Diana Summers, United States

During my first few weeks in St. Petersburg, I felt as if I had been swallowed by a huge city. I spent the remainder of my time searching for my own way through a country and culture which has so little in common with the world that I am familiar with. Those impressions and emotions, which I experienced living and studying in St. Petersburg, are something that strongly influenced what type of person I have become. My teachers at the St. Petersburg University helped transfer Russian from the written page to life. Having gotten so much from this experience, I now know that I will return to Russia to visit my friends and to share their culture with my family and with other people.