I've decided to learn a little Russian before I go; after all, learning the language is my third most important reason for moving to Russia, right behind cheap vodka and proximity to this thing. Anyway, it seems unwise to head into a new country with nothing but a foreign phrase book and my rarely-used Ukrainian (unless that country is Ukraine, I guess). So I bought the Michel Thomas Method beginners' Russian CDs.
Not to plug product in this blog, but you should buy this product. It really is one of the best tools for language-learning that I've come across--and I have a degree in linguistics (which apparently I use only for product endorsement. There's $40,000 well spent.)
The CDs consist of a teacher giving friendly, conversational-style information to two students who know no Russian and it's sort-of like you're the fourth person in the class. Despite the fact that the the teacher sounds like a British robot bred with a half-drunken Cossack, it's really easy to follow and it builds your working use of the language very quickly. I mean, I've only been at it for two days, but I'm already getting confident in my use of some full Russian phrases.
So I should be okay out there. So long as I have to get to the Bolshoi Theatre by train, where I will ask people "Excuse me, is this tea or coffee?" and tell them that "it is very good/strange/interesting that the bank/conference/bar
is not very far." Then when they reply in all kinds of Russian words I can't understand, I will be forced to use all my remaining Russian to explain that "militsia communist borscht Ivan Drago comrade fur hat." At which point I fully expect vodka to get thrown in my face. And hey--that's some free vodka right there. I'm awesome.
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