Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
77
Travel
(www.budgettravel.com). Russia-
based agencies include
Russia Info-Center
(
&
495/939-1605;
www.russia-ic.com)
and
www.homestays.ru
, which offers
high-end hotels as well as homestays.
Before you invest in a package tour, get
some answers. Ask about the
accommo-
dations choices
and prices for each. Then
look up the hotels' reviews in a Frommer's
guide and check their rates online for your
specific dates of travel. You'll also want to
find out what
type of room
you get. If
you need a certain type of room, ask for it;
don't take whatever is thrown your way.
Request a nonsmoking room, a quiet
room, a room with a view, or whatever you
fancy.
Finally, look for
hidden expenses.
Ask
whether airport departure fees and taxes,
for example, are included in the total cost.
a special status/All you can do is believe in
Russia.” So goes an oft-quoted verse by
19th-century Romantic poet Fyodor
Tyutchev that has stood as a challenge to
foreign scholars of Russia and Russian ever
since. What better way to prove him
wrong and expand your understanding
than to take a language tour in Russia? It
is certain to be intense and productive, as
English speakers and familiar lettering are
scarcer here than in Western Europe.
Tours linked to reputable Russian univer-
sities are the least risky and most stream-
lined.
Study Russian
(
&
495/939-0980;
www.studyrussian.com) offers language
lessons in Moscow or St. Petersburg for all
skill levels and can tailor them to your
business specialty. Courses in Russian his-
tory or literature are also available. Visas
and accommodations are arranged for
you. The
Center for Russian Language
(
&
495/939-1463;
www.ruslanguage.ru)
arranges courses and accommodations at a
dormitory; conditions are basic but com-
fortable and immersion is guaranteed.
ACADEMIC TRIPS &
LANGUAGE CLASSES
“Russia cannot be understood with the
mind/Or by an ordinary yardstick/She has
3
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