The journey of self-discovery in another language

I arrived in Australia from Russia in 2004 to study for a PhD in linguistics. I made this decision after spending a year as a visiting student at the Australian National University in 2002. The experience and knowledge I gained in 2002 built up my belief that studying in Australia could be an ideal step, because it would allow me to research the Russian language and culture which are native and dear to me via English, which had been the language of my professional interest in previous years. I started learning English at primary school when I was seven years old. My parents sent me to a school where 'in-depth' teaching of English was offered – a kind of program that was quite rare in the majority of schools in Soviet Russia. We practised English five days a week and in high school several subjects were taught in English. My parents' knowledge of English – the only foreign language they could say a few phrases in – was very limited. They believed that by sending me to an 'English' school they could compensate for something that was missing from their lives and give me an opportunity for a better future.