Spring 2007 INTAG in Moscow Travelogue, Dustin Peffer

In the spring of 2007, I had the good fortune to be able to travel to Moscow, Russia, and participate in the international agriculture (INTAG) study abroad semester. I lived for four months in obshezhitie (dormitory-hostel) number 5. Having studied Russian language and culture during high school and being a life-long Russophile, I was very excited about the opportunity. Only four students (I from Penn State, and three students from Clemson University in South Carolina) participated; however the small number allowed us to keep together and avoid cliquish behavior. We studied at Moscow State Agro-Engineering University (MGAU). Ten Russian students formed the Moscow-end of the partnership and they helped us Americans at every turn. All in all, this semester abroad introduced me to good friends and associates, exciting adventures and experiences in an interesting new setting, unforgettable memories, and allowed me to expand my horizons.

Until I was somewhere over the Atlantic, I was in a state of denial- I could not believe that I was leaving for four months. The trip had been in jeopardy of not happening due to the low number of students showing interest. However, it happened and I was too excited to sleep for very long on the Air France jet. I was met in Moscow by Sergei, an administrator from the university, and Irina, a student. I stared out the windows at all the boxy Russian cars- Zhuguli’s, Lada’s, Volga’s- as we made the trip to the university. The radio played pop music and I recognized a tune that I had heard in Brighton Beach, NY. Here I was, a stranger in a strange land and ready to jump right in to see what I could discover.

That evening I met the other American students- Allison, John, and Glen, all from Clemson University in South Carolina; the dean of the international department, Dr. Valerii Chumakov; and the Russian students that would form the other half of our group. I was surprised by the Russian students: ten lovely young ladies who all spoke English well and were almost all studying pedagogy and technical services. They had prepared a traditional Russian welcoming feast consisting of many different types of salads and dishes. It was a big change for some of us, but we would all grow to enjoy the food. I was fortunate when it came time for our room assignments- Allison and I would have individual rooms and Glenn and John would share a room. The rooms had bathrooms (the sink and shower in one room with the toilet in another as is typical style there), a TV, bed, stands, and desks, along with a heater built in under the drafty windows. From my window, I had a view of a nightclub/restaurant/bowling alley/bar that was highly visible- neon lights were wrapped all around it and shown all hours of the night. Just down the road was our entrance to the city’s extensive metro system-the Petrovsko-Razumovskaya station along with a bus terminal of the same name. This station would serve as our gateway to the city- Moscow is much too large to reach the central city by foot.

The courses that we students studied were all conducted in English- Penn State and Clemson sent three professors to teach agro/bio engineering energy management, web design, communications, and media methods. Introductory Russian was also taught by two instructors

from MGAU. As part of our studies, we went on excursions to many different types of agricultural facilities in the region. We visited a diary technology firm, a few tractor and equipment specialist firms, a 300 acre greenhouse complex (Agrikombinat Moskovsky), a dairy farm, cheese and sausage factories, and a teaching center. In this way we were shown the changing face of agriculture in Russia firsthand, and were always free to ask questions.

Moscow is an amazing city. About twelve million people live there, but it generally doesn’t feel crowded due to the sheer size of the place. Parks can be found in nearly every neighborhood, large exhibition centers showcase monuments from the past and present, and the culture and art is apparent from all the museums, ballets, and the architectural design of the buildings. Moscow never became bland to the eye. Almost every street had kiosks where one could purchase everything from food and drink to books and war memorabilia.

Russians celebrate many holidays not found on our calendars. While there, we were able to participate in festivities for Day of the Defenders of the Fatherland (men’s day), International Women’s Day, Maslenitsa (Carnival), Easter, Victory Day (VE day), and a few birthdays. Each was celebrated in its own way with its own traditions and degrees of seriousness. Usually there was a large meal at any of these celebrations. Similarities with the way we celebrate holidays were to be found, but never expected. Of particular interest are birthdays: here people bring the person having the birthday a cake and food and et cetera, but there, the lucky person brought everyone else cake and foods.

