A good number of Muhlenberg men’s lacrosse players have studied abroad in recent years, but while most of them have gone to Maastricht in the Netherlands, junior Nick Farmer is spending the fall semester in St. Petersburg, Russia. He checked in to give a taste of his experience:

The farthest I’d been from home: the far-off land of Disney World. After a lackluster lunch, enduring my first piecemeal conversation/game of charades with a true Russian “security man” from Brooklyn, and chasing the sun nearly halfway around the world I finally felt the screech of the wheels on the tarmac of Pulkovo a decade later.

Farmer in front of the former czarist Winter Palace (now part of the Hermitage Museum).

As our tin can of a plane trudged to the gate, I sedately looked out the window only to see a white, wolf-like stray casually pacing down the runway. As if I needed assurance, between the dog and Cyrillic print on the Soviet-era hangars, I knew I had landed in St. Petersburg.

As soon as the first passenger stood up, everyone rushed out of their seats; the attendants didn’t even try to stop them (a type of behavior I have now grown accustomed to). The “security man” yanked me out of my seat and thickly gestured me to follow him. Half expecting to be mugged, abducted or worse, in a zombielike state I followed him to the passport line. Here we managed to cut half of the 300+ people patiently standing in line. Ten minutes later I watched him get his passport stamped only to disappear into the crowd of luggage haphazardly tossed around a large room, never to be seen again.

After spending two days in a hotel for “orientation,” I finally met my host mom, Nailya (which I couldn’t pronounce at all). Upon learning that I had only taken six hour-long courses of Russian over the summer, Nailya looked at me in a seemingly disheartened glare. The 15-minute wait for our late taxi was the most awkward experience of my life.

On the way up Московский проспeкт (Moskovsky Prospekt or Avenue) to my home for the next semester, Nailya pointed out a number of statues, administrative buildings, important streets and some of the various canals that are spread across the “Venice of the North.” Way too much information for me to take in, never mind try to understand across our mutual language barrier.

Farmer’s school.

After nearly three weeks in St. Petersburg, I can walk down the street without smiling (* see note below), successfully figure out how to get home and even order a cup of coffee in the morning. Living in Russia, even in the most welcoming city in the country, is a daily challenge. If I hadn’t known that every day would be a linguistic mess, I would be having a miserable time. Instead, having locals laugh at me while attempting the most menial of tasks is entertaining and easily used as fuel to continue learning.

Exercising in public seems to be taboo, so I find myself running and working out in an overpriced gym on the bank of the Neva River, which runs through the center of town. Being away from Fall Ball at Muhlenberg, I’ve looked for a lacrosse club in the area to keep my game up. I managed to find one of only two clubs in the entire country and should be practicing with them this upcoming weekend. I can’t see practices going that long, it’s already starting to feel like winter here!

* We asked Nick to explain this “not smiling” business, and here is what he wrote back: “In Russia, there are a few different ways to tell a local from a foreigner (specifically an American) – 1. We speak English. 2. We travel in large groups and loudly speak English. 3. We show emotion in public. Number 3 has been the hardest for me because I sometimes smile at strangers when making eye contact with them on the street in America … or say please and thank you when ordering food etc.  … no one does that here hahaha.”

Global education is an important part of the Muhlenberg experience in a world that is becoming increasingly interdependent. Currently there are between 250 and 300 students studying abroad each year, and 52.4% of Muhlenberg graduates from the Class of 2013 studied abroad.

The Muhlenberg men’s lacrosse team recently participated in a very special event in New York City. Sophomore Austin Akner wrote about the experience.

Six o’clock Sunday morning, September 30, and the Muhlenberg College men’s lacrosse team was en route to New York City to run the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers 5K. It wasn’t hard to sacrifice some of our weekend and roll out of bed before the sun when we found out what we were running for.

Stephen Siller, a FDNY firefighter of Squad 1, Park Slope, Brooklyn, from Rockville Centre, N.Y., gave his life on the tragic day of September 11, 2001. Being from Rockville Centre, his story hit home with me.

After working the night shift, his morning plans of playing golf with his brothers were interrupted by news of the first tower being hit. He called his wife, returned to the firehouse, and grabbed his 60 pounds of gear. The Battery Tunnel was closed, so he ditched his car and ran through the tunnel to meet up with his squad.

Like so many others, Siller perished on 9/11 helping save lives. At age 32, Stephen Siller left behind his wife, five children, and a legacy of sacrifice and hard work.

The 5K run retraced his footsteps. Starting at his firehouse, 30,000 runners lined the streets to honor him and all of those who lost their lives. Current firefighters from New York and around the world ran in their gear to pay tribute. It took almost 10 minutes to get across the starting line and get a jog going.

