This morning I was faced with the same problem as before, I wanted a 21 ruble water bottle but only had a 500 bill. Instead of making the lady have to go get tons of change, I bought a bottle of vodka and a water bottle so that I would get less change. I wanted to get some Russian vodka to take home as a gift, so it really was not a waste of money, not to mention it is very cheap here.
After school today I went to the same restaurant from yesterday. This time I had two things that seemed a lot like empanadas. One filled with cheese and the other with meat, they were delicious. I also had a margarita for no reason at all and it was very good. My friend had some macaroni and cheese, which I thought was pretty funny.
When I got to the dig, I had to look for the supervisor so he could assign some location to me, and I also had to ask me to put me with Russian students. There is an American student from my program that is also working there, and they wanted to put us together, so I told them that we want to learn Russian and they split us up. I met more people from the Moscow group, they were very nice and talkative, so I got to practice a lot.
Also, two of my host sister's friends from Sweeden are here, which is pretty cool, except that I don't undertstand a thing they say...
Tomorrow I have a final exam, so I guess I should be studying...
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
New People at Work
After Russian class today, I headed straight to work. I got there around 12:45pm so they told me to come back at 2:30pm. There is an hour and a half break at 1pm, so it was pointless to start working then. I walked around the kremlin and then decided to get some food at a small restaurant near the dig. I was there for a while and around 2:15pm, I headed back to work.
When I got there, I saw a large group of people arrive, one of the supervisors said they were a group of students from Moscow. We didn't start working right away because they had to explain what to do to the new people, so they told me to start working alone. After a few minutes a guy and a girl from the group walked over and introduced themselves in English. I introduced myself in Russian, and they said they understood English just fine. I explained that the only reason I'm there is to learn the language, so after that we only used English when I didn't know how to say something or when the supervisors spoke very fast. Unfortunately, I forgot their names, I guess I can ask them again tomorrow. They will be here for two weeks, so hopefully I'll meet some more.
I worked until about 6:15pm and headed home. I was given an insane amount of food for dinner, which I initially refused, but later came to an agreement and ate it. My host family always gives me too much to eat, always more than they eat themselves, and since I don't like being rude, I eat it, but enough is enough. I hope they understand that I don't want to eat massive amounts of food, and if they don't, I guess I'll have to stop eating it.
When I got there, I saw a large group of people arrive, one of the supervisors said they were a group of students from Moscow. We didn't start working right away because they had to explain what to do to the new people, so they told me to start working alone. After a few minutes a guy and a girl from the group walked over and introduced themselves in English. I introduced myself in Russian, and they said they understood English just fine. I explained that the only reason I'm there is to learn the language, so after that we only used English when I didn't know how to say something or when the supervisors spoke very fast. Unfortunately, I forgot their names, I guess I can ask them again tomorrow. They will be here for two weeks, so hopefully I'll meet some more.
I worked until about 6:15pm and headed home. I was given an insane amount of food for dinner, which I initially refused, but later came to an agreement and ate it. My host family always gives me too much to eat, always more than they eat themselves, and since I don't like being rude, I eat it, but enough is enough. I hope they understand that I don't want to eat massive amounts of food, and if they don't, I guess I'll have to stop eating it.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Ok Sunday
Yesterday I forgot to take my allergy suppressing medicine (Claritin) and, as expected, I woke up around 6:15am sneezing and with an itchy nose. I have really bad dust allergies, and just sitting in my room, I can see the particles float around. It's very dusty, but when I take claritin, I can manage.
After showering, I stayed in my room for an hour or two so I wouldn't wake the family up. Around 9, we had breakfast. After breakfast I went to my room and took out my map of the city. I found some streets that looked interesting and planned a small walk to get there. I left the house around 10am. The streets were pretty empty, but as I got further away I started seeing more people. I walked into a movie theater and saw the posters of the movies they are playing. Maybe I was looking in the wrong place because I only saw two Harry Potter posters and another one advertising some sort of zombie-horror film in 3D, which should be interesting.
I kept walking, saw several stores, walked in to all the open markets I could find. Some of the fruit stands have things I have never seen before, but not a single one of them has mango. For some reason I decided to look for mangoes everywhere, I guess I was bored. I still haven't asked any of the fruit vendors if they know where to get them, I might try that next week. I later managed to go to some interesting neighborhoods, the kind that makes me feel uneasy to walk through. I ran into a train station and decided to go the other way. I got back to the main street I was on before and went into a pharmacy to buy some latex gloves for work.
I forgot how to say gloves in Russian, so tried describing them to the sales lady. After I realized it was pointless, I took out the ones I used last week, they were full of dirt and ripped, she laughed. I then decided to head home, while looking for mangoes in other markets of course... I ended up buying some marshmallow-like things that looked good, but only after a few minutes of misunderstanding with the salesperson. She put them on the scale and pointed at the price, it said 2.55 p., So I took out a few coins to pay her. She said no and repeated the price. I heard twenty something this time, but the price on the scale said 2.55 p., so I tried to explain to the lady. She ended up writing down the number manually, apparently the decimal point was wrong on the machine, but how was I supposed to know?
I got back around 11:30am. I read another chapter of my Russian history book, went on the computer for a little, and later took about an hour long nap. After I woke up, we had some stuffed peppers for lunch (I would have never guessed that they taste good!) and some other things. Next I went to another store to buy sunblock for work. You may think that the sun is not strong here, but after seeing that my feet have lines because of the sunburn and my sandals, I decided to take care. I'm going to be working from 9-6 in the sun every day, I hate when my skin peels. I also bought another movie, and this time I did get the real, not pirated version. I asked to see it, but the sales lady took out another one that was half the price, and told me I should get that one. I tried to explain I want the legitimate version, but I have no idea how to say that, so I just kept saying I wanted the other one until she understood.
I think I have test tomorrow, but I'm not quite sure what it is on. I'm going to check my notebook to see if I wrote it down somewhere. So that's it for today.
After showering, I stayed in my room for an hour or two so I wouldn't wake the family up. Around 9, we had breakfast. After breakfast I went to my room and took out my map of the city. I found some streets that looked interesting and planned a small walk to get there. I left the house around 10am. The streets were pretty empty, but as I got further away I started seeing more people. I walked into a movie theater and saw the posters of the movies they are playing. Maybe I was looking in the wrong place because I only saw two Harry Potter posters and another one advertising some sort of zombie-horror film in 3D, which should be interesting.
I kept walking, saw several stores, walked in to all the open markets I could find. Some of the fruit stands have things I have never seen before, but not a single one of them has mango. For some reason I decided to look for mangoes everywhere, I guess I was bored. I still haven't asked any of the fruit vendors if they know where to get them, I might try that next week. I later managed to go to some interesting neighborhoods, the kind that makes me feel uneasy to walk through. I ran into a train station and decided to go the other way. I got back to the main street I was on before and went into a pharmacy to buy some latex gloves for work.
I forgot how to say gloves in Russian, so tried describing them to the sales lady. After I realized it was pointless, I took out the ones I used last week, they were full of dirt and ripped, she laughed. I then decided to head home, while looking for mangoes in other markets of course... I ended up buying some marshmallow-like things that looked good, but only after a few minutes of misunderstanding with the salesperson. She put them on the scale and pointed at the price, it said 2.55 p., So I took out a few coins to pay her. She said no and repeated the price. I heard twenty something this time, but the price on the scale said 2.55 p., so I tried to explain to the lady. She ended up writing down the number manually, apparently the decimal point was wrong on the machine, but how was I supposed to know?
I got back around 11:30am. I read another chapter of my Russian history book, went on the computer for a little, and later took about an hour long nap. After I woke up, we had some stuffed peppers for lunch (I would have never guessed that they taste good!) and some other things. Next I went to another store to buy sunblock for work. You may think that the sun is not strong here, but after seeing that my feet have lines because of the sunburn and my sandals, I decided to take care. I'm going to be working from 9-6 in the sun every day, I hate when my skin peels. I also bought another movie, and this time I did get the real, not pirated version. I asked to see it, but the sales lady took out another one that was half the price, and told me I should get that one. I tried to explain I want the legitimate version, but I have no idea how to say that, so I just kept saying I wanted the other one until she understood.
I think I have test tomorrow, but I'm not quite sure what it is on. I'm going to check my notebook to see if I wrote it down somewhere. So that's it for today.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Weddings
Today (Saturday) was a very interesting day. I woke up about 10 times from 6am to 9am, when I finally decided to get out of bed. I showered and had breakfast with the family. After that, I went on the computer for a little and read some emails. Around 11am I left and got on a bus to go to work.
