FINAL DINNER!

May 19, 2009

Day 36

 

            So after a relaxing day at the beach for the art and architecture class, culture and literature class, and the student teachers sad last day at school, we slept in to catch up on the much needed sleep.  Some people went out shopping for their last minute souvenirs.  Others stayed in the Hostel, relaxing.  I stayed in my pajamas until we had to start getting ready for the FINAL DINNER.  My room started getting ready around 3:00pm.  At 4:00, we all gathered in the hallway to give Michelle a surprise.  Michelle was taken to “shop” for Jess’s sister.  What Michelle did not know is that she actually picking out her own gift.  We decided to get her a gift because Michelle has been awesome this entire trip.  She got us into museums for the Russian student price; it was great!  She saved us a lot of money to use for extra things we wanted to do.  Then, Michelle gave us all gifts for weaseling our way into her heart.  We got different magnets with pictures of the city.

After the gift giving, we finished getting ready so we could leave for dinner.  As we were waiting outside of the Hostel waiting for the rest of the people, Jill got pooped on by a bird.  There was not a lot of it, but it landed in her hair.  She went in the bathroom and took care of it.  We walked to the bus stop and took the number 5 bus to get to the restaurant.  We ate at a Georgian restaurant.  The food was amazing!  I wish we had a restaurant like that back in the States.  There were sixteen courses all together.  The courses are supposed to come out one at a time, every twenty minutes.  However, if we had done that, we would have been there all night.  So there were at least 10 courses set on the table when we first sat down so that it would be easier.

            There was salad on the table along with bread, a kidney bean dip, chicken dip with hazelnut, some type of eggplant-wrapped thing, pickled cabbage, and a plate of pickles and garlic stems.  We were also served cheesy bread that comes out looking like pizza.  Georgian dumplings came out next and one of our tour guides, Mike, showed us how to properly eat the dumpling.  You are supposed to bite the top off and drink the broth that is inside and then eat the dumpling.  After the dumplings, we were served chicken and potato-fries.  Pieces of lamb and beef were served afterwards.  Another serving of cheesy bread was passed out.  Then we were asked if we wanted tea or coffee and chocolate or strawberry ice cream.  Dinner was great!!  We ended around 11:00pm.

            The dinner was hilarious.  We gave the tour guides their gifts and they went crazy.  Shannon and Angela bought whiffle bats and balls to give them.  They looked at them as if they had no idea what they were.  Dmitri acted as if his was a saber and Nik was doing crazy stuff.  Michelle bought them lobster claw harmonicas.  Nik tried to play the harmonica, but he ended up just getting red in the face.  Dmitri joined along with him.  A few minutes later, Nik took the lobster claw, pretended as if it was his hand, and took a sip of his drink.  This night was epic!  It was better than all the other nights because all the tour guides were there except Peter.  It was sad that Peter could not go, but being able to sit with all the tour guides at the same time was awesome.

We had to catch the bus and rush to change our clothes to go on the boat tour.  Since the bridges go up for the night, we had to hurry to make it so we were able to watch the bridges go up.

 

Jess M.

Surprise Tour!!

Today was a great day. We had a wake up call at 7:30 this morning because we had to get on the road by 9 for the surprise. We were told to wear a bathing suit, layers, and hiking sneakers. We were also told to bring water, a towel, sunscreen, tissues, hand sanitizer, and toilet paper. No one was quite sure what exactly we were going to be doing. At 9:15 we hopped on the bus and were on it for about 45 minutes. We got to our destination and had to hike for about a half hour until we got to set up camp. We had the entire day to spend together at a gorgeous lake. We all helped collect fire wood while our tour guide Nick actually got the fire going. When the fire was going and the food was all unpacked, a bunch of us decided to go for a swim in the lake. It was pretty cold, but not as bad as we expected. While some people were off playing frisbee, the rest of us were just hanging out by the campfire and having a great time. The weather couldn't have been better. Around 3:30, we had to collect more fire wood, and Dylan managed to get himself stuck in a tree. It was real funny to watch him try to swing down like a monkey would. At about 7 that night, it was time to start packing up. We were all really sad because we wanted to stay longer; some of us even wanted to spend the night. By the time all was said and done, we made it back to the hostel around 9pm. We had the rest of the night to ourselves to relax and get prepped for the final dinner tomorrow night. Today truly was a great way to end off the trip. And for anyone who ever doubted it, YOU CAN GET A SUNBURN IN RUSSIA!!!!

Another Chapter In the Epic Adventures of Student Teachers In the Motherland

The day began as most do here in St. Pete for our group...too early for our any of our likings.  We headed out from the hostel in a generally groggy fashion at around 9:30 A.M., aiming in the direction of the grand (and frankly horrendously painted) Winter Palace.  As you may or may not know, the Palace, also called the Hermitage, contains what is quite possibly the largest collection of art in the world, though it's officially listed as being somewhere around the third.  The eight of us reached our destination around 10:00 and hopped in line, after a decent wait heading in, getting tickets, checking coats, and so on.  We moved as a group up the grand main staircase of the Palace, staring as much at the giant frescoes on the ceiling as the great columns and wall ornamentation.  After the throne room shortly after the stairs we decided to split up.  Between the three groups we made, roughly 90% of the open exhibits were canvased by lunch time.  These included everything from an arms and armor room to prehistoric art, and just about everything in between and after (such as a rather creepy Egyptian exhibit).  We all ate in one of the several cafes and spent some time perusing the extensive bookstore and shop.  We all met up around this time (with the exception of two of the group who had finished their scoping of the Palace and left) and decided that we had all seen our fill for the day, despite our original plan having been to stay until 4.  At this point it was roughly 2 P.M.

 

The remaining members of the group then headed to a large mall on Nevsky Prospekt, the name of which I can pronounce but most certainly cannot spell, and so will not butcher it with an attempt.  At the mall we yet again split into a group of two and one of four.  We proceeded to wander aimlessly through this massive old mall, oggling the goods in the large array of shops contained therein.  During this stretch, the two girls in the group began checking out jewelry, so naturally Christian and I headed for the nearest table with chairs and proceeded to nap thereon.  The mall trip was, for our group of four, just an interesting way to pass the time until a prearrnged meeting at 4:30 with a couple of Russian students from a teacher education college here in St. Pete that we had met on our previous visit there.  That said, after our nap/shopping trip we headed back to the Hermitage to meet our Russian peers. 

 

Upon meeting up with our friends we proceeded to take them to the local Carl's Jr. for a taste of good old American style burgers and chili-cheese fries.  We spent the remainder of the evening wandering through a few parks and similar places around the city, trying our hardest to speak slowly to our new friends so that they could understand us despite our varied accents and incessant use of slang.  Later on, around 8:00 or so, we said goodnight to the last of the Russians only to learn that a surprise "tour/event" for which we were leaving at 9:00 and from which we wouldn't return until the wee hours of the morning.  This event was the famous Night of Museums which the city throws at random for one night around this time of year every year.  During the night, from about 10 or 11 P.M. to 6 A.M. museums and special historic areas and buildings around the city are open and free to students (and I think perhaps everyone).  My night ended around 2 A.M. when I began falling asleep standing on the street waiting for a bus and decided I should probably head "home" so I could be awake for another tour first thing in the morning.  Some of the others continued on to exciting events like being evacuated from Smolny Convent by the Russian Police Bomb Squad due to a threat on the building.  They all came back and proceeded to pass out around 5 A.M. and that was about it for our group for the day.