The Mules ran through the tolls into the Battery Tunnel. USA chants erupted. We cheered on Wounded Warriors as we ran. Coming out of the muggy tunnel, the first fresh breath was that of the new World Trade Center buildings against a clear sky. Cadets from West Point lined the street bearing American Flags. Firefighters sporting their formal blues held banners of the faces of all the firefighters who lost their lives. I ran by, acknowledging each smiling picture. I ran harder.

Running through Battery Park, the Statue of Liberty stood out in the sun. No one thought about the running. The burning in our legs and feet disappeared as memories of 9/11 raced through our heads. Finishing in groups, we met back up as a unit at the foot of the new FreedomTower.

It was an emotional and awesome experience. We ran with a sense of pride. Many were surprised that we made the two-hour drive from Allentown. A few Muhlenberg alumni came up and told us what year they graduated. We got to see some of our parents and take in the scenery.

I’m glad we had the opportunity to partake in such an event and contribute. It was definitely special running together through the tunnel and along the Hudson River on such a beautiful morning in New York City. We’ll look forward to doing it again next year!

For more information on the Tunnel to Towers Foundation and the many causes it supports, please visit the website http://tunneltotowersrun.org/

Typical study abroad experiences involve immersion in an intriguing and unfamiliar culture, overcoming language barriers, experiencing college classes at different institutions, making new friends and accumulating countless memories to share with family and friends at home.

For rising senior Ian de Ruiter, his study abroad experience in Maastricht last spring was all of the above but with a slight twist. The Muhlenberg lacrosse player spent several days of his semester-long stay in the Netherlands successfully trying out for the Dutch National Lacrosse Team.

De Ruiter, who was born in the United States and played for nationally ranked John Jay High School in his hometown of Cross River, N.Y., has a Dutch passport, making him eligible to try out for the national team.

Former Muhlenberg teammate Brent Siebold ’11, who also tried out for the Dutch National Team during his study-abroad stint in Maastricht, brought this eligibility to de Ruiter’s attention and encouraged him to try out for the team.

De Ruiter, whose given name is Hendrick, that of his Dutch-born paternal grandfather, is quite familiar with the country because he visits his family there every other Christmas.

“My dad was born and raised in Holland and his whole family lives there,” says de Ruiter. “So it was natural for me to go there to study and play lacrosse.”

The 2012 European Lacrosse Championship was held in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, this past June, so de Ruiter was able to compete for the Dutch team on their home turf.

De Ruiter arrived in Holland and spent a week with his family before beginning a rigorous 10-day training camp in preparation for the tournament.

“It was a little more intense than I thought it would be,” he laughs. “They had us out in the woods and wanted us really focusing on training and getting ready for the tournament. Eat, sleep, practice. That was it. They didn’t even want us going on Facebook.”

De Ruiter explains that the national team consisted of several Dutch players and five North Americans who, like him, have Dutch passports but don’t live in Holland.

Two of the North Americans on the team were from Canada and the other three were from the United States. Ironically, de Ruiter knew the Dutch players from the tryouts but didn’t know any of the North American players.

The players from Holland, all of them still in school, ranged in age from 23 to 30 years old. De Ruiter, at 21, was one of the youngest players on the team.

De Ruiter says that lacrosse is not as popular in Holland as it is in America and the sport is played primarily by college students. Even though the game was slightly different from what he usually experiences as a defender in the highly competitive Centennial Conference, playing in Europe was undoubtedly a positive experience.

“Each team had a couple of really, really good players which made it a solid game overall,” he states.

Three-time All-American goalie Grant Zimmerman from the University of North Carolina was one of de Ruiter’s fellow Americans on the Dutch team.

“At Muhlenberg, it’s a lot more organized because everyone has been playing a lot longer,” he continues. “Physically and athletically, the play in Europe is just as good. It actually gets more physical there because there are a lot of missed passes, which creates chaotic situations.”

Right from the get-go, de Ruiter had the opportunity to play in the Olympic stadium in Amsterdam in front of 2,000 lacrosse fans. Amsterdam hosted the Olympic Games back in 1928.

“It was the first time lacrosse was played there since it was a demonstration sport in the early Olympics,” he recalls. “People were going nuts and everyone was dressed up in orange. We were playing Germany, which is Holland’s biggest rival in everything. The fans were doing Dutch cheers when we walked out. It was really cool to be playing for the entire country, and the fans were really passionate.”

The Dutch National Team finished fourth out of 17 teams in the European Championship despite having a 3-6 record in group play. They lost to Sweden in the tournament consolation game by one goal, just missing out on a bronze medal.

