My name is Fredrik and I’ve spent the last six weeks as an intern at Liden & Denz’ language school in St. Petersburg. This is my second time here as an intern, so instead of a normal goodbye post, I’ve listed up five reasons for you to apply for an internship as well!
1. Russian lessons
Classes at Liden & Denz are designed to keep you on your toes. The first few days are hard, but when you become used to hearing, speaking and writing Russian every day, you soon realise what a positive effect it has. I’ll admit, some days are tough, but then comes the days where everything suddenly makes sense. That was my experience after first internship, and only realised how much I had learned after one month. One hour of work in return for one hour of class is a pretty sweet deal, too.
2. People
I can only speak for St. Petersburg, but you’d be amazed at the amount of interesting people who study Russian. During my first stint as an intern at Liden & Denz, I met Maurits who left a safe job in the Netherlands to start a business in Russia. This time, I met Nathan Paul, who took a break from his studies in China to study Russian. Liden & Denz hosts some events, such as cooking parties, ice skating, metro tours and city walks, but there’s also plenty going on outside school. You won’t have any difficulties finding people to travel out of town or visit some of the many museums with.
3. Location
I’ve spent my time in St. Petersburg, where the school is located in the heart of the city, meaning you’ll walk past attractions that draw crowds from around the world every single day. There are so many museums, churches and places to visit, that it would take you years to see even half of what the city has to offer. The city’s bar scene is also worth a mention, as many prefer to practice their Russian and met locals over a drink. Liden & Denz have also got schools in Moscow and Irkutsk, Russia, as well as Riga, Latvia.
4. Experience
The internship is a great way to train your writing skills and creativity, work with social media or produce video content for the school’s YouTube-channel. In my case, I had previously written a lot in Norwegian but hardly anything in English. So not only did I improve my Russian, but also my English. You’ll have a lot of freedom in finding new stories, designing your posts and coming up with new ways to attract people to our social media pages and website. Additionally, you learn a lot about the city and Russia when you research and explore the city.
5. Food
I know, I know.. Food probably isn’t the first thing you associate with Russia, but that doesn’t mean it’s no good. Have you tried homemade syrniki with jam and sour cream? or maybe bliny with caviar? If you haven’t, that’s reason alone to go to Russia. Personally, like 90% of all the people I’ve talked to, the favourite is actually not Russian but Georgian food. Nothing beats a meal of satsivi, khachapuri, khinkali and shashlik, accompanied by a red saperavi wine. Other than that, no one makes a creamy mushroom soup like the Russians do.
Are you interested in an internship at Liden & Denz? Where would you like to go? Comment below or on our Facebook page!