Chekhov's Melikhovo

Here, at Melikhovo, a bust of Anton Chekhov stands between two large trees on the famous writer's much loved country estate near Moscow. A tour brought us a bit closer to Chekhov, whose plays we discussed, watched, and even performed almost daily. Also, it gave us all an opportunity to breath some fresh air and see the countryside.
Now, as in Chekhov's time, visitors enjoy the serenity of the grounds which border a quiet creek and include a large vegetable garden, a sauna, many great trees, and a circuitous walk named Lovers' Alley. As a doctor and artist, Chekhov was concerned with health and the natural world. He offered medical services to the local community without charge, indicating his clinic hours by raising a red flag above the small guest house in which he also did some of his most important writing.
Although not a great palace, the main house at Melikhovo manages to convey some of Chekhov's famous hospitality and warmth. The bedrooms of the house reflect fantastic and varied tastes, the dining room, while not fit for banquets, appeared ready to welcome several guests, and one dim but cosy room included a very old piano on which Noam Elsner played a bit of Shostakovich played excellently.
Organizers and tour guides at Melikhovo welcome and encourage the treatment of the estate as having contemporary cultural importance as well as historical value. Alongside the opportunity of horseback riding (which is also popular in downtown Moscow), Melikhovo offers small concerts, a theater festival, and even a daschund show for other admirers of Chekhov's favorite dog. The efforts to not only preserve the physical integrity of the estate but also to resurrect the kind spirit and humor that so many Russians associate with Chekhov.
Although many Russians fear that countless other Russians callously abandon their heritage in favor of western trends, evidence of cultural reclamation and revival can be found at places like Melikhovo, Meyerhold's and Bulgakov's final apartments, and, of course, numerous theaters and museums. Melikhovo is not very close to Moscow, but the place was busy with a very large group of school children and several adult tourists as well as our group.
Whatever changes take place in modern Russia, it seems that people will still enjoy slowly walking Lovers' Alley in hope of happiness in romance, ignoring Chekhov's own questionable luck, or simply browsing the books and scanning the old maps in the writer's study.

Jenny-
I feel that the Emory program in Moscow Art Theatre was overall successful and should definitely be repeated. The program gave non-theatre students a very unique opportunity to study and experience life at one of the best theatre schools in the world. Outside of the classroom, the students participated in a very rich cultural program. Through going to the theatre 3-4 times per week, visiting museums and becoming acquainted with interesting guest speakers, students were able to connect their studies with cultural life in Moscow. One of the main goals of this program was for students to improve their knowledge of the Russian language, and for many students this goal was successfully reached.
In my opinion this program is one of the best currently offered in Moscow due to its unique hands-on approach to language learning. After reading and discussing each play in class, the material was literally brought to life for the students as they attended the play in one of Moscow’s finest theatres. Due to attending the theatre so frequently students were able to significantly improve their Russian, probably more so than if they had simply been attending language classes. The dorm situation also helped students to improve their Russian. As far as I know this is the only program in Moscow that allows Russian and foreign students to live together in the dorm. Not only was it interesting for our students to become acquainted and associate with the Moscow Art Theatre students, but they also had the opportunity to constantly practice their Russian.
As I have stated above, I feel this program should continue in the future. I would also like to mention that a large part of the success of our program is due to our program director, who helped students and solved problems every step of the way. If she had not been here with us I do not feel the program would have gone as smoothly. If this program will continue I feel that it is imperative that Emory have a contact for their students in Moscow, whether it is someone sent from Emory or hired in Moscow. I am stressing this because I have been on a program without any contacts for the students and know from experience that this does not work. Emory’s program worked well because we had a very good contact.
Another suggestion I have is for Emory to open up this program to students from different universities. Even though this program is geared toward non-theatre students I feel it is necessary for the participants to have a genuine interest not only in the Russian language, but in theatre as well. It may be hard to find 10 Russian majors from any one university who are interested in studying theatre intensively, but if the program recruits students from different universities I’m sure it would be easy to come up with ten students who share this interest.
I feel like a got a lot out of Emory’s program in Moscow Art Theatre and have had an amazing experience that I will always remember. I’m satisfied and very glad that I ended up in this program, and in the future I hope it will do for other students what it has done for me.