 

I was awaked around 10 the next morning with the message, "Get up, we're leaving in 5 minutes for the tour."  But that's a tale for another time...

 

-Josh

Night Pics

 

May 17: Night at the Museums

 Ok, its 12:01am and we’re waiting in line. How exactly did this happen? Let me back track slightly. At 8pm yesterday, I was sitting on the hallway floor, outside the main office of the hostel, talking to my mom. As I am sitting there, Michelle runs by staying something about a tour in 5 minutes. Apparently, tonight is the annual Night at the Museums. This event is a night once a year when over 20 museums are open for students from six at night to six in the morning. These museums display special exhibits and one price will get you into all the museums and get you a pass for a special bus that takes you to all the stops. To make things more interesting, the night that they pick is only announced at five o’clock the night of, but word spreads and thousands of students swarm the city. 
 Getting back to the original story, at 12:01 when our day began we were standing in a line to get into one of the 20 museums. All 20 of us went to two museums together and then Shannon, Angela and I decided that we wanted to go to the zoo, cause how cool is that going to the zoo at night, right? The only problem with this master plan is that the zoo is on Petrogradskaya and the bridges close from 1am-6am to let ships through. Therefore, to catch to bridge before it came up Shannon, Ang and I sprinted just as the police were blocking off traffic. It was awesome, we explored the zoo at night, lions and tigers and bears, oh my. Then to get back to civilization before 6am we had to sprint again because the bridges close only from 3-3:30. Then we went to the wrong bridge and had to run to the other one, just in time. However, we made it back alive and we did not have to sleep on a park bench so it’s all good. Overall, the night was one of the most interesting experiences I have ever had. We took tons of pictures with the city all lit up and we got to see a truly unique side of St. Petersburg culture. The rest of the day, sleeping and shopping, pales in comparison. 

 

Jill

May 15th Blog

 

   Today the group had our final class discussion on the book we have been reading, Crime and Punishment. We went through individual chapters and talked about the main themes in the novel and how they connect to our experience so far in Saint Petersburg. We finished off the discussion with a debate on whether the main character, Raskolnikov, was sane or insane.  It was a lively debate and was a fitting way to complete our study of the novel. The debate also prepared us for the tour we will take tomorrow where we will trace the actual steps Raskolnikov took throughout the book.
    A boat tour was planned for the evening, but it ended up getting cancelled because of the high water level of the Neva River. It's been a little rainy and cold the past couple days, but we are hoping for some nice weather before we leave so we can reschedule the boat tour.

Victory Day

May 9th, 2009

Victory Day in Russia is unlike anything I have ever seen. On this one day over 20,000 people gathered into Palace Square to listen to speeches and watch as the military is presented along with different types of vehicles. Since there were so many people it was impossible to see anything unless you were on the shoulders of another individual. After the chaotic but amazing spectacle that is Victory Day morning we proceeded back down the main street, where many of us bought small flags to remind us of the day, and got onto the Metro. From there we went to two different memorials in different locations in the city. The first one was PISKARIOVSKOYE MEMORIAL CEMETERY and here was an overwhelming collection of mass graves showing thousands upon thousands of individuals who died during the siege of Leningrad. The mood in this hallow place was one of remembrances, pride and sorrow. Watching family members place flowers, candies, candles and vodka on graves showed how deeply they felt about this tragic event and how it still affects their lives. After that we went to the Siege Memorial which was an amazing place that taught all those who went there about the history of the siege as well as showing a documentary about the lives of the people who lived through it. After the history of the day we got to watch a parade that was all about individuals who lived through the Siege or their family members. It was nice to watch their veterans being honored in such a way that I have never seen before.

Epic Day

May 11^th

Today started out a little rushed because we thought we were supposed to leave for our Road of Life bus tour half an hour later than anticipated. After everyone gathered their belongings we piled into a bus and started our voyage down the road in which the 1941 siege took place. Along the way down we stopped at many monuments honoring the children fallen in the siege, the guerilla men, the pilots and even the 1.5 million supplies successfully brought across frozen Lake Lagoda. We got out and looked at all of these monuments as well as saw a few more mass graves like the ones we saw on our Victory Day tour. Halfway through our trip we stopped at a Russian café for lunch and had beef goulash, tea and borsht. The next stop after lunch was the best part of our day and according to most people the best part of the entire trip. We got to walk around in the trenches, which bordered the water line. This was the place where masses of Russian soldiers were killed because they were cornered against the army by the German army. At first I was personally a little skeptical of walking through the trenches because as our guide Sasha said, we were walking over a combination of metal and bones. But, everyone got really into scanning them for debris. In the middle of the field we found our first human bone. Heather said that it was a hip bone and we all got really intrigued so started to look for more- and were shockingly very successful. A few of our best finds while walking and digging through the trenches were the hip bone and a femur, which had bullets through them, a bullet case in tact and a few un-shot bullets that were coated with gold. Heather literally had to drag us out of the trenches so that we could make our last stop on the tour, which was a museum with a diorama intricately depicting the siege. I was okay though because we got to continue to play a little more outside the museum on the huge warfare tanks! The day wound up being quite relaxing for a change because we were on a bus instead of walking but it was also a lot of fun. I think that the best way to describe the Road of Life as a whole would be a combination of tragedy and triumph.

 

Diane

Stalin Who? Just Kidding Heather!

May 4th (sorry it's a week late. I thought it was posted and it wasn't)

