Hi y'all,
Well the busy part of my Wales trip has begun! Just came back from a weekend of caving which was wonderful, but left me realizing how much more out of shape I am compared to the last time I was in Wales. My arms are dead! Not that my arms have ever been that strong, but now they are ridiculously weak.
Last week we went to quite a few castles and roman ruins. We stayed mostly in South East Wales, a part of Wales that I really had not seen until then. The landscape was fairly different and it felt weird to be far from the sea.
Tomorrow we are heading off for a 6 day tour of North England. I am pretty excited! of course, my muscles are so sore right now I bet that in the long car ride tomorrow they will just about seize up.
A week from tomorrow (Monday) will be my morning of packing up and then I will be taking a bus into London that afternoon/evening to get ready for my early flight Tuesday. So yeah, after my 3 months of voyaging I am almost hommmme!!!
Will eventually get around to posting some pictures. I have yet to sort through mine to see what good ones I've got.
Next post from me might be written at home!
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Home at Last! (Kind of. In a Wales sort of way.)
Well, Istanbul was amazing. Photos to come soon!
I spent the first few days sweating like a pig in the heat, and seeing some amazing palaces. The Sultans really had it going for them. There were lots of cushion covers that were covered in emeralds, rubies and lots of gold. Absolutely ridiculous. There were also a few giant diamonds on display. One was not all that smaller than the size of my hand.
Saw some religious artifacts too that made me wonder if they were real, but if they are that is super cool. There were pieces of the Prophet Mohammed!
I had some of the best food of my life in Turkey. Sooooo good. The last half of the trip was spent at the house as everyone was at work/school and I was sick. So that worked out quite well.
I had a decent flight to London, met a really cool Italian girl on the train, and made it safe and sound to Swansea where my uncle and my cousin met me.
We drove to their town and as soon as I stepped into the door, I was hit with memories. I had not realized that their house smelled a certain way, but as soon I walked into the entrance hallway I thought "Oh! I remember this smell!"
The older of my two cousins, H, has gotten so tall since my last visit. He is now about 2 inches taller than me! His younger brother, R, has not grown much but has grown up a bit.
Its so nice to be back. I have missed Wales and it felt a bit like coming home when I walked up the front drive.
Nothing too exciting has happened yet; mostly just family stuff and some walks. But that has been just fine with me. I have gotten a bit tired out of constant travel, travel, travel.
I spent the first few days sweating like a pig in the heat, and seeing some amazing palaces. The Sultans really had it going for them. There were lots of cushion covers that were covered in emeralds, rubies and lots of gold. Absolutely ridiculous. There were also a few giant diamonds on display. One was not all that smaller than the size of my hand.
Saw some religious artifacts too that made me wonder if they were real, but if they are that is super cool. There were pieces of the Prophet Mohammed!
I had some of the best food of my life in Turkey. Sooooo good. The last half of the trip was spent at the house as everyone was at work/school and I was sick. So that worked out quite well.
I had a decent flight to London, met a really cool Italian girl on the train, and made it safe and sound to Swansea where my uncle and my cousin met me.
We drove to their town and as soon as I stepped into the door, I was hit with memories. I had not realized that their house smelled a certain way, but as soon I walked into the entrance hallway I thought "Oh! I remember this smell!"
The older of my two cousins, H, has gotten so tall since my last visit. He is now about 2 inches taller than me! His younger brother, R, has not grown much but has grown up a bit.
Its so nice to be back. I have missed Wales and it felt a bit like coming home when I walked up the front drive.
Nothing too exciting has happened yet; mostly just family stuff and some walks. But that has been just fine with me. I have gotten a bit tired out of constant travel, travel, travel.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Istanbul! Constantinople! Its been a long time gone...
Well, I have had the Istanbul/Constantinople song stuck in my head for awhile now. But hey! I am in Istanbul!
My flights were great. No idea why my airline had a 1.6/10 rating! Seats were really comfy AND I got a small meal on both flights. No delays to be seen.
I got to practice a lot of my Russian too. At the St Petersburg airport, I spent a decent amount of time with this old Russian woman. She was also heading to Kiev. I made an awkward social blunder though; I asked her if she was going to Kiev for vacation and she almost started to cry. Her mother had just died the day before and she was going to Kiev to prepare all of the funeral things. Oops.
She was very nice and patient with me, and we were able to have a complete conversation. The things I did not understand so well, we were still able to figure out with some hand motions and more questions. Her mother turned 100 four months, and apparently was in great health so her dying came as a big shock.
Her daughter was in France at a dog competition. I am not exactly sure what kind of dog it is, but I do know that its very small and very fluffy. I am guessing a Pomeranian.
We talked some more about her dogs. They have four, and from the breeds mentioned, I think that they show all of them. She said that she has a backyard for the dogs and lets them run free. We then started talking about the problems of having dogs in St Petersburg and having them stuck in the apartments.
Then in Kiev, I met a Ukrainian woman around my age, I think a bit older who was also heading to Istanbul. We met in line for the bathroom, the best place to meet someone because there is so much time to talk hee hee. Our flight was boarding but there were several of us in line waiting for the bathroom.
We started talking because a girl tried to cut the line even though most of us had been waiting for 15 min. Her excuse: oh but my flight to Istanbul is boarding! The woman who was at the front of the line said that she was also on that flight. And so did the woman behind her, and behind her, and so on.
The woman in front of me had given a snort at the other girl and from that we started talking (in Russian!). We talked about what she thought of Kiev compared to St Petersburg and Istanbul, and just general information about ourselves like what I study, what I was doing in St Petersburg and what I will be doing in Istanbul. It was lovely.
Then on the way to the plane (we have to take a little bus from the boarding gate that takes us to the door of plane) I met a Canadian. He had a Northface backpack and a shirt that said Vancouver on it. We talked for a bit.
I landed alright in Istanbul, got my visa and did all of that customs/passport control stuff. And things got a little nerve wracking for me. Well, I knew that we were supposed to meet at the exit Garanti Bank, but I had misread, or assumed incorrectly where at the exit we were supposed to meet. And since my friend Efe had not mentioned how he was getting to the airport, for some reason I had assumed a car.
