9 1Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂ

	You can hear directly from some of the participants in 9 1Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂ's Intensive Russian Program. Holly Brown, from Communications and Marketing, caught up with students Jodie Church, Meaghan Bernard and Rebecca Lewicki (shown left to right) just before their departure. To view, click on this video, which was edited by Findlay Muir, of the Centre for Teaching and Learning. Duration: 02:46 Format: QuickTime Broadband connection recommended

St. Petersburg, Russia, may not be the tropical destination that typically comes to mind in the middle of January in Canada.

All the same, it's where 11 students are eagerly anticipating spending the next four months, studying Russian language and literature as part of 9 1Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂ's Intensive Russian Program. St. Petersburg is located 634 km northeast of Moscow and it teems with Russia's rich culture and history.

Back on campus, we can look forward to becoming armchair travellers, because a number of the students have agreed to share their journals. Over the coming weeks, 9 1Ãâ·Ñ°æÏ News will share updates from these "overseas correspondents" (writings, photos and video clips) as they explore Russia and experience student life at St. Petersburg State University.

Participants include Rebecca Lewicki, a third-year Bachelor of Science student from Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia; Jodie Church, a transfer student from Balmertown, Ontario, who is in the first year of a Bachelor of Arts; and Meaghan Bernard, a third-year Bachelor of Arts student hailing from Sackville, Nova Scotia.

Rebecca Lewicki's new journal begins: "I grew up in Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia, catching frogs and raising chickens. After high school, I moved to Halifax where I now work and study. I am fascinated with how the body works on a molecular level, and began to undertake a program of biochemistry and immunology. I took a Russian history class in my first year to fulfill my writing requirement and also took Russian language for the pure enjoyment of it. ... I finally decided to pursue a combination of immunology and Russian." "Now it's January and there is less than one week left before I leave. This trip is going to be an amazing experience - it's exhilarating to imagine that I will be speaking such a mysterious language, in such an intriguing and beautiful country. I can't wait to see the architecture. One of our professors printed off a list of the museums that we can visit while in St. Petersburg, and it was pages and pages long! I wonder what the Museum of Bread will be like? I have been wondering how easy it will be to find reliable vegetarian food, whether or not I will flunk the exam we will be writing the first day of classes, whether or not I will find a home church. In the end, these are just details, but the details can be overwhelming!" "Once I arrive in Russia I will actually realize for the first time that everything I know is back in Canada. Four months is such a small chunk of my life, but it will surpass the longest time that I have been out of Canada in one stretch. I have been anticipating this voyage for so long, I am now just waiting for the dream to become the reality." Keep reading 9 1Ãâ·Ñ°æÏ News over the winter for more updates from our students in Russia. Over 800 9 1Ãâ·Ñ°æÏ students will participate in an international program this year, with over 80 programs available. Find out more about other .

Meaghan Bernard has never lived away from her family, so this will really be a term away from home. "The next four months are going to alter my life completely," she explains. "I will not return to Canada the same person as when I left - I plan on going to graduate school to study Russian history, and this experience could be just what I need to push me in the right direction."

In addition to their studies in St. Petersburg, the students will also be travelling to Moscow in early March to meet with a group of 9 1Ãâ·Ñ°æÏ alumni. Carol Patterson, who is now a partner with Baker & McKenzie - CIS, Limited, actually participated in the 9 1Ãâ·Ñ°æÏ exchange in 1979. She is looking forward to reminiscing with the current students. "The program gave me - and many others - invaluable skills and experiences which have allowed us to participate in Russia's emergence onto the international business scene," says Patterson.

The Intensive Russian Program

History Professor Norman Pereira, of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, initiated the Intensive Russian Program in 1975 during a meeting of the Canadian-USSR Mixed Commission. "It was agreed upon in about three minutes," recalls Pereira. "I called [then] President Hicks to tell him that 9 1Ãâ·Ñ°æÏ just signed an agreement with the government of the USSR, to be the lead university in Canada for a Russian intensive language program."

The special inter-disciplinary program, the oldest of its kind in Canada, allows students to immerse themselves in the study of Russian language, both here and in Russia at St. Petersburg University. The program reached its height in the late 1970's, with 44 Canadian students attending three different Russian institutes.

Tina Usmiani, currently on staff in the Killam Library, was one of the first students to travel to Russia during the Cold War. One of her most vivid memories of that trip came from an attempt to get to know a couple of young Russian men she met on a Moscow street one day. "Just as we were all pulling pens and note pads out of our purses and backpacks to exchange phone numbers, a black car drew up at the curb next to us," she recalls. "Two men in bulky coats got out, and before we knew it, the two young Russians had been hustled in to the car." To this day, Usmiani wonders if the incident was a gentle KGB reminder to let the Canadian students know they were being watched.

Although students aren't likely to have run-ins with secret police operations today, the Intensive Russian Program does offer a unique opportunity to be immersed in Russian life, culture and language. The program is normally offered at the third-year level of language study, and students take a preparatory class at 9 1Ãâ·Ñ°æÏ in the fall before departing for St. Petersburg in January. ÊStudents have the option of living with a Russian family or in the university dorm.