My Journey with Russian

Anna Bennett
Nov 1
2 min read

As a kid, I hated Russian classes.

Every Sunday, my mom would drag me to two-hour classes that would always leave me feeling frustrated. My teacher, Tyota Alla, was an old Belarusian lady who only spoke Russian and did not know how to teach non-native speakers. As someone who grew up in a house where Russian was rarely spoken, as my dad spoke no Russian, these classes were very challenging for me.

Over time, I grew to hate the Russian language and thus my culture. I thought learning Russian was a stupid waste of time. Deep down, I knew my mom wanted me to speak Russian well so I could communicate with my grandparents, but I was stubborn and refused to budge.

Several years ago, I realized how big a mistake I had made. I had not seen my grandparents since 2019, and knew there was a good chance I would never get to see them again. This left me feeling frustrated and angry at myself for how much I had rejected my own culture as a child. Well, I knew I could not erase the past I decided to make a change. I would commit myself to learning Russian to honor my grandparents and my Russian lineage.

This is how I discovered NSLI-Y. I was looking for some way to improve my Russian and hopefully get an immersive cultural experience as well, and I found the perfect opportunity. In the fall of my sophomore year, I first applied to NSLI-Y, and sadly, I did not get in, but I did not let this stop me. I figured out that I could apply to take Russian classes at the University of Minnesota, and reapply to NSLI-Y the next year, so that is exactly what I did.

All year, I worked my butt off. I studied hard and Russian and spent much more time on my NSLI-Y Application, and finally I got in. This summer, I went to Daugavpils, Latvia, for six weeks to study Russian, and it was a life-changing experience. My Russian improved drastically, and I got the opportunity to connect to my culture in a whole new way.

Returning from Latvia, I wanted to continue the track I was on, and that is what led me to Slavic voice. I am so grateful to get the opportunity to help others connect to their Slavic culture and grow a greater representation of Slavic culture in the Midwest.

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