St Petersburg: Day 31 and Moscow: Days 32-35

Alrighty. So I'm now in Moscow, as many of you know, and my internet is US-level quick, so I'm very pleased with that. That said, I'll jump right in to documenting the past few days.

On Friday we had our White Nights tour, which began at 10:30pm. Before that we had our closing ceremony, at which I nearly cried many times. I've come to love my teachers and everyone at Smolny so much, it was very hard for me to leave them. I received a certificate stating that I had completed 100 hours in Russian coursework, and we each got a souvenier mug with something from St. Pete on it, to help us remember. Goodness knows I will never forget, mug or no mug. But after that we went back to the dorms to pack and take a little nap. That done, we met downstairs at the appointed time and went on our White Nights tour, which was really very, very fun. We saw a lot of things we hadn't gotten to see before, and returned to the dorms at 2:30am.

The next day, we had to be checked out of the dorms at 11am. Good thing I was already packed, or it would have been a nightmare. As it was, it was surprisingly simple, given how crazy Russian stuff in general tends to be. That done, we had the rest of the day to kill till we were to meet at 9:30 to head to the train station. The weather was miserable, rainy and cool, but Anna, Bart, Kim, and I went to Peterhof anyway. It was beautiful, despite the rain, and we had a good time. Even if the crazy marshutka driver that took us there had a van whose transmission DESPERATELY needed to be replaced. We returned and went to the bar to kill the last couple of hours, and Anna and I got to talking once we were the only ones left there. On a whim, we decided to check the time, only to discover that it was 9:32. Needless to say, a crazed run back to the dorms ensued, but we were still there before many of the others. The train station was uneventful, and at 12:20am, we were allowed to board the train.

I had never travelled by train before, certainly not overnight, and I have to say that if I have to travel that way again, I might just throw myself on the tracks. 4 people were jammed into a room the size of a walk-in closet, and about as hot as a sauna. Once we wrestled our luggage into the tiny space, we laid down to attempt sleeping. It was miserably hot, and I woke up several times sweating like a whore in church, but we finally made it at around 9am the next morning.

Thus began our time in Moscow. When we got here, we lugged all our luggage to the dorms, got room assignments (I'm rooming with Kim) and settled in. But we didn't have long before they wanted us to go walk around the campus. We did that, and then walked about 15 minutes to the corner to see the store and then 10 minutes more to see the metro station, and then returned, only to be called to a meeting. Once the meeting was over, I was finally able to take a blessed shower, and felt a million times better for it. That done, I mostly whiled away the rest of the day playing on the computer.

Today we went to breakfast at 9:20, and then went to take the placement exam. It went fairly well, I hope, but I won't know until tomorrow. After that we had lunch and then trekked on to downtown to see Red Square and a few other sites. It took a little while, and it was pretty hot, but it was nice enough. If my knee hadn't been hurting so bad it probably would have been better. In the end, Kim and Geoff and I came back and made dinner together, and I've been chilling ever since. Hopefully tomorrow will bring less swelling and a better attitude now that I've had some time to recover.

I will keep you updated on the school situation!

St. Petersburg: Days 30-32

Hello again all. I don't have a ton of time for this, so I'll just jump right in.

On Tuesday Anna and Kim went to a bookstore followed by a cafe, while Geoff, Emily, Sander and I decided to ride the metros all day. Turns out, if you ride any line all the way to the end, you have to get out and pay again to get in and go the other way, after crossing under the tracks through a very VERY sketchy hallway. I honestly would not be surprised to see a drug deal going down there, and my sketch-o-meter is even calibrated to Russia. In any event, nothing terrible befell us, and we made it to the philharmonia with time to spare, after stopping at KFC for dinner. The music was wonderful (the first half was Beethoven and the second was Shostokovich (sp?)) and I sat next to Nina Petrovna, who was quite lovely and happy to talk with me about nearly anything in the world.

Wednesday we had, of course, choir and a lecture on current literature in Russia. Choir went better than usual, surprisingly enough, and I'm hoping that we don't completely embarrass ourselves when we sing for our teachers tomorrow. Afterwards, Kim, Emily and I went to the bookstore where I bought a few Jane Austen novels to amuse myself with. We then returned to the island and met up with several of our friends to watch the US soccer game. England was playing at the same time, and we apparently very much upset two Russians, who stormed out after the game was changed to the US game. The game was super exciting, and the ending unbelievable, and we all went home in great spirits.

