Keith's Wacky Year Abroad


After graduating from Cornell University I spent the 1993-1994 school year in St. Petersburg, Russia helping to establish an intensive program in Conversational English at the St. Petersburg Institute of Precision Mechanics and Optics. This was my first experience overseas, and helped whet my appetite for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages and for living abroad.

My roommate and teammate was Eric.


Eric is a very interesting fellow to live with.

Also teaching in St. Petersburg--at a different school and living an hour away--were Dina and Sharon. To the left is Dina, gently holding the Charmin in L.A. where we all trained for six weeks before going to St. Petes. To the right is Sharon, laughing as Eric (not pictured) wedges a very large piece of cake into his mouth. The organization we all taught through is called Educational Services International (ESI). The four of us helped each other keep our sanity and a sense of humor. Dina is now teaching high school English in her home state of Indiana. Sharon has started her own non-profit corporation to deliver humanitarian aid to orphanages in Russia.


Eric and I experienced a lot of technical difficulty in our Chambers. Particularly involving the plumbing and fire. As far as we know, no such problems have been experienced in the Chambers, since. Also assisting us through, and co-experiencing, many of our experiences, were Galen and Avrina. This fascinating pair joined us in the Sanitarium in December, and set up shop in Galens' Chambers down the hall from us in the "Prophylactery." Thanks to them, I learned a bit about cooking with herbs, and how to make peas, canned tomatoes, onions, and garlic into quite a feast over rice.


A highlight of the year, and an excellent way to finish that chapter in my life, was a short trip to Tallinn, Estonia with my British friends and Inga, who hails from Estonia. On the left are the four of us overlooking the Baltic Sea. Besides Estonia, I managed to visit Moscow, Vologda, Helsinki, and a few sites outside of St. Petersburg. Vologda was a favorite place for a little R&R, Russian style, where we could hang out with several other ESI teachers, including Bruce Mastin the aspiring musician and Canadian extraordinaire. Click on his name to check out his homepage and sample a few choice cuts from his recently completed album!

Here I am with Matthew, another ESI teacher who spent the year in Karaganda, Kazakhstan, and Luda, the younger sister of Inga. We are enjoying a beautiful spring evening at an imprompto, outdoor concert at a subway station in St. Petersburg. Matthew visited us on a couple different occasions and was the source of much good conversation and good cooking. If anyone happens to know anything about where Matthew is, please e-mail me.

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