According to de Ruiter, his team struggled during the group stage of the tournament because they were in the toughest group with the most competitive teams. Consequently, they had a low seed coming into the final tournament and had to play the Czech Republic in the first round, the best team in the group below.

“That game was really exciting. We won in triple OT.”

The Dutch then faced an inexperienced Israeli team in the second round and came away with another victory. In the semifinals they were matched up against England.

“They were the best team in the entire tournament by far,” states de Ruiter. “We played them earlier during the group stage and they beat us pretty well. This time we hung in with them for half of the game.”

Despite the loss to Sweden in the next game de Ruiter says it was a pretty significant accomplishment to make it as far as they did in the tournament and finish fourth in the final standings.

With training camp and tournament play, the team only had one day off, but de Ruiter says they made the most of it.

“We rented bikes with a bunch of Dutch guys on the team and they took us around to cool spots to eat. It was fun to go around with the locals. I like how laid back it is there. It’s a city but it’s very relaxed.”

De Ruiter says the language barrier wasn’t a problem because all of the Dutch players can speak English, making it easy to communicate off and even on the field, where some Dutch terms are used.

“On the field it’s a mix of Dutch and English. I’m able to understand the Dutch commands they use even though I can’t actually speak the language,” he states.

De Ruiter believes one of the most important things he learned while playing for the national team, and something he would like to bring back to his team at Muhlenberg, didn’t have to do with lacrosse skills.

“They really focused on team building and creating a close knit group when we were there. The team would hang out and watch movies. It wasn’t all about trying to get better at lacrosse. I want to get new freshmen involved and build a close family atmosphere among the team here at Muhlenberg.”

De Ruiter will graduate shortly after the lacrosse season concludes in the spring. After graduation, the finance major hopes to get a job with Merrill Lynch, where he interned this summer. He does, however, plan to keep lacrosse in his life.

“If I have the chance, I’m definitely going to try out for the Dutch National Team again. It was an awesome experience and I really enjoyed it.”

With the spring sports season just about wrapped up, we will be taking a closer look at Muhlenberg’s senior student-athletes.

We continue with men’s lacrosse. Seniors Alex Ardolino, Corey Aferiat, Charlie Pianko, Nick Rispoli, Jonathan Fritog, Jay Salasko and Andrew Disdier were honored during a ceremony before the season finale against Haverford.

Alex Ardolino

How big of an accomplishment is it for you that you rank in the top 10 in school history in points and goals? It is a nice category to be a part of. There are many good players in that category, and some of them are my friends.

What are your strengths as a player? I feel that my speed and my ability to use my off hand are the strongest parts of my game.

What’s your most memorable Muhlenberg lacrosse memory? Scoring the overtime goal to beat Haverford my sophomore year.

What’s the best off-the-field memory from your time here? The trip to Vancouver this summer; we had a great time.

What are your future plans? I will be working as a financial advisor in New York City.

What’s Corey Aferiat like off the field? There is so much you can say about Corey. He is one of the funniest people I know. His one-liners and voice impressions are great. His claim to fame is his classic joke, “So a horse walks into a bar, and the bartender says why the long face?” Corey is a great guy to hang out with and one of the smartest people I know. We have had some fun times. He is always joking around and making people laugh, and I am sure he will continue to do that at Yale next year.

Corey Aferiat

What’s it like being one of the few guys on the team from south of the Mason-Dixon Line? It is nice to have a little geographic diversity on the team, and hopefully I add a little pseudo-southern character. However, it is really difficult being the only one on the team who can’t handle the cold weather practices. I have been outcasted for my wardrobe on numerous occasions, most notably for wearing my sweat suit to practice, even when it is in the 50s. I tell people it’s because I like to be comfortable, but they don’t seem to care. They just don’t understand the harsh transition from nice, warm Virginia weather to the freezing, arctic conditions we deal with here in the Lehigh Valley.

What’s your most memorable Muhlenberg lacrosse memory? My most memorable Muhlenberg lacrosse memory was beating Gettysburg on our home field last year. To have everyone on the team show up like they did, leave it all out there and come out with a huge win was incredibly special.

What made you decide to major in political science and minor in public health? I had planned on majoring in political science when I got to college, but I didn’t know what area I was most interested in. It wasn’t until sophomore year when I figured out I would be best suited in American government and public policy. With regards to public health, I didn’t really have much of an idea about what public health was until I took a course in it as a sophomore. My mom had suggested I take the course, so I figured why not. I really enjoyed the class, and as they say, the rest is history.

What are your future plans? Next year I will be studying health policy and administration at Yale University. After two years of graduate school, I hope to find a job within the realm of hospital administration.