Since someone asked me how long it takes me to get to work, I timed myself each step of the way. I waited for the bus for about 15 minutes. I arrived to the final stop in another 15 and walked the rest of the way. The bus timings may not be accurate because it is Saturday, but the walking should not change a lot from day to day. I walked at a fast pace and it took me almost 20 minutes to get to the dig.
Now to the interesting stuff...
When I got there, I saw the people I met yesterday working and said hi. I then went to the supervisor and asked him where I could work for the day. He told me to work with a girl that was working alone. As soon as I sat down to work, we were given a 10 minute break. The people from yesterday came over to talk, and so did a few others. As usual, they interrogated me about many things, where I'm from, why am I in Russia, why I work at the archaeological dig, what do Americans think of Russians, do I like the pyramids in Mexico, do I like Russia, and many more... I love when this happens because I get to practice my Russian and meet people while doing it. During the next two breaks, I met more people and had more [very] short conversations. I learned that most of that group is from a big city [whose name I didn't get] near the Ural mountains. This was their last day of work and they are all heading back home tomorrow. I hope the next set of people I meet are just as nice.
Once we finished, they did all sorts of strange things. Since it was the last day, they carried out some archaeological dig traditions. They all covered their eyes with shirts and other things and held hands. Some of the local people guided them through a small path with lots of plants, trees, and rocks. In the end they arrived back to the dig, where they had hidden some sort of chocolates [with wrappers] in some dirt boxes, so they dug them up and ate them. Then they gave everyone apples and proceeded to sing the archeologist's hymn. The only reason I know what they were singing is because I saw a piece of paper that said “archeologist's hymn” (in Russian of course) while they were singing. They also did some sort of pledge that they were now Novgorodian archaeologists and received some pretty cool antique nails to take with them. After that we all headed home.
I didn't time my trip back home, but I think it took longer because that bus took forever to arrive. When I got home, I read a chapter of a book I have and later had lunch. Since I was a little bored, I decided to go take a walk, so I what I thought to be a small shopping center near where I live. Being my curious self, I went up stairs, into strange hallways, and got myself semi-lost. Apparently there are four floors in a building I thought was not part of the shopping place. I also found a small market under everything else. They sell fruits, fish, meat, clothes, cheese, and many other things.
I forgot to write about the title! The reason I chose that title is because over the last two days, I have seen many newlyweds. Yesterday I was walking around the kremlin and saw several brides taking pictures near some of the monuments. Later I saw two groups of cars all nice and decorated with flowers and balloons. The first or second car had the newlyweds (one was a limousine) and then there were about ten more cars behind them. Whenever I saw them drive by, everyone was honking their horns. Today I saw a few more, I heard them coming from far away.
So that's it for today, I wonder what I will do tomorrow...
Since someone asked me how long it takes me to get to work, I timed myself each step of the way. I waited for the bus for about 15 minutes. I arrived to the final stop in another 15 and walked the rest of the way. The bus timings may not be accurate because it is Saturday, but the walking should not change a lot from day to day. I walked at a fast pace and it took me almost 20 minutes to get to the dig.
Now to the interesting stuff...
When I got there, I saw the people I met yesterday working and said hi. I then went to the supervisor and asked him where I could work for the day. He told me to work with a girl that was working alone. As soon as I sat down to work, we were given a 10 minute break. The people from yesterday came over to talk, and so did a few others. As usual, they interrogated me about many things, where I'm from, why am I in Russia, why I work at the archaeological dig, what do Americans think of Russians, do I like the pyramids in Mexico, do I like Russia, and many more... I love when this happens because I get to practice my Russian and meet people while doing it. During the next two breaks, I met more people and had more [very] short conversations. I learned that most of that group is from a big city [whose name I didn't get] near the Ural mountains. This was their last day of work and they are all heading back home tomorrow. I hope the next set of people I meet are just as nice.
Once we finished, they did all sorts of strange things. Since it was the last day, they carried out some archaeological dig traditions. They all covered their eyes with shirts and other things and held hands. Some of the local people guided them through a small path with lots of plants, trees, and rocks. In the end they arrived back to the dig, where they had hidden some sort of chocolates [with wrappers] in some dirt boxes, so they dug them up and ate them. Then they gave everyone apples and proceeded to sing the archeologist's hymn. The only reason I know what they were singing is because I saw a piece of paper that said “archeologist's hymn” (in Russian of course) while they were singing. They also did some sort of pledge that they were now Novgorodian archaeologists and received some pretty cool antique nails to take with them. After that we all headed home.
I didn't time my trip back home, but I think it took longer because that bus took forever to arrive. When I got home, I read a chapter of a book I have and later had lunch. Since I was a little bored, I decided to go take a walk, so I what I thought to be a small shopping center near where I live. Being my curious self, I went up stairs, into strange hallways, and got myself semi-lost. Apparently there are four floors in a building I thought was not part of the shopping place. I also found a small market under everything else. They sell fruits, fish, meat, clothes, cheese, and many other things.
I forgot to write about the title! The reason I chose that title is because over the last two days, I have seen many newlyweds. Yesterday I was walking around the kremlin and saw several brides taking pictures near some of the monuments. Later I saw two groups of cars all nice and decorated with flowers and balloons. The first or second car had the newlyweds (one was a limousine) and then there were about ten more cars behind them. Whenever I saw them drive by, everyone was honking their horns. Today I saw a few more, I heard them coming from far away.
So that's it for today, I wonder what I will do tomorrow...
Friday, July 27, 2007
Work, Finally!
This morning, the sky was cloudy and the forecast said there was going to be rain throughout the day. I put on my jacket and went to school. After two hours or so, I looked out the window and the sky was blue and the sun was out. After Russian class, we went to some stores looking for a flag or something and later went to a museum with a lot of golden artifacts. They were mostly church related, like gold covered bibles, crosses, and other similar things.
When we finished walking through the museum, I headed to work, since the weather was so nice. Apparently I arrived in the middle of a break, because the site was empty, except for three people. I asked one of them if there was work today and he said yes, so I waited until everyone else arrived. After some of the supervisors arrived, one told me to go talk to another one and ask him what I could do. So I went and he told me to work with some other guy that was standing there. Unfortunately, this other guy doesn't seem to enjoy talking, so we just worked quietly. We found many bones, pieces of ceramic, and other interesting things, much more than last time I worked. In one of the 10 minute breaks we get every hour, some people came over to ask me questions, so I was very happy. They first asked me if I spoke Russian, so I said I speak a little. They knew some English as well, so it was fairly easy to communicate. Unfortunately, this was their last day of work and they are all going back to their home towns next week, just my luck. Hopefully next week I will meet more people. Actually, one of them said that they might work tomorrow, and since I don't ever do anything on Saturday, I think I will go and see who is there.
When we finished walking through the museum, I headed to work, since the weather was so nice. Apparently I arrived in the middle of a break, because the site was empty, except for three people. I asked one of them if there was work today and he said yes, so I waited until everyone else arrived. After some of the supervisors arrived, one told me to go talk to another one and ask him what I could do. So I went and he told me to work with some other guy that was standing there. Unfortunately, this other guy doesn't seem to enjoy talking, so we just worked quietly. We found many bones, pieces of ceramic, and other interesting things, much more than last time I worked. In one of the 10 minute breaks we get every hour, some people came over to ask me questions, so I was very happy. They first asked me if I spoke Russian, so I said I speak a little. They knew some English as well, so it was fairly easy to communicate. Unfortunately, this was their last day of work and they are all going back to their home towns next week, just my luck. Hopefully next week I will meet more people. Actually, one of them said that they might work tomorrow, and since I don't ever do anything on Saturday, I think I will go and see who is there.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
No More Cold Water!
So this morning I woke up and headed to the kitchen to heat up some water for my shower.
Once I had it, I headed to the bathroom to shower. Being strange as I am, I decided to open the hot water just to see what happened. Cold water started to come out, but it wasn't quite as cold as the cold water, so I decided to use that. I started with my hair, and after a few seconds, the water didn't seem too cold, so I opened it all the way. A few seconds later hot water was burning me, but I was so happy, I didn't really care.
I think they had just turned it on because the hot water pipe, which is out in the open and usually very hot, was cold when I touched it before.
Anyway... The rest of my day was not quite as exiting (if you consider the hot water to be). My history teacher had to go to St. Peterburg so I went home right after Russian class, and since it was raining, no work again today.
I hope again and again that it doesn't rain tomorrow. If I go to work, I get to meet new people and practice my Russian, if I don't, I get to sit here at home for most of the day.