So, it is Day 21 of our escapade in Russia and waking up for the traditional Russian breakfast never gets old. Timor who is one of the hostel administrators, is the cutest/nicest/funniest old man ever. As usual, he walked around mumbling to himself this morning and making sure all of us ate what we were supposed to, he's the best. After breakfast, we had 9:30 class with Heather, where we reviewed the political history and people of Russia in preparation to go to the Political Science Museum at the other end of St. Petersburg. Once we got to the museum one of our tour guides Mike, walked us through it explaining the Soviet Union history leading up to, and through the Stalin Era. Some of the most interesting things we saw were the propaganda posters, which were printed by both the red and white armies in response to the warfare going on during that time. Mike read a few of his favorites to us, one of which is the first picture posted in this blog. Besides war remnants of the red and white armies like uniforms, pictures, paintings and posters, the museum had rooms that modeled the set-up of communal homes. These homes were built after Stalin's reign in an effort to deStalinize the hardships Russia had previously faced, as instated by Khrushchev (photo 2). The housing situations we saw reminded me of our current living situations. Everything from toilet paper to food had to be labeled to show it was theirs and even then it didn’t mean it would be there when you wanted or needed it. At the end of our tour, we watched a few documentaries before leaving to look in the tiny museum souvenir shop. Some people left on their own after this, including Angela, Jill, Jess, Shannon and I who decided we wanted to take the metro back to the opposite end of Nevskiy in an effort to avoid the mass number of people currently in the city. We got our DK guidebooks out and found the nearest one and walked there only to find out that it was not in use…in fact probably had not been in use for years by the looks of it. So then after reevaluating our situation we hopped on a tram to get to the next nearest metro, which was a ways away. When we got on I had a flashback to the museum we had just gotten out of. This tram looked and smelled like it was from Peter the Great’s era, well okay, maybe not Peter I, because the Railway Museum we went to a few weeks ago says that’s not possible. But, this was at least from Stalin’s reign by the looks of it, although it did somehow manage to get us to the metro station in one piece. Other people left the museum to go shopping behind Spilled Blood and on Nevskiy Prospekt. Everyone had a very successful day, filled with a good combination of education and fun free time.

 

…So to recap since we've arrived in Russia we have learned how to get ourselves unlost, how to successfully dodge cars while running across at least five lanes of traffic, how NOT to get the Swine Flu, and how to get hair cuts apparently (ask Ryan about his Russian salon experience :/)

 

 

Diane Cenotti '11

 

"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page."

::Saint Augustine

May 10th: Happy Mother's Day!

 

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От: Jillian Kubiak '11
Отправлено: Пн, 5/11/2009 12:46
Кому: mevans21@blogger.com
Тема: May 10th: Happy Mother's Day!

            HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!! Just an FYI the hostel is out of phone cards so if there are any mothers that have not received a phone call it is not because we do not want to talk to you but it is physically impossible at this point. Ps, on the same note, I love you mom, you are amazing and beautiful and I miss you!!!

            Ok so today we got up way to early to go to Tsarskoe Selo, which translates to the Czar’s Village. This location contains the palaces of Catherine the Great and Alexander I and lots of other monuments and parks and cool deserted buildings. So basically, we spent eight hours walking around different old stuff that was actually pretty neat. Half of that time was spent retracing our steps because our adorable Buddhist guide Mitya kept taking us in circles. I think he was a little confused but that is ok because I think that my blisters have officially turned in to calluses. Either that or I’ve just become oblivious to pain.  

            It was really cool though because for lunch we ate on top of this 265 year old church. The walls were crumbling and the stairs were treacherous, it was awesome. Then just as we were about to leave the police showed up and said something in Russian that seemed like “get off the condemned building”. Oh well, then to get back, after a couple wrong turns we took the oldest train route in Russian history. This line was built to bring the Catherine the Great from Tsarskoe Selo to St. Petersburg and we enjoyed the view of the outskirts of the city tremendously through our closed eyelids, we were a little exhausted.

            Tonight was a very special night because we had a concert to go to. One of our favorite guides, Nick, was playing a concert with his band at one of the top Jazz clubs in the city. We had tickets so all 23 of us crammed into this tiny club. It was actually an amazing concert, especially coming from a person who is not at all a fan of Jazz music. Even the locals that I talked to at the club were praising the band saying that they had here about them but hadn’t been able to see them live because they only play a few exclusive concerts a year, so we felt very special. Anyways the owner complained about selling our tickets to us because we are Americans and he said we do not smoke and drink enough so we all just had to prove him wrong. The night ended off with all of us up on stage taking a group picture with the band and Nick promising to sign our CDs we bought. Overall just your average Sunday in Russia, where anything can happen.

 

Jill

May 8th Blog

 

May 7, 2009

The title of today’s blog will be “Recovering from Moscow”

After getting off the train we were given the morning to either catch up on sleep or catch up on our reading. I chose sleep ?. Around 1 we were woken and given an hour to eat and get ready for a secret adventure. At 2 o’clock we started out, our destination the Zoological Museum. It was pretty sweet. The museum houses pieces that were in Peter the Great’s original collection, like his horse that he had stuffed. The museum had animals from every continent even extinct and endangered species. Not only did they have bugs on display but also a live bug exhibit. One part that definitely sketched me out was the stuffed cats and dogs. It took us a little longer to get back because the military was practicing for Victory Day... again. After having dinner we had class, we discussed a few poems we read. Then we surprised Dylan with cake for his birthday which was yesterday… and yeah we sang.

Ash

Moscow!

May 6, 2009

 

Wednesday actually began at the end of yesterday with our group of 27 catching the all night train to Moscow.  We tried to sleep as best as possible to be well rested for our all day adventure, but have you ever tried to sleep on a train?!  There was very little rest involved but at 6 am, whether we were ready or not we headed to the streets. 

 

Our first stop was Red Square and the Kremlin.  We all walked the perimeter of the Kremlin along the wall until we found our next destination, MacDonald’s for a hearty breakfast; well it was more like comfort food.  I was delighted to have a real bathroom and took advantage of my extra time to wash up a bit and brush my teeth, it was definitely a highlight of my morning, that and coffee.

 

Moscow is definitely different then St. Petersburg, being a business center it was obvious how modern buildings built up the city.  The old Moscow was still visible in the preserved areas, but also in the random old churches every few blocks. Like outside the MacDonald’s was a manmade canal with statues representing Pushkin’s Fairytales. 

 

For 17 hours, we saw major attractions in Moscow and explored the city.  While the student teachers went to the Anglo American School in Moscow for a tour and to visit, the rest of the group took the Metro out to University and OMG!  The State University of Moscow’s main building is one of the city’s seven sisters, erected after WWII to commemorate the 15 nation states of Moscow that made up the Soviet Union.  It was massive! St. Isaac’s Cathedral in St Petersburg is the second largest church in Russia, and this building was as tall as three (about 14 Elmira Colleges).  The Kremlin Armory was close, but University was my favorite mini excursion.

 

Moscow was a trip of a lifetime, minus the whole living on a train for a night.  It was definitely a success to.  We only lost Ryan and Jenkins once and lost two in the metro.  Before heading back to our home sweet hostel, we were given three hours to shop on Arbot Street, where we all remembered our fur hats and I spent more money than I have all tripJ

 

A metro tour was the last adventure of our day as we made our way to the train station.  The metro stops are also soviet representations of the fifteen nation states and look like mini museums if you cut out the hoards of people and rushing metro cars.  By the time we had to board the train back we were all wiped out and just ready to sleep, or try (remember that whole sleeping on a train concept).

 

Our adventure came to an end as our train stopped in St. Petersburg at six forty five this morning and by seven we were greeted by a delighted Timor with breakfast already on the table waiting.

 

-Angela

May 5, 2009

May 5, 2009

 

We have been in Russia for 22 days already and I still love waking up to a Russian breakfast.  Today’s schedule is simpler than most days, class with Heather discussing Crime and Punishment Part II and then completing our fourth scavenger hunt. 

