Katherine Alberti came to work as an intern at HSE’s Faculty of Economic Sciences from the University of Texas at Austin. During the May holidays, Kat’s Russian friend invited her to come along on an adventurous journey. Kat had taken a medieval Russian literature class so she was prepared for Russian peculiarities. Visiting Veliky Novgorod gave Kat an opportunity to feel the foundations of Russian culture. Kat has shared her experience of exploring the city with Read Square, HSE online student magazine. She recommends going to Novgorod to discover how Russians of old used to live.