First week

August 31st, 2009

So today was the first non-eventful day I’ve had in Russian, which is really nice because I didn’t know how much more craziness/drama I can take day after day.  Anyways, today my host mom walked me to our university and we worked on an application for a multi-entry visa. The campus at Smolny is absolutely phenomenal. I haven’t taken pictures yet, but I can tell you it looks even more charming than Cinderella’s castle in Disneyworld. All the buildings are light blue and at least 200 years old. In the center is a big cathedral where people are getting married every day. We filled out all those visa forms, then had oral interviews and placement tests to see how they should group us. (The test was sooo much easier than the one in Middlebury ; ) Then a couple of us went out and found a nice cafe to eat at. They all had to take the metro to get back to their houses but I just had to walk home (I love living on Nevsky!) For those of you who don’t know, Nevsky Prospect in St. Petersburg is like living on the Broadway of New York. So I’m still getting to know the city but by walking instead of by public transportation. Classes start tomorrow. I’m not too nervous; studying at Middlebury was so helpful for my Russian. Last year at this time I couldn’t even order food at a restaurant  and now I’m able to go through an interrogation with corrupt policemen in Russian. So about the run in with the police, there’s nothing to worry about there. I did nothing wrong and we both knew that. They stopped me as I was leaving the metro station because they thought I was carrying a gun and/or drugs. We went back into their office, where there were other foreigners with less knowledge of Russian than me being interrogated. Two of which were being held in a small prison, which was very intimidating. Theofficer just tried to scare me into thinking I had done something wrong so he could take my money as a fine. Luckily, our orientation last week prepared us for that. Now my only problem is mosquitoes. I wear long sleeves and jeans during the day but I wake up with all these mosquito bites on my arms and legs. St. Petersburg was built on a swamp so I’m told and there are alot of these weird bugs flying around during the summer. So, just need to wait another week until it starts snowing haha.

The day before

August 24th, 2009

Wow this is crazy! I am leaving for St. Petersburg tomorrow. All those months of filling out applications, touching up on my Russian and mentally preparing myself for studying abroad seem like such a blur now. I took Russian classes at Middlebury College for two months this summer and I can’t even express how much that program improved my skills. Not only that, I also met quite a few students who will be studying over there too, including someone who will be in my program. That’s nice going over there already having a couple people you can talk to. Friends and relatives have been asking me what life is like in Russia and, honestly, I don’t have any idea. I tell them what my teachers have told me; general information from the perspective of someone who has lived there. As a young American, I am torn between believing some myths of the supposedly dangerous, rugged life that exists in Moscow and St. Petersburg and remembering conversations with Russian citizens who have told me nothing out of the ordinary about Russian life. Well, I’m pretty much packed and ready to go at this point. Tomorrow at this time I will be boarding a connecting flight to Copenhagen.