 

Class was a hoot, during discussion, Shannon compared Raskolnikov to Firefox when it freezes and shuts down while Jill was blunter in calling him a pansy.  The discussion went really well, but everyone was so antsy to start the Scavenger Hunt to pass the time because in four hours we will be boarding a train for Moscow!

 

The Scavenger hunt was a lot different from our last three, but it was so much fun.  Instead of survival skills, we had looking beneath the surface.  We were sent off into the city to photograph things like craziest fashion and the weirdest shoes in addition to an architectural style we cannot recognize and art nouveau.  Five of us went off together to eat at Subway because I was craving a grinder so bad.  We all ended up staying together and finishing the scavenger hunt while getting some shopping in.  Taking pictures of all the crazy fashions was a blast because it is everywhere.

 

On the way back to the hostel, traffic in the city was ridiculous and the streets were filled.  In preparation for Victory Day on Saturday, a parade of military vehicles descended Nevskiy Prospekt and a metronome sound was played from the remaining loud speakers from WWII.  The other day on the Siege Tour, Mike told us that the metronome was played over the public broadcasting lines during the 900 day Siege of Leningrad to let people know their speakers were still working and they had noting to worry about at the moment.

 

It was intense actually experiencing a part history and knowing what that sound meant to so many people.  Everyone is back from the scavenger hunt and now the pressure is on to shower, eat and pack for Moscow.  We are all going a little crazy to make sure we are all prepared and it is mixing in with our excitement and elation to finally be leaving for our excursion.  We leave for Moscow at nine pm tonight and will arrive tomorrow at six am.  From six am to eleven pm we will be exploring everything Moscow and don’t worry, we won't forget to buy fur hats :)

 

-Angela

Happy Labor Day

The main event of Labor Day is a parade, where members of almost every political party in Russia come out to march in support of their party. (Unfortunately, they don't hand out any candy, to the disappointment of some students.) We left the hostel before ten in the morning in order to join the crowd that was forming outside of the metro station. Police lined up along the parade route, to ensure that no one caused any trouble.

We began to see the balloons several blocks away from the metro station, rising into the clear blue sky. As we made our final turn, we began to see people clutching bunches of the balloons, our first sign that something exciting was happening.

People were still forming columns with their parties when we arrived at the starting point. The officially recognized parties marched in front, beginning with the President's party, followed by the more controversial groups. We watched from the sidelines as various groups came to join the parade. A workers' party arrived with giant blue balloons more than a meter in diameter. They handed out orange and black ribbons, to be used for Victory Day next week in memory of those who died in the Seige of Leningrad. About a dozen young women with drums came to march, and another group of girls with metallic pompoms. Finally, the parade began.

The beginning of the parade was dominated by a party that had taken for its mascot a polar bear, much as our major political parties have adopted the donkey and the elephant. Among their supporters came a line of people dressed in full-body polar bear suits, one of whom was dancing to a small band behind them, and a miniature locomotive. Following them came a few more official parties, each accompanied by a police escort, and then it was time for the fringe groups.

We were not content to remain on the sidelines. The largest group, the Communists, had almost finished passing when we left the curb and slipped in to join them. Despite our obvious natures as tourists (with three of us wearing bright "CCCP" shirts bought at souvenir stalls), everyone was fairly welcoming. A few people spoke to us, and were surprised to discover that we weren't Russian.

The original plan had been to march with the Communists for only a short distance, and then slip out as we had come to watch the rest of the parade. However, the security along the parade route had been tightened since last year, and the place Heather normally snuck out was blocked off. We continued marching for several more blocks after that, until a very persistent Russian man a few meters ahead of us inadvertently provided a distraction, as his argument with the police drew their attention long enough for us to slip onto a side street.

Returning to the sidewalk as onlookers, we watched the last of the fringe groups marching by. These included the tsarists, who sought to restore the monarchy, the nationalists, who wanted all non-ethnic Russians to leave the country, and people from Kosovo. The Nazis were not allowed to participate in the parade after their behavior last year. Behind the parade came a fleet of street sweepers, and Nevskij Prospekt was returned to normal in a half an hour.

We then went to have a lunch of blini, thin pancakes (much like French crepes) with a variety of fillings. By the time we had finished eating, it was too late for any more official activities, so we were given the afternoon off and all went their separate ways.

We started our day around 11 am by meeting Nick outside of the hostel to go on an art and architecture tour of the city. During their time here, the other students have been learning about the different types of architecture that are present in the city. Earlier tours took them around to different buildings and they were given the task of figuring our which type of architecture the buildings represented. Today's tour tested their knowledge and completion of their task. It was interesting to see how many types of architecture are included in just a small section of the city. We saw examples of neo classical, baroque, art nevoueau, constructivist, and eclecticism architecture. Sometimes there were two completely different styles stuck right next to each other which showed the different in taste and attitude between generations and often nation leaders. Because I am not in the class that learns about the architecture, I found the tour interesting and enjoyed looking at all of the different buildings. Many of the buildings were places that student teachers had yet to see because we are in school when everyone else is on the tours.

After walking around for about four hours, the student teachers were given the opportunity to see two of the major churches in St. Petersburg. First we went to the Church on Spilled Blood (inside of Spilt Blood-picture above). Inside is absolutely beautiful and I could spend hours looking at all the mosaic murals that cover the walls and ceilings. Because of our tour today, I have a better understanding for the popularity of this church. A picture of one of the ceiling mosaics is to the right. We then took a short bus ride over to St. Isaac's Cathedral. I was captivated from the moment we turned the corner and saw the magnificent columns and bell towers. The beauty only continued once we stepped inside. The gold work is stunning and I have never seen such detail when it comes to murals and canvas paintings on the walls and ceilings of a church. Just look at the gold work in the picture from the cathedral.

While today was a long day filled with walking and architecture jargon, I enjoyed the opportunity to see the many beautiful sights that are present in this city. The weather was also a helping factor. The sun was shining and their was not a cloud in the sky. It was a little windy, but that helped to keep us cool throughout the day. I was also happy that we were able to go out on a tour during a beautiful day because we only get to see the sun through the windows when we are teaching and by time we get home it is usually cooling off. Speaking of student teaching, so much has been happening.

In a school this small, it is interesting when a teacher is absent. For example, this past week, I spent several days filling in for the Language Arts teacher. Of course, I was nervous because I had to lead the whole class, but the students here are very well behaved. In fact, the classes were able to run themselves and I was able to step back and observe all of the personalities that are present in such a small school. Other student teachers have also had to fill in for teachers who are absent or who are attending conferences. While it is a little more work than we were expecting, it is a great opportunity to gain experience. I can speak for all of the student teachers when I say that we are happy we made the decision to travel abroad to do our student teaching. It has offered us the chance to gain a different perspective on teaching. We look forward to continue our time in St. Petersburg and hopefully we will get to see even more of the splendor that the city has to offer.