So I was outside for almost three hours, slowly growing more panicked. Efe was going to pick me after his work, and he said that he would be there at 6:30. I was outside ready to go by 5:45.
The taxi drivers were beginning to recognize me from their constant loops of the pick up point. Yeah, it was awkward. He had given me his phone number, but when I checked my email in Kiev, I saw that he had sent a message telling me that his phone was dying, and probably wouldn't work. He gave his friend's number just in case. Of course, he did not know that his friend had run out of credit on his phone that morning.
So of course when I tried to call either number, I was just directed to voice mail. I did not know where he lives, any of his friend's names and numbers, where I could stay (had not done any back up research) and had no idea what I would do when night came. And as I was no longer in St Petersburg, the sun was already starting to set.
At 8:20, my name came on over the speakers, asking me to come to the information desk. Which is good, because the police had come over and started to ask me why I was still there. And their English was not very good, so it involved lots of staring and hand gestures.
While I had been waiting outside, protectively hovering over my things, Efe was going crazy inside. We were probably 100 meters away from each other the entire time. He had checked outside, but since I was a bit further out from the door (because I was waiting in the lane for pick-ups, not just taxis and hotel buses) he did not see me.
He had asked the police about me and all of these other things, but because of security reasons they could not tell him if I had passed through security of not. So finally he went to the Information Desk, and they called my name on the speakers. I had been hoping that he would do that.
I do not know if I have ever been so relieved to see somebody. We took the metro, two buses and a ferry to get to where we are staying. We are staying at Efe's friend's house. There are two couches, so its pretty comfy.
One of the coolest things about Istanbul is that it is in both Europe and Asia. Currently I am in Asia. I have crossed from Europe to Asia a few times already.
I have also been mistaken for being Turkish a few times already. I was definitely never mistaken for being Russian, so this is a nice change.
Heading to a palace today. Have not taken too many photos yet because I have mainly only walked around at night.
More should be coming soon!
My flights were great. No idea why my airline had a 1.6/10 rating! Seats were really comfy AND I got a small meal on both flights. No delays to be seen.
I got to practice a lot of my Russian too. At the St Petersburg airport, I spent a decent amount of time with this old Russian woman. She was also heading to Kiev. I made an awkward social blunder though; I asked her if she was going to Kiev for vacation and she almost started to cry. Her mother had just died the day before and she was going to Kiev to prepare all of the funeral things. Oops.
She was very nice and patient with me, and we were able to have a complete conversation. The things I did not understand so well, we were still able to figure out with some hand motions and more questions. Her mother turned 100 four months, and apparently was in great health so her dying came as a big shock.
Her daughter was in France at a dog competition. I am not exactly sure what kind of dog it is, but I do know that its very small and very fluffy. I am guessing a Pomeranian.
We talked some more about her dogs. They have four, and from the breeds mentioned, I think that they show all of them. She said that she has a backyard for the dogs and lets them run free. We then started talking about the problems of having dogs in St Petersburg and having them stuck in the apartments.
Then in Kiev, I met a Ukrainian woman around my age, I think a bit older who was also heading to Istanbul. We met in line for the bathroom, the best place to meet someone because there is so much time to talk hee hee. Our flight was boarding but there were several of us in line waiting for the bathroom.
We started talking because a girl tried to cut the line even though most of us had been waiting for 15 min. Her excuse: oh but my flight to Istanbul is boarding! The woman who was at the front of the line said that she was also on that flight. And so did the woman behind her, and behind her, and so on.
The woman in front of me had given a snort at the other girl and from that we started talking (in Russian!). We talked about what she thought of Kiev compared to St Petersburg and Istanbul, and just general information about ourselves like what I study, what I was doing in St Petersburg and what I will be doing in Istanbul. It was lovely.
Then on the way to the plane (we have to take a little bus from the boarding gate that takes us to the door of plane) I met a Canadian. He had a Northface backpack and a shirt that said Vancouver on it. We talked for a bit.
I landed alright in Istanbul, got my visa and did all of that customs/passport control stuff. And things got a little nerve wracking for me. Well, I knew that we were supposed to meet at the exit Garanti Bank, but I had misread, or assumed incorrectly where at the exit we were supposed to meet. And since my friend Efe had not mentioned how he was getting to the airport, for some reason I had assumed a car.
So I was outside for almost three hours, slowly growing more panicked. Efe was going to pick me after his work, and he said that he would be there at 6:30. I was outside ready to go by 5:45.
The taxi drivers were beginning to recognize me from their constant loops of the pick up point. Yeah, it was awkward. He had given me his phone number, but when I checked my email in Kiev, I saw that he had sent a message telling me that his phone was dying, and probably wouldn't work. He gave his friend's number just in case. Of course, he did not know that his friend had run out of credit on his phone that morning.
So of course when I tried to call either number, I was just directed to voice mail. I did not know where he lives, any of his friend's names and numbers, where I could stay (had not done any back up research) and had no idea what I would do when night came. And as I was no longer in St Petersburg, the sun was already starting to set.
At 8:20, my name came on over the speakers, asking me to come to the information desk. Which is good, because the police had come over and started to ask me why I was still there. And their English was not very good, so it involved lots of staring and hand gestures.
While I had been waiting outside, protectively hovering over my things, Efe was going crazy inside. We were probably 100 meters away from each other the entire time. He had checked outside, but since I was a bit further out from the door (because I was waiting in the lane for pick-ups, not just taxis and hotel buses) he did not see me.
He had asked the police about me and all of these other things, but because of security reasons they could not tell him if I had passed through security of not. So finally he went to the Information Desk, and they called my name on the speakers. I had been hoping that he would do that.
I do not know if I have ever been so relieved to see somebody. We took the metro, two buses and a ferry to get to where we are staying. We are staying at Efe's friend's house. There are two couches, so its pretty comfy.
One of the coolest things about Istanbul is that it is in both Europe and Asia. Currently I am in Asia. I have crossed from Europe to Asia a few times already.
