u/No_Mud_8297

I've been learning Russian for a little over 2 years. I have 800 hours of input, 300ish hours of anki, and 150 hours of conversation. The anki and conversation hours are rough estimates.

The win:

This past weekend, I overheard people speaking in Russian.
I asked "Where are you all from?" (in Russian). A couple answered and started a convo with me.
We continue to speak in russian for 30-40 seconds. Naturally, I mention I'm just American.
They looked shocked and told me "Wait, what?! Speak in english for a second" (still in Russian).

They did not believe I was American because I had been speaking Russian so well.
Once I spoke in English, the couple was basically just freaking out.

We continued to talk for several more minutes in Russian.

This was easily one of my biggest wins, and I dont know how I'll ever beat this feeling.

I'm pretty comfortable and familiar with which case to use after быть/был/будет, but is "Будь" treated differently? For example, do these all sound natural?

Будь осторожен!

Будь готов!

Будь здоров!

Будь честен со мной.

They all sound good to me, EXCEPT the last one. I would've said "Будь честным". Do we only use short form adjective after "Будь"?

Did anyone receive the Baylor secondaries?

I'm looking for a teacher who specializes in accents and pronunciation. I have a high intermediate level of speaking and listening. My accent is understandable and clear, but I sound American.

Does anyone know of teachers who specialize in fixing American accents in Russian?

I wanted to share for motivational purposes. Ill make this concise but you can ask questions.

Ive reached the point where people have started saying I'm fluent in Russian. I frequently have 20-40minute conversations where I express myself without getting stuck and never misunderstand what the other person is saying.

Do I think I'm fluent? I think I'm kinda close, but there are so many words I don't know, and so many things I could never accurately describe.

I don't worry when talking to natives at all if I'm going to understand or know the correct word. The words just flow and listening feels effortless.

I can essentially always express myself, understand others, and ask specific questions when having conversation.

How'd I get here?

Months 0 to 14, I did about 400 hours of listening.

Months 14 - 17, I did about 40 min listening and 40 min reviewing and creating Anki cards. I read anki cards aloud.

Months 17 - 20, 40 min listening 40 min anki. I started meeting with tutors and trying to speak russian on ometv. Honestly, the anki cards helped a ton, but you have to speak to build your fluidity and to expose what you dont know how to say.

Months 20 - 24 (now), 70 min listening, 45 min anki. I started trying to speak with my mother-in-law consistently, maybe 20 min a day.

I have about 700 hours of just listening. I estimate about 250 hours creating + reviewing Anki cards. 150 hours of conversation.

The speaking progress happens extremely slow. I have probably 150 hours of conversation, but I am ALWAYS talking to myself, trying to describe things. If I can't, I make Anki cards.

I started talking with people at month 17, and by month 24, I feel very fluid and easy when talking.

Edit: My wife speaks russian, so I will ask her for help occasionally, but we've had maybe 1 hour of total conversation in Russian. She came here very young so shes much more comfortable in English.

for anyone that has applied in previous cycles, i was wondering if there is flexibility with choosing interview dates? do they assign you a specific date or can you choose a date? what happens if you have overlapping dates/are out of town/etc?

Language is Russian. I've got about 600 hours of CI, started reading and making anki cards at 400 hours. I got about 120 hours of speaking.

Everyone tells me I speak great and understandable, but that I have an American accent.

Do not trust that CI will carry you. It will do a large part of the heavy lifting, but PLEASE learn the tongue positions before you starting speaking.

Is there a popular site to watch Anime in Russian without the japanese audio underneath? Or does that not exists?

Ive been using animevost but most animes have japanese dub under the Russian audio, so its annoying.