The Volunteer’s Blog

Мои первые впечатления в России

 

Hello everybody, my name is Christina, I am from Austria and for the next five months I will live and work in Kazan as an EVS volunteer. First of all, a few facts about myself! I am 19 years old and previous June I graduated from school. I decided not to start study like all my friends, but going abroad for an adventure and so I landed here in Kazan.
In School I already studied the Russian language for three years and during our lessons we also talked a lot about Russian culture and I became very interested so I decided to choose Russia for my EVS project. Here I want to learn your language and getting to know your culture better!
This is my second month in Russia, so I have already seen a lot here and I am very impressed. There are a lot of stereotypes that Russian people are unfriendly and cold persons. I would not say that I was surprised, but I did not expect that the people here are so friendly and kind! I have been in many other countries before I came here, but I was never as warmly welcomed as here. I really enjoy this mentality!
Now it is my second week in Kazan and I think I will feel very comfortable her. I already do, actually! I like the look and the atmosphere of the city! Also it has the perfect size for me. Big but not too big!I still have to learn how to handle such a city because I grew up countryside in a small village! So for me this is a brandnew experience, which I am enjoying every minute of my stay.
As a volunteer I will hold speaking clubs.One for English and one for German, so maybe I will meet one of you there, this would be very nice! And I will also write this blog during my stay! I am looking forward to my time here and I think it will be awesome!