Russian Student Spotlight - Mateo Espinoza

What do you really know beyond your own community? Do you know what it’s like to live abroad? As I sat looking out the window in Tallinn, I could see rolling hills and Soviet-style apartment buildings, but the biggest difference I noticed was the quiet. I was in Estonia, a country known for its strength in cybersecurity and digital innovation, but how much did I actually know about it beyond that headline?

Over the next few months, my first impressions and the assumptions I didn’t even realize I had started to shift. What I initially viewed as a small, distant nation began to feel layered and complex, shaped by history, resilience, and a modern identity. Little by little, my biased perception changed into something more curious, more informed, and a lot more honest.

Advanced Language Study

I was in Tallinn through the American Councils program, and one of the most meaningful parts of my experience was strengthening my Russian through immersion. While Estonia’s official language is Estonian, Russian is widely spoken in many communities, and that gave me daily opportunities to practice in real situations. At school, I continued building vocabulary and improving my grammar through constant practice, feedback, and real conversations with teachers. The experience was incredible, being able to speak with locals in another language and truly immerse myself in their daily life made everything I’d studied feel real.

My biggest accomplishment was speaking with my host grandmother and having full conversations with her. Each time we talked, I felt myself becoming more confident. I looked forward to our conversations because I was always learning from her: new topics, new words, and new ways of expressing ideas. She had always helped with my pronunciation and helped define new words I was unfamiliar with. She was patient from the start when I had a limited vocabulary and helped me build up my language ability. The excitement I felt after realizing I could communicate naturally, without relying on English, was something I’ll always remember. It wasn’t just about knowing more words, but being able to speak with people in their own language and connecting with them.

This experience of being abroad made the benefits of advanced language study impossible to ignore. I became better at listening at a natural speed without needing to translate every word into English in my brain. I moved past survival phrases and could actually communicate. It helped me express my thoughts, but most of all, understanding the culture behind the language from the tone of speaking, or the formal warrý you mean as ys to speak. I gained an opportunity I never imagined I would have. More than anything, the experience showed me how powerful advanced language study can be when you’re surrounded by the language every day. 

Study abroad created such an impact on me that my goal is to continue on, gaining further proficiency in the language. I plan to declare it as a double major and take a proficiency test, with the ultimate goal of being a translator in the language. Coming back from Estonia, being able to speak to old professors and friends from class in Russian was a powerful experience, the feeling of having accomplished a great feat. If you have the opportunity, and the door to abroad opens up, take the chance, walk through that door, and experience a new life in a different country. 

https://www.americancouncils.org/programs/russian-language-and-area-studies-program

https://www.studyabroad.americancouncils.org/rlasp