Russian language courses near Zaporozhye

[VitaBrevis]

Ok, planning on spending a few months in Ukraine late summer/early fall this year. My GF will be staying here in the US with me as part of a work/travel program for the summer, and I'm planning on heading over there with her on the way back. I speak VERY LITTLE Russian now. I know I'll pick up more while Dee is out here, but I was hoping to take some courses to work on it further. I was wondering if anybody knows of any schools closer to Zaporozhye, as the only ones I've seen are in Kiev or Odessa and I don't fancy a 14 hour round trip drive plus the rental fees every weekend I'm there (since it's a 2day trip by train from looking at the schedules, which will be impossible if I'm taking courses).

[ECOCKS]

So, Zap is where you want to take lessons?

[VitaBrevis]

you got it... I was looking for a school, as I want to do about 4-5 hours a day of lessons for anywhere from 4-6 weeks. I guess alternatively if anyone can recommend a private tutor willing to work that amount of time, that would work too.

[ECOCKS]

I know a Kyiv school which specializes in that sort of thing. A buddy has a school in Zap and does that in the traditional 2 lessons a week, static setup for 500 UAH per month with two hour lessons. I sent him an inquiry whether he has a teacher that would have the schedule for that.

So, assuming he has a teacher with that schedule available in the September-October time frame, doing 5 days a week, 4 hours a day which would probably be a 2 hour lesson, break for hour lunch, then 2 more hours, would cost you about 250 UAH per day. Cheaper than I would have expected for a private teacher, but costs are lower in Zap and filling that midday time slot is a plus for someone doing language teaching full-time.

[VitaBrevis]

Awesome. I gotta say, I honestly wasn't hoping for much after your first reply, but it looks like you may be able to deliver the goods after all..  lol  Like I said, I knew about the schools in Kiev and Odessa, but the prices you're quoting for one on one lessons are like half the group lesson rate at those places, which would be great. Let me know what you find out, and thanks for the help. You just might be hero of the day. 

[ECOCKS]

Let me know when you have dates you'll be there and I'll get you the contact information.

[VitaBrevis]

Dee's visa will expire on 31 Aug according to the info she gave me, so allow a few days for travel back and some time to see the town, meet family/friends, etc I'll probably be looking to start on 13 September - probably 15 October. Obviously allow for some leeway this far out, but I know the schools at least require a month advance notice so that could come up pretty quickly. ECOCKS, thanks again for all the help. 
-Chris

[ECOCKS]

NP - you should probably plan on "booking" this in mid to late July. That gives the guy enough time to schedule a teacher for this assignment. Understand that trying to schedule earlier, especially om the smaller towns has an element of risk for the locals since it affects their ability to commit to other jobs if you back out or no-show. They aren't set to receive deposits and while they want your business it doesn't help them to expect business that doesn't materialize.

All good, when you have your plane tickets and know exact start date, daily commute situation and such, you can get this locked down.