RMAL

Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian at SWSEEL this year, anyone?

Awesome! I met him, he's simply great! He adores Poland, is enthusiastic, and really knowledgable. He and I discussed Croatian politics, pretty good for a guy with a focus on Poland rather than the Balkans! Best wishes to you on your trip out there. I bet you'll love it.

Okay, here are a few I can think of to get you started. (The forum will only let me post two links.) You can go from there by the "related videos" column. Traditional Russian/folk songs: Kalinka, Ochi Chyorniy, Pust' Vsegda Budet' Solntse, and Pesnya Krasnoi Shapochki are also great. I only know a couple Russian metal bands, most of the good ones I know come from Finland. Here's one Russian: Re subtitles: I'm confused now. People have told you they learned English by watching TV with English subtitles. Okay, so watch Russian stuff you can find with Russian subtitles? They were trying to learn English from reading English subtitles, right? You already know English

ReallyNiceGuy- Find some Russian music you enjoy and listen listen listen. Tell what sorts of music genre you like and I'll suggest some artists if you want. For that matter, why use English subs when watching films? A year of Russian should get you enough to know the gist, and without having to read subs you'll be listening to sentence formations better. Buy some lower-level books, as well. Young adult chapter books, etc. are entertaining and help add to your vocabulary. I've studied Russian independently (thanks to my crappy high school and undergrad with lack of language options!) since 2007 and found these methods the best kick-start when I wasn't overseas/around native speakers.

Which professor would that be, if you don't mind my asking? I don't know if you've visited both campuses, but I'm from NC myself so I can tell you that Indiana's program is much more impressive than UNC-CH's, in my humble opinion. I didn't even care to apply with Chapel Hill- and that'd be in-state! I'm a little late to the forum (wish I'd discovered this while panicking earlier this year), but it's great to see so many with an interest in REES! I applied to IU, Stanford (kind of as a joke), European Uni at St. Petersburg, and Uni of Tartu (that's in Estonia- their program is focused on Russian-EU relations). EUSP was my top choice and I got it! IU wait-listed me, Stanford rejected, and Tartu's decisions aren't until June so I'll be writing to decline in advance. While Russia is my main focus, I have a great affection for Croatia on the side, and will be going to SWSEEL for B/S/C level 1 as an alternate for FLAS. Anyone gonna be in my class? I've visited Indiana's campus, met the professors, and find the whole place absolutely marvelous. Would love to hear from anyone I'll be spending my summer with.