Once I had it, I headed to the bathroom to shower. Being strange as I am, I decided to open the hot water just to see what happened. Cold water started to come out, but it wasn't quite as cold as the cold water, so I decided to use that. I started with my hair, and after a few seconds, the water didn't seem too cold, so I opened it all the way. A few seconds later hot water was burning me, but I was so happy, I didn't really care.
I think they had just turned it on because the hot water pipe, which is out in the open and usually very hot, was cold when I touched it before.
Anyway... The rest of my day was not quite as exiting (if you consider the hot water to be). My history teacher had to go to St. Peterburg so I went home right after Russian class, and since it was raining, no work again today.
I hope again and again that it doesn't rain tomorrow. If I go to work, I get to meet new people and practice my Russian, if I don't, I get to sit here at home for most of the day.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Uneventful Day
Today was pretty uneventful. We still have no hot water, but this time, I got a small bucket with hot water from the kitchen in order to shower. I shaved and showered without suffering too much. After that, I had breakfast and went to school.
During class, it was raining outside, which pretty much meant no work for the day. After history class, I got on the bus and headed home. When I arrived, I had to explain to the grandmother why I didn't go to work. I don't think she quite understood because she had an unhappy/disappointed look on her face. How do I explain that if it rains, the earth is moist, and therefore they don't do archaeological digging? I had lunch, did some homework, programmed a little, and then felt a need to go out. I went to the movie place and bought two DVDs. They were only about $4 each and this time, I made sure they were legit, unlike the last ones I got.
During dinner I drank a shot of vodka with my host dad and now I'm here. The interesting thing is that it happened after the discussion about me not liking beer and other alcoholic beverages. It was a funny series of events that led there. It wasn't too bad, I have had worse, this one didn't burn my throat. Now I still have nothing to do, so I think I'm going to sleep early today. I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow so I can work...
During class, it was raining outside, which pretty much meant no work for the day. After history class, I got on the bus and headed home. When I arrived, I had to explain to the grandmother why I didn't go to work. I don't think she quite understood because she had an unhappy/disappointed look on her face. How do I explain that if it rains, the earth is moist, and therefore they don't do archaeological digging? I had lunch, did some homework, programmed a little, and then felt a need to go out. I went to the movie place and bought two DVDs. They were only about $4 each and this time, I made sure they were legit, unlike the last ones I got.
During dinner I drank a shot of vodka with my host dad and now I'm here. The interesting thing is that it happened after the discussion about me not liking beer and other alcoholic beverages. It was a funny series of events that led there. It wasn't too bad, I have had worse, this one didn't burn my throat. Now I still have nothing to do, so I think I'm going to sleep early today. I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow so I can work...
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Cold Water
So today I woke up as usual and headed to the shower. When I opened the hot water, nothing came out, and I heard this very strange noise coming from the shower head. I thought for a few seconds and then decided to shower anyway. I still don't know if that was a good idea. The cold water here is extremely cold! After a few minutes, I was done showering, but I was also trembling like crazy. I then decided not to shave with cold water; maybe later I'll heat some on the stove and use that. I later found out that we will not be getting any hot water for three days, oh well… (In this building the hot water is supplied everyone. People don’t have their own heater in each apartment.)
I went to school, then to an art museum, the St. Sofia cathedral, and finally took a boat ride along the river. I saw some pretty cool churches and monasteries, an unfinished bridge from the 1910's, and other interesting things. Once we got back, we went to a restaurant to have dinner because one guy from the group is leaving early. I had some very good food there. I'm not sure what it was, the dish was called “Pink Flamingo” and didn't exactly say what the meat was. I doubt it was flamingo, but they did have some ostrich like pictures on a brochure on the table, which was sort of weird.
Now I'm going to go to sleep...
I went to school, then to an art museum, the St. Sofia cathedral, and finally took a boat ride along the river. I saw some pretty cool churches and monasteries, an unfinished bridge from the 1910's, and other interesting things. Once we got back, we went to a restaurant to have dinner because one guy from the group is leaving early. I had some very good food there. I'm not sure what it was, the dish was called “Pink Flamingo” and didn't exactly say what the meat was. I doubt it was flamingo, but they did have some ostrich like pictures on a brochure on the table, which was sort of weird.
Now I'm going to go to sleep...
Monday, July 23, 2007
First Day of Work
Today went like most other days, in the morning that is. I woke up, showered, ..., and eventually finished history class. After that, I walked to the bus stop and took a bus that took me near the Kremlin. After that, I walked for 10-15 minutes to get to the job site. It is an archaeological dig. When I got there, I walked down to where the people were, stood there, and had a confused look. Soon there was two people talking to me. One of them was sort of like a supervisor, and the other one spoke English. He explained to me what to do, have me a little shovel, a bucket, and a small wooden stool. My job was to clean a large piece of wood and it's surroundings. I would get the dirt off, make sure there wasn't anything interesting in it, such as bones or pottery, and put it (the dirt) in the bucket. There was a box were we put the other stuff.
I got there around 3pm and worked until 6:15pm with a few 10 minute breaks. They didn't really explain very much how exactly I was supposed to be digging, but oh well, if I break something.... For my first day, I think I did ok. I found some small bones, and a bigger one that was either a jawbone or very large tooth. I asked the boss lady what it was and she kept pointing at her teeth, so I think that's what it was.
After work, I walked another 10-15 minutes to the bus stop and got on a bus home. When I got here, the house was empty, which is a first. I went on the computer for a little and then started writing this. Then the family got back from who knows where and told me to eat dinner. I had some nice pilmini, which are like the things in wonton soup, which I really like. Then I had some cold something and later was given a drink with a bunch of stuff in it. I wish I knew what it all was, it definitely does not look good, but always ends up tasting ok or pretty good.
Now I have to do my homework...
I got there around 3pm and worked until 6:15pm with a few 10 minute breaks. They didn't really explain very much how exactly I was supposed to be digging, but oh well, if I break something.... For my first day, I think I did ok. I found some small bones, and a bigger one that was either a jawbone or very large tooth. I asked the boss lady what it was and she kept pointing at her teeth, so I think that's what it was.
After work, I walked another 10-15 minutes to the bus stop and got on a bus home. When I got here, the house was empty, which is a first. I went on the computer for a little and then started writing this. Then the family got back from who knows where and told me to eat dinner. I had some nice pilmini, which are like the things in wonton soup, which I really like. Then I had some cold something and later was given a drink with a bunch of stuff in it. I wish I knew what it all was, it definitely does not look good, but always ends up tasting ok or pretty good.
Now I have to do my homework...
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Walk in the Park
Today was not very interesting, but it was not very boring either. After I woke up and had breakfast, I did some of my homework for class and decided to go out. While waiting for the bus, some old lady started speaking to me and making strange gestures with her hand. I told her I did not understand her, but she kept talking. Once I got on the bust, she followed, sat down, and started speaking to half the people on the bus, it was quite strange. After the bust ride, I ended up in a big shopping center. I walked around for a while and noticed 90% of the stores were womens clothing. I found a music/movie/books store and spent some time there. I bought a book and some discs. I also managed to make the cashier lady angry. The ATM only gave me 1000 ruble bills, and she kept asking if I had smaller ones, I said no a few times until she took it and walked away. She came back with my change and a not very happy face. Oh well, I can't make everyone happy... I then walked around some more trying to find the place where I entered so I could leave and ended up in a huge furniture store. I never realized how long the mall was, and the stupid furniture store was just as long. Once I found my way out, I bought a soda and headed back home.
When I arrived, the grandma asked me where I had been and what I had in my hand. I told her I went to the store and bought a book and some disks. That wasn't enough information, she followed me into my room and asked to see exactly what I had bought. Now I just say I'm going outside, and not exactly where I am going. I doubt it will help though.
After lunch, I watched part of a Russian soccer game on tv, talked to my parents on the computer, and decided I was bored again. I got on another bus and went to another shopping place I had not been to. This one was four stories tall (the other was three) but again, a bunch of female clothing stores. After seeing that, I got out and got on another bus, which took me close to the Kremlin. I walked around the park, bought some ice cream, walked over the river, walked back, walked some more, etc... Around 8:30pm I decided to head back. When I got in the bus, I saw one of the girls I met the a few weeks ago when I visited the English class. She was with a friend, so we didn't really talk, but it was nice to see someone I knew. Now I'm back home and probably going to sleep soon. Maybe tomorrow will be more eventful.
