My Brave New World

Hello, everyone! This month, I wrote two short pieces for our Russian language newspaper at William and Mary, one in English and one in Russian, and I thought I'd share the English-language article with you. It's just some general thoughts on living life in a foreign language. Some of the references are a little Russian-studies specific, but I think the general ideas are pretty clear. Enjoy:-)

My Brave New World

Defending my legitimacy to customs officers; explaining United States military strategy; negotiating a route home while on a bus going the completely opposite direction: just a few things I can cross off my “things to do in a foreign language” list since coming to Tolyatti. Living in a city where I am the only native-English speaker, I feel like I’m Alice and I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole into a parallel universe, only this wonderland has somehow become my home. Everyday presents some new communication challenge, something I would never have dreamed of facing the day before. I have come to expect the unexpected. But, the rewards of my new life far outweigh the obstacles.

Something that I find is a continual source of joy is hearing the phrases and expressions we study at William and Mary used in everyday colloquial speech. I was thrilled when my colleague, frustrated by a student who refused to speak in class, exasperatedly sighed, “Вольков бояться, в лес не ходит!” (“If you’re afraid of the wolf, don’t go into the woods!”) When my friend’s three-year-old son dropped his toy and exclaimed, «Ух, ты!», I was smiling for the rest of the day. Best of all, for my birthday I was treated to several choruses of The Crocodile Gena’s song from Чебурашка («Я играю на гарможке..»). Plus, my driver from the airport to my apartment was Sergei…just like Denis in the first-year video!

Of course, my barely-passable Russian has left me with my fair share of miscommunications. For instance, when I met with some new friends away from the University for the first time, they asked me if I had a «парeнь» (boyfriend). I answered that no, I was single. Normally this would have been enough, but I was trying to get in the habit of easy and natural Russian conversation by always answering with multiple sentences. So, I launched into a detailed and personal story about my love life, and dating in America in general. I glanced around and noticed that everyone was staring at me like I had three heads. It turns out, they had asked if I had a «парa»…meaning a “class” earlier that day. We all had a good laugh about it, but it was far from being my last linguistic faux pas. And though I am improving, it is also sometimes difficult to correctly identify the English words spoken by my Russian students. We had an issue just today where my student was trying very hard to talk to me about “Sean Penn”…I kept hearing “champagne”.

The best thing about this experience is a new sense of empowerment that I feel. Looking back, I realize that even in Russian class I was often afraid to answer a challenging question for fear of making a mistake. It is much easier to feel brave about speaking a second language when you simply have no other choice. If I want to buy food, rent my apartment, and get around town, it has to be done in Russian. Of course there are times when, finding myself in the middle of a conversation I completely do not understand, I long for the good old days of classes in Washington and teas at the Russian house. But I’ve embraced the fact that yes, I will make mistakes. Yes, I will have people who do not understand or misunderstand me. Yes, there will be days where I come home at night and wonder what the heck I’ve gotten myself into. But this knowledge has set me free. Through this crazy and wonderful journey, I’ve not only learned new Russian phrases and traditions—I’ve also discovered a braver, more adventurous version of myself.