I have also been mistaken for being Turkish a few times already. I was definitely never mistaken for being Russian, so this is a nice change.
Heading to a palace today. Have not taken too many photos yet because I have mainly only walked around at night.
More should be coming soon!
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Питер Wrap-Up Post.
Different ways that I can show you how much my Russian has improved (and how I have been able to tell too)
1. First day on the Metro and I could not understand a word that the announcer said
1a. Two weeks later, I could understand some of it. I knew that they said something about doors, passengers, children and women. I was also able to understand the different stop names, something that had been really hard for me at first.
1b. Six weeks after I had first rode the Metro, I could recite the warning alongside the announcer. “Dear passengers, doors are closing. ….(and then I always forget the next part)..... the seats marked are for children, women and injured...(and then when they got to my stop, which is the end of the line) this is the last stop. So that was not the best recitation ever, but my memory is pretty short hee hee.
2. First day of class, my teacher asked me a few basic questions. I could barely understand a word she said.
2a. Two weeks later, I was able to mostly follow along. Most of the class was taught in Russian, with some English thrown in to help us.
2b. Four weeks later, I was able to start asking questions about the material we were learning in Russian.
2c. Six weeks later, I could follow along without having to translate in my head what my teacher was saying. Also finally figured out most of the cases. And, could now understand explanations in Russian of unknown terms. Realized that I was completely loosing my ability to speak/write English. (Still struggling with that hee hee)
2d. Last two days of class, eight weeks after I first arrived, and my teacher only speaks in Russian (fairly fast too). We discuss current events and cultural differences between Canada/USA and Russia. I understand basically everything.
3. I made a Russian friend online (yes I know kind of sketchy), and we met for coffee. This was a week and a half after I arrived. He (Pavel) is fluent in Spanish and English and had offered to help me with my Russian and my Spanish. The first time we met, we spoke mostly in Spanish and English. I tried to speak Russian with him, but I really could not speak outside of a classroom setting. My vocabulary was too small, and focused only on very specific things.
3a. Two coffees later, I brought a friend along who is much more fluent in Russian than I. That night, we also met a bunch of Pavel's friends. Most could speak some English and even a little bit of Spanish. I felt a bit left out because everyone was able to speak Russian around me, and I could not contribute at all.
3b. Five weeks in, I realized that I was understanding most of the conversations that were going on around me. Usually they would ask me if I understood, and I would always say no. That time, I surprised them and said yes.
3c. Last night, we had a good bye dinner/coffee/snack. It went on for a few hours. I contributed to the conversation in Russian, I understood what was going on, and I could even understand Stella, Pavel's girlfriend. She speaks so fast that sometimes even her friends ask her to repeat herself.
In other words, my Russian has improved immensely. It is still not very good, and I can understand much more than I can speak, but the changes in my ability surprises me. The first two weeks I learned quite a bit, but I was also pretty sure that I really would not get much better. In the last week that I have been here, I have improved even more. Of course, its when I am really getting into the swing of things that I am leaving. Currently in the airport in Kiev, waiting for my flight to Istanbul.
I will really try to keep up with this blog better. I think that it will be easier when I am doing exciting new things everyday. In St Petersburg, as I have previously mentioned, I quickly entered a routine so I felt like I did not have much to share.
I do need to write a post or two on the touristy things I did in the last two weeks. But that will have to wait.
Lots of love, and I cannot wait to get back to Minneapolis. Less than a month now!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Wow
Can you believe that I have been here for almost two months? I sure can't. I leave a week and a few hours from now, heading to Turkey to meet some friends. My time of study is almost over (even though this has been almost more of an educational vacation).
Last two weeks has been a fairly touristy one---went to the Hermitage twice, went to Peterhoff, and did a lot of other last minute things. Pictures will be up eventually. Already up on facebook, if you follow that. Now all that is left is a boat ride down the Neva watching the bridges open. I think that that is planned for Friday.
I have no idea where to start on how this experience has effected me. I have loved it, been frustrated by it, close to tears, and have died of laughter from a Russian joke (that I actually understood!) Overall, I would say that the experience has been a positive one.
I love St Petersburg and I want to come back. But now that I have been here, I know that when I return, I will do some things differently and some things exactly the same. It will be hard leaving the new friends that I have made here, but really, now I have an even better reason to return.
This last week here will be a good one; I can feel it. I was sick, but am feeling better. The weather has cleared up and its supposed to be in the 80's for the next three days. Looking forward to some beach time.
I wish I could say that my Russian has gotten magically better and I am now super fluent, but alas, that is not the case. What has happened is that I finally understand all of the things I should have before, but never did. My vocabulary has increased tenfold (if not a hundredfold) and I feel much more comfortable speaking in my broken Russian then I ever have before. I wish I could retake 2nd year Russian. I would get out so much more then I did last year.
Well, as it is after midnight (the sun still has not set) I should probably head to bed. My last day of normal class schedule/teachers is tomorrow and I want to be able to enjoy it.
See y'all in a month!
Last two weeks has been a fairly touristy one---went to the Hermitage twice, went to Peterhoff, and did a lot of other last minute things. Pictures will be up eventually. Already up on facebook, if you follow that. Now all that is left is a boat ride down the Neva watching the bridges open. I think that that is planned for Friday.
I have no idea where to start on how this experience has effected me. I have loved it, been frustrated by it, close to tears, and have died of laughter from a Russian joke (that I actually understood!) Overall, I would say that the experience has been a positive one.
I love St Petersburg and I want to come back. But now that I have been here, I know that when I return, I will do some things differently and some things exactly the same. It will be hard leaving the new friends that I have made here, but really, now I have an even better reason to return.
This last week here will be a good one; I can feel it. I was sick, but am feeling better. The weather has cleared up and its supposed to be in the 80's for the next three days. Looking forward to some beach time.
I wish I could say that my Russian has gotten magically better and I am now super fluent, but alas, that is not the case. What has happened is that I finally understand all of the things I should have before, but never did. My vocabulary has increased tenfold (if not a hundredfold) and I feel much more comfortable speaking in my broken Russian then I ever have before. I wish I could retake 2nd year Russian. I would get out so much more then I did last year.
