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!

Getting Around Town

I tried to ease my way into using the city's many forms of public transportation and I must admit, that I think I'm doing pretty well. Initially, I was hesitant to travel around the city by myself due to my inability to read all of the Russian signs as well as my inability to always accurately ask for directions. Safety is my number one concern and I didn't want to go strolling around during these white nights without Google maps to get me home.

Luckily, I quickly got the hang of it -- especially since this city has turned out to be a lot smaller than I originally imagined. There are many different types of transportation here in St. Petersburg. Of course there's your typical walking or driving to your final destination (although the drivers here are the craziest I have ever seen!) There is also the underground metro which has undoubtedly the largest subway stations I have ever experience in my life -- and I like to think I've ridden on a pretty large number of metro systems! The stations are beautiful though, and I hear Moscow's are even nicer so I am excited to check those out next month! The city also has a tram system which I have yet to use. They are pretty outdated and the tram system is currently undergoing a renovation. The old ones are stilling running though, even though some of them look really, really broken down. There are buses which seem pretty efficient. My first day of class I thought my host mom was walking me to school, but instead she pulled me on a bus that was heading in the same direction. Additionally, there are trolley buses. These are quickly turning into my favorite way of getting around. Although they are so hot and there is absolutely zero air circulation on them; they go everywhere I need to be, are fast and extremely efficient. Trolley buses are a combination of a tram and bus -- there are wheels that drive on the street and then electric wire overhead as well. Not only is public transportation here in St. Petersburg. There are small private mini-buses that drive along a pre-determined route called marshrutkas. I've ridden on a marshrutkas for a class excursion and boy was it an experience! Ultimately, the public transportation here is surprisingly easy to figure out and SUPER cheap! One ride on the trolley bus is 25 rubles, that's less than $1USD. Take that MTA and your $2.50 subway fare plus your new $1 fee just to buy a metrocard!

На Уроке

My study abroad program this summer is hosted by St. Petersburg State University. Our study center is located at the university's Smolny campus. Smolny host three different departments, sociology, international relations and political science. CIEE's offices and classrooms are within the political science faculty. I take two classes throughout the summer. Each class meets for five 90-minute sessions every week -- talk about a lot of time in school! I am taking an Intermediate Russian Language class that is taught solely in Russian and boy has it showed me how out of touch I am with my language skills! Thankfully, I am quickly remembering a lot of the basics. I hope the moment arrives when all of my Russian language knowledge comes flooding back to me instantaneously, I won't hold my breath for it though! Huge shout out to my high school Russian teacher Mrs. Levina; yes I would cry in the hallway before your class started, and yes I would sweat bullets while you yelled Russian grammar rules at us, and yes I would try and frantically calculate who you were going to pick on next; but now I realize the reason for my suffering, so I can survive this class and life in St. Petersburg!!!! Seriously though I never realized how much she actually taught me in my various classes with her!

The second course I am taking here is called "Cultural Myths and Realities of St. Petersburg." The professor seems really great and not afraid to speak his mind on the current status of Russia and its complex political system. Our first class he even touched on some development issues, like education, sanitation, food security, and disaster relief, which was fascinating for me! I'm looking forward to his insights on other issues facing Russia, even though it is technically a literature class! Today we spent our class at the Summer Gardens. The grounds were beautiful and every few minutes we would stop and discuss the garden's symbolism, how it has affected the city over time, and one of our in class motif's which is water and flooding in St. Petersburg! Our class excursions always connect back to Russian literature or film media. Surprisingly, the majority of these cultural texts I have already been exposed to thanks to Mr. Callahan's College Russian class! Still in shock that week one of classes has come to a close -- crazy to think there are only five more weeks in Russia!

Cultural Faux Pas

There are many things I have been struggling with while here in Russia. Challenges seem to always be one of the most rewarding experiences during my travels; allowing me to truly discover who I am and results in an immense amount of personal growth. Initially, I knew the language barrier would be one of my biggest obstacles. In comparison to other places I have travelled independently too, Russia has by far the least amount of local citizens who speak the English language. However one of the sole drivers that brought me hear to St. Petersburg was the desire to attain a higher level of Russian language comprehension. This language barrier may be tough, but it is allowing me to constantly practice whether it be on the at home, on the street, in stores, or at my university -- each time taking me one step closer to my ultimate goal.

Surprisingly, my difficulty with the Russian language has not been my biggest challenge (like I had expected). Cultural differences between Russians and Americans are proving to be enormous, and every little thing I do seems to be out of place; instantly branding me as a foreigner. For instance, at home Russians take their shoes off and put their slippers on as soon as they walk through the door. It is looked down upon to walk around the house barefoot, or even just in socks. I, on the other hand, am most comfortable barefoot. I even choose to go barefoot if I have to run outside for a second or check something briefly. This, I learned through my host mom's scolding when I put one foot outside our apartment door with just a sock on, is a HUGE no-no. Russians pride themselves on their cleanliness and comfort so slippers and "at home" clothes are always a must. I am looked down upon if I enter into my apartment here and don't automatically change into a new outfit. The clothes I was wearing during the day are seen as extremely dirty, and god forbid I sit down on my chair or even worse my bed with the dress I wore to class on. I'd be contaminating the whole house!

Russians also think it is extremely bad luck to place your bag on the floor. This is a habit I have that I did not even realize I practiced until I was told it is wrong. Whether it be in class, at a restaurant, or even in my room at home, my bag must never be placed on the floor. Many fancy Russian restaurants even have little benches next to each seat so women can put their purses there instead of on the floor!!

