До свидания, Питер

As I sit here in Pulkovo airport, waiting for my flight to Moscow, I can't help but think and reflect on the experience I have had. Six weeks ago, if you asked me how excited I was for my trip to Russia I would have honestly said not very much at all. Initially I was dreading these six weeks in St. Petersburg. I was anxious and nervous and downright not looking forward to it. I knew it would be so challenging to not know the language here. I was traveling for the first time to a truly foreign place. I knew my way of life would have to shift immensely and I wasn't excited for that. I wished I could just stay home in New York for the summer, living in the relaxing comforts of home -- a truly carefree summer.

Now, that my time here has come to a close, I couldn't think of any other way to spend my summer. Yes it was difficult, and challenging, and I faced unexpected obstacles often. But overcoming these challenges here in Russia, and in all of my other travels for that matter, have shaped me into the person I am today. I have been determined to make the most out of my short time in college, and though it may be tough at times it has proven to be so rewarding. I have watched myself grow immensly academically, professionally, and personally. I grew to love St. Petersburg. It's beauty, it's culture, it's people; it is truly the diamond of Russia.

Peter's window to the west brought me beautiful memories, along with life lessons I will always keep with me. I feel that I truly made the most of my time here in St. Petersburg; and I thank my professors, peers, and staff for being a part of this journey. Most of all, I thank the people of St. Petersburg for giving me a glimpse of their wonderful city. Their strength and perseverance as a people is truly remarkable. The art of survival by Petersburgers is one that should be revered by all.

Ultimately, I am so pleased with how my study abroad experience in Russia has turned out. I am so thankful that it was contrary to my initial beliefs. Peter, I hope to return to you one day.

"By the new capital, the younger,
Old Moscow's eclipsed at once --
Such is eclipsed a queen-dowager
By a new queen when her time comes.
I love you, Peter's great creation,
I love your view of stern and grace,
The Neva wave's regal procession,
The grayish granite -- her bank's dress,
The gentle transparent twilight,
The moonless gleam of your nights restless,
When I so easy read and write
Without a lamp in my room lone,
And seen is each huge buildings' stone
Of the left streets, and is so bright
The Admiralty spire's flight,
And when, not letting the night's darkness
To reach the golden heaven's height
The dawn after the sunset hastens --
And a half-hours for the night."

- A.K. Pushkin's The Bronze Horseman

Until next time Peter, До свидания.

Palace Embankment

St. Isaac's Cathedral

View from the top of St. Isaac's

On my fourth weekend living in St. Petersburg, I chose to do one of my favorite tourist activities. I love to visit places of worship, the older usually the better. Religious art pieces and icons are some of my favorite works of art. And there is no lack of churches here in St. Petersburg! Due to the closing down of public transportation on Nevsky Prospekt for the weekend (the equivalent of stopping all cross-town buses in Manhattan on a weekend, unthinkable I know) I had to walk to all of my desired locations. A fate not too bad since luckily as large as the city is, everything is still relatively close to each other. My first stop was the furthest out, St. Isaac's Cathedral. A massive and iconic church in St. Petersburg, the columns surrounding the entryway still hold marks from bomb shells during WWII. This was my personal favorite, the inside resembling a more Western European style. I was able to tour both inside the church and climb to the top of the cupola. That is one thing that is so special about all of the grand churches of Europe. Climbing to the top, although some could be several hundred steps high, is such an amazing experience. Seeing that aerial view of the city you are in is breathtaking, and most definitely worth the hike! Later in the day I also visited the inside of Kazan Cathedral and the Church of Our Saviour on Spilled Blood. This church bears the name of "spilt blood" since it was built on the site where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated. With its iconic colorful onion domes, this church is built more typically in the Russian Orthodox style.