When I arrived, the grandma asked me where I had been and what I had in my hand. I told her I went to the store and bought a book and some disks. That wasn't enough information, she followed me into my room and asked to see exactly what I had bought. Now I just say I'm going outside, and not exactly where I am going. I doubt it will help though.
After lunch, I watched part of a Russian soccer game on tv, talked to my parents on the computer, and decided I was bored again. I got on another bus and went to another shopping place I had not been to. This one was four stories tall (the other was three) but again, a bunch of female clothing stores. After seeing that, I got out and got on another bus, which took me close to the Kremlin. I walked around the park, bought some ice cream, walked over the river, walked back, walked some more, etc... Around 8:30pm I decided to head back. When I got in the bus, I saw one of the girls I met the a few weeks ago when I visited the English class. She was with a friend, so we didn't really talk, but it was nice to see someone I knew. Now I'm back home and probably going to sleep soon. Maybe tomorrow will be more eventful.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Old Russia
Today I went to a town whose name translates to Old Russia. I think the main reason it is famous is because the house of famous writer, Dostoevsky, is there. The house is now a museum and we walked around it with a lady explaining what everything was. After the house, we went to a small church with many paintings. We didn't spend a lot of time there so we went to a restaurant to get food. Maybe all this happened in a different order, I can't seem to remember what I did this morning...
After lunch, went to a cemetery where German soldiers from WWII are buried. This was a very interesting site, I definitely did not expect to see something like it in Russia. It is located on the shore of Ilmen lake, so we walked down to the beach and took some pictures. After that, we got back on the bus and headed home. I think the ride was about an hour an a half, but I don't really remember well.
Once in Novgorod, we got some ice cream, hung out for a while, then I headed home. I still don't know if I am going to do anything else tonight, but I have a feeling I won't.
After lunch, went to a cemetery where German soldiers from WWII are buried. This was a very interesting site, I definitely did not expect to see something like it in Russia. It is located on the shore of Ilmen lake, so we walked down to the beach and took some pictures. After that, we got back on the bus and headed home. I think the ride was about an hour an a half, but I don't really remember well.
Once in Novgorod, we got some ice cream, hung out for a while, then I headed home. I still don't know if I am going to do anything else tonight, but I have a feeling I won't.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
New Friends
Today was awesome. I did the usual in the morning and went to class. After Russian history class we all walked to a local university to meet some students who are learning English. On our way there we were greeted by a group of students who walked with us back to the school. We went to a very nice classroom with several computers and some amazing LCD monitors. In the middle was a sort of oval-ish table where we all sat. We introduced ourselves and separated into smaller groups to talk.
All the students were very nice, their English was great, especially since some had never spoken to a native speaker before. After two hours or so, they told us it was great that we were talking and practicing, but if we wanted to continue, we had to do it somewhere else. Once we left the university, most students went their way. Three girls came with some of us and decided to go get some pizza. As usual, we didn't take the right bus, walked, got on the right one, but didn't get off on time, and later walked back. One of them stayed on the bus and went home, but the rest came to the pizza place. I really enjoyed the pizza. We talked and took pictures while we waited. Once we were done, we wasted about 10 minutes figuring out who paid for what. The waitress returned our change, but I wanted to leave a tip. We argued about that for another 10 minutes and decided not to leave it on the table because someone else might take it. So I took it to the waitress myself. She gave me one of the weirdest looks I have gotten in a while. Apparently it is not customary to leave tip in that restaurant. It was very embarrassing, but at least I don't feel bad by not leaving any tip.
The way back was also fun, the bus took about half an hour to get to the stop, so I got more time to practice my Russian. We continued talking throughout the bus ride and got off at the same station, apparently they live close by. Now I'm back at home and I need to do my homework for tomorrow.... FUN! (not)
All the students were very nice, their English was great, especially since some had never spoken to a native speaker before. After two hours or so, they told us it was great that we were talking and practicing, but if we wanted to continue, we had to do it somewhere else. Once we left the university, most students went their way. Three girls came with some of us and decided to go get some pizza. As usual, we didn't take the right bus, walked, got on the right one, but didn't get off on time, and later walked back. One of them stayed on the bus and went home, but the rest came to the pizza place. I really enjoyed the pizza. We talked and took pictures while we waited. Once we were done, we wasted about 10 minutes figuring out who paid for what. The waitress returned our change, but I wanted to leave a tip. We argued about that for another 10 minutes and decided not to leave it on the table because someone else might take it. So I took it to the waitress myself. She gave me one of the weirdest looks I have gotten in a while. Apparently it is not customary to leave tip in that restaurant. It was very embarrassing, but at least I don't feel bad by not leaving any tip.
The way back was also fun, the bus took about half an hour to get to the stop, so I got more time to practice my Russian. We continued talking throughout the bus ride and got off at the same station, apparently they live close by. Now I'm back at home and I need to do my homework for tomorrow.... FUN! (not)
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Laughing at Myself
I don't usually start laughing in the middle of the street, but on some occasions, I just have to do it.
On a normal day, my alarm wakes me up at 6:50am, I shower, go on the computer, have breakfast, and then around 8am I go outside to the bus stop. Around 8:25am I get to school and classes start at 9am.
Today my alarm sounded, I woke up, showered, and went on the computer. I checked my email quickly because I had to get breakfast and leave by the hour. The computer clock said something like 6:30am, I thought it must be wrong because of daylight savings or something. I checked my cell phone, and it said, 7:30am, so I proved the computer wrong and kept on going. When I got to the kitchen, nobody was there. I thought that was strange because everyday either my host mother or father are already up. I figured they were tired and slept in, so I made myself lunch for school and started making a simple breakfast. I heard an alarm in one of the rooms, but it was quickly turned off. Later, unfortunately, I dropped something and made a loud noise, my host dad jumped out of bed and came to the kitchen. He had a very confused look on his face, I assumed it was because he realized he had slept in. He helped me with breakfast and went to the bathroom or something like that. I brushed my teeth and left the house. This was about 8:10am according to my cell phone.
The day seemed strange, the sun wasn't as high as it usually was and the bus I got into was unusually crowded. After I switched to the second bus, I saw that it said 7:22 on it's display. I must have missed the 7 because it did not seem strange to me at all. Once I got off near the school, I started walking and looked at my watch; it was around 7:30. I thought, that's strange, I don't remember messing with it, I guess the battery is dying or something. Finally, after a million signs, it hit me. I remembered that I had been playing with the time zones on my cell phone last night and I must have made a mistake. I then started laughing. I realized how many things I missed, the computer clock, the sleeping family, the sun position, the crowded bus, the bus clock, etc... I then started imagining what my host family was going to think, I leave the house before I am supposed to even wake up, I don't say where I'm going, I was in a hurry. I sent an SMS to my host dad trying to explain in Russian what had just happened. Once I did that I realized I had an hour and a half before class started and nothing to do. I decided to walk around, but everything was closed. I ended up taking a nap in a bench in front of the school until it was time for class.
Class was normal, it ended a little early because we went to two convents outside of the city. The first one was very cool, it had it's silver domes and beautiful gardens. The inside was interesting, I had never been inside a working Russian Orthodox church, other than the ones in St. Petersburg, but those were full of tourists. In the same convent is the body of a famous Russian poet, I forgot his name as usual. I bought a chocolate bar from the shop the nuns run, it was very good. They also sell bottled holy water, which I thought was very interesting.
The second convent was not as interesting. The outside was amazing, it had decorated tiles on the outside of the church. They wanted to charge us to take pictures of the outside, and they didn't let us inside, so we left after a few minutes.
After that I took a bus home. When I got here, my host dad was waiting at the door, and as soon as I walked in, he told me to go in the kitchen and pointed at the clock. I just burst out laughing again, and so did the rest of the family. I'm glad they understood (at least I think they did, they were laughing...) and I didn't have to try and explain any further.
Tonight I will make sure my cell phone has the right time before I go to bed, and knowing me, I will keep doing that for a long time.
On a normal day, my alarm wakes me up at 6:50am, I shower, go on the computer, have breakfast, and then around 8am I go outside to the bus stop. Around 8:25am I get to school and classes start at 9am.
Today my alarm sounded, I woke up, showered, and went on the computer. I checked my email quickly because I had to get breakfast and leave by the hour. The computer clock said something like 6:30am, I thought it must be wrong because of daylight savings or something. I checked my cell phone, and it said, 7:30am, so I proved the computer wrong and kept on going. When I got to the kitchen, nobody was there. I thought that was strange because everyday either my host mother or father are already up. I figured they were tired and slept in, so I made myself lunch for school and started making a simple breakfast. I heard an alarm in one of the rooms, but it was quickly turned off. Later, unfortunately, I dropped something and made a loud noise, my host dad jumped out of bed and came to the kitchen. He had a very confused look on his face, I assumed it was because he realized he had slept in. He helped me with breakfast and went to the bathroom or something like that. I brushed my teeth and left the house. This was about 8:10am according to my cell phone.