I came to Russia knowing that their sense of style is very different and that Russian people in general tend to dress up a lot more than Americans do on a daily basis. Knowing this, I tried to come prepared when packing for my trip by bringing nicer clothes than I would typically wear. Yet STILL I do not measure up with the people I pass on the street! Whether they be running across the street, or on the metro, or eating lunch in the cafeteria, everyone I see here is decked out in excessively fancy outfits. I have yet to encounter one woman above the age of 16 who is not walking around the city in 6+inches heels. I walked around for an hour and a half today in a pair of TOMS and my feet are full of blisters; how they manage run around this big, cobble-stone street city in stilettos for hours on end will always boggle me.

Russians also greet each other very differently than Americans do. When meeting another individual, Russians simply nod at each other. For me, this has been so difficult and awkward for me to overcome. When I meet someone I want to smile and even shake their hand, but to do so would make me stand out even more than I already do. The American hand-shake is definitely not a thing here at all! During my commute to and from campus every day, I walk throughout the city and try to observe all the individuals around me. Everyone always looks so sad and angry and I can not resist smiling at someone when they look me in the eyes on the street! Americans I know who are from the south have criticized me in the past for not saying "Hello!" or "Good Morning!" to passerby on the street. I can't even imagine thinking about starting up a random conversation with a stranger on the street here just to be "nice." Russians are definitely a lot more individualistic than Americans, which personally I think is saying a lot! Hopefully I get the hang of the Russian way of life, and stop slipping up with all of these cultural mistakes!

восемь я советская улица -- The Eighth Soviet Street

Last night our orientation concluded and it was finally time to meet our host families. My new host mom picked me up at the hotel we had been staying at. Her name is Irina Mikhailovna. In Russian culture, there is a high emphasis on respecting those who are older than you. So when I greet my host mom, I must address her not only by her first name but with her patronymic as well. A patronymic is almost like a Russian middle name, except it is given to you based on your father's first name. For example, my patronymic would be Johnovna (I guess?). Not the biggest fan in the world of the whole patronymic thing (from a feminist standpoint of course) but I'm accepting it all in the name of cultural assimilation.
We arrived at our apartment building, admittedly quite dilapidated, with its pink peeling hallway and broken down elevator (loads of fun carrying my luggage up a few flights of stairs). I live on Soviet Street, which may sound pretty simple, but there are ten streets parallel to each other all named Soviet Street. Mine is the eighth in the row, hopefully it will be easy to find on my walk home from school today.
My apartment is very rustic. It definitely has not been refurnished from Soviet times. My room has lots of storage space and a big window. Luckily there are curtains, although rather thin, they still block out most of the light during the evenings. There is no air conditioning, so the small apartment can get pretty stuffy. I was tempted to open the window in my room, but I have yet to touch it for fear of the large amount of mosquitos in the city. I opted for a tiny fan that I brought from home, but within a few minutes it started smoking and over-heating! Definitely proves the importance of bringing a convertor during international travel...
Both dinner and breakfast were authentically Russian. Lots of soup and sour cream; and kasha which is Russian rice porridge. I was excited to find my room has internet, something that seems pretty rare with other homestays in the program. My host mom speaks no English at all. This has definitely been a challenge and has forced me to remember all that vocab I memorized in high school! Hopefully our language barrier turns into a positive experience for me, after all the reason I am here in Russia is to learn the language!

M-M-Metro Face

Today we continued our orientation to this new city. Culturally, Russians do not typically smile in public. Although this is something you wouldn't typically take note of when travelling, it is an important cultural difference we need to be aware of. Our on-site staff recommended we keep a "metro face" when travelling on the metro and going around the city. Personally, I was very excited by this -- especially since most people in America usually comment on my "stone-cold" expressions as rude or uninterested. Now, I can get away with not smiling all the time and it be considered normal!!

All joking aside, we spent the afternoon taking a bus tour around the city center. I was surprised at how breathtaking the city is! The nice weather attracts tourists and locals alike to come outside and enjoy the beauty of St. Petersburg. We drove by countless cathedrals, fortresses, and museums; all more exciting than the next!

I am looking forward to meeting with my host family tomorrow evening and starting classes on Tuesday morning! It's currently 11pm here and it is bright as day outside!!! This is definitely going to take some getting used to...

Back in the U.S.S.R.

Although "back" doesn't quite cut it, since I have never been here before (and no I haven't been singing The Beatles song all day, well maybe...) but I have finally arrived in the Russian Federation!

This summer, for the upcoming six weeks to be precise, I will be studying Russian language and culture in St. Petersburg. After an endlessly long and delayed flight, via Moscow of course, I have landed in my new and temporary home.

Myself and along with my group of fellow American students, will have the opportunity to study at St. Petersburg State University. Our study center is located on the Smolny Campus which, by the looks of it, is absolutely gorgeous (as seen in the photo below which I wish was taken by myself but unfortunately is a product of Google). 

Hey American U! Why can't our quad look like this?

I am so grateful to have the opportunity to study abroad again, especially in such a beautiful place like St. Petersburg. During the summers, the city of St. Petersburg comes even more alive due to its White Nights. There are festivals all throughout the city to celebrate the time where there is little or no darkness in St. Petersburg. The New York Times even reported on St. Petersburg's White Nights by saying, "After seven months of winter, come 80 nights when the sun barely sets and celebrations grip the city." 

I look forward to the white nights and all of the experiences this marvelous city has to offer!