, but I enjoyed getting to know someone from the other side of the world." - Brad Seltzer '15

"It was a different but interesting experience. A good way to practice your Russian!" - Nick Formus '15

"The Skype talk with Russian speakers was a great experience. I felt like it gave me a better understanding of what I already knew and what I had to practice more, and it was exciting to discover similarities with our partners." -Caroline Elkin '15

"It was very satisfying to put what I learned to use and communicate with
someone in another language." -Alex Delp '15

Click here for more photos.

 Evan Sparling '08 (Russian and History) spoke about his year in Kyrgyzstan as a Fulbright scholar studying Kyrgyz national identity, teaching at Kyrgyz National University, and learning to appreciate local favorites such as mares' milk (think runny alcoholic yogurt). Evan currently works for Pacific Environment, an environmental non-profit based in San Francisco, where he coordinates their salmon preservation programs on Russia's Kamchatka peninsula.

You can read more about Evan's experiences at Dickinson and abroad here: http://www.dickinson.edu/academics/programs/russian/content/Alumni/