So two months later.......

Unfortunately I have been awful at keeping up with my blog posts, therefore I have decided to do an all inclusive post of some of my best (or worst) moments of the past two months. 

Halloween in Russia:

A few Russian students at school wanted to put on a “real” Halloween party and even came to us Americans for advice on special customs or traditions we might be able to share. I didn’t have the heart to tell them that most college students do not still celebrate Halloween by carving pumpkins. My friend Stephanie and I decided to go as “1920’s flappers,” mainly because we wouldn’t need to buy anything. However, we would have benefitted from two pieces of advice: 1. Russians only dress up as scary things for Halloween and 2. They don’t know what flappers are (I should have realized that the Roaring Twenties in Russia means the end of the Russian Civil War and the beginning of the Soviet Regime.)  It didn’t occur to any of us Americans that Halloween in Russia means only dress up as something dead, spooky, or bloody. Costumes in the US are often judged by their comical reference to pop culture or clever puns and jokes…..I guess I’ll just have to be a “double rainbow” next year.

English Tutoring:

Three to four times a week I tutor a 30-year-old Russian woman, Yulia. Yulia is a lawyer who is studying English in hopes of moving to Finland to continue her education. Her English is very good, meaning we get to just talk for an hour and I correct her on grammar, pronunciation, and word choice. What started off as an extra job has developed into a new friendship and one of my favorite parts of my week. We have discussed everything from our favorite movies and music to marriage to the Islamic center being built near Ground Zero. We have a very interesting relationship. I am obviously one of, if not, the only American she has had close contact with, making me somewhat of a novelty. She has had me over for dinner and always brings me chocolates, souvenirs, and fruit (because I once told her I don’t get any at my homestay). She also has a cat named Ke$ha……the dollar sign usage is still up for discussion. She is the only person that has ever said via text message (or ever for that matter) that I’m her “favorite American girl.”

The Truck

It is hard to go down a street in Petersburg and not find a “producty,” a 24 hour convenient store. The smaller ones carry the staples: bread products, alcohol, ice cream, and some other items. Some of the bigger ones have fruits and vegetable stands as well as various meats. One day I was walking down my school’s street approaching the producty, one of the larger ones I mentioned. From afar I could see a truck parked outside store and two men unloading something into the store. As I got closer and closer I tried to distinguish what exactly was in the back of the truck. It was a tan color so initially I guessed sand, but knew that couldn’t be it. Finally I saw what looked to be a dead animal’s body. The closest animal it resembled was a deer, cut in half, just lying in the truck. As if they had been waiting for me to get a front row seat, one man suddenly held onto the “deer” while the other man took a dirt shovel and began chopping the deer right in the back of the truck. Bon appétit!

Meg in Moscow

I went to Moscow! A few weekends ago our program organized a trip for all 29 American students to go to Moscow for three nights. The trip to Moscow is a seven-hour overnight train ride. We slept (or tried to sleep) in the sweltering heat with four people in each minuscule compartment. Upon our arrival, Moscow welcomed us with cold and rainy arms. Our first day was a bit dismal and exhausting, but our next two were incredible. I’ll go through the highlights….On Friday we went to the Kremlin where we saw who we assumed to be Medvedev drive past in a convoy of large vehicles going 55mph through the fortress. Then we walked to Red Square where the sun came out and we were able to take some “hot pics” a.k.a touristy pictures that are Facebook worthy. That evening we went to the circus where we saw bears riding bicycles, horses doing twirls, and tigers jumping…..none of which resemble animal cruelty in the slightest. On Saturday we went to the Tretyakov Gallery which houses some of the most famous Russian paintings and icons, including Rubylov’s Trinity. That evening my friends and I went to G.U.M. (pronounced goom), a large, upscale mall that makes up one of the sides of Red Square. Here we looked at clothes we couldn’t afford and drooled in the “Supermarket No. 1.” This supermarket reminded me so much of Whole Foods that I actually got so homesick and hungry that my eyes teared up. Stephanie told me to get a grip.

