A road from Paris to Saint Petersburg passing by Kiev
Each year the students of Première who have been studying Russian since 4ème go to Russia to discover the jewels of Russian culture. The trip started on the 28th of January and ended on the 8th of February. The best part of this outing was the visit of the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv.
On top of visiting another Slav country, the Premières got to do an exchange. Each person stayed for one full week in a Ukrainian family, who for most usually only spoke the language of their nation and Russian. Therefore, they didn’t speak English or French. Furthermore, each day started with a class in either Russian or Ukrainian with our respective correspondents who weren’t always in the same classes or year group. We therefore were immersed in Ukrainian culture both in the homes (personal life) and in their education and professional way of living, during our visits. Moreover, we had the chance to see a ballet in Kiev and a gorgeous opera in Saint Petersburg.
Going to Ukraine is a significant benefit for this trip and for the teenagers who participate in it.
We left this tour in Ukraine to go to Saint Petersburg, transferring in Minsk, the capital of Byelorussia. This transfer which can’t be bypassed since direct flights from Ukraine to Russia are forbidden. The control took about 15 minutes per visitor, which made it hard to get on the plane on time. Luckily, everything went well.
To sum up, this new exchange included in the Russian traditional voyage was unbelievable and Kyiv, was unanimously voted by all the students as the best part of the trip. The Russian pupils of this year group and of the one to come are blessed to assist to such a magical trip organized by an outstanding teacher, Mrs Sveltana BUEE.
Parents reading this article can see that this exchange was enjoyable, bringing a lot to the students not only in our personal development and our general knowledge, but also for our 4 notions in Russian we have to present at the Baccalaureat which is coming much quicker than we can think!!!
-By Siane Du R.
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