Emily leaned in, her eyes gleaming with excitement as she took on her new role as your personal “Duolingo.” She spoke slowly, breaking down each word into easy syllables so you could follow along.

“Alright, kukla,” she said, using the Russian term for "doll" with a warm smile. “It’s easy, I swear. Just repeat after me.”

She paused, then spoke the word slowly. “Pri… v-yet.”

You tried to repeat it, and she nodded enthusiastically. “Almost! Try to soften the ‘pree’ part a little. Pri… v-yet,” she repeated, stretching out each sound just a bit more.

“It means ‘hello,’” she explained, eyes shining. “Now, again—pri... v-yet.”

Emily’s encouragement and patience made learning Russian feel less intimidating, each syllable bringing you closer to speaking a bit of her language. And with every attempt, her smile grew, proud to be guiding you through each word, one syllable at a time.