Russian Winter

We are starting to experience the beginning of a Russian winter.  I tell my host mother that I think it’s cold when it’s -10 degrees Fahrenheit and she goes, “No, it’s not cold yet, just wait.” We had a four-day period that it snowed constantly. I know most people like to exaggerate about snow, but for these four days no matter what time I went outside it was snowing. And when you have to walk anywhere from an hour to two hours each day, the snow starts to become a pain. The snow removal is minimal here and I swear the Russian women wear heels just to use them as ice picks. I have decided to stick with the trusty ole Bean Boots even if they do attract many stares. You wouldn’t guess it, but the most dangerous (and most beautiful) thing about Russian winter is the icicles. These falling icicles cause about 20 deaths each year along with hundreds of injuries. Already 6 people have died and 150 people are hospitalized. People will use anything from chairs to broken washing machines to create barriers with caution tape underneath the most dangerous icicles. Many people resort to walking in the road to avoid walking under the icicles at all costs. I will be sure to post pictures soon to really give you an idea of how dangerous they are. 

Ways to get from here to there

Like any good city, St. Petersburg offers many modes of transportation. Before going into detail, it is important to understand the layout of the city. Petersburg is made up of islands, which are divided by the Neva River and its various canals. During the summer months (April to November), the bridges open from 1am to 5am. Fortunately, I live in the center of the city so I rarely have to worry about these bridges. However, many of my friends live on islands that are not in the heart of the city so the bridge schedule often controls our evenings. With that information, I will proceed to discuss the different forms of transportation, in no particular order.

Bus: There are many bus routes within the city. Some people swear by them while some people treat them like the plague. They are fairly reliable in that they come often and stick to their routes. However, if you are like me and don’t know the routes you might end up at the end of the line an hour and a half away from home in the pouring rain. A conductor comes around collecting the 19 rouble (75 cent) fare. The buses tend to be extremely crowded….crowded meaning I can’t move anywhere and the man next to me is holding the handle above his head so I can smell exactly how long it has been since he used deodorant. Or showered for that matter.

Trolleybus: Exactly the same as the bus, but electric.

Marshrutka: Much like the buses, but these are smaller and privately owned. They do not have the luxury of a conductor to collect money. Picture a driver driving a car packed with human sardines, collecting money, passing back tickets, and making change all as he drives through the busy streets of Petersburg.

Metro: The metro is my preferred mode of transportation. Unlike New York’s metro, it is actually very user friendly and easy to navigate. There are only 5 lines with no more than 20 stops on each line. A 75 cent token will get you in the doors and you can ride to your heart’s content. Peter the Great built Petersburg on a swamp, so when building the metro it was necessary for them to dig deep underground- a 3 minute escalator ride down (I spend about 15 minutes on escalators each day). However, once in the metro it is actually quite beautiful. They have extremely tall ceilings with beautiful stone walls and floors. Many even have ornate chandeliers, moldings, mosaics, or other artwork. The trains come into the station every three minutes making them the most reliable (and probably the most timely thing) in all of Russia. There are even clocks next to each platform saying when the last train departed. However, just like the other forms of transport, during rush hour the metro is unbelievably busy. The crowds push each other into the already packed cars. It is actually ruder to leave yourself space than it is to push someone into the car. Many riders find themselves pushed out of the car by sheer force even if it is not their stop. While it is often uncomfortable, I’ve learned to bring my Ipod and just go with it.

As much as I love the Petersburg metro (and the other forms of transportation), we are all still trying to figure out why on earth they all stop running from midnight until 5 am.  One would think that in a city of 4.5 million people situated on islands that it might be a good idea to have at least the metro open at all times.  So maybe you’ve guessed by now, but if you get stuck on the wrong side of the city and the bridges are up, you’re out of luck. Many people just stay out until the bridges go back down in the morning or when the metro opens again at 5:00. However, the bridges all close for about 15 minutes in the middle of the night (3 am) so those stranded may make a quick getaway. While we are still not positive, we believe that you can technically get home at all times in the night, as long as you know which bridges are up when. And that’s when the taxis are most helpful….unless you decide to walk those eight miles home. 

Parents in Petersburg

 This past week I was fortunate enough to have my parents come visit me for the week. It was only about a month and a half into the program (out of 4.5 months) but the scheduling worked out well with my parents and who in their right mind actually wants to come to Russia in the winter? I was greeted with open arms and lots of American food, both equally appreciated. I was immediately caught off guard by how much their arrival affected my emotions. I had been getting into a rhythm here in Petersburg with classes and my home life, but seeing them threw me off my track and reminded me of all the things I miss in America. Fortunately we were so busy touring the city that I was soon able to forget about these pangs of homesickness. Not only did they see the “sites,” but I also introduced them to the things or more importantly the people that have made St. Petersburg feel like home to me. They had tea with the woman I teach English to, Yulia, dinner with my host mother, Olga, and dinner with two of my close girlfriends that I met through the program, Stephanie and Kristin. All of these interactions are just as, if not more, important than seeing the Hermitage, St. Isaac’s Cathedral, and Peterhof (although all quite impressive).