Well, as it is after midnight (the sun still has not set) I should probably head to bed. My last day of normal class schedule/teachers is tomorrow and I want to be able to enjoy it.
See y'all in a month!
Saturday, June 18, 2011
The Metro
My goodness. I WISH Minneapolis had a metro system. The light rail really does not cut it. Cannot remember if I have previously mentioned how far of a trek it is for me to get to school every day, but I can tell you that it would be more then twice as long without the metro.
To get to school, I walk for 20-25 min to the metro station, ride the metro 3 stops, switch lines, ride one more stop, and then get off for a 30-40 min walk to school. It usually takes me between an hour and 20 minutes to an hour and 30 minutes to get to school. It all depends on the traffic, how tired I am, and if I get distracted while walking (which I usually do). There is just so much to look at! And I love listening in on Russian conversations that I really do not understand.
The metro is fairly simple to use. I found the Stockholm metro system a bit more complicated.
Here is the metro map, English-fied. (Not mine, borrowing it from St Pete's tourist site)
This map also shows you that St Petersburg is made up of several different islands, something that I did not conceptualize beforehand. I sadly do not live on the main island, so my area is mostly old high-rises that look like giant building blocks. But I do find some beauty in it all.
Basically, this post is to say that I love the Metro. And that I think every big/mid-size city should have one.
p.s. Some of these metro stations have the longest escalators that I have ever seen. Kinda scary.
To get to school, I walk for 20-25 min to the metro station, ride the metro 3 stops, switch lines, ride one more stop, and then get off for a 30-40 min walk to school. It usually takes me between an hour and 20 minutes to an hour and 30 minutes to get to school. It all depends on the traffic, how tired I am, and if I get distracted while walking (which I usually do). There is just so much to look at! And I love listening in on Russian conversations that I really do not understand.
The metro is fairly simple to use. I found the Stockholm metro system a bit more complicated.
Here is the metro map, English-fied. (Not mine, borrowing it from St Pete's tourist site)
This map also shows you that St Petersburg is made up of several different islands, something that I did not conceptualize beforehand. I sadly do not live on the main island, so my area is mostly old high-rises that look like giant building blocks. But I do find some beauty in it all.Basically, this post is to say that I love the Metro. And that I think every big/mid-size city should have one.
p.s. Some of these metro stations have the longest escalators that I have ever seen. Kinda scary.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Quick birthday post!
My birthday was good. Weather was beautiful so me and my roommate Becca headed down to the beach to relax under the sun and on the sand. Its been so nice and warm, and I have been getting quite the tan. But yes mami, I have been remembering to put on sunscreen. (Most of the time).
My birthday party was amazing though and that is why I think it was my best birthday ever (20!!). I got flowers, a dinner, an H&M gift card (I seriously buy something every week from them) and a really beautiful necklace.
It was a small party, only 7 of us, but it was basically perfect. A few of my Russian friends offered to host it at their house which was great. I, my roommate Becca, some Russian friends, a Venezuelan (who I met through the Russians), and another Russian friend who did not know anyone other then me, were there.
Jesus, the Venezuelan, made us dinner, chicken and rice with a blue cheese sauce. It was soooooo good. He also made fried bananas topped with cheese. That may sound a bit crazy, but its really good even though it is usually made with plantains which are impossible to find in St Petersburg.
My party mostly consisted of just sitting around, listening to music and talking. Three languages were spoken, and they constantly intermingled into one Span-Russ-Glish language. Loads of fun. We debated leaving the house to go dancing, but it seemed like so much work that we did not end up going anywhere.
Danced a bit around the living room though, which was really silly and fun. There are some pretty bad action shots of our tango, so doubt that I will post them on here. Hope that your summer has been going well! As you can see, mine definitely has.
Lots of love from St Petersburg. Only three weeks left!
Birthday Flowers!
My birthday party was amazing though and that is why I think it was my best birthday ever (20!!). I got flowers, a dinner, an H&M gift card (I seriously buy something every week from them) and a really beautiful necklace.
It was a small party, only 7 of us, but it was basically perfect. A few of my Russian friends offered to host it at their house which was great. I, my roommate Becca, some Russian friends, a Venezuelan (who I met through the Russians), and another Russian friend who did not know anyone other then me, were there.
Jesus, the Venezuelan, made us dinner, chicken and rice with a blue cheese sauce. It was soooooo good. He also made fried bananas topped with cheese. That may sound a bit crazy, but its really good even though it is usually made with plantains which are impossible to find in St Petersburg.
My party mostly consisted of just sitting around, listening to music and talking. Three languages were spoken, and they constantly intermingled into one Span-Russ-Glish language. Loads of fun. We debated leaving the house to go dancing, but it seemed like so much work that we did not end up going anywhere.
Danced a bit around the living room though, which was really silly and fun. There are some pretty bad action shots of our tango, so doubt that I will post them on here. Hope that your summer has been going well! As you can see, mine definitely has.
Lots of love from St Petersburg. Only three weeks left!
Birthday Flowers!Sunday, May 29, 2011
Normalcy
So I have been in St Petersburg for exactly 3 weeks and already it feels like home. A home where I do not understand most of what people say, where I cannot always read the signs, and where the clothes/food are slightly foreign to me, but still a home. I felt this way when I was in Wales two years ago, but that was different. I was with family and the main language was English. Here, I knew only one person, and her barely at all, and my Russian ability was (still is) poor. Yet already, things have become routine and "normal". And my Russian has improved a lot. Still needs loads of work though.
I have met some Russians; truthfully, this was the main reason for this exchange. I wanted to improve my Russian through meeting people and by being surrounded by Russian. The classes and the academic side are less important to me as I could get that in Canada or the US. The people that I have met are through language groups on Facebook and from friends of friends. While it is a bit sketchy to meet up with people from the internet, so far its has turned out well.
I do not even know where to begin describing my trip that is not even half over. I think that I will begin by writing about different aspects of my every day experience. Lets see how this goes! Also, if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask!
