Making Russian Connections on the Nice Abroad
With a volatile political situation evolving in Russia, Principia’s Russia Abroad switched its destination to Nice, France, a city that has welcomed Russian people on holiday or in exile since the nineteenth century. This change provided a unique opportunity for students to explore aspects of Russian culture in connection with immigration and to develop a deeper understanding of the way societies evolve.
Students took language classes from Russian-speaking instructors and were surprised and delighted to hear it spoken on the streets of Nice. “It was always exciting hearing someone speak Russian,” says senior Jake Elmore. “Occasionally I tried speaking with them, which was a difficult but fun challenge.”
Most homestay hosts spoke both Russian and French, but some students were in households where only Russian was spoken. “At first, it was a challenge to communicate with my homestay family because my homestay mother spoke only Russian,” Jake says. “But after some time and patience, we were able to communicate without any problems. It was a joy to communicate while having dinner together."
“What I found most interesting about Nice was how relatively new and ‘un-French’ it is,” says senior Kendall Shoemake. “Sure, most everyone spoke French and rooted for the French national [soccer] team, but it was very interesting to witness the diversity. It’s a cultural melting pot and reminded me of the United States. We learned about multiple settlers who vacated Nice, such as the Greeks and Romans, and found out that the area didn't actually become part of France until the mid-nineteenth century. Now there is a wide variety of cultures, including Middle Eastern, North African, and Russian.”
The region’s rich cultural heritage provided numerous opportunities for exploration, including tours of the Musée Matisse, Picasso Museum, Renoir Museum, National Chagall Museum, Roman ruins, historic churches, and archeological sites. “An artist who helped us connect the dots is Marc Chagall,” notes one of the group’s blog posts. “A Jewish Russian painter who lived most of his life in France, Chagall never lost his love for both countries, even while living through both world wars. His love for life, for God, and for mankind shines through his work. His example inspires us to keep looking for deep connections between cultures and peoples—to see more than we did before we came to this beautiful place.”