The day seemed strange, the sun wasn't as high as it usually was and the bus I got into was unusually crowded. After I switched to the second bus, I saw that it said 7:22 on it's display. I must have missed the 7 because it did not seem strange to me at all. Once I got off near the school, I started walking and looked at my watch; it was around 7:30. I thought, that's strange, I don't remember messing with it, I guess the battery is dying or something. Finally, after a million signs, it hit me. I remembered that I had been playing with the time zones on my cell phone last night and I must have made a mistake. I then started laughing. I realized how many things I missed, the computer clock, the sleeping family, the sun position, the crowded bus, the bus clock, etc... I then started imagining what my host family was going to think, I leave the house before I am supposed to even wake up, I don't say where I'm going, I was in a hurry. I sent an SMS to my host dad trying to explain in Russian what had just happened. Once I did that I realized I had an hour and a half before class started and nothing to do. I decided to walk around, but everything was closed. I ended up taking a nap in a bench in front of the school until it was time for class.
Class was normal, it ended a little early because we went to two convents outside of the city. The first one was very cool, it had it's silver domes and beautiful gardens. The inside was interesting, I had never been inside a working Russian Orthodox church, other than the ones in St. Petersburg, but those were full of tourists. In the same convent is the body of a famous Russian poet, I forgot his name as usual. I bought a chocolate bar from the shop the nuns run, it was very good. They also sell bottled holy water, which I thought was very interesting.
The second convent was not as interesting. The outside was amazing, it had decorated tiles on the outside of the church. They wanted to charge us to take pictures of the outside, and they didn't let us inside, so we left after a few minutes.
After that I took a bus home. When I got here, my host dad was waiting at the door, and as soon as I walked in, he told me to go in the kitchen and pointed at the clock. I just burst out laughing again, and so did the rest of the family. I'm glad they understood (at least I think they did, they were laughing...) and I didn't have to try and explain any further.
Tonight I will make sure my cell phone has the right time before I go to bed, and knowing me, I will keep doing that for a long time.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg was awesome! I just got back from four days over there, and I am very satisfied with what I saw.
On Thursday I woke up around 6am to make the 8am train to St. Petersburg. The train ride was about 3 hours long, so it was not bad at all. Once we arrived, we took a bus to our hotel, which was right on Nevsky Prospect, which is the main street where many nice things are. After that we went to the Saviour on the Blood cathedral, which is extremely colorful on the outside and very fancy on the inside. After that we went.... actually, I don't remember, so I'll just go to the next day.
Friday was probably the longest day. I think we went to St. Isaac cathedral in the morning. Its dome is 100m high, which is pretty incredible when you are standing right under it. There were some statues that stood about 12m tall, but since they were at the top of the dome, they seemed minuscule. We got to climb on top of the cathedral and got some pretty cool views and pictures (Which I will probably post when I get back to Miami.) We then went to the Hermitage, which I think is one of the largest museums in the world. The Hermitage used to be the winter palace for the Tsars. If I remember correctly, the museum has around 3.5 million pieces of art, but it only displays like 3% of that at a time, it is incredible. We spent a long time in there, walking from exhibit to exhibit, seeing the different rooms in the palace, etc... After the Hermitage, we had lunch, went back to the hotel, and took a long nap. We then went to see the ballet “Swans Lake”. I had never seen a ballet in my life, and I did not really enjoy the first two acts because I had no idea what was going on. The music was amazing though, there were many musicians and the conductor playing right in front of the theater, just like it used to be in old plays. After the second act, a friend let me read the program and I understood the story, once I did, I really enjoyed the rest of it.
The ballet ended around 10:30pm and five of us decided to go somewhere before we headed back. A friend wanted to go to this pub (I forget the name of it.) which took us a long time to find, even though it was right in front of us. We ordered some drinks (and a club sandwich for myself) and talked for a while. There was three Russian girls in the table next to us, and they kept looking at one of the guys in our table, eventually they threw a napkin with stuff written on it, so we went over to their table. One of them spoke English very well, another spoke very little, and the third one didn't speak any at all. We had a lot of fun speaking in English and Russian and around 3am decided to go somewhere. We walked around in circles for a while until we got to a night club, since it was 3:30am and half of the people didn't want to go in, we headed back towards our hotel. Around 4am I was tired and decided to call it a night and go to sleep, everyone else went to McDonalds.
The next morning I woke up at 7:55am, I don't know why I did; my internal clock needs some serious repairs. Around 10am we headed for the docks and got in a really futuristic looking boat. It was one of those hydrofoils that glide above the water when it is going fast. This took us to the Peterhoff, or Summer palace. This palace has hundreds of beautiful fountains, some that shoot over 20m high, but the most amazing thing is that they are purely gravity powered. There are no water pumps anywhere, I was really happy to see such an interesting thing that was built over a hundred years ago. We walked around the palace and parks for a while and later headed back. We got on the wrong boat and ended up somewhere different than where we had left earlier. Fortunately, there was a good restaurant nearby and we got some great Russian food. We then took the subway back to our area. The subway was probably the cleanest part of the city. There was not a single graffiti on the wall, no trash on the floor, there are statues and fancy lamps on the stations, it was very cool. We then took another long nap and went to a Mexican restaurant. Another unexpected thing, this Mexican restaurant was better than any Mexican restaurants I have been to in the USA! There was live music and even a couple that danced as a show. The food was great, the drinks were great, and the atmosphere was awesome. In the table next to us was a group of about 20 Russian men and women. I'm not sure who they were, but they wore very nice (expensive) clothes and had several bodyguards outside of the restaurant. They seemed to have a lot of fun taking pictures of themselves wearing sombreros.
Around midnight, there was a fountain/light/laser show in the middle of the river. I don't think I have ever seen anything like it. There was very loud music playing, and massive fountains lit with laser and colored lights playing along with it.
Today (Sunday) we walked around the city just for fun. We went to a small market, a bookstore, a military antique store (which was way too expensive), rode the subway, and headed back to the hotel. Around 4:30 we got on a bus to the train station, got on the train, and headed back to Novgorod.
I wish I could write more, but I'm tired and I have school tomorrow, so that’s it for today.
On Thursday I woke up around 6am to make the 8am train to St. Petersburg. The train ride was about 3 hours long, so it was not bad at all. Once we arrived, we took a bus to our hotel, which was right on Nevsky Prospect, which is the main street where many nice things are. After that we went to the Saviour on the Blood cathedral, which is extremely colorful on the outside and very fancy on the inside. After that we went.... actually, I don't remember, so I'll just go to the next day.
Friday was probably the longest day. I think we went to St. Isaac cathedral in the morning. Its dome is 100m high, which is pretty incredible when you are standing right under it. There were some statues that stood about 12m tall, but since they were at the top of the dome, they seemed minuscule. We got to climb on top of the cathedral and got some pretty cool views and pictures (Which I will probably post when I get back to Miami.) We then went to the Hermitage, which I think is one of the largest museums in the world. The Hermitage used to be the winter palace for the Tsars. If I remember correctly, the museum has around 3.5 million pieces of art, but it only displays like 3% of that at a time, it is incredible. We spent a long time in there, walking from exhibit to exhibit, seeing the different rooms in the palace, etc... After the Hermitage, we had lunch, went back to the hotel, and took a long nap. We then went to see the ballet “Swans Lake”. I had never seen a ballet in my life, and I did not really enjoy the first two acts because I had no idea what was going on. The music was amazing though, there were many musicians and the conductor playing right in front of the theater, just like it used to be in old plays. After the second act, a friend let me read the program and I understood the story, once I did, I really enjoyed the rest of it.
The ballet ended around 10:30pm and five of us decided to go somewhere before we headed back. A friend wanted to go to this pub (I forget the name of it.) which took us a long time to find, even though it was right in front of us. We ordered some drinks (and a club sandwich for myself) and talked for a while. There was three Russian girls in the table next to us, and they kept looking at one of the guys in our table, eventually they threw a napkin with stuff written on it, so we went over to their table. One of them spoke English very well, another spoke very little, and the third one didn't speak any at all. We had a lot of fun speaking in English and Russian and around 3am decided to go somewhere. We walked around in circles for a while until we got to a night club, since it was 3:30am and half of the people didn't want to go in, we headed back towards our hotel. Around 4am I was tired and decided to call it a night and go to sleep, everyone else went to McDonalds.