Today has been fairly uneventful, given that we're all trying to save strength for packing and our trip this weekend. But a group of us went to a nice little Armenian restaraunt that ended up having delicious food, and by the time we left it was nearly 5 o'clock. I read my book on the way home, and managed to finish it around 8:30, after which I went to the cafeteria with Bart and Anna and then returned here. Not planning on going out again tonight, but some of the others are.

I will probably not be able to update for a little while, given the craziness that will be going on this weekend, but I'll do my best.

St. Petersburg: Days 26-29

Hello again all! Sorry for the delay in updates once again. The end of my time in Petersburg is fast approaching, and so we're all trying to get everything done that we haven't already, so by the time I get home I'm usually ready to collapse.

So, where did we leave off? Friday, I believe. On Friday, Anna, Geoff, Emily, Kim, Bart, and I decided to make the rounds of the various cathedrals and churches in St. Pete. We started with the rather impressive Kazaan Cathedral, however there's not much to tell about it beyond the fact that it is a beautiful cathedral. We then went to the top of St. Issac's cathedral, where I got some beautiful photos of the city and how expansive it is, though it is nowhere near as unending as Tokyo appeared from the top of the skyscraper I was in.
After that, we all went to the Liverpool pub to watch the US soccer game in the World Cup, followed by the England game. Both games were really fun to watch, even if our waitress was less than accomodating, and I chatted with the Russian businessman sitting behind me, who was regaling me with tales of how Russia should have beaten Slovenia. His name was Konstantin, and I found him very interesting to listen to. Not to mention the fact that I got to practice speaking!

On Saturday, Anna and Kim and I decided to go to the Hermitage, since none of us had been already. We met up for breakfast/lunch at a coffeehouse on Nevskyy and then made our way to the winter palace. In the palace square, we saw a strange chandelier-type thing being held aloft by two cranes over a stage, but we didn't have any idea what it was for. So we just continued on into the Hermitage, where we proceeded to get lost and have to ask one of the attendants for a map. While we were there, we even saw Olga, our tour guide from our previous Petersburg excursions. Several hours later we emerged from the palace and headed back towards home, though we stopped off at the sportsbar near the dorms to watch the soccer game.

On Sunday we had our boat tour of St. Pete. Anna and Kim and I met up earlier for lunch and coffee, and then headed to the meetup point. The tour was lovely, if exceedingly cold, but I can't help but feel that it might have been more useful/interesting if we had done it at the beginning of the trip. After all, by this point we had more or less seen and heard all about the places we were being shown, so it was really nicer for the boat ride than for learning anything about the city. One notable issue was poor Anna's unfortunate run in with one of the bridges. The arches that the boats go under are very, very low, and Anna didn't realize the bridge was coming up until she stood up and it hit her in the head. Luckily, she was alright, but it was certainly scary!

Today we had our last grammar class, and a test in said class. I'm not sure how well I did, and I know I made a couple of mistakes, but since it isn't really graded, I'm not too worried. Benny, on the other hand, had the teacher very upset, because he scribbled his test down and left in the first 10 minutes. She lamented to me in very unhappy Russian about how many mistakes he'd made and then returned to the room after handing me the hat that Benny had forgotten. After class, though Kim and I were going to accompany a few of the others on their trip to Pavlovsk, my knee just wasn't up to the task, and so we wandered along the Fontanka instead before meeting up with a few of the others to watch the game and then return home.

St. Petersburg: Days 23-25

Alright. So it turns out that the hot water was only off for a day and a half. According to David, this is a miracle! So thanks to the Lord!

The Philharmonia was utterly amazing, I have to say. They had a woman and a man who sang pieces from Carmen together and they were fabulous.

Tuesday was a bit of a gauntlet. Since we didn't have class on Monday, we had 3 classes on Tuesday instead of our usual 2. This means 4 and a half almost continuous hours of instruction, and I was more than ready to leave by about 10 minutes into the first class. But it ended up not being as terrible as it could have been, really. Afterwards we came home and then went out to watch the next game. Our new friend Phil came along as well. He is (as he will tell you) actually from Wales, but he goes to school in Bath. He's a very nice boy, and pretty fun to watch a game with.