During the weekend of February 23rd, each of the American students went home to a Russian family for Day of the Defenders of the Fatherland. I was lucky enough to go home with my friend Nadya and spend a few days with her, her parents, and sister. They live in a small city, Naro-Fominsk, which is 70km southwest of Moscow. We took an evening train there. I was greeted with the greatest hospitality from her family. During the holiday itself, we had a wonderful meal and a decent conversation in half-English half-Russian, with a little German thrown in when we couldn’t find a word. That evening, Nadya and her sister Irina showed me their town. Everything was covered in some shallow snow, but all the walk ways were cleared-an unusual feat in a country where most snowy sidewalks turn into icy ones. The next day we went cross country skiing. I had never been skiing before (only downhill) and felt that it was usually good to keep my feet in contact with the ground since I have a poor sense of balance. The sisters took me anyway. We went for a 10km loop around the forests outside of the town. Everyone made it back alive, but I did end up breaking one of the ski poles. After a little break, we called a cab to take us to a summer resort that operated a swimming facility all year round. Upon arrival, we had to go to a doctor and have our skin checked for any illnesses which might foul the water. Everyone passed the examination, so we went to the desk to check our bags and get our swimming caps which we were made to wear. The swimming pools were new and well designed and our group all enjoyed ourselves. It was the last time I would go swimming in a long time. That evening, Nadya, Irina, and myself all boarded the train to Moscow and returned.

The American students were in charge of a newsletter during our trip. Each of us contributed an article for every issue, and we had rotating photography and editing responsibilities. It can be found online at http://intag.cas.psu.edu/Russia/Newsletters.htm. The following is my second article.

In The Answer to Your Country's Future

Written by Dustin "DP" Peffer, a Junior at Penn State

During the evening of the previous Thursday, I tagged along to a student gathering with one of our Russian guides, Nadya. She was attending a meeting of Grazhdanskaya Smena, the Civil Shift. This organization is a Moscow-based student club that enables students from all the universities of Moscow to come together and work on projects ranging from class works, to civic duty activities, to business plans.

This club is two years old and gives students from more than fifty different universities a common forum in which to work together. The three main areas of the club are Activities, Government, and Business. I found this to be somewhat similar to American student clubs, but quite interesting because of the organization’s supra-university standing. This model seems almost alien, American students are generally more accustomed to university-based clubs that usually don’t interact with clubs from other schools. I am sure this is partly to blame due to the distances between American educational centers.

The Activities branch organizes various things for students to do on holidays and weekends, and might also be called the Social branch. The Government organization works with the Moscow government and proposes ideas that could be implemented and also sends students to work with officials from each of the city’s thirty-nine districts in something akin to an internship program. The Business side of Grazhdanskaya Smena allows students to make proposals for current businesses or for a new business. If the idea is good enough, the students can organize their enterprises and may receive funding from the club (provided by Moscow’s government budget).

Although I merely sat quietly on a couch and watched the proceedings, I could sense the camaraderie and willingness of the students to work together for their common benefit. As Nadya told me, it allows students to present their problems and hear many various viewpoints and solutions; the biggest thing was working towards and arriving at a solution that suited everyone. A large banner on the wall read, “You are in the answer to your country’s future,” and the smiling portrait of Putin on the opposite wall left me feeling that I was in the company of the future leaders of this great country.

Nearly every Monday afternoon, once classes were over, we visited a local elementary school to help the children practice their English with real live native speakers. The children were all learning the language well, but needed some cultural and contextual help which we gladly provided. Getting to and from the school was an interesting experience. Since the Russian students in our group generally had their own classes to attend at that time, we Americans were on our own getting there. There was no nearby metro station (the easiest way to get anywhere)

and it took too long to walk, so we resorted to road transportation. The first time we tried to take a bus, a car pulled out in front of us and we wrecked. We walked that day. Taxi-vans were located near our station, but there was usually only enough room for one or two people in each. Despite these obstacles, we generally made it to the school every week.

The next to last week was spent on a sight-seeing trip to St. Petersburg. While it did not appeal as much as Moscow to me, St. Petersburg and all of its monuments and public spaces made a lasting impression on my memory. The sheer intricacy and show of expenses in the tsars’ palaces dazzled the eyes while the cathedrals and religious places moved the soul. There is a large contrast between the two cities, Moscow is a people’s city, and St. Petersburg is more like a European rendition of a classical Russian city. Some of my best memories are from the train ride there and back when we piled our entire group into one small sleeping car. We were threatened by the conductor to quiet down or get kicked off the train, but it was hard to control our jubilance nonetheless.

My time in Russia was a life changing experience. It opened my eyes to how big the world is and how many opportunities are out there for those with an open mind and true grit. I need to thank the staff and instructors from Penn State, Clemson U, and Moskovskii Gosudarstvennyi Agro-Engineernyi Universitet who have all made this trip possible, and also my benefactors, the Settlemyers and their award committee.

 

Our fine group of Russian and American Students 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moscow River and Kremlin Wall 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Olya T. and myself in front of the State Historical Museum 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fountains at Aleksandrovskii Sad 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Naro‐Fominsk with Nadya, just after skiing