-Trishe

Siege Tour

Today we did the Siege Tour with one of our tour guides. As we left the hostel for the tour, we noticed that the city has begun its preparation for Victory Day, which celebrates the victory in the Siege of Leningrad. On the Siege Tour, we learned about the siege. It was an interesting tour through the Rumyantsev Palace. The building was given to the city of St. Petersburg after Rumyantsev died and the building was converted into a museum commemorating the victory over the Germans in the siege of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). The siege was a 900 day blockade between Nazi Germany and the Soviets, beginning in 1941. We learned about how the citizens of Leningrad thought the fighting would only last a few weeks and did not evacuate the people. Eventually, the city was surrounded to the north and south, and water towards the east and west. The supply lines were overtaken by the Germans, so the Russians had to create a supply line across the lake to the northeast of the city.

After going throughout the entire history of the Siege of Leningrad, we had a few hours of free time. Some of my friends and I, went to a souvenir store near the Hermitage. There were the traditional Russian souvenirs including the Matryoshka dolls and Faberge eggs. After some made their purchases, we were off to find lunch.

A group of us went to Subway to get a sandwich. I find myself using and understanding Russian more and more each day. I was able to successfully order a meatball grinder with no cheese. The people working did not understand why I didn’t want cheese on my sandwich. Regardless, it was a pretty good meal.

After lunch, we found the “China town” of St. Petersburg. It was huge and dirty, but it is where most of the locals shop. There were several blocks of shopping and stores, all completely filled with clothing, bags, and shoes. There were so many rows of stores that we did not have the time to look everywhere. We definitely need an entire day to explore this shopping wonder.

After quickly changing at the hostel and grabbing some dinner, we all took the bus to the Mariinskiy Theatre to see Aida. Aida is a four hour opera Italian opera, set in Egypt, with Russian subtitles. If there were English, it would have been more interesting because I feel like I would have understood the story more easily.

Crime and Punishment

Today we started off class with language lessons. Heather taught us vocabulary and phrases that would be important when going shopping. After that we continued our discussion of Crime and Punishment. The rest of the afternoon we were free to choose what we wanted to do, and some of us were able to try out our new phrases while shopping for souveniers. It was a good day to just relax and enjoy the city. Luckily for us, it was a little cooler today which made it much more comfortable to walk around without wishing we had packed shorts!
Around 6pm we came back together as a group and left for Mariinsky Theather where we attended a performance of Swan Lake. It was classical ballet split up into three acts. This was very different from what we previously saw in The Nutcracker. All of the dancers were extremely talented and the choreography was impressive. What most interested me were the costumes. They gave each dance its own personality and made watching it much more enjoyable. One difference that I've noticed from performances I've attended at home are the curtain calls. After a dance ended in Swan Lake, the main dancers would come to the front of the stage and take their bows, rather than waiting until the end of the whole performance.
We ended our night with a bus ride back to the hostel and were greeted by a sign detailing our schedule for the next couple days. We have a busy weekend ahead of us, but it should be fun!

We started our day with another class to discuss much of the architecture that we are observing as we tour the city of St. Petersburg. Nik, one of our tour guides, spent an entire day preparing notes on each style which we were very useful in our class. We modeled some of these buildings with clay in order to give us more appreciation of how difficult it is to design such complicated structures. This was a challenge for the majority of the class, but the activity successfully accomplished its goal.

After class we started a fairly long journey down Nevsky Prospect to visit two very impressive churches, The Church of Spilled Blood and St. Isaac's Cathedral (see above). St. Isaac's Cathedral was a very large and impressive church. The architectural design and beautiful details make this one of the most impressive buildings that I have ever seen. The original cathedral sunk many years ago, and the new version is no longer in commission and is a very popular place for tourists to visit.

The church of spilled blood is the most spectacular thing that have seen in my first two weeks in St. Petersburg. The style of the building is eclecticism because it utilizes a variety of different architectural styles. The gaudy church has many well decorated and brightly colored domes which appealed to my taste. The inside of the church is just as amazing as the outside. The dominantly blue interior, gold decorations and beautifully painted walls make this church one of the most impressive things that I have ever seen.

We ended our day with a very traditional American meal of cheeseburgers and french fries, a much needed taste of home for many of us on the trip.

Revolution Tour

Today we were scheduled to go on a Russian Revolution tour with Mike, the tour guide. I was personally excited about this because the Russian Revolution is such an important part the Russian history. Aside from this, it was a beautiful day to partake in such a lengthy walking tour throughout the city of St. Petersburg.

One of our first stops was Smolny Cathedral. I was real taken back by how beautful the cathedral actually was. It reminded me of what i imagined buildings to look like when i pictured Russian architecture in my mind before actually visiting. With the big blue domes and the gold cross tops, it was an impressive sight to see while on the tour.

We later boarded the metro. 13 days into the trip, and im still impressed with how steep the escalator system really is. It amazes me how long we are going down into the ground until we actaully reach the ground level to board the metro. It's also facinating how the hundreds of people you pass while descending into the tunnel look at you and at the the same time you look back in a sort of habit.

When we arrived at our destination Mike enlightened us how there was an act of terrorism this past April Fools Day. Someone actually planted a bomb under one of the more famous statues of Lenin and while exploding it, managed to blow off part of Lenins butt. Therefore, we were not actually able to see this statue, it was in a big wooden box and is presently under restoration.

Mike also showed us the train car that Lenin first arrived in. I thought this was neat because of Lenins remarkable impact on Russian history. This train car is what first introduced him into Russia.

Mike then showed us the actual balcony where Lenin use to give speeches. This balcony is where Lenin's voice was heard, and one of the many important places that had to do with the Russian Revolution. Our last stop was outside Peter and Paul Fortress where we sat on the cobblestone walkway while Mike concluded the tour on the Russian Revolution. It was such a nice day and the group was ready for a much needed rest. It was nice to relax on the side of the river and take in the beautiful scenery of the city of St. Petersburg.

The remainder of the day was for exploration and souvenier shopping. Many students went to the Chutch of Spilled Blood market where we actually have the opportunity to barter with the locals. This was quite an experience. Thats about it for today. Its getting warmer here in Russia, shortly we will all be wearing shorts and T-shirts in St. Petersburg.

-Dylan Kilbourne '11

Blog Posted from Meghan

Student teachers completed our first full week of student teaching this past week. We are all having an amazing time and love our co-ops. The school as been so unbelievably helpful with everything, they all want to help us in anyway they possibly can. Everyone has been so welcoming and I am so happy that they are going out of their way to make sure we have a great experience. This was a great school to student teach in. Our principal Ron is such a genuinely good guy. I just love his personality and how he works with the kids, I wish I could have had such a great principal when I was in school.
Today we went to the Mariinsky Theatre (picture above) as a group. We saw the ballet "The Nutcracker", it was definitely not the version that we are all used to, but I thought it was great. I wish there had been more dancing in the first Act, but they made up for it in the second act. The costumes were beautiful and as usual the set was amazing too. Some parts were a bit confusing and hard to follow, but I read my little print out and that helped me a along. I am excited for this week, I get to go to "Don Giovanni" an Italian opera and then "Swan Lake" another ballet as well. I was also able to see "Raymonda" on Friday. It was so beautiful and I was enthralled the whole time. I am very excited for my shows coming up.
Well not too much more to update you all on, easy laid back day for the most part. School early tomorrow morning and another busy week! I think it might go a bit faster though unfortunately because the sun is shining and Spring is definitely sneaking around the corner here in Russia.