The next morning I woke up at 7:55am, I don't know why I did; my internal clock needs some serious repairs. Around 10am we headed for the docks and got in a really futuristic looking boat. It was one of those hydrofoils that glide above the water when it is going fast. This took us to the Peterhoff, or Summer palace. This palace has hundreds of beautiful fountains, some that shoot over 20m high, but the most amazing thing is that they are purely gravity powered. There are no water pumps anywhere, I was really happy to see such an interesting thing that was built over a hundred years ago. We walked around the palace and parks for a while and later headed back. We got on the wrong boat and ended up somewhere different than where we had left earlier. Fortunately, there was a good restaurant nearby and we got some great Russian food. We then took the subway back to our area. The subway was probably the cleanest part of the city. There was not a single graffiti on the wall, no trash on the floor, there are statues and fancy lamps on the stations, it was very cool. We then took another long nap and went to a Mexican restaurant. Another unexpected thing, this Mexican restaurant was better than any Mexican restaurants I have been to in the USA! There was live music and even a couple that danced as a show. The food was great, the drinks were great, and the atmosphere was awesome. In the table next to us was a group of about 20 Russian men and women. I'm not sure who they were, but they wore very nice (expensive) clothes and had several bodyguards outside of the restaurant. They seemed to have a lot of fun taking pictures of themselves wearing sombreros.
Around midnight, there was a fountain/light/laser show in the middle of the river. I don't think I have ever seen anything like it. There was very loud music playing, and massive fountains lit with laser and colored lights playing along with it.
Today (Sunday) we walked around the city just for fun. We went to a small market, a bookstore, a military antique store (which was way too expensive), rode the subway, and headed back to the hotel. Around 4:30 we got on a bus to the train station, got on the train, and headed back to Novgorod.
I wish I could write more, but I'm tired and I have school tomorrow, so that’s it for today.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Long Day
I have not had much time to relax since 9am this morning. It feels good to finish the day.
I did the usual this morning and got to school around 8:25am. I sat on a bench outside and listened to music until class started at 9. Our teacher had to leave at 10am and left us some work to do for an hour. In the third hour, we sat in the more advanced class with another teacher and tried to learn some stuff. I think I did learn though.
After lunch, I had history for an hour and a half, we had to cut it short because we had to leave early to go catch a bus. We went to a small church like place where a man named Vladimir works. He is a master birch bark weaver (His title is something like that.) and is working in his doctorate. He was nice enough to take three hours to teach us how to make some really neat baskets. Making the basket was easier than I thought, but it takes patience and time. I am not a very patient person, and I had to finish in two hours because I was going to go to a show at 7pm and had to be home at 6pm. I finished around 5:15pm and headed out. As usual, I made a few wrong turns and decided to walk halfway home. I took a few buses that took me nowhere useful and walked some more. The funny thing is, I knew where I was, but being me, I figured out a way to take the longest possible route without meaning to.
I finally got home around 6:05pm had a quick lunch, and headed out. We got to the theater around 6:55pm, so it was ok.
I think the play is called Анаморфозы Шута, but maybe not. It has something to do with Salvador Dali, and it is a fantasy. There was no speaking in the play, which is good, because if there was, it would be in Russian. I still didn't understand much, oh well. It was pretty cool though.
Tomorrow morning I am leaving to St. Petersburg, I don't feel like carrying my laptop, so no blog posts until Sunday night/Monday. I'm tired.
I did the usual this morning and got to school around 8:25am. I sat on a bench outside and listened to music until class started at 9. Our teacher had to leave at 10am and left us some work to do for an hour. In the third hour, we sat in the more advanced class with another teacher and tried to learn some stuff. I think I did learn though.
After lunch, I had history for an hour and a half, we had to cut it short because we had to leave early to go catch a bus. We went to a small church like place where a man named Vladimir works. He is a master birch bark weaver (His title is something like that.) and is working in his doctorate. He was nice enough to take three hours to teach us how to make some really neat baskets. Making the basket was easier than I thought, but it takes patience and time. I am not a very patient person, and I had to finish in two hours because I was going to go to a show at 7pm and had to be home at 6pm. I finished around 5:15pm and headed out. As usual, I made a few wrong turns and decided to walk halfway home. I took a few buses that took me nowhere useful and walked some more. The funny thing is, I knew where I was, but being me, I figured out a way to take the longest possible route without meaning to.
I finally got home around 6:05pm had a quick lunch, and headed out. We got to the theater around 6:55pm, so it was ok.
I think the play is called Анаморфозы Шута, but maybe not. It has something to do with Salvador Dali, and it is a fantasy. There was no speaking in the play, which is good, because if there was, it would be in Russian. I still didn't understand much, oh well. It was pretty cool though.
Tomorrow morning I am leaving to St. Petersburg, I don't feel like carrying my laptop, so no blog posts until Sunday night/Monday. I'm tired.
Monday, July 9, 2007
(no ideas)
Yesterday wasn't very interesting so I didn't feel like writing something. I walked around the Kremlin and that's pretty much all that is interesting.
Today has been more fun. I got up early, showered, had breakfast, and headed to class. The bus I got on was extremely packed, I went in the front-most door and ended up standing pretty close to the windshield, right next to the driver. It wasn't a problem until he started asking me to move around so he could see if there were any cars coming in an intersection. The second bus wasn't nearly as full and I actually got to sit down.
Russian class was interesting too because we got a new teacher. Our original teacher had something to do this week, so she will be out. I learned some more new things about the language, which I always enjoy. After that we had our first Russian History class. Today we only covered a basic overview of the whole culture and why Russians are the way they are. I also learned some other cool things, I didn't know that Russians had gone all the way down from Alaska to California! I guess I should have payed attention in world history class a long time ago, not that I know if they covered that or not...
After class I came back home, had some good lunch, and did my homework. I later went on the computer and checked my email. I was extremely happy to see that some of my new Russian friends had sent me emails. One of the emails was completely in Russian, so it took me a few minutes to translate everything and figure out what they were telling me. I think I understood most of it, but I am not sure. I tried to reply to the email in Russian too, I hope I didn't screw up too bad. I also hope I get to see them again, they all seemed really nice.
Oh, I also found out I am going to St. Petersburg on Thursday, instead of Saturday, which was nice to hear. I also found out that I am starting my internship on Monday! I still don't know where I will be working, so that's strange, but I'll figure it out...
No ideas for a title of todays post...
Today has been more fun. I got up early, showered, had breakfast, and headed to class. The bus I got on was extremely packed, I went in the front-most door and ended up standing pretty close to the windshield, right next to the driver. It wasn't a problem until he started asking me to move around so he could see if there were any cars coming in an intersection. The second bus wasn't nearly as full and I actually got to sit down.
Russian class was interesting too because we got a new teacher. Our original teacher had something to do this week, so she will be out. I learned some more new things about the language, which I always enjoy. After that we had our first Russian History class. Today we only covered a basic overview of the whole culture and why Russians are the way they are. I also learned some other cool things, I didn't know that Russians had gone all the way down from Alaska to California! I guess I should have payed attention in world history class a long time ago, not that I know if they covered that or not...
After class I came back home, had some good lunch, and did my homework. I later went on the computer and checked my email. I was extremely happy to see that some of my new Russian friends had sent me emails. One of the emails was completely in Russian, so it took me a few minutes to translate everything and figure out what they were telling me. I think I understood most of it, but I am not sure. I tried to reply to the email in Russian too, I hope I didn't screw up too bad. I also hope I get to see them again, they all seemed really nice.
Oh, I also found out I am going to St. Petersburg on Thursday, instead of Saturday, which was nice to hear. I also found out that I am starting my internship on Monday! I still don't know where I will be working, so that's strange, but I'll figure it out...
No ideas for a title of todays post...
Saturday, July 7, 2007
I Hate Rain
It has been raining all day, and it's starting to get annoying. Today I woke up relatively late (for my standards) around 8:30am. I showered, had breakfast, did some homework, and read a magazine. Around 4pm, after we had lunch, I called my parents, who are now in NYC. They flew back from Europe yesterday, I hadn't called since I left the USA.
I then watched part of a French film dubbed in Russian, I think it was ok, but I had no idea what was going on. I also went out to a small shopping place where I saw a music store. I bought three CD's, each one 80 rubles, which is less than $4. The funny thing is that they have the songs in mp3, and each CD has 200 songs. I guess the royalty rates here in Russia are very low, it's not like the place was sketchy or anything, they had the regular type of cd's too.