My parents couldn’t have gotten better weather when they were here, however I do recall my mother complaining about the cold once or twice. We were lucky though, it didn’t rain once and most of the days were sunny. It was also prime foliage time, making what is sometimes a very gray city into a colorful vibrant place. What my parents don’t know is that the two days after they left the temperature dropped about 15 degrees, rain showers brought down almost all of the leaves, and we even spotted some snowflakes.

During their time in Petersburg we spent most of our days walking around the city, enjoying the unusual sun, and eating delicious dinners out. However, my parents did experience the inevitable culture shock and by the end of their stay were ready to go home to the comforts of America. I was a bit jealous at first to be honest. Not only do I still have three months left, but it's only going to get colder and colder. But this week has been an "up" on the rollercoaster ride that is Russia, so bring on the winter. 

Novgorod

St. George's Monastery in Novgorod

Millenium Monument and LEAVES!

This past Sunday three of my friends and I took advantage of the opportunity to go to Novgorod, a town outside of Petersburg. Novgorod technically means “new town,” but having been founded in 859 AD it is actually Russia’s oldest city. Just a three-hour bus ride away, it made for the perfect and much needed day trip.

St. George's Monastery 

As beautiful as Petersburg is, one cannot overlook the pure beauty of nature. After being in Petersburg for about five weeks surrounded by the smells of exhaust, cigarette smoke, trash, urine, dog poo, and body odor. I almost forgot what fresh air smells like. Yet as I walked off the bus and went out of my way to step on that crunchy looking leaf, it all came rushing back to me. In Petersburg I always feel like a fish out of water, gasping for air, but never satisfied. But in Novgorod my lungs felt INCREDIBLE. Every hour on the hour I couldn’t help exclaiming, “It smells like FALL!”  For those that live in the Northeast, you know that smell.

Museum of Wooden Architecture

Our first stop at Novgorod was a St. George’s Monastary located just outside the town and down the Volkhov River. The monastery was built in 1119…..a mere 650 years BEFORE the United States was even founded. Down the road is the Museum of Wooden Architecture, an open-air museum of peasant houses (or Russia’s Old Sturbridge Village as I like to call it). We treated ourselves to some Russian shish kabobs, bread, and honey beer (it rivals Harry Potter’s butterbeer). Our last stop was the Kremlin, built around the same time as the town’s founding, 860. This structure is incredible complete with Cathedral of St. Sophia and the beautiful Millennium Monument unveiled in 1862 commemorating Novgorod’s 1,000^th anniversary…making Novgorod 1,150 years old. America won’t be this old until 2910.

Volkov River

The Kremlin Square is beautiful located just on the river and the all trees are changing colors. Outside the Kremlin it is somewhat like a carnival, complete with popcorn, ice cream, cotton candy, and a strange petting zoo with snakes, a komodo dragon, and an anteater like animal. It gave me a small taste of what I am missing at Glastonbury’s yearly fall Apple Fest. We had an absolutely incredible day. The weather was perfect, the sites were beautiful, and it’s sometimes nice to get out of the Petersburg Bubble and enjoy some fresh air.

Friends Kristin and Stephanie in front of the Kremlin

Icing on the Cake.

At the beginning of the Add/Drop period for classes my academic advisor asked me, “What is your goal for your semester abroad? Is it to become fluent in Russian, is it to specialize in a certain area of Russian studies (some students actually come to Russia in hopes of translating medieval texts their entire stay.....), or is it to have the “study abroad experience?”’

After only being in Russia for about a week my friend and I had the ever so common “What am I doing here….in Russia?” crisis. It took coming here to realize I don’t think I want to do anything with Russian down the road. I don’t know if it’s because learning the language fluently would take years or if it’s because I don’t have enough love for the culture to live here indefinitely. But this doesn’t mean I don’t want to make the most of the experience while I’m here.

I was a bit hesitant to admit this to my advisor, but I told her, “It’s the latter, I want to have the study abroad experience-a different culture, gain some independence, try something new.” Her response? “That’s great because then everything else will just be icing on the cake.”

