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| Claire Lamont |
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They Speak
English so well in St Petersburg!
BEFORE I went to Russia, I have to admit that I was slightly dubious
because I am a devoted junk-food lover and the prospect of living
on salad for a week did not exactly fill me with joy! However, I found
out that my misgivings were completely unjustified when our hostess,
Natalya Victorovna produced plenty of delicious meals and I discovered
a love for borsch(beetroot soup).
We visited two schools during our stay in St.Petersburg, and I was
amazed to learn that from the age of seven, Russian children begin
to study English. In the village of Pushkin, we had cups of tea at
one of the schools with some children who were surprisingly fluent
and could speak English like it was their first language. Many of
them spoke a third language(mainly French, German or Italian) and
I have to admit that I felt very inadequate and embarrassed to think
that, in Scottish schools, although we study several languages in
first and second year we tend to take a selfish, narrow-minded view
towards other people and their respective languages and cultures because
so many other people have learned to speak English.
Elena, our tour guide spoke fluent English and was very knowledgeable
about all the palaces. We were told in Peterhof, that one room used
up a kilogram of gold leaf! It was really beautiful there because
the snow was lying thick on the ground and we saw a dozen people sitting
on the frozen ice in the sea.
All the people we met, especially Natalya were very kind and hospitable.
It gave me a great insight into the lives of the Russian people, particularly
when we visited the Russian winners' homes. It was a fabulous adventure
and an unforgettable experience. |
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