What kind of teammate is Alex Ardolino? Alex is an awesome guy to have out on the field and in the locker room. I admire him the most for his love of the game. It is clear that regardless of what is going on (winning streaks, losing streaks, bad practices, good practices) that he continues to love being a part of the game. When you watch him in practices and games, you can tell he experiences genuine satisfaction from just being around the sport. That kind of love and commitment for the game rubs off on his teammates, and it has certainly rubbed off on me. Despite the fact he has made me look inexcusably slow during sprints in practice for four years straight, I am definitely honored to have been his teammate.

Charlie Pianko

What’s something most people don’t know about you that they might find interesting? An interesting fact that most people don’t know is that my dad and Doug Rheiner’s dad were fraternity brothers at Gettysburg.

How have you improved as a player since coming to Muhlenberg? I would say I have improved every part of my game since coming to Muhlenberg. I think it is impossible not to when you go to practice every day with the amount of talent we have on this team. It forces you to get better.

What’s your most memorable Muhlenberg lacrosse memory? My most memorable memory has to be beating Gettysburg last year. To beat a team that Muhlenberg had never beaten before was something special.

What’s the best off-the-field memory from your time here? I think there is a high possibility I would get in serious trouble if I didn’t say when I met my girlfriend, so I’ll go with that.

What’s it like playing against your brother who plays for Dickinson? It is a fun time for my entire family except for the fact that my parents do not know who to root for. I just wish we were able to beat them one of the three years we played against each other, because I am sure I will be hearing about it for the rest of my life.

What are your future plans? I plan on getting a job in accounting and seeing where it goes from there. I would also like to coach youth lacrosse or Pop Warner football in the future.

What kind of person is Nick Rispoli? Nick is a great person. I have lived with him the last two years, and although he can be quiet at times, he is always funny and entertaining to be around.

Nick Rispoli

What are the keys to being a good faceoff man? How have you been so successful? Step to the right!! Facing off is just like any other position; it’s all about practice and becoming comfortable with what you’re doing. I’ve been lucky enough to have some great coaches along the way that really knew what they were talking about that have helped out. It’s also nice when you have other great faceoff men around you to push you every day in practice. Having great wing play has also been a tremendous help over the years. To be completely honest, I don’t know how I’ve been so successful. I pretty much just go out there and don’t think. I hum a little tune to myself and just try to have fun.

What’s your most memorable Muhlenberg lacrosse memory? My favorite lacrosse memory has to be back in the high school state championship game my senior year, running down the field with Andrew Disdier on me and scoring a left-handed goal on him. But beating Gettysburg for the first time last season was my most memorable Muhlenberg lacrosse memory, by far. The atmosphere was outrageous.

We’ve heard you play a mean guitar; are you the next Eric Clapton? Oh, I can play a mean guitar; it’s really not fair. I’m more of a Bruce Springsteen fan myself; we’re actually in the middle of planning our summer tour dates now.

What made you decide to major in business administration? Well, I meant to sign up for theater, but I guess I filled out the wrong form that day. But seriously, I’ve always been interested in business, particularly marketing and advertising. After taking some business courses freshman year, I knew that was the field I was most interested in, so I decided to pursue it.

What are your future plans? Aside from going on tour with my guitar with Bruce, I plan to move to California and hang out all day in the sun since I spent the past four years in the rainy Lehigh Valley. In all seriousness, I’m not exactly sure what I plan on doing and am still investigating and exploring my options. I’m all ears if anyone has any offers.

What kind of teammate is Jonathan Fritog? Jonathan who? No, it’s been great being able to continue to play with Jonathan for another four years. I’ve known him for most of my life. He’s excellent at communication on and off the field and is willing to spend extra time with the players to help them improve and learn. He’s always trying to become better, but definitely knows how to have fun and can turn it on when he needs to. He also has a great lacrosse IQ (must be a Ridgewood thing).

Jonathan Fritog

You’ve taken quite a few drumming classes at Muhlenberg; are you a rock star in waiting? I don’t think I’m a rock star in waiting, but since Nick Rispoli takes guitar lessons, and we both took a magic class together, we decided that if we are unable to find jobs after college we will stay in Ridgewood (yes, with our parents) and become street performers. All we need is a singer like Jay “Mad Dog” Salasko, and we can be an official band.

What’s your most memorable Muhlenberg lacrosse memory? My most memorable Muhlenberg lacrosse memory is definitely going on the Vancouver trip over this past summer. Even though the entire team wasn’t with us, it was still my most favorite vacation that I have ever been on because it was with all my friends. That trip really gave all the guys a chance to simply kick back, relax and enjoy being in a different country with each other. Oh yeah, and we played lacrosse there too. Also, scoring against McDaniel this year was pretty cool since they were my first collegiate points.

