Different ways that I can show you how much my Russian has improved (and how I have been able to tell too)
1. First day on the Metro and I could not understand a word that the announcer said
1a. Two weeks later, I could understand some of it. I knew that they said something about doors, passengers, children and women. I was also able to understand the different stop names, something that had been really hard for me at first.
1b. Six weeks after I had first rode the Metro, I could recite the warning alongside the announcer. “Dear passengers, doors are closing. ….(and then I always forget the next part)..... the seats marked are for children, women and injured...(and then when they got to my stop, which is the end of the line) this is the last stop. So that was not the best recitation ever, but my memory is pretty short hee hee.
2. First day of class, my teacher asked me a few basic questions. I could barely understand a word she said.
2a. Two weeks later, I was able to mostly follow along. Most of the class was taught in Russian, with some English thrown in to help us.
2b. Four weeks later, I was able to start asking questions about the material we were learning in Russian.
2c. Six weeks later, I could follow along without having to translate in my head what my teacher was saying. Also finally figured out most of the cases. And, could now understand explanations in Russian of unknown terms. Realized that I was completely loosing my ability to speak/write English. (Still struggling with that hee hee)
2d. Last two days of class, eight weeks after I first arrived, and my teacher only speaks in Russian (fairly fast too). We discuss current events and cultural differences between Canada/USA and Russia. I understand basically everything.
3. I made a Russian friend online (yes I know kind of sketchy), and we met for coffee. This was a week and a half after I arrived. He (Pavel) is fluent in Spanish and English and had offered to help me with my Russian and my Spanish. The first time we met, we spoke mostly in Spanish and English. I tried to speak Russian with him, but I really could not speak outside of a classroom setting. My vocabulary was too small, and focused only on very specific things.
3a. Two coffees later, I brought a friend along who is much more fluent in Russian than I. That night, we also met a bunch of Pavel's friends. Most could speak some English and even a little bit of Spanish. I felt a bit left out because everyone was able to speak Russian around me, and I could not contribute at all.
3b. Five weeks in, I realized that I was understanding most of the conversations that were going on around me. Usually they would ask me if I understood, and I would always say no. That time, I surprised them and said yes.
3c. Last night, we had a good bye dinner/coffee/snack. It went on for a few hours. I contributed to the conversation in Russian, I understood what was going on, and I could even understand Stella, Pavel's girlfriend. She speaks so fast that sometimes even her friends ask her to repeat herself.
In other words, my Russian has improved immensely. It is still not very good, and I can understand much more than I can speak, but the changes in my ability surprises me. The first two weeks I learned quite a bit, but I was also pretty sure that I really would not get much better. In the last week that I have been here, I have improved even more. Of course, its when I am really getting into the swing of things that I am leaving. Currently in the airport in Kiev, waiting for my flight to Istanbul.
I will really try to keep up with this blog better. I think that it will be easier when I am doing exciting new things everyday. In St Petersburg, as I have previously mentioned, I quickly entered a routine so I felt like I did not have much to share.
I do need to write a post or two on the touristy things I did in the last two weeks. But that will have to wait.
Lots of love, and I cannot wait to get back to Minneapolis. Less than a month now!
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