On Wednesday, Anna and Kim and I went out to lunch and then to a little cafe for coffee to discuss some things and just kind of chat. I really enjoyed myself. Part of the really nice thing about going out here is that I can tell day by day how much better my comprehension is becoming. I no longer stare dumbfounded at the waiters and waitresses when they speak to me or ask me questions, or at least not quite as often as before. After we finished with that, it was time to run home and get changed to then immediately head over to the Mikhailovsky Theater to see the ballet of the Little Humpbacked Horse. It was totally delightful. The theater is unbelievably gorgeous, and the ballet itself was engaging and fun, especially since the Humpbacked Horse is my favorite Russian fairy tale!

Today was quite fun as well. After class, Bart, Geoff, Emily, Kim, Alex and I wanted to go to the State Political History Museum, since our tour of Lenin's office was cancelled due to, among other things, President Obama being in the building we were wanting to go into. However, when we got there we discovered that the museum is closed on Thursdays. So instead we went across the street to Peter and Paul fortress. We decided to walk along the ramparts, and I ended up losing 50 rubles because the woman thought that the 50 she had taken out to make change for the 100 I gave her was the bill that I gave her. I fought with her a little, but finally decided it wasn't worth it and just let it go.

St. Petersburg: Days 20-22

Hello again, all. Hope the weather is lovely where you are. It certainly isn't here. I mentioned the other day to a friend of mine that no one back home would believe how the weather usually is here, because we had gorgeous weather for pretty much every picture I've taken. Hahaha. But rest assured, it is normally cloudy, cold, and wet.

Anyway, Friday was a pretty uneventful day. I met with Dr. Phillips after class to discuss which classes I will be receiving credit for. We had planned to go to St. Issac's Cathedral, but by the time I got out (I was last) it was much too late. Instead, we just went out for lunch/dinner and then went home.

Saturday we had our excursion to Novgorod. The bus ride was long and impossible to sleep on, thanks to the absolutely terrible roads, but it was only about 4 hours and I'm more than used to that. When we got there and picked up our tourguide, the trip started going to pot. I'm pretty sure that Natalya was the worst tourguide in the entire country. Honestly, I don't understand how you could make an outing in Novgorod on both Novgorod's Den Goroda and Russia Day a boring one. But by golly, she managed it. Despite all of the cultural entertainment and shows and booths, we went to about 5 churches and a statue. And also to a lunch that was wholly disappointing, except for the juice, though that ran out after the first serving. We went to an open-air museum of wooden architecture (basically a fancy name for a bunch of old houses) and got to look around inside a couple, where she insisted on explaining to us that the boards made up the floor, and that people sometimes put food in the oven (they put it in there to cook, just fyi.). She also repeatedly (read: probably 30 times or more) made reference to things in "her country," as though we didn't know she was Russian or something, and got very upset when we couldn't understand her accent on some words. In any event, she rather ruined the trip, and I'm wondering if it would be possible to go again without her, but I doubt it. Sad day. But it wasn't the worst thing ever, so I guess I shouldn't complain too badly. It was also really pretty hilarious because the bus driver and the tourguide didn't get along at all, and fought in Russian the whole time, apparently thinking that no one could understand them.

When we got back at around 9, we decided to head to a bar close by to watch the US vs. England soccer game in the World Cup. There were several tables of Americans and several tables of Brits, so we had some good-natured bantering going on. The US ended up tying England (a surprising outcome, of course) and so it's likely that we'll play them again.

Yesterday was pretty uneventful as well. I slept in pretty late, then spent most of the day lazing around. We went out again to watch the Germany vs. Australia game (Germany won 4 to 0!!!). Some of the gang wanted to stay out all night, but I didn't, so I had to leave a bit early to make it back before they lock the dorms at 1AM. If you're not back before then, you just have to stay outside until they reopen at 6AM. Not a fun proposition, to my mind. I also discovered yesterday that the hot water has been shut off in the dorms until about the time we are leaving again. Joy. This wouldn't be such a big deal if the cold water wasn't actually ice water. My brilliant plan to combat this involves heating water in our electric kettle, pouring it into a laundry bucket, putting cold water in it until it is bearable, and then using a washrag to wash myself and washing my hair in the leftovers. Hopefully this will work...