What’s the best off-the-field memory from your time here? My best off-the-field memory from my time here is really all four years that I was able to spend here. From going from room to room in Walz hanging out with friends, then moving into Benfer with guys on the lacrosse team, then getting a house off campus and just being able to hang out with the people that have had such a great influence on my life in the past four years has really made this one of the greatest experiences of my life. I really owe it to all of the people that I have met and all of my friends that I have made here. I will truly miss this place and everyone that I have met. I will also miss beating Andrew Disdier in video games every day. I really have my parents to thank the most because they never stopped pushing me and believing in me to do my absolute best in whatever it was that I decided to do. And they never missed a single game in my time here at Muhlenberg, which means more to me then they will probably ever know. They truly are the best parents that any kid could ever ask for, and I am extremely grateful that they have acted as such a great support system to me throughout my life. Love you guys.

What are your future plans? Besides becoming a street performer with Nick Rispoli, I want to become a high school teacher and lacrosse coach. I am going to take a year off after college and then hopefully go to grad school to get my master’s degree.

What’s Charlie Pianko like off the field? Pianko is probably one of the nicest guys on the team. In my past four years here I cannot recall one time that I have ever heard him complain or not have a smile on his face. Charlie is just a happy-go-lucky guy who leads by example and is a hard worker.

Jay Salasko

What would you say is the strongest part of your game? The strongest part of my game would have to be my ability to communicate on the field.

What made you decide to transfer to Muhlenberg after your freshman year? I came to Muhlenberg because it was a great opportunity to come to a great academic institution and join a great group of players who I had a chance to meet before I made my decision.

What’s your most memorable Muhlenberg lacrosse memory? I think our win against Gettysburg last year stands out the most. The emotion that we played with in that game fueled our victory, and it couldn’t have been a better feeling.

What’s the best off-the-field memory from your time here? It is hard to choose the best off-the-field memory from my time here, but if I were to choose one I can guarantee that it would be with my teammates. Although we spend every day together on the field, our off the field time together is how we grew as a team. That said, it’s impossible to choose just one moment.

Some of your drawings were in a recent exhibition on campus; have you always been an artist? I definitely have not always been an artist and still don’t believe that I’m much of one. But the few drawing classes that I have taken here definitely taught me a few things that have helped me graduate from drawing stick figures.

What are your future plans? After graduation I am hoping to find a graduate coaching position where I can further my schooling as well as get a jump start on a collegiate lacrosse coaching career.

What was it like getting to play three more years with your high school teammate Andrew Disdier? Playing with Andrew again was definitely a plus when I made my decision to come here. Andrew has been a great asset to the team in his four years here. He is a great guy to have in our locker room. He always helps to keep team morale up and keep those who are struggling motivated.

Andrew Disdier

Do you have any hidden or unusual talents? I can tie my shoelaces without using my hands, and I’m fluent in five languages. However, those talents are completely dwarfed by the arsenal of tricks Connor Winter has.

How frustrating has it been having to deal with so many injuries during your career? It is difficult to articulate the frustration. I will say that the recovery process has been much easier with the support from my family, teammates and coaches.

What’s your most memorable Muhlenberg lacrosse memory? This past summer’s trip to British Columbia was unforgettable.

What’s the best off-the-field memory from your time here? I’m a big basketball guy, so all the pickup games that we played in the fall were some great times. I know that Mike Carpetto and Jack Reilly will keep the tradition going next year. Beating Jon Fritog in “Around the World” in a single turn is something I won’t forget either.

How was the experience interning with Merrill Lynch? I really perfected my envelope addressing and database updating skills at Merrill Lynch. In all seriousness, it was a great experience, because I was able to apply my academic ability to the professional workplace. The fundamental knowledge that I absorbed there really put me a step ahead for the following semester. I wish AJ “The Bond Vigilante” Diaz and Ian “The Big Short” de Ruiter the best of luck this coming summer at Merrill Lynch.

What are your future plans? To start, I’m going to get my knee fixed. Professionally, I have accepted a bank examiner position with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, an entity of the Department of the Treasury.

What was it like getting to play three more years with your high school teammate Jay Salasko? It has been a tremendous opportunity to play with Jay “Mad Dog” Salasko for an extra three years. He has always been a ferocious competitor, and he has a canny knowledge of the game. He is also one of the toughest players I know. If he did not have the back of a 55-year-old arthritic man and had not gotten sniped in the spleen by Corey’s rifle of a lefty bounce shot, I know his career would have looked a lot different.