If you don’t speak or read any Russian, you can just call her Katherine, though her friends back in Voronezh know her as Ekaterina. Katherine comes from Voronezh State University, where she studies journalism, and is on her exchange semester in Tartu now.
Katherine has tuned into the study mood (ask her how if you need a boost), praises the friendly atmosphere in Tartu, and hopes to make friends all over the world. You probably have a good chance to meet her at the UT Botanical Garden or café Werner, as she claims to have fallen in love with those places here.
What else?… Find out in the twitterview!
Who is Ekaterina, and who is Katherine? Photos from the personal archive.
@Katherine_Bog Hello Katherine! By the way, is it your real name or some sort of a version for your English-speaking friends?
@TartuUniversity
University of Tartu
@TartuUniversity Sure, it's a kind of nickname because of a rather difficult pronunciation for non-Russian speakers.
@Katherine_Bog
Katherine Bogdanova
@TartuUniversity My real name is Ekaterina. The surname - Bogdanova.
@Katherine_Bog
Katherine Bogdanova
@Katherine_Bog Ok 🙂 You're coming from Russia - from where exactly?
@TartuUniversity
University of Tartu
@TartuUniversity I'm an exchange student of Voronezh State University.
@Katherine_Bog
Katherine Bogdanova
@Katherine_Bog How big is Voronezh and your university? What do you study there?
@TartuUniversity
University of Tartu
@TartuUniversity The population of Voronezh is about 1 000 000 people. But you should take into account that it's a real student city.
@Katherine_Bog
Katherine Bogdanova
@TartuUniversity My University is the biggest and the most popular one in our region. I'm studying journalism there.
@Katherine_Bog
Katherine Bogdanova
@Katherine_Bog Katherine (should we stick to this name? :), you've spent the first few weeks in Tartu - what are your first impressions?
@TartuUniversity
University of Tartu
@TartuUniversity First, I haven't seen such small, but civilized towns (not villages!) yet. Maybe, it's typical of European towns).
@Katherine_Bog
Katherine Bogdanova
@TartuUniversity Second, of course, people there are MUCH friendly there than in Voronezh. They easily make contacts with you - it's cool!
@Katherine_Bog
Katherine Bogdanova
@TartuUniversity To crown it all, the atmosphere there really tunes you to a studying mood because of student conveniences).
@Katherine_Bog
Katherine Bogdanova
@Katherine_Bog Nice to hear that! When you say friendly, do you mostly mean other international students, or also locals?
@TartuUniversity
University of Tartu
@TartuUniversity Both). Now I can say I have a number of friends from America, Asia and Europe (including local students as well).
@Katherine_Bog
Katherine Bogdanova
@Katherine_Bog Oh, that's a relief) And which student conveniences are you referring to?
@TartuUniversity
University of Tartu
@TartuUniversity I mean a little distance between the university buildings, excellent condition of the dorm, a big, rich library and so on).
@Katherine_Bog
Katherine Bogdanova
@Katherine_Bog Good you like it) Still, Estonia isn't the most exotic or fancy destination for people from Russia. So why Tartu?
@TartuUniversity
University of Tartu
@TartuUniversity My University has close relations with the University of Tartu. Figuratively Voronezh is like a son of Tartu science).
@Katherine_Bog
Katherine Bogdanova
@TartuUniversity Because if you have a look at its history - The University of Tartu was "partially moved" to Voronezh in 1918.
@Katherine_Bog
Katherine Bogdanova
@Katherine_Bog Yes, in 1918 under German occupation in Tartu Russian academics & students fled to Voronezh & Voronezh State Uni was founded.
@TartuUniversity
University of Tartu
@TartuUniversity Something like this). And, of course, it's quite a good possibility of studying abroad.
@Katherine_Bog
Katherine Bogdanova
@Katherine_Bog How about your everyday activities, do you speak English or Russian when e.g. shopping in Tartu?
@TartuUniversity
University of Tartu
@TartuUniversity When talking to older people I usually use Russian.To Estonian youth I usually speak English.
@Katherine_Bog
Katherine Bogdanova
@Katherine_Bog There are some tensions between Estonian & Russian parts of the population here. Have you experienced that in Tartu?
@TartuUniversity
University of Tartu
@TartuUniversity Maybe they are more tolerant to international students... Actually I haven't experienced that.
@Katherine_Bog
Katherine Bogdanova
@Katherine_Bog That's good. Do you have a favorite place in Tartu yet?
@TartuUniversity
University of Tartu
@TartuUniversity I can't say I have explored Tartu well yet, but I've already fallen in love with the Botanical Garden and cafe "Verner").
@Katherine_Bog
Katherine Bogdanova
@TartuUniversity I can't say I'm keen on such places but I enjoyed Pub Crawl organized by ESN and welcome party in "Atlantis"!
@Katherine_Bog
Katherine Bogdanova
@TartuUniversity I want to learn subjects which are not taught at my home university, to have an experience of studying in English...
@Katherine_Bog
Katherine Bogdanova
@TartuUniversity Maybe it will become an impulse to return to Tartu for seeking MA or PhD degree. 😉
@Katherine_Bog
Katherine Bogdanova
@Katherine_Bog These are all great goals! 🙂 Екатерина, большое спасибо за интервью. Удачи!
@TartuUniversity
University of Tartu