I went to a bookstore and bought two children's books for handwriting in Russian. They both teach you how to write in script, they have arrows to show how to write each letter and all that stuff. Oh yeah, and it was raining when I left home. It rained on the way to the bus stop, on the way to the shopping thing, on the way to the bookstore, on the way back, etc... On they way back I had to run to catch a bus, I didn't really care that there was a deep puddle in my way to the bus, now that I look back, I should have missed the bus. I hate having wet jeans.
Once back, I watched a soccer game on tv and ate some snacks. I am starting to feel tired, if I don't find something to do soon, I'm going to fall asleep.
I then watched part of a French film dubbed in Russian, I think it was ok, but I had no idea what was going on. I also went out to a small shopping place where I saw a music store. I bought three CD's, each one 80 rubles, which is less than $4. The funny thing is that they have the songs in mp3, and each CD has 200 songs. I guess the royalty rates here in Russia are very low, it's not like the place was sketchy or anything, they had the regular type of cd's too.
I went to a bookstore and bought two children's books for handwriting in Russian. They both teach you how to write in script, they have arrows to show how to write each letter and all that stuff. Oh yeah, and it was raining when I left home. It rained on the way to the bus stop, on the way to the shopping thing, on the way to the bookstore, on the way back, etc... On they way back I had to run to catch a bus, I didn't really care that there was a deep puddle in my way to the bus, now that I look back, I should have missed the bus. I hate having wet jeans.
Once back, I watched a soccer game on tv and ate some snacks. I am starting to feel tired, if I don't find something to do soon, I'm going to fall asleep.
Friday, July 6, 2007
Sleep!
I don't think I am getting enough sleep. Yesterday I almost didn't go to talk with the English class because I was taking a nap. I was extremely tired throughout yesterday and ended up going to sleep late. Today I woke up early again to go to school. I didn't have as hard a time staying up as yesterday, but its still annoying.
Today I did not have art class, so I headed home right after Russian class around 12:30pm. As soon as I got home, I fell asleep. I was later woken up to have lunch, after that, sleep again. Around 5 or 6 I woke up again. I did some homework, spent some time on the computer, and had dinner. As usual, I learned a few new words during my dinner conversations, and was quizzed on the ones I am supposed to know, which I always forget. It is 10:30pm as I write this, the sun is still out, but I am still tired. I think I'm going to go to bed early today so I can enjoy the day tomorrow. I'm not sure what I will do, but I sure will have a better time if I am not tired.
Today I did not have art class, so I headed home right after Russian class around 12:30pm. As soon as I got home, I fell asleep. I was later woken up to have lunch, after that, sleep again. Around 5 or 6 I woke up again. I did some homework, spent some time on the computer, and had dinner. As usual, I learned a few new words during my dinner conversations, and was quizzed on the ones I am supposed to know, which I always forget. It is 10:30pm as I write this, the sun is still out, but I am still tired. I think I'm going to go to bed early today so I can enjoy the day tomorrow. I'm not sure what I will do, but I sure will have a better time if I am not tired.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
New Friends!
I am very tired so I won't write too much...
Today was awesome. For the first time my alarm woke me up, every other day I woke up before it went off, which means I was really tired. I went to class and struggled because I was very tired. I finished my painting in the art class (Which was the last art class of the trip) and later went home.
I tried doing some homework, but my efforts were futile. I lay in bed and fell asleep instantly, which almost never happens. I set my alarm at 4:50pm so I could get up and catch a bus around 5pm. When the alarm went off, I must have turned it off because my mom woke me up around 5:15 to ask me if I was supposed to be somewhere. So I ran off and got in the bus.
The reason I left is because my Russian language teacher also teaches an English class at night, and she wanted me and a friend to meet her class so they could practice English. I got there in time, met with my teacher and friend, and walked to the school. Once people arrived, we started speaking in English and Russian. The class would ask us questions in English and we would answer either in Russian or English. I had a lot of fun. After an hour or so, a guy from Peru (who was teaching Spanish in the adjacent classroom) came in and asked if I would go do the same in his Spanish class. I asked them questions in Spanish and they would answer in Spanish as well. After a few minutes of that, I got back to the English class. The teacher was teaching the final lesson of the year, so I just sat in and listened. Two women sitting next to me wrote a note in English asking if I wanted to go to a Cafe after class, and of course I sad yes. After class, a group of seven students, myself, and the teacher went to a nice place right next to the river. We communicated as well as we could trying not to ask for too many translations by the teacher, it was a very educational experience, but it was much more fun than education. After who knows how long, I took a taxi with three of the students that live very close, they walked me to the apartment and said goodbye. I have their emails so we can keep in contact, now I can say I have my new Russian friends! The only Russian people I knew well were my host family and a few of the people that organize the program. Hopefully I will see my friends again, I am really looking forward to it.
As I said before, I am extremely tired and have school tomorrow, maybe I will write more then.
Today was awesome. For the first time my alarm woke me up, every other day I woke up before it went off, which means I was really tired. I went to class and struggled because I was very tired. I finished my painting in the art class (Which was the last art class of the trip) and later went home.
I tried doing some homework, but my efforts were futile. I lay in bed and fell asleep instantly, which almost never happens. I set my alarm at 4:50pm so I could get up and catch a bus around 5pm. When the alarm went off, I must have turned it off because my mom woke me up around 5:15 to ask me if I was supposed to be somewhere. So I ran off and got in the bus.
The reason I left is because my Russian language teacher also teaches an English class at night, and she wanted me and a friend to meet her class so they could practice English. I got there in time, met with my teacher and friend, and walked to the school. Once people arrived, we started speaking in English and Russian. The class would ask us questions in English and we would answer either in Russian or English. I had a lot of fun. After an hour or so, a guy from Peru (who was teaching Spanish in the adjacent classroom) came in and asked if I would go do the same in his Spanish class. I asked them questions in Spanish and they would answer in Spanish as well. After a few minutes of that, I got back to the English class. The teacher was teaching the final lesson of the year, so I just sat in and listened. Two women sitting next to me wrote a note in English asking if I wanted to go to a Cafe after class, and of course I sad yes. After class, a group of seven students, myself, and the teacher went to a nice place right next to the river. We communicated as well as we could trying not to ask for too many translations by the teacher, it was a very educational experience, but it was much more fun than education. After who knows how long, I took a taxi with three of the students that live very close, they walked me to the apartment and said goodbye. I have their emails so we can keep in contact, now I can say I have my new Russian friends! The only Russian people I knew well were my host family and a few of the people that organize the program. Hopefully I will see my friends again, I am really looking forward to it.
As I said before, I am extremely tired and have school tomorrow, maybe I will write more then.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Another Fun Day
Today was an interesting day. Since it is July 4th, the group of study abroad students wanted to get together and have dinner. I was shown the location of the restaurant on a map, I already forgot the name, but it was French, and sounded funny.
I woke up at 6:40am, which is about normal, oh, I have not written about last night!
Ok, last night was even more interesting. A friend of my host family's sister came over during the day. Around 9pm I was in my room bored and getting ready to go to bed. I went to the kitchen to see what everyone was up to and saw very nice wine glasses on the table and was quickly told to sit down. We drank wine and whiskey, ate some cheese with bread, and later some tea. Everyone was talking very fast, but I was happy whenever I understood anything. Two hours went by, I was enjoying myself, everyone else was too, my only problem was that I didn't really know what we were celebrating. A lot of things went through my head, but most just didn't make sense on a Tuesday night. After we stood up to leave, I asked my host mom and she told me we were celebrating the fact that my sister got an excellent grade on one of her final exams. I think it's pretty cool that we celebrate those things, that is some great motivation, and everyone was so happy.
I went to my room, and around 11:30pm I went to get some water and tell everyone good night, well, I was wrong again. Ice cream! Yes, we all sat down and ate some ice cream, it was around 1am before I even looked at the time. Finally I went to my room and realized that that was the first time I ever used a lamp! Every other time I went to bed, the sun was still up. I am writing this around 10:30pm and the sun is still shining through my window, this is awesome.
Alright, so back to today, I woke up at 6:40am, showered, had breakfast, went to class, etc...
After class, I took a bus with some friends and arrived straight home. After that I ate lunch, met another of my sister's friends, well, I was introduced, I didn't really talk much. I did some homework and was later invited to have some tea. Around 6pm I got ready and left to go to the restaurant. Actually, it wasn't a restaurant, it was a cafe. I told my host family it was a restaurant, and they didn't let me leave the house wearing shorts. From what I understood, if you go to a restaurant at night, you wear nice clothes, where did my manners go?! I put on a pair of jeans and a polo just to look decent and left.
