Nichole Trone and Dr. Jennifer Bown: Germanic and Slavic Department

Upon getting to St. Petersburg, Russia, I realized that this project was not something I would just be conducting and observing; I would be participating it in as fully as any other student would. I somehow thought that I would be exempt from experiencing the effects of culture shock as I had already spent a considerable time in Eastern Europe. Well, I am glad to say that I learned just as much from my own experiences and perceptions as I did from observing others, probably even more, to be honest. Each person’s experience is varied according to many unique factors that only they experience, and that is why this project was based on qualitative findings instead of quantifiable information.

I experienced, along with many others in the group, an initial feeling of being swept up in the exotic surroundings and the fabulous cultural program we were taking part of. Truly, our cultural program was extensive and well-planned, but after a time, problems started arising in school. One student described their emotions during class as “indignant,” citing feelings of misunderstanding from the native instructors who would not respond to students’ questions. This student asked, “What good are you as a teacher if I can’t ask you questions when I don’t know the answer?” This experience was not uncommon. Many students had a difficult time relating to the teachers as well. After the first exam I felt like I was publicly humiliated in front of our class when the teacher pointed me out and told me that I had done the worst out of everyone. I still do not understand fully why a teacher would do this. This is a further area of study that I would like to approach at some future time: the differences between Russian and American teaching methods.

Despite negative experiences that hampered the spirits of many students, there were many who were able to overcome these initial disappointments and experience more positive feelings about school, myself included. Once I had done poorly on that test, I tried harder to study for the next one and I was complimented on my efforts from my teachers. They did not tell me that I had done the best work in the whole class, but they recognized my effort and I was so grateful for that. Another student felt that the only time class was positive was only when it was “unrelated to our grades, or unrelated to real academics.” However, this student did recognize that there are positive aspects to these “non-academic conversations,”—they do encourage learning in the long-run because they encourage students to speak up in class. This student said, “I tend to stay kind of quiet, but there are some conversations where I will almost be on the floor, rolling with laughter, because we’ll just talk about some really funny things and usually…the teachers laugh, especially when they are pleased with something that we do.”

It is hard to say who left the program with generally positive feelings or generally negative ones. One student described that what had started as a positive perception of Russian culture spiraled into a pattern of “learning to hate.” This student said, “well, I still don’t want to use the word “hate” necessarily because obviously, I don’t hate them but sometimes it feel that way in my really exasperated moments its easy just to say that I hate them…I think it’s just that I’m so frustrated sometimes with the culture…I just think that I’ll never be accepted, that I’ll never get it right, that I’ll never fit in. And that’s way frustrating for me, and so I think in order to expel that frustration…it’s easy to say ‘I hate them, it’s because of them that I’m uncomfortable.’” For me, I agreed with her in some ways, feeling the frustration of years of trying to “fit in” with a culture that does not accept me. I still feel like an outsider, even though I have spent about two years of my life in Eastern Europe. I can say that the outcome was partially dependent on me, that I had to choose what kind of experience I had, but it also depended on the interactions that I had with people around me, and frankly, they weren’t always positive. I agree with having an ideal that was shattered, like this student said, “It’s something I’ve waited for for so long and now I feel kind of like I’m here and it’s not everything that I’ve dreamed of, naively. That was a little disappointing, but expected at the same time.” So, the outcome cannot be quantified with a vote of who thinks it was positive vs. who thinks it was negative. The outcome is that each student has had a very specific cultural experience with Russians that they will carry with them for their entire lives. Hopefully this cultural perception will continue to evolve and grow and these students process their experiences and, hopefully, have more interactions with Russians and their culture.

The project was largely conducted by the students individually. They were asked to keep a journal of their experiences in Russia and their perceptions of Russian culture and even their own culture as they spend time in Russia. About half of the students agreed to turn in journals and they were paid for their participation. All of the students except for one were interviewed individually and answered questions about their interactions with instructors, their feelings about culture, their feelings about being accepted or rejected in Russia, how their perceptions might have changed regarding their own culture, and generally, what their notions of Russian culture were to begin with. Most were very open and willing to share. No one was coerced to participate, all chose to do so of their own free will. After the program was over, the journals were collected and money was distributed for participation. Their journals will be returned to them after the research has been completed.

After collecting all this data, the problem is, how do we process it? I have been going through all these interviews and journals looking for patterns, common experiences, opposite experiences, positives and negatives, and I do recognize certain important things that the students have each realized, as I previously mentioned. Their experiences are not the same and their conclusions about Russian culture are not the same either. It has occurred to me now, as the program is being restructured to run through a different organization, that there are ways this research can serve to benefit future groups of students who go on study abroad to St. Petersburg. Perhaps this information can help the faculty who help to organize the program identify potential problems and take care of them before they become a challenge for the new group. For example, because a number of students had difficulties with instructors who seemed unapproachable and cold, maybe they can take special care to choose instructors who will relate well to the students and explain a little about the way American students need to be treated in a learning environment. Also concerning host families, which I have not specifically mentioned yet, there were problems with adjustment there. It might be a suggestion to either choose these families with more care or have the students live in groups in apartments. I thought it would be favorable to live in apartments rather than with host families as my Russian did not necessarily improve due to the host family setting. They rarely interacted with me, except in basic situations like at the dinner table, and I felt more like I was intruding. These are examples of potential ways that this research can benefit future study abroad groups.

Dr. Bown and I are still in the process of evaluating this large cache of information and we want to take this research and write it up as an academic paper that focuses on the way that ideas of culture affect students on study abroad. There are a few papers like this, but this one would also evaluate the way that the students viewed their own culture through the lens of being in Russia. This is another aspect of our research. Some students saw their culture as more valuable because of the comparison with Russian culture and some even rejected their own culture, believing some of the disparaging things that some Russians would say about it. This is also an important part of the study abroad experience: how the student views himself or herself as a result of it. This would also be a further area of study.

Overall, I can say that the experience was positive for me. I learned many things about myself by spending time in Russia that I would not have known otherwise. I learned that I am not immune to culture shock, no matter how prepared I believe myself to me. I also learned that I am a worthwhile individual, even if I don’t “fit in” the way I believe I should. Fitting in is not the goal of a study abroad program, but learning is. If we can learn from our experiences, both positive and negative, then the program is a success. If students leave the program believing that it was a waste of time and that they were simply misunderstood, then they have not taken the opportunity to learn from their interactions and surroundings. It is much more than simply learning how to speak better Russian. Three months is hardly enough time to polish any language, but it is enough time to get a small glimpse into a culture and try to understand their perspective. That is one of the main goals of a study abroad program as we focus on “cultural immersion and exchange.” This is an area of study that could be continued for a very long time and new ideas would continually be uncovered. What is it that causes people to productively exchange cultural ideas? Perhaps this question must be answered over and over again by those who actually participate in these programs. I feel like I have only started to understand for myself the answer to this question, and I hope that I can continue to refine my cultural experiences and seek out opportunities to understand and learn from each one.