Study Abroad: Alt Spring Break (American Home)

Deadline for Applications: November 15, 2018, December 1, 2018

The American Home in Vladimir, Russia, is sponsoring two Alternative Spring Break (ASB) opportunities in March 2019 (information about 2018 program: www.serendipity-russia.com/edex.html). The final application deadline is December 1, 2018.

any expectations I could possibly have had were surpassed. …I participated in a culture without being a tourist…and spent [time] outside of my carefully constructed comfort zone. The experience was nothing short of changing my worldview.” (Vanderbilt University student)

The program includes community service, homestays, excursions to UNESCO World Heritage Sites, interaction with Russian university students who are studying English, and Russian language lessons.

 Participants do not have to speak Russian to join the program.

Links to pictures, participant blogs, and television news reports are below. They may give a sense of some of the things that students can do, see, and experience while participating in the Alternative Spring Break program.

VLADIMIR (March 2-10): Help several community organizations, including the Youth Health and Education Center, Karl Liebnicht Orphanage, Russian Orthodox Church, Handicapped Children’s Association “Light”, Vladimir Regional Veterans’ Home and others, while interacting with Russian university students and experiencing the delight and wonder of provincial Russia.

MUROM (March 9-17): Help university students at the Murom Institute (an affiliate of Vladimir State University) to improve their English language skills; prepare audio and video materials for their English language program. During the Soviet period Murom was a closed city. Today it remains isolated from traditional tourist routes. Foreign language faculty and students are eager for contact with native English speakers.

Blog:

http://theamericanhome.blogspot.com/2012/05/our-first-alternative-spring-break.html

Pictures:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151290800166290.1073741825.184076861289&type=1

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150585601736290.373606.184076861289&type=1

Russian Television Reports:

http://vladtv.ru/society/78658/

http://variant33.ru/ekspressnovosti1/22590_prikosnulis_k_nacional_nym_tradiciyam/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHSmJKk5QIQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQu_46YZPnw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4Yx0VcoQ7w