Greetings from Heather!

Hello!

I hope many of you are enjoying our blog! I know that our students are busy, excited, and exhausted! I thought today I would just give a brief recap of what all of the students have been up to the past week and a half. The first day all the students went on tour through the city. this tour gave them the opportunity to get their bearings and be able to always locate specific ladmarks in the city, so no matter whether they know where they are or not, they can get to a place they know, and from there get home! Later that afternoon the student teachers and Marty headed off to the Anglo-American school to meet their co-op teachers and learn how to get to and from the school.

Since then, the student teachers have been working each day, and working with Marty each night. All the other students have been on two walking tours, seen four museums, been on three scavenger hunts through the city, and enjoyed some fine Russian cuisine. We even had our first camp fire on the Gulf of Finland! Enjoy the pictures. We'll all keep you up to date as we go!

Student Teaching!!!!

Student teaching is going well. I have come to the conclusion that the school (Anglo-American school logo at left) used to be an old house. There is a basement and then three other levels. The top most level is an attic, which is used for storage. In the basement one will find the library and the staff lounge along with two other classrooms. The other two classrooms are actually sandwiched between the staff lounge and the library. The two classrooms in the middle have a folding wall that separates them. Because of this, the wall is unfolded and the two rooms (now a larger one room) are used for staff meetings in the morning. On the second floor is my classroom! The first floor is all the office rooms. The funny thing about the school is that it is built like a house. There are no hallways! One has to walk through classrooms to get to other classrooms. Each floor with classes (there are three including the basement) usually have four rooms on each level. To get to the two middle rooms, one must walk through one of the outside rooms.

Surprisingly, but understandably, the teachers and students ignore those who walk into the room for the most part. The only acknowledgement that someone is walking through the room is the fact that the students will move to create a path for the individual to get through the room.

We have finished our observations and are creating fun lessons for our students. The more time we spend here, the more we learn. We can learn lots about multicultural teaching and multicultural classrooms. In my class 6 out of 15 students are ESL. It is challenging, but it is also lots of fun!

My latest lesson plan is going to be on plants. The students have already learned photosynthesis and are currently growing beans and other vegetables. They have also learned about soil and what makes fertile soil. The next piece to their science education is learning about different types of plants and adaptations of plants.

The curriculum in this school tends to bit a bit higher of a grade level than what we have in the United States. The standards are based on standards from several different countries including the United States. I believe that part of the reason the curriculum seems farther ahead is that the school principal and the school tends to emphasize depth and not breadth.

Well, that is all for now from school.

Jess Po.

Oh, the school talent show is coming up soon and the student teachers were able to go with the school to see Raymonda (I can only spell it in Russian, sorry!)

A Day at Kronstadt

We had an early start today to give us time to get to Kronstadt. Kronstadt is an island that used to be an old military base. To get to this island, we took the Metro and then hopped on a bus. It took a while to get there, but it was well worth it. We toured around the island and saw a few of the churches that remain there. After the tour, we took another bus to a different part of the island. The bus was big enough for all but one of us, so I got stuck sitting on the floor. We had to walk a bit further after we got off the bus to reach our final destination. We ended up at a nice beach area with places for campfires (smoky but that's us on the left). We all pitched in and gathered firewood while our tourguide Nick got the fire started. Once this was all set, we had time to explore. Some of the group went and explored the old forts, while a few others, myself included, walked along the beach on the rocks. The waterfront view was beautiful. I even managed to get a sunburn on my face because I couldn't leave the waterfront. We all gathered around the fire to warm up and eat lunch. We had a lot of laughs and learned a lot about the island. Most of the afternoon was spent on Kronstadt. When we were getting ready to go, we had to walk back to the road to wait for the bus. I got stuck sitting on the floor again. As nice as the city of St. Petersburg is, I'm glad we had some time to get away and see other parts of the area. I was also really surprised and impressed with the cleanliness of the Metro stations. All in all, today was a really fun day out of the city. And Happy 50th Birthday Uncle Vinny!!

-Jen

Exploring the Hermitage!

Day 10. April 23, 2009.

Today was a great day in the city of St. Petersburg! We had a short lesson where we shared the photo journals we've been assembling throughout the trip. The photo journals consist of different pictures that we have taken and a caption underneath. Some of them are coming together quite nicely! We also discussed different types of architectural styles briefly and then learned about sketching from the one point perspective. Following lunch, the group set out to explore the Hermitage. The Hermitage is an icon of the city, not only recognized by its massive size and lovely teal color, but also because it has a long history. This palace was where previous Russian tsars lived up until after the reign of Alexander II. The interior is absolutely amazing. You have to look at a room from ceiling to floor to make sure you don't miss a thing. From the high ceilings, to the intricate parquet floors, and the enormous columns made of gold, it was absolutely breathtaking! Because the Hermitage is so large, we only explored one wing and it would not be hard to get lost! My favorite room was the library, which was decorated with dark wooden desks, shelves, and even a staircase that led to a second floor of books! There was not one room we entered that I wasn't intrigued by! We'll be returning to the Hermitage several more times throughout our trip and I can't wait to explore it more! So long from Russia :)
PS - A photo of our crazy lead NOT leading us through the Hermitage!

Free Day!!!

Day number 9. April 22, 2009

Today was an awesome day! We had class this morning for our Crime and Punishment book. The book is not too bad. After class, we were geting ready to go to the Church on Spilled Blood and St. Issac's Church. We all got downstairs when someone said that the churches are closed on Wednesdays. So, a phone call was made and it was decided that we had a fee day! :) Everyone was so pumped. About half of the people went back upstairs and did whatever. A group of us went to do a little shopping. We went to the military store. It was really cool. They had clothes, boots, patches, guns, knives, watches, flasks, pretty much anything you wanted, you could buy. After that store, the group I was with, split off into two smaller groups; half went to a cafe, and half went to the little bazaar/market place behind the Spilled Blood Church. It was pretty cool. They had all kinds of nesting dolls, amber jewlery, icon paintings, regular paintings, laquer boxes, just everything. So we would stop to look at one stand and the vendor ould just suck you in. If you bought something at one vendor, that same vendor would take you to another side of their little kiosk thing and see if you liked anything on that side. It was hilarious. Anywas, dinner was delicious, it took a few hours to make, but it was well worth it. We had penne pasta with a cheese sauce and chicken. We have so much left over, we will probably be eating it for the next week. After dinner, some of us stayed downstairs and just talked about random stuff. It's only been nine days, but this trip has been amazing because you talk to people a lot more than you would at school. I am so glad that I decided to go on this trip!!

