A dream in Russian – hello from Monika

Hello there! Monika here, Liden & Denz’s new Social Media Intern. In the next two months, I will be posting on social media, and occasionally on the blog as well. I would like to tell you my story with Bulgakov, Russian grammar and Saint Petersburg.

A year ago, I was sitting on the Neva riverbank. It was 4 AM in the morning, my friends and I were waiting for the bridges to close so we can cross to go back to our hostel. The sun was rising, ships sailing down the river quietly, and my feet were terribly hurting because I just had walked about ten kilometres in my high heels to get to the bridge. (Any girl with a love for shoes understands my pain.) My flight back to Hungary was leaving at noon that day.  In those moments, while we were waiting, I made a promise to myself: either for work or for study, I will return to Petersburg, even though I did not know how I can turn that dream into reality.

Thanks to the Liden & Denz, here I am once again, working as a Social Media Intern.

Even in April, it was freezing in Magnitogorsk. I had to go full babushka to protect myself from the cold.

One could ask, how did you end up in Russia in the first place? It’s mostly Bulgakov’s fault. Back in high school, I read Master and Margarita, which, in my opinion, is one of the few books that are capable of changing a life. I had been planning to study linguistics and culture, and having read the novel I realized I wanted to read this in Russian. Next thing I knew, I was majoring in Russian Language and Literature in Budapest, and besides my major, I also took courses in media and communication. The language proved to be far more complex and difficult than anything I had ever learned before. After a few moments of desperation as a freshman, I discovered the beauty of Russian grammar. That’s right, I’m the weird kid that likes grammar – which does not mean that I would be good at it.

I visited Russia for the first time in the spring of 2017, when I spent three months in Magnitogorsk and a few days in St. Petersburg, teaching English as a volunteer. Magnitogorsk is a small town, located not very far from Chelyabinsk (‘Not very far’ by Russian standards, which means about four hours by car), and life is somewhat different compared to St. Petersburg – but more on that later.

The opportunity to work at Liden & Denz as a Social Media Intern did not just seem exciting because the school is located in Petersburg, but since I was a little girl, writing has played a very important role in my life, and so did social media and blogging in my teenage years. It’s wonderful to get the chance to write about things that I have great interest for and have it published. Luckily, besides my work and studies, I will have some free time to dive further into Petersburg life. For my time here, I have written a bucket list: go to Marinskii Teatr; visit Tsarskoe Selo; try Georgian food, and have a dream in Russian – that would mean I am close to mastering the language!

Posted by Monika Wintermans

Hello there, I'm Monika from Hungary, interning at Liden & Denz as Social Media Assistant. I study Russian Language and Literature in Budapest. I love writing, urban life, food and Russian music - including the classics and rock as well.