The Frederick Community College ..[ 1988 ]

Russian students visit FCC
Originally published January 11, 2011


By Blair Ames
News-Post Staff

	Photo by Travis Pratt From left, visiting Russian student Elena Babkins answers a question during an informal question-and-answer session at Frederick Community College along with classmates Olga Golub and Anastasia Troitskaya.

Since arriving Jan. 8 in Frederick for their first trip to the United States, a contingent of five Russian college students were surprised at the portion sizes of a local restaurant."I was really surprised about the food, it's too much," Olga Golub said. "I already said to the girls and all my friends, American, even if I was very, very hungry, I couldn't eat this all."
Kate Sherbine, who traveled to Russia in June as part of the Russian study abroad program at Frederick Community College, is hosting three of the five female students. She took the girls out to Glory Days for dinner recently.
"In Russia, you have to order a double order of French fries to get what you get here (in America)," Sherbine said.
The five students are staying in Frederick for two weeks, part of a study abroad program with St. Petersburg State University in St. Petersburg, Russia. They're accompanied by their adviser Irina Pervova.
As part of the program, the students each held a 30 minute presentation Monday at FCC dealing with different sociological topics. While in Frederick, they will visit the Community Action Agency, Frederick Memorial Hospital and Homewood Retirement Community.
The students will also travel to Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York City.
Anastasia Troitskaya is most looking forward to visiting New York, primarily because of what she has seen on "Sex and the City." When the students traveled to Washington on Sunday, Elena Babkina was disappointed in the size of the White House.
"I thought it would be like Buckingham Palace in London," she said.
The Russian study abroad program has been a partnership between FCC and St. Petersburg State University for about 10 years. Students from FCC typically travel to Russia in June and Russian students visit in January during their winter break.
Marshall Botkin, a sociology professor at FCC, leads the three-week study abroad program at the college. He said students from FCC have only been going about every other year, possibly because of the cost of the program or because some students may be fearful of Russia.
"Russians are very much like us," he said.
Pervova said the program in St. Petersburg is "very popular" and there is competition for the students to be accepted. It allows the student to taste the culture of the other country, she said.
Golub had no reservations about traveling to the United States for the first time, but said it was almost impossible for her and her fellow students to get a visa into the country.
"You really have to prove that you will come back to Europe," she said.