Voyage to the Blue Mosque

After the usual breakfast served by the illustrious Teemore (is that how's its spelled?) We broke into the class for the day, the lesson being about the various art and architecture of St. Petersburg. The project here was to draw a picture about one of the various buildings around the city, but after several moments of stumbling around on my own pad of paper, I decided to give up and let imagination take hold. Ryan "The Wall" K. was already on the floor, happily blasting away with his colored pencils like a babushka on fresh borsht. Though the lesson was informative, I can't say that my own skills were up to the high standards of Marty.

Following that was yet another scavenger hunt. Like last time, we were given various pics of the city and try to track them down, capture the image and return to home camp. Fortunately for "the K" and I, most of what we had taken in pictures already were covered, like the Winter Palace and the chariot arch next to the Alexander Column, But still, not wanting to disappoint, we ventured out. We were Assassins on the Hunt, ready to prove what was already known by our class. By the time we returned with our prizes and declared Awesome, we'd replied that we were just being ourselves.

After taking the pictures of the targets, our duo descended to venture out from the boundaries. The Blue Mosque was the destination, who teal and turquoise minarets could be seen for miles around. Though the temperatures were freezing, our fortitude kept us warm. This did not prevent Ryan "Candy man" K. from whining every now and then about the cutting wind, as he never thought to bring his jacket to Russia. Seriously, a jacket? To Russia? Who woulda thunk? We finally made it, despite a small detour to the Peter and Paul Fortress for a bathroom break (the boy can't hold his juice) to the mosque. It was a masterpiece in its own right, but unfortunately it was locked to us Explorers. The designs on the outside exquisite, the architecture superb, and the dome big enough to shove the heavens aside in a bid for supremacy. After a few pictures and a small look-see, we decided to take the long road home.

Along the way, we stopped at the bazaar outside o the Church on Spilled Blood. I almost expected gypsies and mystics ready to tell my fortune and sell me spices from faraway lands, but alas, it was just ordinary people with some interesting merchandise. They were aggressive in their own way, fighting for my attention in trying to hawk their wares. Ryan "Dancing Queen" K. made the right descision and decided to wait outside the bazaar, but I had to be sucked into it.

One hour later, the inrepid explorers made it back to the hostel. The task of dinner was at hand, so Tim "Can't Touch This" W., Dylan "Rock Monster" K. and Ryan "Sweet N, Low" K decided to crack out several hundred grill cheese sandwiched for our comrades-in-arms. The feast was spectacular and the company never better.


And so dear reader, I leave you with this latest chapter in the chronicles of the EC Term 3 Russia Trip.

Easter Sunday in St. Petersburg

Oh what a day to have our first day off, Easter. for this day a few of the students got to go to the Sunday service, which I heard was pretty interesting, definately out of the normal. I heard it goes on all day and people are allowed to come in and leave whenever they please, sounds pretty awesome, I wish I had gone. however I had my own interesting event happen. The students who stayed behind got a sincere taste of the hospitality of Teymor. Some of us decided to sleep in on our first day off and relax, but Teymor wouldn't let us. To him everyone had to eat breakfest and he would not pick up until we had, he was literally worried we wouldn't eat! I was woken up by a fellow student and told to go eat because Teymor was waiting for the rest of us to eat, and when a fellow student and I walked downstairs, sure enough he was waiting and hurried us into the room to eat. Afterwards all of us who stayed joked about how he is like a substitue grandpa to us, making sure we are well fed and worrying about us. Since we had a free day a few of us decided to head out into the city and check out the sights, so six of us got together and walked the city. Our destination was the chocolate museum and all of us were excited to check this place out, but were in for a huge surprise. After walking for what seemed like ages, we arrived. Walking in we thought we had found the gift store and were awkwardly looking for the museum, but this is when reality struck us, the name of the chocolate store was the Chocolate Museum, never the less we all took our time to enjoy the store and look at all the chocolates. We proceeded to leave and explore the city, two of us joked about how we would get lost, and we did for a little while. However, it was a blast exploring the city and finding all these other places down the back streets and through some alleys, but on occassion we did look like fools entering a place and leaving when we didn't know what to say or really what we were doing. We must have entered 20 different places, got a funny look or a "please sit" before we turned and left, but again we are in a foreign country, that is part of the experience. When we decided we had enough exploring, it was time to head back to the Hostel and get some dinner, we figured if we found something on the way we would eat, if not making food was a good second option. A fellow student saw a restaurant called the CCCP, and being a history buff he thought we should go there, and we all agreed. This place was nice, it had a dark room theme and was really laid back, it was kind of like an upscale club, but a restaurant. We all ordered our food, after struggling with communication, and figured we would enjoy it. We got our food and all decided the food was ok, but we definately had to eat there to get the experience, but when the bill hit us we all got wide eyed. The average cost of the meal was 500 rubles, roughly 13 dollars. We all paid and decided that since it was a one time thing it was cool, but we would not be returning. We took pictures of the place and proceeded to head back to the Hostel, where we called it a night, and boy did we sleep like babies.

Stroganov Palace

Today began with the same delicious breakfast that we eat every morning at the hostel. The breakfast is a lot different than my typical breakfast in the United States, but I enjoy the hard-boiled egg and cheese as a start to my day. Next, we all gathered in one of the rooms in the hostel and were given very vague directions about the rest of our day in an attempt to keep our destination a surprise.

After a few mile walk we encountered our first destination on Nevsky Prospect; we were going to tour the Stroganov Palace. The pink and white building's baroque architectural design and beautiful details made the palace look beautiful from the outside, but what we discovered inside was far more impressive. The palace contained elegant chandeliers, gaudy gold trim, and hand-painted ceilings. I was breath taken by the beauty and elegance of the palace.

For lunch, we went went to a traditional Russian cafe near the palace. Ordering my meals in Russia has been one of the most difficult parts of visiting a foreign country where a different language is spoken. Today was a success because the cafe had English translations of the menu items written under the Russian. Sometimes, I am forced to point at a random item and hope that I like it. For the most part, I have enjoyed all of the food in St. Petersburg, and look forward to trying new Russian foods like caviar.

We changed our second destination because we discovered that it free on Thursdays and were trying to save money in the long run. We ended up at a railway museum a few miles from the palace. The museum was interesting, but the lack of English translation made it difficult to know what I was looking at sometimes. I learned some history about the Russian railways, but this destination was less exciting than the amazing palace we visited earlier today.

We were given the remainder of today to explore the city and do any shopping or homework that we needed to do. I visited a few shops on Nevsky Prospect and returned to the hostel for the remainder of the evening. I have greatly enjoyed my experience in St. Petersburg thus far and look forward to the many weeks of adventure to come.