Discussing theater, of course. (Jenny, Ginger, Bela)

Robert -
This was a great program; it accomplished its academic, social, and cultural aims. Coming here I truly wanted an experience that would make my language better, and I think this aim was met very well through the methods used in the program. Studying (in both English and Russian) and watching the plays (sometimes numerous times) really helped increase my language ability, especially my ability to understand Russian. In addition, Russian was used in every class, which helped me improve my confidence in speaking and understanding Russian in real life situations. Also, there is no better way to learn Russian than by being in Moscow, where we heard the language and were forced to speak it literally everywhere we went (including in the dorm as we lived with Russians).
In addition to language, my social goals of the trip were also strongly satisfied. The camaraderie I felt for the most part with the people on the trip could not be equaled in any other situation. Perhaps it was living in such close quarters, or spending so much time together in class, but especially towards the end of the trip, there was a great communal feeling between all the members of the trip, sometimes it felt like we were one big family. It was also great living on the same floor as Russians because it allowed us to befriend them, which greatly helped our language ability and our cultural understanding of Russia.
The opportunity to understand Russian culture was also strongly present on the trip. Seeing and discussing the plays at different theaters helped us gain an appreciation for different viewpoints and ways of interpretation of the same thing. Also, several times we had conversations through the program with Russians in or out of class about their views on Russian society, culture, and politics, which greatly helped to understand the Russian mind set. What possibly helped the most though, was living with the Russians and being able to talk to them and observe their living patterns and the way that they go about their lives. For all of these reasons, the MXAT program in my mind was an overwhelmingly positive experience. I would recommend it to any one who wants to learn Russian and experience Russia, not just people interested in theater (I certainly am not).

Acting Class is Great! (Robert, Christina)

Noam -
Being in Russia for the last three months has definitely been an experience. When I came here I was more afraid of the cold than anything else but after the first month the worst of winter was over and I survived intact. I really had no idea what kind of program I was getting myself into, I only knew it involved the theater. When I arrived I found out it was actually one of the best, or maybe even the best theater school in the world. The opportunities we have had in the last few months to work with extremely talented people have been amazing. On my own I have even been able to study with a professor at the conservatory on top of the great faculty at MXAT. As one of the few students who had never been to Russia before, though I studied Russian culture in the United States I didn’t really know what to expect once I actually arrived here. It’s true people on the street are cold and typically emotionless but once we got to know the people we lived with as well as their friends the Russians were amazingly open and willing to share with us.
On the weekends we did not have class, and though we usually went to the theater at night during the day I had a chance to explore the city. With my student ID that deeply discounts admission almost anywhere in the city I saw almost every major art gallery in the city. I got to see the biggest gallery in the world in Petersburg as well as many amazing museums here in Moscow. Many of my favorite Russian artists just do not have exhibitions in the US and getting to see their work in it’s full size was absolutely breathtaking. Overall, this semester has been an amazing cultural experience as well as a chance to see how similar life can be even on the other side of the world.

