So I finallllllly have time to update. Russia is crazy, I don't really have internet access very often, and have been very busy. I guess I'll give a general run-down of the past week, and go into specifics when possible. Maybe load some pics up too, if the internet card doesn't end too early (update: the internet card ended too early. i started to post this on wednesday night; its now friday and i'm at school where we have free internet).
So I left at about 2 last Tuesday, st. louis time, flying through chicago and london, and arriving in st. petersburg at 5 pm wednesday. we have to fill out cards upon arriving, and they get stamps. we need to carry these cards with us the whole time we're in russia, or bad things happen when the police do random "spot checks" (asking for documents, which means migration card, visa, and passport) if you dont have that stuff, you're in trouble.
anyway, i got through customs and quickly realized that my baggage had not arrived. sweet. i got in a line for lost baggage, and found a coordinator of our program sitting with another student in our program who had also lost his baggage. jarlith, the coordinator, was very helpful and got everything done that was necessary, but i did not have my baggage. good thing i packed a change of clothes in my carry-on!
me and jerome, the gnome around the globe, in chicago
we then went to an orientation a bit outside the city in a "resort" area which the state subsidizes for old people and families to go and get away for a while. apparently we use it because its one of the only places that will accept 60 americans for a few days, many of whom can't speak good russian. the place looked really crappy from the outside but was alright otherwise. the food was bad, but oh well. from the start i got the picture that the ciee program knew what it was doing and that i'd be in good hands.
fortunately many other people are awesome, and i have really enjoyed hanging out with other program members, particularly our other georgetown representatives, from the start. additionally, the two-day orientation provided a bit of an english-to-russian transition that i think helped with my psyche better than when i came in high school and was thrown in with my host family immediately.
after a whole day of being bombarded with all the risks in russia on thursday, and another half day on friday, we were sent to meet our host families. my hazyaika (host-mom/tenant) is named natalia leonidovna and she is very nice and a very good cook. her husband, aleksei, is also very nice and they have a son and a daughter. the daughter is a teacher and is in her early 20s, but im not sure who exactly their son is. the daughter may or may not be married and may or may not have a child, but regardless i have met three guys in their early 20s in our apartment, one who is the son, one who may be a possible husband of the daughter, and the other who must be just a friend. i've been too embarrassed by my misunderstanding to ask for clarification at this point.
the food has been really good-very russian and very much filled with butter and the like. the family makes sure that i eat as much as possible at every meal, and i have tried to be as accommodating as possible.
over the weekend we had a bus tour and a walking tour of the city, which i had already seen before, having been here three years ago, but which was still interesting. one thing i noticed as a difference between three years ago and this year is the prominence of adds for the state-owned gas company, gazprom (energy!) as jarlith pointed out, its not even necessary--why would a state-owned company need to advertise?!! but apparently they think they do. the main st. petersburg soccer team, zenit (which beat man u. 2-1 on saturday, by the way) is sponsored by gazprom, too, and their ads are everywhere. here are some examples:
me and a family friend, anton, the night zenit returned to st. pete's with the cup after the victory vs. man u.
other random observations that i'll throw out there for those who have never been to russia:
people don't smile in public when they're commuting, etc. according to one host mom (not mine), its because they were so afraid all the time during the soviet union....but of course, the soviet union "was still better than it is now"
old russian women love to die their hair dark shades of red. don't ask me why-it doesn't look good
public transport is a mess. i take one of two buses to school, each of which is supposed to come every 10-13 minutes. neither came on wednesday for 40, and i was late. additionally, yesterday my bus cut off an ambulance. later on in the bus ride, we saw the accident the ambulance was going to. in those ridiculous situations, all you can do is laugh (and cry and die a little on the inside)
if you order one liter of beer at a pub, it is not a pitcher. it will only come in one very big glass, and if you only order one liter of beer for a table, you will look silly and the waiter will look at you quizically.
getting visas in russia for long periods of time are very difficult. because of the problem with aids, the russian government is doing all that it can to keep people with aids from entering the country. as a result, i had to receive negative hiv test results in may to get the initial visa, and had to get tested again upon arriving. here's a picture of the test center:
well, i guess that's really about all i have for now. overall, its been a great experience and i'm very excited for the rest of the semester. i've found some great pals, gotten to be better friends wtih my georgetown russian classmates, and its only been a little more than a week. i can't wait to relate all i've experienced over the course of the semester, and i'll try to add some more interesting observations about russian and its people over the course of the trip, in addition to my fair share or ridiculous russian stories. until then, thanks for reading!