I have met some Russians; truthfully, this was the main reason for this exchange. I wanted to improve my Russian through meeting people and by being surrounded by Russian. The classes and the academic side are less important to me as I could get that in Canada or the US. The people that I have met are through language groups on Facebook and from friends of friends. While it is a bit sketchy to meet up with people from the internet, so far its has turned out well.
I do not even know where to begin describing my trip that is not even half over. I think that I will begin by writing about different aspects of my every day experience. Lets see how this goes! Also, if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask!
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Things I see part 2
So I totally saw the sun rise over the Hermitage---at 4:30am. This is at the park right next to it.
Sunrise!
Backside of the Hermitage
St Petersburg at night--Looking over a canal
Okay. A story on this bird. We (my roommates and I) have been trying to photograph this crazy looking bird for a while. Its huge, intimidating, and walks like a boss. It kind of looks like a pigeon cross bred with a crow. We are still not sure exactly what it is. Do you know?
Church of Spilled Blood. We stopped by quick in front of it, but I need to go back and see more.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
This is what I see everyday. Jealous?
Hey all, will get a real post soon. Life have become crazy in its normalcy and routine. Schedules have been set, and all is "normal". Sending lots of love!
All of these pictures are what I have seen just walking around and exploring. If there is no caption, its because I have no idea where this was, or what it is!
More photo posts will be coming. I am getting an "internal error" message from blogger when I tried right now.
Sitting outside the Hermitage, watching people go by. NBD.
All of these pictures are what I have seen just walking around and exploring. If there is no caption, its because I have no idea where this was, or what it is!
More photo posts will be coming. I am getting an "internal error" message from blogger when I tried right now.
Fire next to the Hermitage
Seen on Nevsky Prospekt on Victory Day (May 9th)
Sitting outside the Hermitage, watching people go by. NBD.
The people in my group!
The contrast between something so foreign (Sony) and something very Russian (ballet advertisement)
Yes, there is Pizza Hut. Sigh.
This picture should be first, but oh well. The first Russian sign I saw on the way home from the airport!
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Things I Have Learned....Or need to learn
1. Must learn how to use a squat toilet. Enough said.
2. Buying groceries without knowing whats a good price is hard. But what is even harder is having no idea what the label says.
3. Because of above, must bring Russian/English dictionary to the supermarket, no matter how stupid you look.
4. Be prepared for the cafeteria lady to get very mad if you give her a big bill---even though the atm gives you a 1,000 or even 5,000 ruble bill and you need to break it somehow.
5. You will not fit in with the clothing style---St Petersburg is like going back to the late 80's, early 90's with mullets galore, in addition to tights with shorts which is something that I have not seen in YEARS.
5a. Most of the women wear high heels. There is no way that I will wear 4 inch stilettos on my walk to and from the metro no matter how much I stand out.
5b. Its hot. Its sunny. Yet everyone is still wearing their winter jackets. I will not fit in, but I will have a lovely tan and be comfortably warm and not boiling.
Other then that, I am having a lovely time. It has been hard and frustrating at times, but I know that I am already learning so much each time that I struggle to order meat at the deli, or ask for tea from the cafeteria lady. Today, I successfully got lunch from the cafeteria! But when I asked for milk with my tea, I got a response that I could not make heads nor tails of, so I just gave up on that part. She is scary anyway. So I almost successfully got lunch. Close enough.
Oh and I had my first two classes today. My teacher is very friendly and older, but she does not speak much English. She would use French to explain some things, which worked for the other two students in my group, but not me. Our class is only three people so I feel a lot more comfortable than I did in University, even though that class was fairly small as well. Its also nice that we have been grouped together by skill.
When I get better internet (Sunday I think), I will post some pictures for y'all.
2. Buying groceries without knowing whats a good price is hard. But what is even harder is having no idea what the label says.
3. Because of above, must bring Russian/English dictionary to the supermarket, no matter how stupid you look.
4. Be prepared for the cafeteria lady to get very mad if you give her a big bill---even though the atm gives you a 1,000 or even 5,000 ruble bill and you need to break it somehow.
5. You will not fit in with the clothing style---St Petersburg is like going back to the late 80's, early 90's with mullets galore, in addition to tights with shorts which is something that I have not seen in YEARS.
5a. Most of the women wear high heels. There is no way that I will wear 4 inch stilettos on my walk to and from the metro no matter how much I stand out.
5b. Its hot. Its sunny. Yet everyone is still wearing their winter jackets. I will not fit in, but I will have a lovely tan and be comfortably warm and not boiling.
Other then that, I am having a lovely time. It has been hard and frustrating at times, but I know that I am already learning so much each time that I struggle to order meat at the deli, or ask for tea from the cafeteria lady. Today, I successfully got lunch from the cafeteria! But when I asked for milk with my tea, I got a response that I could not make heads nor tails of, so I just gave up on that part. She is scary anyway. So I almost successfully got lunch. Close enough.
Oh and I had my first two classes today. My teacher is very friendly and older, but she does not speak much English. She would use French to explain some things, which worked for the other two students in my group, but not me. Our class is only three people so I feel a lot more comfortable than I did in University, even though that class was fairly small as well. Its also nice that we have been grouped together by skill.
When I get better internet (Sunday I think), I will post some pictures for y'all.
Monday, May 9, 2011
First day in the new city
So much to say. I still cannot believe that I am in Russia!
It was a good flight to St Petersburg as I had a row to myself. When I landed, it was super sunny and hot out.
Hee hee I am writing this and trying not to fall asleep...
And then things went downhill a bit. I have never been in a situation where I cannot communicate. Sweden so far has been the closest to it, but even then I knew that most people spoke English. I had a driver meeting me at the airport, and while he was very nice, he spoke little English. We could not communicate. I felt like I was mute and deaf. We went to hand gestures, but that still could not pass on enough information. There were three students who had not landed on the earlier flight, and he was asking me if I knew anything, but the language barrier kept the communication from happening. He called a number, handed me a phone and told me to speak English. The woman on the phone asked me if I knew where the other students were, but I did not know. I came to Russia really not knowing anybody.