Noam playing Chekhov's piano at Melikhova

David-

When I arrived in Moscow, I found myself in a city I almost believed only existed in literature and films, I was somewhat intimidated by the goals of our program, and I spoke Russian hesitantly and with a combination of shame and fear that left me a little manic and quite exasperated. In addition, I was cold, much colder than I had ever been. Every now and then I would learn a few new words, understand more snippets of conversations, but I felt unsure that I could ever advance much further in Russian. Without a better grasp of the language, I could not begin to appreciate the plays we were seeing or, to be honest, feel comfortable doing anything alone that required words. Language was a real problem, but our program moved at a fast pace, leaving little time for anxious moping.
I began to grow comfortable with the routine of our classes, and our constant work with Chekhov, both in translation and in Russian, mandated that I learn Seagull, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters, and The Cherry Orchard almost by heart. After reading these plays several times in English, I picked them up in Russian, I had already read excerpts and started memorizing some lines. At first, the process was a little difficult, and I constantly had to reference my English text.
However, when I watched Seagull at Moscow Art Theatre after reading it in Russian, I realized the ingenuity and efficacy of this program. To study for an exam and get a good grade is one thing, but to be able to enjoy a Chekhov play at the theater named in his honor was simply wonderful. This motivated me to try to read every play in Russian, or as much as possible, before the performance. In this way, I began to improve my vocabulary and ear for Russian grammar.
Soon, I found myself capable of conversing with ordinary people, hearing their views regarding everything from the state of Russia to their favorite beer. These exchanges acquainted me with the great generosity and hospitality of Russians, as well as their willingness to discuss controversial issues passionately and honestly. This amazing culture, which at first seemed out of reach, has become very dear to me, and I even feel a bit at home in Moscow.
This program aimed to immerse us in Russian language and culture with the goals of improving our understanding of both. It was an enormous success. I feel comfortable with the language and capable of studying on my own. Also, I have been introduced to authors and artists I had not known before, ranging from Fonvizin and Griboyedov to Erdman and Shwartz. I will take from this semester a colorful array of experiences from theaters such as the Maly, MXAT, and others, as well as from trains, walks around the city, and the homes of people I was fortunate to meet. The scope of this program’s successes makes it the most important semester of my four years at Emory, and I hope that other students are able to experience it as well.

Ginger -
With less than a week left in the program, the time for reflection has dawned upon us. For me the question of “what worked” seems so simple, everything. Through classes taught in Russian as well as weekly trips to the theater my understanding of the language has improved drastically. Having studied abroad last summer in St. Petersburg I am able to compare the two. In terms of cultural knowledge of Russia both programs match up equally, which is to say I learned a great deal about Russian culture in both programs. However in terms of the language I have made greater improvements here, due to I believe more exposure which came from going to the theater so often as well as opting for our teachers to speak to us in Russian a lot of the time. Looking back, my time here has gone by extremely quickly which I believe is not due to our busy schedule but rather because of my comfort level. I was incredibly comfortable in our dorm, at school, with our group and in Moscow in general. Because of this I never anticipated going home and just let the time flyby naturally. I am a big proponent of learning outside of the classroom and while I learned more about Chekhov than I ever dream imaginable and don’t get me wrong I enjoyed it .My favorite part of the program was developing personal relationships with the other members of the group. In the beginning we were all thrown together, some of us having never spoken to each other before and now three months later I think it is safe to say that although we are not all “best friends,” we have all learned something from one another as well as had fun and laughed together. The reason trips like this can never be replicated is not due to where you are or what you learn but rather who your with. So I am grateful I came to Moscow as well as grateful I met a bunch of wonderful new and different people.

The Hermitage Gardens in Moscow (Walker and Maria)

Christina -
What I liked the most about this program was that we were able to see many plays and to learn the language through the cultural experience. Before I came here, I was not sure about how this program would benefit me in terms of learning Russian, but now I think “learning the language through theater” really helped me to learn Russian. We went to theaters two to three times a week, and watched plays by great Russian playwrights like Chekhov, Bulgakov, Erdman, Gogol, etc. Watching plays in Russian was a great way to expose us to the language. At the beginning of the trip, I could not understand the plays very much – I could understand about fifteen percent- but now I feel that I can understand most of it, which really surprised me. Moreover, I had not watched many plays before I joined this program, so it was a very new and different experience for me. Also, in the acting class, I had to memorize a monologue from one of Chekhov’s plays in Russian and a Russian poem, which really helped me to improve the language skills and pronunciation. By memorizing a short Russian text, I was able to use the vocabulary and certain phrases from the text when I speak Russian in real life. In addition, I am very happy about how organized this program has been, thanks to Elena, and how comfortable I felt on this trip. Even though we were exposed to completely different culture, we were able to understand the culture and to accept it since there were many people who were willing to help us to explain any misunderstanding lost in translation or to overcome difficult situation. Because of their help, I could feel like at home, even though living in a foreign country could be very uncomfortable and scary. And I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone on this trip for kindness and help.

Sarah, Noam, and Robert outside Chekhov's house

The group on our last day of class, just after we completed our final performance.