-Tim

Today we went on a tour of the St. Peter and Paul fortress. We started off by going into the final resting place of the Romanov family (rulers of Russia for at least 300 years) which is the Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral. The cathedral itself was beautiful. The intricate painting on the walls and ceiling of this building was far beyond anything to be seen in the United States. The gold work throughout this cathedral was amazing!!! (Picture above) The Romanov tombs that drew the most attention today were those of Peter the Great and Catherine the Great.
Next we entered the Commandant's house that retold the history of St.Petersburg, Russia. Several things were present in this museum like old furniture, dishes and the general history of the city. There were models of the first cars in St. Petersburg as well as the city's general layout at its beginning. It is amazing how much this city has developed since its formation.
The next museum we visited was a children's art museum that contains art from local students. There was art from student of all ages, more popularly those from 13-16 years of age. (see above) The general theme of the art was space. The were amazing paintings, sketches and 3D constructions of spaceships, astronauts and outer space. The level of talent seen in these pieces of art is beyond any that I have seen and far beyond what I can create myself. These artworks were of great interest to the Student Teachers in the group and to those that appreciate art in general. After the art museum the Student Teachers split from the larger group to go on a special invitation tour of the Yesleev apartment and as a student teacher I will give you that experience.
When arriving at this apartment we were surprised to hear that it was the apartment of a previous head businessman in Russia. This apartment was under severe reconstruction because it was taken over in the time of the Soviets and turned into housing for several families rather than that of Gregory Yesleev. The painting and woodwork alone in this apartment are masterpieces. The most memorable areas of this apartment were the marble pillars and the fireplace made of what seemed to be hand carved wood. Overall this tour was a truly amazing experience and we are extremely grateful to the Anglo American School for allowing us to attend this special invitation tour.

Tamra Cooper '10

Ryan's Blog

April 16th, 2009
On our third day in Russia, the student teachers went to their school to teach while the rest of us went on a scavenger hunt. The breakfast before it was amazing for the third straight day. The cereal in Russia is sweeter and tastier than the cereals in America and their fruit drinks are like the nectars of the gods. The Russians do not dilly-dally when it comes to their juice. The slices of cheese and hard-boiled eggs complete the scrumptious meal. And the adorable old man who helps us with our breakfast is so nice. I just want to walk up to him and say “Spasiba!” every chance I get.
Then the scavenger hunt; we split off into groups of two and I was with Chris “I want to stick out” J. and boy did he stick out. Over six feet and one hundred and ninety pounds of fresh American values right there in the streets of St. Petersburg. I followed him and his long golden curls to the ends of the Nevsky Prospect, which is the greatest shopping area for the city’s population, but I would have followed him to the ends of the Neva River and back again. To the ends of the earth.
We had to take various pictures of the city, including examples of baroque architecture (we went to the Winter Palace for that), neo-classical architecture (that was all over the place), images of Peter the Great (for this war-like czar we went to the Bronze Statue), and ATMs. We found several ATMs but every where we looked, there were cops and muscular soldiers waltzing around waiting for the funny Americans to take pictures of their stuff so that they could arrest them or give them a good talkin’ to.
But oh mama, could this really be the end (as Bob Dylan would say)? To be stuck inside of St. Petersburg with the Moscow blues again. There were a lot of soldiers and cops around but I sort of liked it – it was nice to see the various uniforms and hats the different divisions wore. I wonder if they dislike each other; mess each other up every now and then with witnesses. Anyway, the hunt was nearing an end so we went back to the hostel. After dinner, which was spaghetti and sausage and other delicious things I will not take the time to name (because all you need to know, is that I haven’t been fed better since being at home, and I am starting to wonder about that one, too.
To top off the day, Chris J., myself and a few others went to the 24 hour bookstore which was pretty much a Russified Barnes & Noble and with a disappointingly small English section. But I was happy because the music selection was amazing, and you can’t tack down a song like you can a word, man. You can’t. Music is the true international language and no amount of “Bonjour”s or Gadsden Purchases or Nicaean Emperors will change that. Tatu is from here, after all. And Tchaivosky. I understand Tchaivosky more so than James Joyce and Mr. Joyce was from the heart of green Ireland. Dubliners, anybody?

Ryan

April 17th, 2009
This day was a little less eventful than the day before was. We had a class that discussed the great many numbers the Russians have. Addean, dvah, three, chitheory, pyet, shaste, same, vohsame, etc. All those great ones. I learned a lot and I’m even starting to remember my room number: number nineteen a.k.a. divitnatset a.ka. where I read my “Crime & Punishment” in one and drink my Russian bottled water in the other. I count my ruples in these parts; I count my kopecks in that room. I understand Russian macro ‘n’ socio-economics like I understand tried & true, red & blue American aeronautics yet I know how these ruples will be put to use. I know how to put the ruples in the little tray for stores because I know that the traditional Russian custom is to put money on trays so that the hands don’t touch them because it is considered uncouth. Uncouth like the crude peoples of old.
Several of us (with trusty Chris “Alberto DeLarge Westminster” J. at my side again) went to a local St. Petersburg bakery, where the pigs in the blanket looked delicious but I had no idea how to order it in Russian so I ordered scones and pies and Coca-Cola. Chris called it a meat-sandwich or something. I called him foolish and laughed and caroused the whole time but I knew that in the dark recesses of my stomach and lazer light eyeballs, that I was merely jealous of the old boy and that I wanted those pigs. I wanted those blankets. I wanted everything and I couldn’t have it because of not wanting to appear to be a guy who gorged himself on scones and pigs in blankets.
I did a bit more reading on my Rodia’s troubles (and he brings them only on himself to tell you the truth…believe me, I’ve read Parts I-III and the man likes to hear himself talk and talk and talk and talk. Whatever happens, as Rodia says, “Come what may!” After some reading I took a little nap and waited until I had to shop for dinner. Chris “Rublestein” J., myself and two other hearty fellows went with our teaching fellow to two stores in the streets of Peter’s Dream. In Russia, the stores are really small and really crowded. Perhaps having four brutes like us standing around in the small crevices wasn’t such a good idea; maybe we should split up next time and hunt and gathers as separate units. Either way, though, we got our 30 pieces of chicken and our 30 pieces of fruit and our ten or so potatoes. It was fruit salad, baby.
Dinner was the most amazing meal we had since…well, before Term 1 of school started. The chicken was sweet and moist, the fruit was crunchy and popped, and the potatoes were drenched in oil or something to that effect. Great bangers and mash, gentlemen, I must say.
I helped clean up a bit because the group is composed of various students who are a part of a team in one way or another and I was assigned to a group that had to shop and clean today. Now, as I type this blog, I hope you wish us Good Night & Good Luck. We are wasting time in the flotsam and jetsam, but enjoying every minute of it, and the snow of St. Petersburg is coming down every so gently with its turgid puffs of ice on us as we walk up and down the streets of Peter’s Dream and oh what a dream. What a dream a dream he had and that I have now. Snow in later April? Not even New York state can offer that I have seen the snow of New York state and it does not have the magic essence of a Petersburg snowfall.

Ryan