We waited and waited but no one showed up. He gave up, and we headed to the van. The drive to the dorm was in broken English and Russian. My two years of studying the language gave me little help in the real world. It was still a nice drive though.
We get to the dorm, pass the guard and I try to understand what the woman in control of the keys was saying. We make it work, even though I do not know half of what she said. We (me and the driver) head to the teeny tiny elevator and head up, up, up to my new home. We get in and I meet my roommate who had just woken up from a nap. The kitchen is alright, the toilet strange, and our room large enough to house the two of us. We were still waiting for the other students who would have the other room in the apartment/dorm. We talked, settled ourselves in and I found out that she is American as well, taking advantage of the Canadian school system just like me. Went to bed and woke up in the middle of the night to our other roommates/program mates moving in. They had missed their flight because of delays and did not get in till after mid night. Talked a but, and headed back to bed.
Today, Monday, has been absolutely crazy. All of us, us four girls and one guy that are in our program, headed downtown to Nevsky Prospekt. It was easily an hour walk, but as it is a national holiday the streets were crowded and it took much longer. We wandered there and back in 7 or so hours, our feet aching and tired. We stopped at a store, and bought a lot of things as our apartment/dorm was not fully furnished. Afterwards, we made a lovely dinner of spaghetti with meat sauce. I am the youngest by at least two years and in some ways it shows. I think I am the only one who has not lived alone, and it was strange for me to buy my own groceries. In addition, I was unsure of what things should cost, as everything was in rubles and cheaper (or more expensive) than in the US. My goal is to live on less than 80 dollars a week, but this week more than that has been spent (and by week I mean two days). Then again, I have bought a lot of basic things that will last me the two months, such as shampoo, lotion and so on.
After dinner, we took our wine and beer down to the beach right outside of our dorm---its the gulf of Finland. It was full of trash, but we saw the sun go down over the water and it was beautiful, even with all of the broken glass and cigarette butts. Tomorrow morning we have our placement tests so lets see how that goes. I have a feeling (and kind of am hoping) that I will be placed in the beginner class. My Russian skills can more be described as the lack thereof, and I am worried that I will be put in a class that is toooo challenging.
But that will be tomorrow, and I am quite exhausted so I am heading to bed. Will keep you updated on how tomorrow goes!
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Photos! Stockholm Round 2
While lost, I still managed to take pictures
My favoritest cat ever! Been woken up to the feel of a cat sleeping on my thigh.
Like I said, runes everywhere.
So sunny and beautiful!
More runes
Old church with crazy trees around it
Look! Even a rune stone in the church!
Sun when we got there
Stockholm---Note the bunny hot air balloon
Sun just before we left
Jet lag, Ya know
(Thought that I had beat the jet lag until yesterday when I slept in till 3:00pm, and right now its 4:40am and I have been awake for a little over an hour)
Where to begin! So much has happened the last few days its hard to imagine writing it all down.
From the beginning though:
I left Minneapolis Tuesday morning and it was a nice 38/3 degrees out. Flew into Charlotte, NC and had a 6 hour lay over. Then the flight was delayed 2 and a half hours--we were now leaving at 9:00pm. No big deal.
We boarded at 9pm, and then sat. And sat. And sat some more. Our flight did not take off till 3:30 in the morning as we had one problem after another. First, our door would not close all the way. This problem took a good three hours, maybe a bit more. Then, a woman on the plane had a major panic/anxiety attack and had to be take off the plane (we had just started to taxi too!), so we turned around and did that, only to be told that our crew's time had expired and we needed to wait for a new one. This is around 1:30am, and we are all tired and cranky and quite hungry. The wait time for a new crew? 2 hours, if not more.
Everyone got fairly angry, but the captain said that we could leave the plane BUT we would have to reboard as a large group, and not individually get back on the plane. In addition, he made sure to add that all of the food places in the airport had closed, and that if we wanted food, we had better stay on board. I stayed, ate, and fell asleep. I woke up briefly to note the time we took off, but I was asleep again before we even got in the air. We were 9 hours late to London, and thank goodness that I had a 13 hour layover, though my plans to head into London proper were ruined.
The one main positive of that whole voyage is that I met the most wonderful woman. She made the whole experience tolerable. She was my seatmate, and we had lovely talks about just about everything. She told me all about southern cooking, laughed hard and called me a Yank when I said that I consider Indiana to be part of the South, and was just lovely company. She was on her way to visit her sick daughter in London, and was really not pleased about the delay in getting to see her.
Got to London safe and sound after that, and then just hung out at the airport for a few hours while I waited for my next flight. Flew RyanAir to Stockholm which was kind of a funny flight. Every ten minutes, flight attendants came down the aisle selling all sorts of things. They even sold smoke-less cigarettes on board! I was quite amused. Sat next to a Swedish girl who was quite funny, and we had a nice time.
Finally got to Stockholm at 11:30pm, and was met there by a friend from high school who did an exchange at South my senior year. I have been staying at her house since I arrived in Stockholm and have had a great time. Her family has been lovely, and my friend, Helle, has been doing a great job at showing me around.
The first day here (Thursday), I went to her high school. What I still find strange is that even though she is 6 months older then me, she is just graduating from high school, yet I have had 2 years of university already. They start school later here, and her year at my high school did not count for her, so she had to repeat a year.
Her high school is so different than mine was. People wandered the halls, came in late, had small class sizes, had WINDOWS!!! which was pretty awesome if you know my high school, and overall just had a much more relaxed feeling. Their cafeteria was really good too, better than that of my university even. Side note: I love bubbly water!!!!!!!
I have had a lot of fun just people watching, as people dress so different here, and hair styles are also not like those that I am used to. I have seen very few girls with hair that is shoulder length or shorter---it makes my short hair stand out quite a bit! Guys wear cardigans, big '70s style glasses, and a decent amount have long hair. Another note--Everyone is fairly thin. There are a few exceptions, but they are that, exceptions. Very strange for me.