Winter Palace, view from Palace Square

Inside The Hermitage

Later in the evening I also had the opportunity to attend an opera at the famous Mariinsky Theatre. I watched Dostoevsky's "The Brothers Karmazov" and enjoyed how truly breathtaking the opera house is! The next day our group had a tour of the Hermitage. This is one of the things I was most excited for in Russia. The Winter Palace is an iconic symbol of St. Petersburg, and each day I pass by it I realize more and more how beautiful it is! I was right to look forward to the Hermitage museum, it was by far the largest museum I have ever been to in my life (and I like to think I've done my fair share of museum tours!) There was no way we could see everything in one day, let alone the few hours we had set out for the museum. Luckily we had a great tour guide who showed us around, explaining each of the most important rooms and pieces to us. I was shocked by how many iconic works of art where located here in Russia! It definitely reminded me of how truly "European" St. Petersburg is as a city -- Peter's window to the west!

Happy Birthday America!

To me, nothing says God Bless the USA like a good old fashioned Fourth of July barbecue. Some americana bunting, beautiful fireworks, celebrations with family and friends, and enough red, white, and blue cookies to feed a small army. I was disappointed to be spending my first Independence Day abroad -- the thought of a BBQ and some swimming in the pool sounds like heaven right now!! -- but luckily my abroad program is made up of almost entirely Americans who were also missing the USA on this holiday. Our directors coordinated a Fourth of July potluck picnic for us at Divo Ostrov, St. Petersburg's main amusement park with lots of picnic grounds open to the public. Although it was different than what I would normally expect, our celebration was still lots of fun. It is nice to have a reminder every now and then of the things you love about your home, it reminds me of how Proud I am to be an American!

Universality of Beer

Last Wednesday we had a sign up excursion to the Baltika Brewery. Baltika is the main Russian beer, and they also produce other beers such as Carlsberg. I thought it would be a lot of fun to check out the factory and compare it to some of the other breweries I visited last semester. Although I did get a free mug and a few sample tastings at the end, it was definitely very different from any of my other experiences. The Baltika Brewery is definitely not a common tourist location, we were the only people there other than the actual employees. The tour was extremely high security, with constant swiping of ID's and forbidden photography. We weren't allowed to walk around by ourself. Our group was always accompanied by our tour guide who was rather dull and monotone. There was very little action occurring on the conveyor belts of the factory, making many of us wonder how they are such a successful company, or maybe it was just "break time?" Otherwise, the beer tasting at the end of the tour was a great success and it was still really cool to see the stark contrast between European and Russian breweries.

On Friday my culture class visited the Dostoevsky Museum. Along the way, we walked past a few of his former places of residence. The museum itself is a replica of his final apartment in St. Petersburg. That is where he wrote The Brothers Karamazov and eventually died. It is so intriguing to actually study the works of authors like Dostoevsky and Pushkin in St. Petersburg; it truly contributes to the mythical "Petersburg Text."

The cigarette case written on by Dostoevksy's daughter on the day he died.

Visiting Valaam

My third weekend in Russia (June 29-30), was spent with an overnight trip to Valaam. The city of St. Petersburg is surrounded by water and is comprised of dozens of islands. To the east of the city is Lake Ladoga. Lake Ladoga is the largest lake in all of Europe, and served as the city's lifeline during the Siege of Leningrad in WWII (by allowing food and other necessitates to cross over the frozen lake). Throughout the lake there are many various islands. One of them was our destination -- Valaam.

For hundreds of years Valaam has been made up of various different monastic communities. Once arriving on the island it was clear why so many monastic skeetes flourished here. The island was full of tranquility and its breathtaking scenery filled with forests and lakes was truly peaceful. It was a nice alternative to the hustle and bustle of city life. Our group took an overnight boat ride across the lake to Valaam. We spent the day touring the beautiful island and then visited the major cathedral of the monastery called Saviour Transfiguration Cathedral. I even had the opportunitiy to listen to the Valaam Chant song typically by the monks on the island and the Valaam Brethren Choir. While walking around the island, and especially when inside the church's, all girls had to have their heads and shoulders covered, and their legs covered with a long skirt. Although it was hot to have a heavy scarf draped around my head, it was also a lot of fun and reminiscent of "dress-up."