Planning to go to the Philharmonia tonight to see some wonderful music. Will fill you in tomorrow probably, or maybe later today.

Edit: Oops, almost forgot that translation I said I would find for you guys!

A girl was singing in the choir with fervor

of all who have known exile and distress,

of all the vessels that have left the harbor,

of all who have forgotten happiness.

Her voice soared up to the dome. Glistening,

a sunbeam brushed her shoulder in its flight,

and from the darkness all were listening

to the white dress singing in the beam of light.

It seemed to everyone that happiness

would come back, that the vessels were all safe,

that those who had known exile and distress

had rediscovered a radiant life.

The voice was beautiful, the sunbeam slender,

but up by the holy gates, under the dome,

a boy at communion wept to remember

that none of them would ever come home.

-A. Blok

August 1905

St. Petersburg: Days 18-19

Hello again, all. Hope you're all doing well.

Sorry for the lack of update yesterday. I got caught up doing stuff and didn't think about it until it was so late that just the thought of it exhausted me. Lol. Didn't really do much yesterday, anyway. We went to a little Chinese restaurant near the school after class (Benny wouldn't come in because he was afraid of the MSG) and had some yummy food. Then I went home and napped for approximately forever.

Today we went almost immediately after class to the Memorial Cemetery, where the mass graves are from the siege of Leningrad. It was utterly beautiful, and a bit haunting. Imagine something like Arlington, but with enormous mass graves, walking trails amongst the individual markers, and plaques and statues. I'll have pictures up later sometime. In any event, it was a lovely experience, and really brought a lot of things to my mind. The head of our program, Nina Petrovna, is 80 years old, but doesn't look a day over 60. I was thinking the other day about all the things she must have seen, since she would have been born in 1930 or so. Today she told us that next class she would tell us about her experiences during the siege. I cannot even wait. I'm so interested to know what it was like, even though the other part of me doesn't want to know. I think I'm beginning to understand this place a little better, and understand why WWII in particular holds such prominence in the national memory. I feel like WWII will hold a more prominent position in my own mind after all this is said and done.

At the same time, I find it utterly impossible to explain things to people who ask me "What is Russia like?" It's strange, having known all this things before I got here, and yet to realize that I didn't understand any of it. I feel like I'm starting to look at things in a more personal light, and to feel more than think. In this way, perhaps I'm getting closer to truly understanding what Tyutchev meant when he said that it was impossible to understand Russia with the mind. Your heart has to be involved too, because that is how everything is decided here. Logic has no place here, only what you feel. Perhaps this better explains why Russia seems so completely antithetical to the Western world, where logic is valued above emotion.

I'm sure I'll have plenty more to expound upon that later, but my thoughts seem to have gotten away from me there, haha. As a parting gift, I will leave you with the text of a poem by Aleksander Blok. It left me with a rather indescribable feeling, but I hope you will enjoy it. I will include both the Russian original, and an English translation, though I can't find my favorite one right now. Perhaps I will have it for you tomorrow.

Девушка пела в церковном хоре
О всех усталых в чужом краю,
О всех кораблях, ушедших в море,
О всех, забывших радость свою.

Так пел ее голос, летящий в купол,
И луч сиял на белом плече,
И каждый из мрака смотрел и слушал,
Как белое платье пело в луче.

И всем казалось, что радость будет,
Что в тихой заводи все корабли,
Что на чужбине усталые люди
Светлую жизнь себе обрели

И голос был сладок, и луч был тонок,
И только высоко, у царских врат,
Причастный тайнам,- плакал ребенок
О том, что никто не придет назад.


A girl sang in the church choir
Of all who are weary in foreign lands,
Of all the ships gone out to sea,
Of all who have forgotten their joy.

Thus her voice sang, flying up to the dome,
And a ray of sun shone on her white shoulder,
And from the darkness all watched and listened
As the white dress sang in the ray.

