Alina Moshcheva is a new addition to our school.

She came here as a foreign exchange student from Russia, interested in both our country and self discovery.

She has been in our country for only two weeks and it seems to be a bit of a culture shock. She doesn’t have to completely learn a new language, because she’s studied English for seven years.

“Everything is completely different, but is still interesting and good,” said Moshcheva.

Mosheva said schools in Russia are very different than U.S. schools.

“Russian schools are more strict and more productive in comparison to the off-topic American schools,” she said. “They also stayed in a single classroom with the same people all day, opposed to our busy round-about day.”

She said there was also much harder classes and course variety in her hometown of 400,000.

The economy there is much different as well, with a few surprising aspects.

“Russia is a democracy, not communist.  Health care is free along with school and even college; they don’t have to scramble around for tedious scholarships,” said Moshcheva. “It is much easier to live in Russia.”

Moshcheva says she isn’t interested in much travel in the U.S., but she would like to see the NYC, the beaches of Florida, and California.

Old vs. new is another difference between the two countries.

“Russia is a much older country and there are many more historical sites there than here,” she said. “Moscow has a lot of history and St. Petersburg is a pretty nice place.” 

The recreation difference between America and Russia is also something Moshcheva noticed.

“In Russia, we go on a lot of walks when we need something to do,” Moshcheva said. “But in America, you never see anyone walking around town; they just watch TV.”

Styles and fashion are also different at the school she attend in Russia. Moshcheva says she had to wear a uniform to school and that even the dress code there is a bit more relaxed allowing shorter skirts.

“We wear high heels and try to look beautiful, in America it’s more about being comfortable than beautiful,”  she said.

Moshcheva only stays for a year, and so far it’s going pretty well. and she is enjoying her exchange experience.