Welcome Back: Ice Cream Social Held by the College of Linguistics, Languages and Literature

This past Wednesday (15 Aug 2018), the College of Linguistics, Languages and Literature (LLL) at the University of Hawaii-Manoa held an ice cream social in the Bilger Courtyard to welcome back its incoming students, new majors, or anyone interested in learning more about a degree in the LLL field.

Ice Cream Station =)

Not one to say no to free ice cream, I stopped by to check-out the event. I was able to catch up with my classmate Max (a double Theater/Russian major) and our Russian teacher (well, more precisely, the Department Chair) Dr. Kostetskaya. We had a great time chatting, and I think it’s always great to meet with your teachers and fellow classmates outside of the classroom setting when you can.

I also met some new people which, for me, is always fun. One of the graduate students I was talking to was fluent in both Spanish and Russian (my dream, basically). I believe he had lived abroad in Russia for about 3 years and abroad in Latin America too. (But don’t quote me, I can’t remember exactly). Anyways, it was great to meet someone new and hear about his travels and his opinions on which language is easier to learn. (No surprise here- he thought Spanish was easier than Russian). His wife is Russian, and their little girl already knows English, Spanish, and Russian. HOW. AWESOME.

Students & Faculty chatting at the Ice Cream Social

I’m so glad I went- I tend to be quite introverted, so when I know I’m going to an event where there will be a large group of people, many of whom I don’t know, I have one goal: meet one new person and learn something interesting about them. That's it. This goal keeps me from blowing off events and staying home, and I always end up having a good time. Just thought I’d share- it’s a tip that has helped me quite a bit, and I wish I knew it when I was younger.

Well, anyways, school starts on Monday (in three days!) and it was nice to be welcomed back by the College of LLL with a social and free ice cream nonetheless. I officially start Russian 101 this semester, and I am beyond excited (I swear, school is much more fun when you are a bit older and you are taking classes that you genuinely are interested in). I can not wait to see how my Russian improves over the next year!

One of our many signs around campus encouraging students to sign up for Russian