<p>Hello!</p>
<p>So I'm a music major turned Russian language major and I'm interested, obviously, in going to Russia. Pretty much itching uncontrollably to go, hahaha. I'd love to take a gap semester in a way that's not quite so conventional as just going to study at Moscow State University or St Petersburg Polytechnic; I'd much rather live over there for a semester in a smaller town that's more the quintessential "Russia" (or at least have to survive without the help of my University in one of the bigger cities) and perhaps get a job and be forced to communicate in their language and be exposed to the culture.</p>
<p>Does anybody have any advice? Has any one of you ever done something similar to this? I know that I'd have a problem getting a job unless I'm very fluent in Russian by then (I'm pretty good at picking up languages but I'm sure being in the country surrounded by entirely Russian speakers for the first time would be overwhelming)...</p>
<p>My son-in-law studied in Russia for his junior year. He enrolled directly in St. Petersburg State University. Tuition was much less than it would have been if he’d spent the year at Tufts (college he was attending). My younger D studied at the Moscow Art Theater–through the National Theater Institute in CT. </p>
<p>It’s my understanding that it is difficult for an American to work in Russia. You have to have a letter from an employer before you apply for a work visa. My younger D had a friend who worked without the appropriate papers, but she was already in Russia as a student. My D and her friends thought that she was foolish for taking the job.</p>
<p>My husband and I visited younger D in Moscow–just getting a visa to visit Russia requires a fair amount of paper work. IMO you’d be safer if you knew where you were going and what you wanted to do before you went to Russia. You might look into getting a job teaching English in Russia through one of the various agencies that places folks who want to go abroad and teach English. [Teaching</a> English in Russia](<a href=“http://www.englishfirst.com/trt/teaching-english-in-russia.html]Teaching”>http://www.englishfirst.com/trt/teaching-english-in-russia.html)</p>
<p>FWIW I preferred St. Petersburg over Moscow.</p>