I am a high school Russian teacher in Mansfield, Texas, part of the growing megalopolis that is the Dallas–Ft. Worth Metroplex. Being one of only a handful of public school Russian teachers in the entire state (at last count there were seven of us) doesn’t allow for much interaction with colleagues or occasions for Russian-specific educator training. Occasionally, a special opportunity comes along, like the one I found in the Winter 2007 issue of the CARTA (Central Association of Russian Teachers in America) newsletter for a Fulbright-Hays seminar in Russia for K–12 educators called “Understanding Russia through Everyday Life,” organized by the Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center (REEEC) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

After receiving the acceptance notification, I excitedly made plans for only my third visit to Russia—I had been to Moscow and St. Petersburg twice before. The focus of this trip was the historic city of Vladimir (about 110 miles east of Moscow) and the surrounding region, including the ancient city of Murom (about 80 miles beyond Vladimir). After a few days of informative pre-departure lectures by REEEC faculty on the Urbana campus, 15 American teachers (for the majority of whom this was their first trip to Russia) were off to spend four weeks in Russia.

After arriving in Vladimir, our group was busy with lectures on politics, history, and economy and excursions to monasteries, factories, and farms. The American Home was the staging point for all of our in-country activities. The American Home is a unique institution—it is actually a 15-year old, typical single-story American house, complete with a white picket fence and a very un-Russian manicured lawn, in the center of an ancient Russian city. It exists as a beacon of American ambassadorship, with English language instruction and community outreach programs, under the watchful eyes of its American founder and caretaker, Ron Pope, a political science professor at Illinois State University and our in-country seminar director.

As a language teacher, my most important goal for the trip was to have the fullest opportunity to practice my Russian. During the time in Vladimir, basic language lessons were part of the program for the group, but the staff at the American Home generously arranged one-on-one conversation sessions for me with native-speaking instructors. Moreover, befitting the seminar theme of everyday life, we lived with host families in typical Russian apartments. I had requested that I be placed with a host family that didn’t speak any English, and that’s just what I got. In Vladimir, I lived with a very hospitable woman named Katya and her dog and cat in a 4th floor apartment about a two-mile walk from the American Home. In Murom, my host family was a kindly retired Soviet Army colonel and his wife, an elementary school teacher. While my stay with Katya was very enjoyable, “The Colonel” (as we came to call him) and his wife delivered an unbelievable dose of the Russian experience—culture, hospitality, and language practice—in little more than a long weekend, four days to be precise. The time we spent at The Colonel’s dacha (his “country place” about 20 miles from his apartment), the gem of which was his banya (Russian sauna) which he had built himself, was without a doubt one of the most memorable experiences I have ever had in Russia. In all, my Russian got quite the workout during my time in Vladimir and Murom.

From Murom, we traveled to St. Petersburg and Moscow to visit famous Russian landmarks. We had wonderful tours of the Hermitage and the Russian Museum by museum scholars. The visit to the memorial commemorating the siege of Leningrad was unspeakably moving. On a lighter note, what I thought might have been a high point for me in Moscow–to see Lenin in his mausoleum in Red Square–turned out to be rather anticlimactic. After a long wait, I had 30 seconds with him, or the waxy replica of him. I guess, I can now say I’ve been there.

The five weeks went by in a flash. The entire seminar, from the initial meetings in Illinois to the last night in Moscow, turned out to be my best trip to Russia and was, by far, the most productive experience I have had as a high school Russian teacher. While I was the only language teacher on the trip, the interaction with a great group of American teachers from all over the country was an education in itself. I returned feeling re-invigorated as a teacher and “re-calibrated” as a Russian speaker. I simply could not wait to start the new school year and share with my students all that I had experienced, from visits to 12th century cathedrals to stories about Katya and the Colonel. While few American high school students are familiar with the map of Russia, I can guarantee that 50 of them in North Texas know exactly where Vladimir is…and why. I am sure I speak for the other 14 teachers when I say that we were all enriched by our experiences in Russia. We, as well as our students, are thankful for the opportunity that REEEC at Illinois, the American Home in Vladimir, and Fulbright-Hays provided.