Victoria Thorstensson is the Program Director for Carleton College’s Off-Campus Program in
Qazaqstan. Before coming to Carleton College, she was an Assistant Professor at Nazarbayev
University in Astana, Qazaqstan, where she taught world and Russian literature for 8 years.
Before that, she taught at Yale University, University of Pennsylvania, Middlebury College
(Summer School), and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She holds a PhD in Slavic
Languages and Literatures from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Although her primary
research specialty is 19 th-century Russian realist and polemical novel, she also enjoys researching
and teaching courses on contemporary Russian and Russophone literature. Among her recent
publications is the chapter on Boleslav Markevich and Russian conservative response to
Darwinism in the volume Reading Darwin in Imperial Russia, and “from Metamorph,” a
selection of translated poems by Anuar Duisenbinov, published in Asymptote. Victoria works on
these translations together with her co-translator and friend, Mariya Deykute.
Меня зовут Тиган (but on the blog I’m klinknert)! I am a junior political science/international relations and Russian double major with a focus on nonproliferation and peacekeeping affairs. My senior project for the Russian major focuses on national costumes and the creation of national identity and I will be posting a few times about the national costumes here in Kazakhstan! I am a lover of 0.5x photos so all facebook mom-esque selfies were most likely taken by me!
hi there! my name is Grace, and I’m a junior cognitive science major. I love to read, travel, learn languages, and spend time with my friends and family. I’m so excited to be sharing our experiences in Kazakhstan, and I hope you enjoy reading our blog!
Hello! My name’s Zimri. I’m a senior computer science major, and I’m interested in rockets, Russian, robotics, reading, and writing. While I’m here, I’m trying as hard as I can to engage deeply with the people and the culture, so that my presence here has meaning beyond just learning Russian. I hope my writing expands your world to include this fascinating country, caught between empires and languages.
Hello All! My name is Katya and I am a sophomore at Carleton College. I started taking Russian at Carleton as a way to connect with my family’s history, but I have grown to love the language itself and the world it opens up. Aside from my Russian language endeavors, I am a biology major and I am planning on going to medical school after college. I love exploring nature and spending time outside. My favorite parts of my time in Kazakhstan (so far!) are my lovely host family, riding horses, exploring the city, and my beautiful manicure 🙂
I’m a second year student at Carleton originally from Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, majoring in geology. I chose to learn the Russian language because of my interest in Russian and central Asian history. In my free time I enjoy playing cello and reading. So far I’m having a great time living in and learning about this unique region of the world.
Hello everyone! My name is Adrian.
About me – I hail from Sammamish, WA, and am in class of 2024 at Carleton College. I like Star Wars, playing the piano, and ice hockey. I love games of all sorts! Board games, video games, mind games… I especially like chess, so if anyone wants to challenge me please feel free to do so.
Most importantly, I am excited to be here in Kazakhstan! I’ve been enjoying the city, the people, and the food, and while my language skills are still slightly mediocre I believe they are improving somewhat. Check out my blog posts if you are seeking my infinite wisdom, or don’t (that’s okay too). Our journey will be one of a kind!
Hi! My name is Kiri, and I am a current junior majoring in computer science! Being in Qazaqstan has been a great experience so far, and I know it will continue to surprise me and enrich my Carleton education. Before going to college, I knew that I wanted to study abroad at some point, so I’m incredibly glad that we were able to go to Qazaqstan. When I’m in Northfield, I enjoy swing dancing and playing board games with friends, and I’m looking into possibly finding dance classes in Almaty! I’ve already seen improvement in my Russian language comprehension, but I’m interested in continuing to deepen my understanding and communication skills in Russian while in Qazaqstan. I’m looking forward to hanging out more with the other students on this trip, and I know that we’ll forever have this once in a lifetime experience in common
Hi! I’m Orion, a sophomore history major, focusing on American and Soviet history! I like to rock climb, watch hockey, and read sci-fi novels. I started learning Russian as a petty competition with my middle school friend.
