AY/Semester Study Abroad Programs in Daugavpils, Latvia

This study abroad program exceeded all expectations I had for it, and words cannot describe how much I learned from and enjoyed my time living in Daugavpils. I took half of my classes on the Russian language and the other half on a mix of political science and history topics. The professors were all extraordinarily knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and eager to teach me. There were an enormous range of courses to choose from, which allowed me to design my program specifically to fit my personal goals. The living situation was ideal for learning Russian. I had an amazing host mom and brother, who made me feel at home from day one. My host mom was incredibly kind and caring, cooked delicious meals, and was always there to help me out or give me advice. Almost every day after dinner, we would sit, drink tea, and chat for about an hour - which was almost as valuable as my formal classes for getting me comfortable conversing in Russian. And if I finished my homework for the night, my host brother would always be eager to play hide and seek, watch a cartoon, or show me his enormous collection of toys and gadgets. The excursions were also an incredibly valuable part of this program. We traveled all over the Baltics and even to Minsk, Belarus, learning about and experiencing each countries history and culture. The location of Daugavpils was also ideal for traveling on the weekends. Cheap buses and trains left straight for Riga, Vilnius, Tallinn, Warsaw, and other major cities. But it was often tempting to just stay in Daugavpils and organize a trip to our private banya (we must have gone 12 times in the fall semester), volunteer to take dogs for walks at the animal shelter, or just гулять with friends around the city. I have no complaints about this program and would recommend it to anyone who wants to improve their Russian and have a blast while doing so.

I want to start by saying this program really went above and beyond my expectations in every way! The program was well balanced providing both an excellent academic experience along with a profound and highly informative cultural immersion aspect. For me, increasing my proficiency in Russian and experiencing the diverse culture of both Latvia and the larger northern eastern European region were my main goals. After a semester, I can say with absolute certainty that this is one of the best programs available for those who are looking to increase their language proficiency. The program is located in Daugavpils (a Russian speaking city in eastern Latvia) which makes it an ideal location for Russian studies. The academic aspect of the program is structured well with a mixture of both core Russian language classes and a wide selection of elective courses taught in Russian and tailored to each student’s personal criteria. This is made possible by the excellent teachers and the fact that the classes are very small (usually 2-6 students per class). In addition, each student has the chance to live with a host family which, for me, was really a crucial part of increasing my language proficiency and in acquiring a much deeper understanding of the culture and history of this region. My host family and particularly my host mother is one of the most gracious, genuine, and kind people I have ever met. The excursions are highly informative and diverse in both theme and location. I personally loved the opportunity to travel to Belarus! Our excursion guide and organizer is phenomenal! He has a deep knowledge of each location's historical and cultural relevance and I can speak for everyone on the program when I say that he really makes every excursion even more fun and interesting. In addition, the entire program is run by highly capable and helpful management that is always there to help make sure your experience is the best it can be. Unlike many other study-abroad programs, Learn Russian in the EU was very helpful right from the start. They helped me with logistics early on, long before I had arrived in Latvia. I have to add that being inside the EU makes traveling around Europe easy. From past experience in other study-abroad programs, I can say that this program is by far the best of those I have partaken in and especially for those who want to master Russian.

Note: I participated in the semester long program for college students (Russian Language and Political Science Program) When most people think about studying Russian abroad they tend to picture themselves in Russia. Before participating in this program I actually did spend two months in Irkutsk, Russia, and I can honestly say that my time spent in Daugavpils was just as valuable and helped me improve my Russian skills just as much. It is 100% true that practically everyone in the city knows Russian (I only met 2 or 3 people who did not know it very well, but they still understood it), and that Russian is what you hear in restaurants, stores, and on the streets. I took 4 different Russian language classes, and each of them helped me improve my Russian skills in different ways. Two of my classes were very focused on conversation, which allowed me to practice using new words and grammatical constructions. One class focused on idioms, which actually helped improved my reading comprehension, as I frequently have seen the idioms I learned in the books I read. Finally, one class focused on stylistics where we spent most of the time going over the official business style of speech. While this class was definitely the most taxing, it really helped improved my reading comprehension with regards to news articles. I also took some classes focused on political science, which were taught in Russian and were quite interesting. Besides formal classes, each student has to meet a few times a week with a conversation partner. My partner was amazingly helpful and was always able to come up with different subjects to discuss. At the end of each meeting he also gave me a list of the words I didn't know so that I could improve my vocabulary. The host family situation was nice as well. I lived with a mom and her daughter, and they were always very kind and took time to speak with me. I had my own room, and my host mom cooked me breakfast and dinner every day, which was really good for me since I am a super lazy college student. The lunch situation was good as well, as during the weekdays one can easily buy a business lunch in the city for 3.5-5 euros. Food in general is very cheap compared to American standards. Finally, I wanted to briefly write about all of the excursions that are included. It seemed like almost every weekend I was busy doing something. During the first few weeks excursions take place in/around Daugavpils and include kayaking, horseback riding, trips to different WWII memorials, and a trip to the banya (Russian sauna). Later on we also had trips to Riga, and to two cities in Lithuania. I also paid a bit extra to go on a trip to Minsk, Belarus, which was definitely one of the highlights. When I was not on excursions organized by the program I was usually travelling with other students. Bus or train tickets to Riga only cost 4-7 euros and airbnbs are extremely cheap. We also organized a trip to Estonia, and I was even able to visit Ukraine during Thanksgiving. Overall, I would definitely recommend this program. It is much cheaper than any other study abroad programs I have found, the classes were amazing, and the excursions were top-notch. I also wanted to mention that the people in charge of the program are super helpful. I actually signed up for the program around 2 weeks before it began, and Sergey Simonov was very helpful in helping me do so. Finally, I have to mention Jānis who took us on all of our excursions, organized trips to the banya, and was named by probably everyone in the group as one of the best aspects of the program because of how friendly he was, and because he was always willing to help everyone.