And it seemed to all that joy would come,
That all ships had reached shelter in peaceful harbors,
That all weary people in foreign lands
Had found themselves a serene life.

And the voice was sweet, and the ray was thin,
And only above, at the altar gates,
In touch with Mystery, – a child wept
Because no one will ever return…

St. Petersburg: Days 15-17

First of all, let me apologize for the lapse in updates. As you might have seen on my facebook, I got sick Saturday morning, and I've just not felt well enough to manage an entire entry. But I'm back now, and I will do my best to recount everything that has happened.

I really did nothing on Saturday, thanks to the sudden illness. For those of you who are not aware, I am quite prone to bronchitis/upper respiratory infections. They usually start with a sore throat and occur when the weather changes. Well, this one is no exception. It progressed from severely sore throat to runny nose to coughing to laryngitis all in the course of 3 days. I started antibiotics yesterday morning, and I already feel better, so I anticipate that I will be good as new by the end of this week.

On Sunday, we had our first excursion to the town of Pushkin, which is a suburb of St. Pete. It is, as you might expect, named for the poet, and since the 6th of June is Pushkin's birthday, it was especially nice that we got to go and see the celebration they put on for him. Many flowers were laid on and in front of a statue of him, and people gave speeches and performed. It was really lovely. We then went to the summer residence of the Tsars, or the so-called "Catherine's Palace."

Boy, oh boy, was this place ever beautiful. The gardens were amazing, the building was gorgeous, and the interior was even more so. We then learned from our guide that this was where the German soldiers stayed during the WWII seige of Leningrad. The Russians saved as many of the pieces from the palace as they could, and the rest was either taken or destroyed when the German soldiers were eventually driven out. The pictures of the damage were truly unbelievable, and the fact that it has been restored so close to its former glory is similarly amazing.

Monday was fairly uneventful, however we did go to the Hermitage Theater to see the choir from London's King's College perform. Really, the draw was more seeing the theater, which is every bit as beautiful as you would imagine a piece of the Winter Palace to be. The choir, however, was well-worth listening to as well.

Today, Anna, Emily, Kim, and I went to a shopping mall after class on the other side of town. It was very similar to a shopping mall in the States, so not much to talk about there.

And that should bring me up to date! Pictures of both Catherine's Palace and the Hermitage Theater should be up later this evening/today.

Have a lovely day!

St. Petersburg: Days 13-14

Hello all. Hope you're having lovely days. :)

I had every intention of updating here yesterday night, but I got in rather late and was very, very tired, so I decided today would be a better time. Had newspaper reading and grammar in class yesterday, and it was a little difficult to make it all the way through, just because I've been hoping for the end of classes for the week for a while. Haha.

Anna, Bart, Stacy, and a boy she met went out for dinner yesterday night, so Emily and I decided to go out down to Nevsky Prospeckt. We had a really great time, and found a lovely little coffeehouse/cafe place with upstairs outdoor seating. They even had wonderful fleece blankets in every chair so you didn't get too cold. I ended up getting a salmon salad, which was delicious. Emily likewise got a salad. We ended up sitting there chatting and such waaaaay later than we thought (thanks to the fact that it never gets dark here) and so we aaaalmost missed getting in the dorms before they lock up for the night. Luckily we didn't, and I went to bed quite content and happy.

However, this morning I woke up at around 8 (naturally, because I actually could sleep in today) with lymph nodes the size of golf balls, almost unable to swallow at all. I laid in the bed till about 10, and then finally got up to make some tea, hoping it would soothe it. Well, I've had about 5 cups of tea today besides all the other liquids I've been guzzling. Took some ibuprofen for the beginnings of a headache and I'm thinking it might have helped with the swelling in my throat? Either way, it is easier to swallow, but it still hurts. I'm thinking strep might have gotten me again. I'll give it a day or so, and if it isn't any better, I'll start one of my antibiotics. Other than that, I'm just a little tired, but I don't feel badly otherwise. So that's good.

Anyway, I should go study some and maybe run across the street to the store to grab dinner/more soothing drinks/maybe some cough drops or hard candy.

Have a wonderful day!!

