Last November my mental health was suffering greatly after being trapped inside for the entire month with a nasty cough and sinus infection. I was feeling very down and lonely and knew something needed to change. I was spending too much time alone, which can be troublesome for me because it usually leads to excessive rumination. I still enjoyed writing and was doing it most days, but was starting to see that it was better as a small part of my day rather than something I did for hours on end given how solitary it is. I knew my extroverted self needed to be around people more and that I needed more structure in my day.
At first I considered getting a job, but with only seven months left here, it seemed unlikely that someone would hire me for such a short period. The other option I looked into was enrolling in a full-time Russian class at the Foreign Service Institute (FSI), the school Nick takes his Kazakh classes at. Nick did some checking for me and learned that spouses are allowed to enroll in language classes, though priority goes to the officers. When we inquired in early December, they were at capacity for the January 3rd class.
I was disappointed yet relieved at the same time, as I wasn’t sure I was 100% ready to make such a large commitment. Language students at FSI are expected to put in 40 hours a week on their language between classes and at-home study. Two to three days a week classes are held in-person and the other days are conducted virtually. For an officer, this is considered their only job for the duration of their language training, and they receive their regular salary while doing it. The catch is that they need to take a test at the end and pass with a certain grade in order to be allowed to head to their onward assignment. Spouses who enroll in language classes don’t have the pressure of the exam–though they can take it if they’d like–but they also don’t get any remuneration for the 40 hours they’re putting in per week.
I thought long and hard about if I wanted to do this. I did not consider myself a strong language learner and worried about my capacity to keep up given how challenging Russian is as a language. I also wondered when I’d fit in the other things that were important to me like writing, reading and exercise. It would be a big divergence from the open, unscheduled days I’d grown used to but I knew something needed to change.
The upside is that I’ve always loved being in school. I enjoy the mental stimulation, the back and forth with other learners, and the satisfaction of facing a good challenge. I knew the opportunity would also provide the interpersonal connections I’d been lacking since arriving in D.C. It should also improve my mental health situation, as personal interactions and routine are two of the things that help my mental health the most.
And so, after debating the pros and cons for week, I put my myself on the waitlist for January, assuming if that didn’t work out, that I’d get into the class starting in late February. What ultimately convinced me to go for it was remembering back to our Almaty visit in May of 2022. I was shocked to discover how little English there was. I’d estimate that only one in ten spoke English, which was the lowest percentage of any place we’d been assigned. With the exception of Peru, I’d always been able to get by with English, but it was obvious that wouldn’t be the case here.
Russian is the primary language spoken in Almaty. Nick is learning Kazakh, the official language of Kazakhstan, but it’s not widely spoken in Almaty–much more common in smaller cities and rural areas–so it’s unclear if Kazakh would be sufficient for getting our everyday living tasks accomplished (grocery shopping, talking with household help, ordering at restaurants, etc). It seemed necessary that I learn some Russian ensure our day-to-day life ran smoothly there. Beyond functional purposes, I also knew from my experience in Peru that knowing the local language opens up more experiences and allows connections to people you otherwise wouldn’t interact with. I remember how satisfying it was when I got to the point where I could have conversations with Peruvians in Spanish. I want that enriched experience in Almaty as well, which means I have to put in the work of learning Russian, no matter how great the challenge.
Only a week after putting myself on the waitlist, I received a form email saying that my enrollment status had changed from “waitlisted” to “enrolled”. When I followed up to inquire about what that meant, I learned that I had received a slot in the Russian class beginning January 3rd. This was really happening . . . I was going to learn Russian!
More to come soon.
