This week OI Anna Marsburg came to the school to talk to us about her time at school and experience in Russia. While in Sixth Form, Anna studied Russian, Spanish, PRE, and English Literature which set her up for a future career in modern languages. Anna then went to Durham University to study modern languages, taking a particular interest in Russian and Spanish as she had done
at Ipswich.

Part of her degree required her to do semesters abroad in her language focus countries. But instead of going to the rather predictable Spain she chose to explore Latin America, and go to Tomsk in Siberia for three months for the Russian part of her degree.

Anna explained that it was a bit of a shock to  go from minus 35 degree weather to 35 degree in her second semester abroad in Colombia
and Peru! She worked for a charity in Colombia and as an English assistant teacher in Peru. After graduating from Durham in 2018 Anna decided to take a year off continuing to travel before deciding that she wanted to return to Russia and take up a job she was offered as a Governess.

Anna’s first visit to Moscow was actually back when she attended Ipswich School. She visited with Dr Croft during a school trip, but it wasn’t until ten years later that she returned to Moscow not as a tourist but as a governess.

While talking to us about Russia as a country she called it a big and diverse place with a wonderful culture, landscape and history. Anna described Moscow as a wonderful place to be; a bustling city with a plethora of activities and enriching culture.She said that as it was a cosmopolitan city, it was the best place to be in her twenties. She had friends of many nationalities and described her community as small but very close and welcoming.

She explained how the vastly different culture provided quite a culture shock when she visited, as the way in which Russian people communicate, such as the blunt directness which can seem quite rude to foreigners, differs significantly from the British way of life. She also jokingly expressed how Russian people find smiling a sign of stupidity, which led to many awkward exchanges in public for her where smiling at strangers only led to looks of indignation.

We were also able to speak more about the current situation in Russia and Ukraine, and will bring you more about this in a future edition. Thank you to Anna for sharing her story with us.

Flora D, Year 13, and Dylan JM, Year 12