Russian was surprsiingly easy - to read, anyway. The letters are
   almost the same, once you learn how each of the letters are
   pronounced a little differently. But understanding it spoken?
   ugh. Spent a couple of years learning it on my own - used
   Pimsleur (all 3 levels) - came up with spreadsheets comparing
   prefixes and suffixes, learned roots - tried to 'short'cut' in
   every which way. Original...ly I was going to become a monk at
   the time, and join a monastery in upstate New York. The classes
   were mostly in Russian with a little Englsih, but I didn't know
   any Russian. Well, by the time I learned enough Russian to find
   a bathroom, I forgot all about the monastery/priest training and
   ended up moving to Florida. Yes - sayspel DOES look like dutch!
   "