On that first day, Helle and I also went into Stockholm, which is where the pictures from the last post are from. As you can see, it was cloudy and it was a bit chilly. Still, it was nice and we had a good time. That evening it was her school's talent show and that was quite fun to see. I had the house to myself afterward for a bit but went to bed fairly early.
Friday was another fun, busy day (though a bit stressful but I will get to that soon enough). Went to Helle's school again, but I had plans to meet up with a friend in Stockholm. We were to meet at the McDonalds inside of T-Centralen, the central station. I managed to train/subway to Stockholm with no problem, but could not find the McDonalds. After finally figuring it out that I had to follow the underground path there, and then go up a floor, I found it. However, I did not find my friend. The McDonalds was packed with a huge line coming out of it. Here is the part of the story that is my fault. I had understood that we were meeting outside of McDonalds but I found out much later that my friend was waiting inside for me. Well, I looked and looked and could not find him. Then I got the brilliant idea that he might be waiting at the entrance outside of the McDonalds. I head outside, but there is construction in the way. After this, I just get lost.
I go in search of a phone, but when I find one, I learn that I need a phone card. Lots more stumbling around random streets until I find a place that sells me a phone card. Then I cannot find another public phone (not sure how I found the first one) and I realize that I do not have his phone number on me. So then I search for an internet cafe, or somewhere with wifi so that I can get his number off facebook. About an hour later, I get to a 7-11 that doubles as an internet cafe. Get his number, but then am back at square one: Where can I call him from? By this time, its 1:30pm, an hour and a half after we were supposed to meet. I am stressing out and I feel bad that I made him wait around for me. Head to a post office and they let me use their phone. I call, but then.......he doesn't pick up.
I basically just gave up then and managed to find t-centralen again and subway-ed/train-ed my way back to Helle's school. I find out from her that he waited until 1:30 or a bit after for me---I feel so terrible!!! He and Helle were texting back and forth trying to figure out what had happened to me and what to do next. I made it there and back safe, but my plans completely failed. How did people live without cellphones??? This day made me appreciate mine so much more.
That night, it was one of Helle's friend's birthday. We had dinner at his house, and then we all headed to Stockholm and went to a bar which translated, is "The Farm". It was 80's pop and synth night so of course it was good. Had a nice time just sitting back and listening to all of the Swedish being spoken around me. It was really chill, and reminded me of a pub in Winnipeg, just much smaller.
Saturday was not much of a day. My jet lag caught up with me and I only woke up because Helle's mother came to make sure I was okay and not passed out unconscious on the floor or something. The time? 3:00pm. I slept for 13 hours, and as Helle was at work, no one woke me up to do stuff. Had a nice dinner though, and we went for a short historical drive where I saw some rune stones and an old church. Thats one thing about Minnesota and the US in general--We do not have much preserved history. The oldest building in Minnesota is Fort Snelling, which is from the mid 1800's. These rune stones that are all over are from the 1100's. I passed buildings which were originally built in the 1500's. I reflected about this when I was in Wales two summers ago, but I was reminded once more while I was here.
Last night I went with Helle to a sunset viewing slash picnic slash hangout slash I-don't-Know-what thingy. It was beautiful. We were on a big rock lookout where we could see the sun set over the water, and could see lots of Stockholm as we were pretty high up. It got cold pretty fast when the sun went down so we headed to a packed cafe for a bit. Came home, went to bed and woke up 3, maybe 4 hours later. Once again, jet lag you have gotten the better of me! Which is how this post has finally been written. Its 6 am here, but I have been awake since a bit after 3am and have been on and off writing this post. Heading to Russia this afternoon which is pretty dang exciting. Random embarrassing thing: tried to check in for my flight to Russia on Friday afternoon as you can check in up to 22 hours before. It did not work and said "Could not find passenger" which worried me. Called them, and they could not figure out the problem until the operator noted that I did not leave until Sunday, and not Saturday like I have been thinking for the last month. Oops. So had an extra day in Stockholm, even if I spent most of it sleeping.
Sorry for the ridiculously long post! The next one will probably be photos, and then the next will be coming from Russia.
Where to begin! So much has happened the last few days its hard to imagine writing it all down.
From the beginning though:
I left Minneapolis Tuesday morning and it was a nice 38/3 degrees out. Flew into Charlotte, NC and had a 6 hour lay over. Then the flight was delayed 2 and a half hours--we were now leaving at 9:00pm. No big deal.
We boarded at 9pm, and then sat. And sat. And sat some more. Our flight did not take off till 3:30 in the morning as we had one problem after another. First, our door would not close all the way. This problem took a good three hours, maybe a bit more. Then, a woman on the plane had a major panic/anxiety attack and had to be take off the plane (we had just started to taxi too!), so we turned around and did that, only to be told that our crew's time had expired and we needed to wait for a new one. This is around 1:30am, and we are all tired and cranky and quite hungry. The wait time for a new crew? 2 hours, if not more.
Everyone got fairly angry, but the captain said that we could leave the plane BUT we would have to reboard as a large group, and not individually get back on the plane. In addition, he made sure to add that all of the food places in the airport had closed, and that if we wanted food, we had better stay on board. I stayed, ate, and fell asleep. I woke up briefly to note the time we took off, but I was asleep again before we even got in the air. We were 9 hours late to London, and thank goodness that I had a 13 hour layover, though my plans to head into London proper were ruined.
The one main positive of that whole voyage is that I met the most wonderful woman. She made the whole experience tolerable. She was my seatmate, and we had lovely talks about just about everything. She told me all about southern cooking, laughed hard and called me a Yank when I said that I consider Indiana to be part of the South, and was just lovely company. She was on her way to visit her sick daughter in London, and was really not pleased about the delay in getting to see her.
Got to London safe and sound after that, and then just hung out at the airport for a few hours while I waited for my next flight. Flew RyanAir to Stockholm which was kind of a funny flight. Every ten minutes, flight attendants came down the aisle selling all sorts of things. They even sold smoke-less cigarettes on board! I was quite amused. Sat next to a Swedish girl who was quite funny, and we had a nice time.