She asked me if I would be interested in a printmaking course taught in Russian. I immediately laughed it off. I have absolutely no artistic ability whatsoever. To give you an idea, when I showed my friend over Skype the self-portraits I had to make for homework she actually cried from laughter and demanded that I let her have one (thanks, Rach.) But my advisor said the teachers often like students with limited artistic talent. The printmaking course would round out my three Russian language courses and a history class on Russia and English in the context of international security- taught in English. So I said sure, I’ll give it a shot.

It was not until our second class when we were able to dive in and try it out. Unfortunately because the class is taught in Russian I’m not always sure of the actual terms in English but I’ll do my best. We have been doing linocut printmaking. We first draw our pictures onto a piece of linoleum. Then we cut out wherever we have drawn using a special knife or v-shaped tool. Afterwards you cover the entire sheet of linoleum with black ink using a roller, but wherever has been cut out will be left white because of the indentations or carved areas.

Knowing my artistic abilities (or more appropriately my inabilities), I decided to keep it simple for my first print. I was so nervous and my friend just kept telling me to calm down, everything would be fine, and it’s not that hard (yeah, cause you’re an art minor, Stephanie.) Not wanting to have to cut out too much white, I made a house in the moonlight with one window lit and a silhouette of a person looking out. 

As one of the teaching assistants came around to help us he sort of stopped at my workspace and gave me a puzzled look and made many suggestions as to how to make it better. Mind you, this was before and after he looked at the work on either side of me and all he had to say was “good job!” So he told me maybe I could fix this, fix that, and maybe even write a word to help identify the story I was trying to tell. My picture was actually the simplest story ever…if I need a word to describe it then I am doomed. I was already so out of my comfort zone with the art that the directions in Russian weren’t helping any. Finally he came over to correct how I was holding the tool. The minute I changed how I was holding it I cut my hand. I felt myself get really flustered and I could feel the tears coming, but I knew once I started crying I would never stop. I also didn’t really need to be known as the girl who cried during art class. So I quickly got up, drank some tea, ate some cookies, and relaxed for a while. 

Finally once I felt collected I went back and finished prepping my print. I was the first one to finish because I had the simplest design so I just decided to give it a shot. As I pulled off the paper from my print I was actually pleasantly surprised with the results. I even got an English “Super!” from the teacher! I was so relieved that I treated myself to another cookie. I’ve realized that I won’t ever be at the top of the class. Art just isn’t my thing. But it’s important every once in awhile to try something new, step outside of your comfort box, maybe even set yourself up for failure once or twice. We don’t always have to be great at everything. It can often be much more rewarding to be passable at something that is difficult, than succeed at something that is easy.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures right now of my prints, but I hope to maybe make a post at the end of the semester of some of the work I’ve done (don’t get too excited.) For now, I’ll just post some really pretty places around the city……

Nevsky Prospect at Night 

Kazansky Cathedral 

St. Isaac's Cathedral 

St. Isaac's at night. 

Neva River 

There must be something in the water

As I walk along the streets of Petersburg in my sneakers and backpack that scream nothing but “tourist”, it’s hard not to notice the countless gorgeous women in heels and other non-weather appropriate clothing. It sort of makes you understand the whole “mail-order bride” concept. But what our group wants to know is how on Earth are so many women in Russia so beautiful. We decided that there must be something in the water.

Well there is something in the water….it’s called giardia. For those of you that don’t know, giardia causes a diarrheal infection of the small intestine. Thanks, but no thanks.  Living in the United States I have been privileged to always have water available anytime, anywhere. I never believed in buying water in the States- it always seemed like a waste of money and a waste of plastic bottles. But it is very different in Russia. There is no option for “tap” at a restaurant and if you want water at home you either have to buy it, purify it, or boil it. My host family boils their water, but this also means you have to wait for it to cool before drinking (it’s no wonder they drink so much tea here…who has the patience to wait for cold water?)

Some of my friends and I have just joined a gym here in Petersburg and one of the things we were immediately excited about was a never-ending supply of water. “Drinking water” is actually listed on the gym’s list of “Basic Services”- this is the equivalent of an American gym listing a “water fountain” as one of their selling points….

When I first mentioned to my mother that I wanted to join a gym she asked, “Can’t you just find a Soviet gym where you can pick up rocks?” Sorry to disappoint, but the gym is actually very similar to any gym in America. It is probably the place I most easily forget that I’m in a different country.  I’ve been trying to get in workouts everyday. While, yes, I’ve been walking a lot here, I’ve also been eating a lot. Russian is probably not known for being the most health conscious country and it is often hard to find food that is not covered in butter, sour cream, or mayonnaise (a blog post on food coming soon, I promise).