St. Petersburg: Day 12

Hello again, all. I hope you are all having lovely days when you read this. :)

Today was again, as before, fairly normal. The only thing I'm having issues with right now is the fact that my comma key seems to be giving out on my laptop. Hmm, I will have to see if this persists. Anyway, I went to class as usual today, conversation and phonetics. Tomorrow will be grammar again, but I'm not too upset about that. Really, I like all my classes.

I had hoped to have better pictures to show you all today, because I had initially planned on visiting the Hermitage after a quick stop at KFC. Well, it doesn't ever go as nicely as planned, so by the time we left the restaurant, it was 3:30. Since the Hermitage closes at 5:30 and it would have taken us somewhere around an hour to get there, we decided to go Saturday instead. Rather than do that, we went to the market near the area around the Church Built on the Spilled Blood. I picked up an owl matryoshka (!!!) and plan to go back for several other things that I would like to get for people. Beyond that, I really didn't do much today, since I returned home right afterwards. The weather actually turned beautiful all of a sudden when we left KFC. Go figure!

However, Stacy was apparently approached by a Russian boy in the metro yesterday, who asked her out on a date this afternoon, which is why I wasn't with she and Anna and Bart. I greatly look forward to hearing how that went, and will be sure to tell you when I find out!

I took a few pictures of the area around our dorms and of a few random things today, so look for those in the next couple of days. Might happen tonight, might not. It just depends on how I'm feeling about the whole process of editing and uploading. Lol.

See you tomorrow!

St. Petersburg: Day 11

First of all today, I want to apologize if yesterday's post made it sound like I'm unhappy, or not having fun. That was not my intention at all, and I was just letting off a little steam over a few things that were bugging me yesterday, but nothing to worry about, I promise. :)

Anyway, today was, as you might imagine by now, much like yesterday. Part of the problem with doing daily posts like this is that there is not always a wealth of information to divulge. However, I suspect that things will pick up on the weekends, for those of you that want to read more than me blathering about my school day. Unfortunately, now that I actually have homework and stuff to do, I don't do a lot during the week, so your best bet for more action-packed tales is probably going to be the weekend, when we take our group field trips out to different places. This weekend we will be going to Ekaterina's Palace in Pushkin, a suburb of St. Pete. I am anticipating wonderful things, and I'm very excited.

As far as today is concerned, I went to class as usual, though Wednesdays are a little different than other days. Rather than be separated into groups, we meet as one group first for a lecture on a given topic, and then for choir practice. Today's lecture was on the mindset of Russia and Russians as a society, and why things are so very different here. It really was an enlightening experience. We discussed why so many Russians (a little over 30%) when asked in a poll what period in Russian history they were most proud of, answered with some period within the Soviet period. Honestly, it would be impossible to explain here, but it really was very interesting. Choir practice is likewise fairly impossible to explain or expound upon, given that it is just singing, and so I won't go into any more detail than that.

After class, I headed home with a few of the others through the flat-out nasty St. Petersburg rain, trying to keep my umbrella from flipping inside-out because of the rain. Once I got home, I changed my wet clothes, checked emails, and took a very long nap, at the end of which I felt infinitely better. Then Anna came and got me to go down to the cafeteria for dinner with her and Bart. It passed much as usual, and now I'm back here. A little more time on the computer, shower, then bed. Rinse, repeat. ;)

See you tomorrow!

St. Petersburg: Days 9 & 10

So I didn't update yesterday. The reason is that yesterday was exceedingly boring. I went to class and then went home. That was it. I didn't even go to the store. So since I could explain yesterday's happenings in one sentence (although I remember now that my darling suitemate did, in fact, at one point begin "playing" the violin again), I decided it wasn't worth a post.

Honestly, today was not much different. I went to class, had a great time in Conversation and Analytical reading, and then went on home, because today was classmate Evan's 21st birthday. To celebrate, we went to a little restaurant/18th cen. bar called The Idiot, after Dostoevsky's famous novel. Still, pretty funny to see dishes like "Idiot Green Salad."

Came home almost immediately afterwards, because the walk there had really done a number on my knee, especially with everyone trying to hurry to make the reservation even though they were the ones who were over half an hour late.

As you can see, today was not much different, but I felt I should post so you wouldn't think I'd forgotten.

See you tomorrow!