It’s hard to believe that this is my last week in Kiev. While I have only been here for four weeks, it feels like a lifetime. Being immersed in a different language and culture is very intense, and for someone who is more introverted like me, it has been somewhat of a challenge to force myself to speak with people that I would not normally even speak to in English. However, I like challenging myself (why else would I be taking Russian when I could take Spanish to fulfill my language requirement?), and studying a foreign language has given me new insight on how and why we communicate with each other. Furthermore, studying in Kiev has made me want to be better at communicating both in English and in Russian.
While I enjoy conversational practice in class, my favorite part about my program is the conversation practice I do with my peer tutor. Talking with someone who is my age, who speaks Russian natively, and can correct my pronunciation and conversational speaking pattern has been the most helpful and interesting part of my time here in Kiev. Peer tutoring has also been very motivating, because having a concrete person to talk to makes me want to be able to talk with people in Russian fluently. I know that when I return to the US, I want to focus on accumulating more vocabulary and continue to improve my conversational pace so that I can communicate my thoughts without having to give the first-grade rendition of them. However, also needing to “dumb down” my thoughts in order to communicate with other people has been an interesting exercise in being more aware of what I actually want to say, and how I can say it.
On the flip side, peer tutoring has also helped me practice my listening comprehension with a native speaker. While hearing my teacher speak in class is also good practice, I appreciate the one-on-one time with my peer tutor to ask questions and be more actively engaged in listening to what he is saying. However, one of the main issues I have is recognizing a word in Russian, but not remembering what it means; or, knowing that I learned a word for something in Russian, but not remembering what the word is. In short, I have really come to appreciate the value of vocabulary in both understanding and communicating with others.
On a slightly different note, I finally tried борщ (borsch) and must admit that I was underwhelmed. It wasn’t amazing but it wasn’t terrible. I could probably eat it multiple times a week but it would never be my favorite dish. I’m still very conflicted. I asked my host mom why borsch is so popular in Ukraine, and she said that Ukraine has a lot of beets, that it is a historical dish and easy to make. Seems reasonable enough to me. My peer tutor said the same thing. My host mom’s mom (my host grandma?) made me borsch a week ago and she said that it was зелëный борщ (green borsch). While this borsch looks red to me, red borsch is made with beets and is much darker in color. I tried to ask her about the difference between green and red borsch, but all I got was that they are made with different vegetables. (Note: see the importance of vocabulary above). All in all, no matter what color your borsch, just make sure you don’t forget a large serving of сметана (sour cream) to top it off.
On bottom: хачарури (khachapuri) – bread topped with cheese and an egg
Lastly, I couldn’t talk about food in Ukraine without mentioning Georgian food. I was surprised to find a fair number of Georgian restaurants here in Kiev, complete with what I assume is not authentic Georgian folk music and interior decorating. To give a more or less accurate analogy, I would say Georgian food is to Ukraine what Mexican food is to the US: not the real thing, but still pretty good. However, instead of ordering tacos with a side of chips and guac, you order хинкали (khinkali) with a side of хачарури (khachapuri). And instead of a margarita, you drink Georgian wine. Overall, it is a worthwhile experience, and I’m definitely going to miss khachapuri (aka glorified cheesy bread) when I return to the US.