Today I tried my first Russian Pilates class. I’ve done a bit of Pilates back home so it wasn’t too hard, but sometimes you just have absolutely no idea what she is saying. At one point the instructor came over to correct my technique and said something about an apple. I thought I just misheard her, but then realized she wanted me to pretend that I had an apple between my chin and my chest so I wouldn’t lift my head up too high. Luckily I was able to figure out what she wanted me to do without having to admit that I really had no idea what she wanted me to do. I’ve decided my goal is for her never to realize that I don’t actually understand what she’s saying. This basically means I must do every single move correctly or else next time she comes over to correct me I’ll be forced to confess.  

As I left the gym (not before filling up my water bottle of course) I realized that I went through an hour long class where no one guessed I was a foreigner….small feats.  

Irony of Fate: The Sequel

There is a famous Russian film called the Irony of Fate (Ирония Судьбы) watched every year on New Year's in Russia. The movie begins after a night of drinking when Zhenya mistakenly gets onto his friend's flight to Petersburg. He wakes up at the Petersburg airport still drunk and still believing he is in Moscow. He tells the taxi driver his address and conveniently enough there is a street in Petersburg with the exact same name as his street in Moscow. Playing on the uniformity of architecture during the Soviet Brezhnev era, the building looks surprisingly similar to his building in Moscow, his key miraculously works, and even the layout of the apartment is quite similar. Still drunk, Zhenya doesn't realize his mistake and the comedy continues.  


Unfortunately I too had a Zhenya experience. However, I was able to notice my mistake. Sunday I came home after a long day of walking around the city with some friends from my program. I hopped on the metro and was able to find my street with ease, even after having moved in only the day before. However, as I walked down my street to head to my apartment I realized I had absolutely no idea which one it was. They all looked the same! Clusters of buildings in Petersburg are often situated around a courtyard with separate doors leading to each building, but the clusters are very similar. While trying to call my host mother, a Russian grandmother (babooshka/бабушка) was yelling at me to help her carry her bags, a million stray cats were surrounding me, and I got locked into one of the courtyards after the gate closed behind me. Finally I was able to reach my host sister (Katya, 20) who gave me directions back to the apartment. It turned out that our building is actually located on a different street than its address (who knew?). I had spent a half hour walking into different courtyards and testing my magnetic key on each door- only to be disappointed to see on the electronic keypad in bright red English letters "Error." I finally found my building, put my magnetic key on the door, saw the comforting word "Open," and made my way up to the apartment. I suppose my ironic fate as a speaker of such a prevalent language was my ability to truly understand the weight of the words "error" and "open" when everything else was so foreign to me.

Leopards and horses and bears. Oh my!

At our first orientation session for the Bard College-Smolny Institute study abroad program, we were asked what comfort item we brought for our trip to St. Petersburg. Without hesitation I thought of my stuffed leopard named, well, Leopard. He is an amur leopard, native of the Russian Far East, so I thought it was fitting for him to make his way back to his true home. He has become the title of my blog mainly for alliteration's sake (St. Petersburg was named Leningrad during Soviet times). While he may not take part in all of my adventures, it is certainly comforting to have a little bit of home with me here in Russia.

Fortunately enough, the first few days in Petersburg have gone quite smoothly. Our group of 29 students arrived on Thursday August 19th and spent the first two days in a hotel in order to not only bond with one another, but also give us some time to adjust. Within our first few hours we decided to take a stroll along the beautiful roads and rivers that make Petersburg such an amazing city. It did not take very long for us to see things that were not an everyday occurrence in the States-well at least not in Glastonbury.

Our first sighting (and letdown that a camera was not ready) was three miniature ponies riding down the streets of the city...ridden by not so miniature full-grown adults. One woman had her hands in the air and was screaming at the pony to go faster. She might as well have been screaming at it to throw her off. Had we seen this spectacle on a later day we probably would have been more impressed by the two horses riding down Nevsky Prospect (the largest street in the city) at 1:30 in the morning. However, it wasn't until we saw the two bear cubs on leashes and wearing muzzles or the chimpanzee in the park that we knew St. Petersburg would have a lot in store for us.

St. Isaac's Cathedral from across the Neva River