Finally got to Stockholm at 11:30pm, and was met there by a friend from high school who did an exchange at South my senior year. I have been staying at her house since I arrived in Stockholm and have had a great time. Her family has been lovely, and my friend, Helle, has been doing a great job at showing me around.
The first day here (Thursday), I went to her high school. What I still find strange is that even though she is 6 months older then me, she is just graduating from high school, yet I have had 2 years of university already. They start school later here, and her year at my high school did not count for her, so she had to repeat a year.
Her high school is so different than mine was. People wandered the halls, came in late, had small class sizes, had WINDOWS!!! which was pretty awesome if you know my high school, and overall just had a much more relaxed feeling. Their cafeteria was really good too, better than that of my university even. Side note: I love bubbly water!!!!!!!
I have had a lot of fun just people watching, as people dress so different here, and hair styles are also not like those that I am used to. I have seen very few girls with hair that is shoulder length or shorter---it makes my short hair stand out quite a bit! Guys wear cardigans, big '70s style glasses, and a decent amount have long hair. Another note--Everyone is fairly thin. There are a few exceptions, but they are that, exceptions. Very strange for me.
On that first day, Helle and I also went into Stockholm, which is where the pictures from the last post are from. As you can see, it was cloudy and it was a bit chilly. Still, it was nice and we had a good time. That evening it was her school's talent show and that was quite fun to see. I had the house to myself afterward for a bit but went to bed fairly early.
Friday was another fun, busy day (though a bit stressful but I will get to that soon enough). Went to Helle's school again, but I had plans to meet up with a friend in Stockholm. We were to meet at the McDonalds inside of T-Centralen, the central station. I managed to train/subway to Stockholm with no problem, but could not find the McDonalds. After finally figuring it out that I had to follow the underground path there, and then go up a floor, I found it. However, I did not find my friend. The McDonalds was packed with a huge line coming out of it. Here is the part of the story that is my fault. I had understood that we were meeting outside of McDonalds but I found out much later that my friend was waiting inside for me. Well, I looked and looked and could not find him. Then I got the brilliant idea that he might be waiting at the entrance outside of the McDonalds. I head outside, but there is construction in the way. After this, I just get lost.
I go in search of a phone, but when I find one, I learn that I need a phone card. Lots more stumbling around random streets until I find a place that sells me a phone card. Then I cannot find another public phone (not sure how I found the first one) and I realize that I do not have his phone number on me. So then I search for an internet cafe, or somewhere with wifi so that I can get his number off facebook. About an hour later, I get to a 7-11 that doubles as an internet cafe. Get his number, but then am back at square one: Where can I call him from? By this time, its 1:30pm, an hour and a half after we were supposed to meet. I am stressing out and I feel bad that I made him wait around for me. Head to a post office and they let me use their phone. I call, but then.......he doesn't pick up.
I basically just gave up then and managed to find t-centralen again and subway-ed/train-ed my way back to Helle's school. I find out from her that he waited until 1:30 or a bit after for me---I feel so terrible!!! He and Helle were texting back and forth trying to figure out what had happened to me and what to do next. I made it there and back safe, but my plans completely failed. How did people live without cellphones??? This day made me appreciate mine so much more.
That night, it was one of Helle's friend's birthday. We had dinner at his house, and then we all headed to Stockholm and went to a bar which translated, is "The Farm". It was 80's pop and synth night so of course it was good. Had a nice time just sitting back and listening to all of the Swedish being spoken around me. It was really chill, and reminded me of a pub in Winnipeg, just much smaller.
Saturday was not much of a day. My jet lag caught up with me and I only woke up because Helle's mother came to make sure I was okay and not passed out unconscious on the floor or something. The time? 3:00pm. I slept for 13 hours, and as Helle was at work, no one woke me up to do stuff. Had a nice dinner though, and we went for a short historical drive where I saw some rune stones and an old church. Thats one thing about Minnesota and the US in general--We do not have much preserved history. The oldest building in Minnesota is Fort Snelling, which is from the mid 1800's. These rune stones that are all over are from the 1100's. I passed buildings which were originally built in the 1500's. I reflected about this when I was in Wales two summers ago, but I was reminded once more while I was here.
Last night I went with Helle to a sunset viewing slash picnic slash hangout slash I-don't-Know-what thingy. It was beautiful. We were on a big rock lookout where we could see the sun set over the water, and could see lots of Stockholm as we were pretty high up. It got cold pretty fast when the sun went down so we headed to a packed cafe for a bit. Came home, went to bed and woke up 3, maybe 4 hours later. Once again, jet lag you have gotten the better of me! Which is how this post has finally been written. Its 6 am here, but I have been awake since a bit after 3am and have been on and off writing this post. Heading to Russia this afternoon which is pretty dang exciting. Random embarrassing thing: tried to check in for my flight to Russia on Friday afternoon as you can check in up to 22 hours before. It did not work and said "Could not find passenger" which worried me. Called them, and they could not figure out the problem until the operator noted that I did not leave until Sunday, and not Saturday like I have been thinking for the last month. Oops. So had an extra day in Stockholm, even if I spent most of it sleeping.
Sorry for the ridiculously long post! The next one will probably be photos, and then the next will be coming from Russia.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Photo Post First---Stockholm
What Helle and her friends thought were important Swedish words to know. Haha
First ride on a subway system ever!!
Talk about advertising! There were H&M's on every street.
Most of the buildings looked like this.
Beautiful old shopping mall.
Row of cherry (I think?) trees that were still blooming.
Lion statue! Not quite sure where this was.
In front of the palace. The Guard did not seem too pleased when I took a photo of him.
I love, love, love these narrow roads. We spent a decent time wandering through them.
Cobble stone roads
Random ambulance, but I thought that this looked pretty.
More of these narrow roads!
Beautiful old church we stumbled upon.
Inside the church
More of the church
See above comment
I was lifting my camera high to take a picture of the buildings/streets and this guy raised his hand to wave his way into the picture. I smiled.
I will write about my trip later, but at the moment I am a bit jet lagged and tired after our lovely is busy day. But I am having a great time so far, and am so grateful that Helle and her family let me stay at her house. I leave on Saturday, so I still have some time here.
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