Moscow Mornings and Southern Sunsets: Rachel Lloyd’s Unlikely Russian Journey

Episode #0029

What happens when a small-town girl from Florida ends up studying law in Moscow? You get a story so layered, so unexpected, and so full of cultural whiplash that it might just change the way you see borders—literal and emotional ones.

That’s the story of Rachel Lloyd.

From Forests to Foreign Affairs

Rachel didn’t grow up planning to explore the geopolitical maze of Russian-American relations. She grew up with trees. Lots of them. In Melrose and Hawthorne, Florida, you didn’t see your neighbor from your porch—you heard the birds instead. She called it boring as a kid. Now? She calls it peaceful.

And for someone who once swore off city life, the leap from rural Florida to the bright chaos of Moscow’s LED-lit crosswalks might seem out of character. But life loves irony.

Why Russian?

Rachel initially had her eye on geology. A practical path, family-approved. But something nudged her towards the unfamiliar, the demanding, the downright intimidating: Russian. A language where even compliments can sound like threats. It wasn’t love at first sound—but it was the right kind of challenge for a brain wired to solve puzzles.

And honestly, who learns Russian just for the heck of it? Exactly. That curiosity, that desire to be different—that’s what made Rachel interesting. And she admits it: being interesting felt good.

Moscow or Bust (Literally)

After navigating years of financial roadblocks, she finally made it to Russia in 2019 through a diplomacy simulation program. That trip cracked something open. She led the U.S. delegation as “President” (unofficially, of course) and came back burning with the need to return.

And then she did. In 2020, she enrolled at MGIMO, one of Russia’s most prestigious universities—and also a well-known training ground for diplomats. She was in the full Russian-language law program. Let that sink in. A Floridian. Studying Russian law. In Russian. In Russia.

Life Interrupted: COVID, War, and Visa Woes

Rachel’s timing? Impeccably terrible. Days after settling in, the pandemic shut down global travel. She almost had to leave but was saved by a last-minute visa extension. Her dad was seconds away from buying a flight home when the news came in.

Then in 2022, war broke out. With her Visa and Mastercard rendered useless due to sanctions, she took a harrowing 52-hour journey out of Russia via the Caucasus Mountains. But even then, she returned. Why? Because the degree wasn’t finished. And because Moscow, somehow, felt like home.

Reality Shows, Red Square, and the Question Everyone Asked

Rachel ended up on a Russian reality TV show. She taught English, translated documents, and wrote for a now-banned publication (before things got too hot). She even got invited to the Victory Day parade on Red Square—one of the only Americans in the crowd.

Was she ever mistaken for a spy? Constantly. Even her professors asked. One deadpanned the question during an oral exam. Her response? A sip of water and a “why would you ask that?”

The suspicion was partly absurd, partly predictable. After all, who else ticks all the boxes of a Cold War thriller: American, fluent in Russian, studying law at MGIMO?

Language as an Identity Mirror

Rachel admits she’s a different version of herself depending on the language. English Rachel? Outgoing, expressive, confident. Russian Rachel? Shy, cautious, quiet. Not because of fear—but because of reverence. Language, for her, is personal. Earned. Fumbled through. And ultimately transformative.

She became more extroverted. More assertive. More proud of her American identity. Yes, proud. That’s what studying abroad in a complicated country did for her—it deepened her love for home.

Lessons From Red Square and Rural Roots

Rachel's story isn’t just about mastering a foreign language or surviving through COVID and a war. It’s about connection. Human-to-human. Country-to-country. It’s about finding your voice in a place that doesn't speak your language—until, slowly, it does.

She says it best: “My popularity wasn’t because I was special. It was because I spoke up. I let them know who I was. And I listened to who they were.”

There’s something powerful in that. In not letting governments, media, or fear write the narrative for you.

Want the full conversation?
Watch the full episode of Whereabouts Tales with Rachel Lloyd and don’t forget to share your thoughts. Was there a moment in the episode that surprised you? Challenged you? Inspired you?

Because these tales… they’re not just about where we’ve been.
They’re about who we become when we get there.