Before lunchtime, a group of us even had the opportunity to swim in the lake. I use the word "swim," however the water was so cold we could barely stand it! It was nice to quickly cool off after the intense summer heat of the day -- especially in Europe's largest lake! Since the lake borders between Finland and Russia, there was no surprise of the water's ice cold temperatures! Overall our trip to Valaam was extremely relaxing; filled with windy boat rides and magnificent natural landscapes. Definitely a successful trip!

Some of our group hanging out on the deck of our ship to Valaam.

Sweltering Summers

When family and friends check in to see how my time in St. Petersburg is, they are always shocked with one tiny piece of information -- THE HEAT. I have never experienced the heat or humidity like I have in my three weeks in Russia!!! Since the sun is out for almost twenty hours a day during the St. Petersburg summer, there is absolutely no way to avoid that constant sunshine. I know it is ironic to be complaining of blistering heat waves in Russia, but it is actually turning out to be one of my biggest struggles here (talk about global warming!)

Although all this sun (with lack of water, ice or some A/C) is proving to be a nuisance, it is not stopping me from enjoying this beautiful city! My second week here in Russia I had the opportunity to check out some of the city's cultural destinations during my free time. I walked through Art Square, along the famous Neva River, and throughout Mixhailovskiy Gardens. The gardens, although large, were full of shade which seems to be a rare find in St. Petersburg!

I visited the Russian State Museum which was massive! I spent almost three hours there and only got through one of the four main halls of the museum. The museum itself reminded me very much of other European art museums I have visited. There were many portraits of old Russian leaders and tsars, along with a lot of religious art such as Christian icons.

Inside the Russian State Museum

Later in the week I visited the marble palace. The museum had a few very modern and abstract exhibits, along with a traveling exhibition by Russian artist Mixhail Chemiakin. He struggled as an artist in the Soviet Union, and eventually found success in Paris and now in New York. His art portrayed some of the darker times of the city of St. Petersburg. His tragic and somewhat gothic style was somewhat reminiscent of a Tim Burton movie, just to paint a better picture in my description (no pun intended!)

The one plus of these hot days in St. Petersburg is the ice cream! Мореженое is sold everywhere you look. I've definitely been getting my summer ice cream fix, if only they had soft serve!

Living in Leningrad

I'm still in awe that I am living in St. Petersburg, let alone that it has been two weeks here already! Last weekend was our first real weekend in the city and CIEE planned a few excursions for us to see St. Petersburg, but also gave us ample time to explore on our own. Saturday morning we all met by the Alexander column in Palace Square (directly across the Hermitage) for a scavenger hunt. Our "mission" took us all around the city center showing us important places we might need during our time here in St. Petersburg. Some stops included the international medical clinic, the train station, the post office and even the Zenit store which is the local soccer team.
That evening our group was given tickets to see the last showing of Swan Lake at the Mixhailovskiy Theatre. It was so nice to dress up and get to really immerse myself in Russian culture. Attending the ballet was on top of my "to-do" list in St. Petersburg! The theatre itself was beautiful and performance was truly amazing (although a much less tragic interpretation of Swan Lake I must say...) The theatre was located in Arts Square which is a square in the center of the city that is filled with museums, theatres, and concert halls. Truly a beautiful place!
Sunday morning we had yet another excursion. This time, we took a bus tour to the local WWII cemetery and memorial. Our tour guide Julia told us all about the long Siege of Leningrad and the horrific tragedies that happened to the people of the Soviet Union. It was so interesting to hear Russia's perspective of the war, a side that is not always told in the US! It makes sense as to why the locals are so concerned with food waste here, during the war rationing forced each individual to have less than 5oz of bread each day! And mind you it was bread filled with sawdust and other materials to provide more sustenance. Definitely puts a lot of things in perspective. Overall, my first weekend here was exciting, informative, and a lot of fun!