Здравствуйте! I can't believe it's only been a week; it feels like I've been here for ages. I've been both busy and lazy, so sorry about the delay in posting. I'll try to be more regular with these from now on.
So... I'M IN RUSSIA! AHH. My first (tired and slow) impression of the country was that it was 1) snowy and 2) dirty. Sorry, St. Pete. But now that I've had a chance to explore individual streets and museums, I find I love it here. Everyone says there's a certain amount of culture shock when arriving in a foreign country; so far, no problems... *knock on wood*. My roommates and I made a group culture shock curve -- I tend to dwell in 'crisis' mode all the time, but that's normal for me. The others are way off the chart or skirting around normal. I'll post it up in the pictures tab sometime.
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| Taylor and Stephanie have also created the Russian Game of Life. There is literally no way to win... failure is the only option. |
I went to the Hermitage first, and it was beyond gorgeous. I couldn't take photos on the inside, because you have to pay extra. However, I get in for free anytime I want (go student cards!), and I'll make notes of my favorite paintings to take photos later.
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| Austin, Glenn and I, all bundled up. |
Meanwhile, I went on an excursion to Tsarskoe Selo this weekend, located in the small town of Pushkin. The Catherine Palace was decorated in the same style as the Hermitage (same architect, imagine that...); there was plenty of gold, frescoes, and lavish artifacts. The entire palace is sensory overload: gold leaf covers all statues, wall decorations, and doors; frescoes are on every ceiling; there are hand-painted silk wall coverings; delicately made Italian and Chinese desks and vases; exquisitely carved wooden floors; floor-to-ceiling paintings; all amidst bright splashes of color and glints of sophistication from the mirrors. It truly is Great, just like its previous hostess. Thankfully I could take plenty of pictures for you guys:
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| The Great Hall. The floors are hand-carved and there is a fresco ceiling. |
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| Gold leaf covers everything. |
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| There are frescoes in all of the rooms. It's intense. |
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| My secret shot of the Amber Room. We're not allowed to take photos in there, but I managed one from the doorway. It's not called 'Amber Room' for nothing: floor-to-ceiling amber mosaics. |
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| An odd occurrence: sunlight in Russia! |
On Friday night we were taken bowling, which was great fun. I usually detest bowling because I find it boring, but I had a really great time. The fact that we were served delicious foods and juices didn't hurt in the slightest. After AIFS stopped feeding us, we had a mini panic attack moment when we realized we'd have to start buying food. For the first few days I didn't really eat much, but now I've got the hang of the local grocery stores. Soon I'll set off for the Kuznechny Market -- it's an enormous enclosed market that sells all of my favorite foods: cured meats and колбаса (kolbasa); hundreds of cheeses; fresh produce; fresh meat and fish; pickled tomatoes, garlic, cucumbers, and sauerkraut.
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| Doesn't look like much, but I don't think I've ever been that happy to see lettuce. |
My classes are also wonderful. I've placed into intermediate grammar and reading, and advanced speaking. I'm still pretty slow when it comes to reading and I definitely need to work on my spelling, but my speaking class is wonderful. I absolutey love that we get to talk about a diverse range of topics in an educational way. It feels like a lovely family community where everyone can speak Russian quite well. We'll be dicussing health, politics, economy, education, family and relationships, and the arts. I'm in love with this class.
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