Enhance your language skills with active learning! Play shakhmati with our life-size chess set or grab a snack and find a comfortable spot on the beach to enjoy some Russian literature. On the soccer field, score a point and hear your friends shout GOOOOLL! In our artists’ workshop, design a Russian matroshka doll, make a Moldovan martenitsa, craft a miniature Kyrgyz yurt from felt, or try Ukrainian-style embroidery.
At Lesnoe Ozero, you'll have plenty of fun activities to try out. You can test your dance skills with hopak, the famous Ukrainian dance form that features acrobatic jumps and kicks. Nature is a fundamental part of our village culture so enjoy a hike amongst the birch trees or watch Baba Yaga’s swamp fill up with fireflies at night. Explore the works of Tchaikovsky or contemporary Qpop from Kazakhstan - or learn to play the balalaika. Test your culinary skills by cooking blini (Russian crepes) or hachapuri (Georgian cheese bread) or learn about the history and politics of Eastern Europe & Eurasia during one of our many cultural classes. You can even hop back in time during one of our historical simulations to Kievan Rus, the Siege of Leningrad or the Mongol Empire. With staff from many areas where Russian is commonly spoken, we celebrate a variety of diverse cultures.
Russia shares some traditions with the US, so you can also play football or volleyball, and head to the plyazh for some swimming and canoeing. And of course, we end the day with singing by the campfire.
Our evening programs are the last big adventure of the day! The program may start with a presentation about culture, but suddenly it bursts into an epic game of chance or skill. Sometimes it really does take a village to rescue Vasilisa from Baba Yaga, navigate a scavenger hunt on the Silk Road, or help Yuri Gagarin launch into space.
Many games for older villagers have historical or global themes and challenge participants to think about their actions and the consequences they may have. You may play the role of a disgruntled noble in the time of Alexander II, create a new culture and determine behavioral norms and values with your friends, or become a diplomat negotiating with another Language Village. You may find yourself peaking behind the Iron Curtain of the past or discussing other walls still to fall in our world.