With an almost 5,600 mile move, Russian native Yulia Drozdova brings Harding a great experience for those yearning to learn Russian.

“Russian is difficult for native speakers too. It has very difficult grammar and rather difficult pronunciation but either way it is a challenge for my students,” Drozdova said.

Drozdova comes to Harding with a degree from Irkutsk State Linguistic University and Lomonosov Moscow State University along with hopes of teaching her native tongue to a class of English speakers.

Drozdova moved from Russia after her husband’s office at General Electric Oil and Gas was moved from Moscow to Oklahoma City two years ago.

“I should say I was crying. It was a great challenge again and lots of changes,” she said.

However, Drozdova did admit to liking Oklahoma well despite its differences from her home country.

“I found some advantages here,” Drozdova said. “It’s much warmer here than in Moscow. There’s more sun. I should say that people are very friendly here and there are lots of friendly families. I enjoy my friends and my garden and nature here.”

To make herself more at home, Drozdova spends time in her garden and she has even adopted a dog with her husband that they named Chihiro.

“Our dog is really funny. We named him after a girl from a Miyazaki cartoon. He is from Japan and a very famous cartoon maker. He’s our family’s favorite cartoon maker,” she said.

The thing she misses the most about Moscow is walking around the city.

“There is amazing architecture,” said Drozdova.  “I can see every day old historical places a great number of museums, theatres, exhibits and you can find history everywhere. Every step is kind of history.”

HCP has welcomed Drozdova to the staff with open arms.

“I love it. I love the students. I love the uniform. The teachers are so friendly to me,” she said.

Outside of school, Drozdova paints.

“I use point-to-point technique and I paint ceramic plates and ceramic small sculptures. I decorate in very unique styles, maybe Mexican or Middle Age styles and different ethnic styles.”

Welcome, Yulia Drozdova!