I was told to take bus 16 and get off at the stop after the big store. I didn't hear correctly and got off at the big store. I then started walking in the wrong direction, that's when the fun started. With my great( NOT!) sense of direction, I decided to walk in the direction I thought the restaurant was, that required not going on an actual street, but dirt trails. It ended up being the right direction for my situation, but I should have never taken that trail. I walked by next to what I later confirmed to be a prison, I thought the metal bars on the windows of all the nearby houses seemed strange... After that, I took out my map and figured out where I was. I started walking to get to the right street, and I walked, and walked, and walked. It was only about half an hour of walking when I finally arrived to the street the restaurant was on. As I was walking, I looked around, it's a nice city, the only problem is that I saw a bus drive right by, it was the same route of the one I was in. If I had stayed in the bus for one more stop, I would have saved half an hour and not have to sweat like crazy. Now that I look back, I don't really regret getting partially lost. I saw some very nice parts of the city, I also know where not to go, and learned a lot more about the bus routes.
The food at the cafe was nice, I had some salmon with mushrooms, sauce, and who knows what else, it was very good. After that, I took a bus home and got back around 10pm. When my host mother opened the door she told me she was very amazed at how punctual I was. I didn't really planned getting there exactly at 10pm, but the bus I took worked perfectly, I didn't break it, and I got off at the right stop. Tomorrow afternoon I am going to meet some students that are learning English so they can practice their conversational skills (I think that's why I'm going, my Russian teacher, who teaches English too, asked us to go.) It should be fun.
Whoa, this post is long too! Ok that's enough.
I woke up at 6:40am, which is about normal, oh, I have not written about last night!
Ok, last night was even more interesting. A friend of my host family's sister came over during the day. Around 9pm I was in my room bored and getting ready to go to bed. I went to the kitchen to see what everyone was up to and saw very nice wine glasses on the table and was quickly told to sit down. We drank wine and whiskey, ate some cheese with bread, and later some tea. Everyone was talking very fast, but I was happy whenever I understood anything. Two hours went by, I was enjoying myself, everyone else was too, my only problem was that I didn't really know what we were celebrating. A lot of things went through my head, but most just didn't make sense on a Tuesday night. After we stood up to leave, I asked my host mom and she told me we were celebrating the fact that my sister got an excellent grade on one of her final exams. I think it's pretty cool that we celebrate those things, that is some great motivation, and everyone was so happy.
I went to my room, and around 11:30pm I went to get some water and tell everyone good night, well, I was wrong again. Ice cream! Yes, we all sat down and ate some ice cream, it was around 1am before I even looked at the time. Finally I went to my room and realized that that was the first time I ever used a lamp! Every other time I went to bed, the sun was still up. I am writing this around 10:30pm and the sun is still shining through my window, this is awesome.
Alright, so back to today, I woke up at 6:40am, showered, had breakfast, went to class, etc...
After class, I took a bus with some friends and arrived straight home. After that I ate lunch, met another of my sister's friends, well, I was introduced, I didn't really talk much. I did some homework and was later invited to have some tea. Around 6pm I got ready and left to go to the restaurant. Actually, it wasn't a restaurant, it was a cafe. I told my host family it was a restaurant, and they didn't let me leave the house wearing shorts. From what I understood, if you go to a restaurant at night, you wear nice clothes, where did my manners go?! I put on a pair of jeans and a polo just to look decent and left.
I was told to take bus 16 and get off at the stop after the big store. I didn't hear correctly and got off at the big store. I then started walking in the wrong direction, that's when the fun started. With my great( NOT!) sense of direction, I decided to walk in the direction I thought the restaurant was, that required not going on an actual street, but dirt trails. It ended up being the right direction for my situation, but I should have never taken that trail. I walked by next to what I later confirmed to be a prison, I thought the metal bars on the windows of all the nearby houses seemed strange... After that, I took out my map and figured out where I was. I started walking to get to the right street, and I walked, and walked, and walked. It was only about half an hour of walking when I finally arrived to the street the restaurant was on. As I was walking, I looked around, it's a nice city, the only problem is that I saw a bus drive right by, it was the same route of the one I was in. If I had stayed in the bus for one more stop, I would have saved half an hour and not have to sweat like crazy. Now that I look back, I don't really regret getting partially lost. I saw some very nice parts of the city, I also know where not to go, and learned a lot more about the bus routes.
The food at the cafe was nice, I had some salmon with mushrooms, sauce, and who knows what else, it was very good. After that, I took a bus home and got back around 10pm. When my host mother opened the door she told me she was very amazed at how punctual I was. I didn't really planned getting there exactly at 10pm, but the bus I took worked perfectly, I didn't break it, and I got off at the right stop. Tomorrow afternoon I am going to meet some students that are learning English so they can practice their conversational skills (I think that's why I'm going, my Russian teacher, who teaches English too, asked us to go.) It should be fun.
Whoa, this post is long too! Ok that's enough.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Lucky? I think not.
Today has been a very interesting day. As usual, I woke up around 5:30am, showered, ate breakfast, hung out and left around 8:10am to go to school. In class I learned some new words, how to conjugate almost every verb, and some other stuff. In the art class, I finished my very ugly painting from yesterday and started working on a new one. The teacher showed us some sample works that are traditional of this area of Russia, and told us to either copy one or make our own. I decided to take ideas from the pre-made ones and give them a touch of my own crazy imagination (or lack thereof.) The sketch has a castle with the sun shining on it, a house with a cloud and rain over it, some mountains, and two fish. I started coloring it and realized I cannot mix colors to save my life. I wanted a light green, mixed some green with white, but managed to get the ugliest color possible. I then tried to get a light brown by mixing brown and white... another miserable failure. After I saw how the teacher mixed colors I realized that putting water into the mix made a big difference, finally I got some decent colors. Unfortunately it was too late for one of the mountains, it has that very ugly green, oh well.
After school we all went to a wooden architecture museum a few kilometers out of the city, near an old monastery. Rather than a closed off museum, this one is outside on the woods and consists of several houses and churches built entirely out of wood. You might think that is not very interesting, but some of those were built hundreds of years ago. We learned how families lived in the winter many years ago, they had very big houses, but they all pretty much lived in the same room, everything else was for storage and farm animals.
After that, we drove back to the city and dropped off most people at a bus stop. I was told to stay on the car because they were dropping me off at another bus stop. Once there, I was told to take bus 6 in order to get home. I waited around 10-15 minutes until the bus arrived, it was packed, and all the people in the bus stop wanted to get inside. Unfortunately for me, I am too nice and let most people get in before me. There was almost no space left, but I decided I was not going to wait for the next one, so I jumped in and pushed some people so the doors wouldn't crush me. After the doors closed, I was pushed against the door by the mass of people. I was fine until we started to approach the next stop. Since the doors open inwards, and I was pretty much leaning on them, there was going to be a problem. The bus stopped, I heard the hiss of the doors starting to open, and then felt something crushing my foot. Thankfully my sandals are pretty hard and stopped the door from opening. I stepped up into the bus and tried to open that half of the door, it didn't work. People left through the half-open door, others came in. After a few minutes of the bus not moving, people started talking and leaving, most of us stayed in, I didn't realize that since the door wasn't closing, the bus wasn't leaving. Since I didn't hear the hissing sound the doors make when they close, I figured they weren't trying to close them. After a while I heard something through the speakers, I didn't understand a word, but everyone got angry and started walking out of the bus. I figured I should leave too, so I got out and stood there to wait for the next bus. After 10 minutes, another route 6 bus came along and everyone in the bus stop got on, this time I wasn't so nice and got in first. As we left, I saw the previous bus sit there with it's flashers, I wonder how long it stayed. I have broken many things in my life, but never something like this. I think there were at least 50 people on that bus and they all got to waste 15 minutes of their life because of me, how sad. If I add those minutes, they come out to 750, which is about 12.5 hours, what a waste. I hope my bad luck doesn't increase during my stay here, next thing you know..... I don't even want to imagine what I can cause.
Anyway, I made it home only 15 minutes after I said I would be there, so my calculations were correct if that incident had not happened. I like guesstimating times, even though they never come out right, I am happy when they do. I think this is enough writing for one day...
After school we all went to a wooden architecture museum a few kilometers out of the city, near an old monastery. Rather than a closed off museum, this one is outside on the woods and consists of several houses and churches built entirely out of wood. You might think that is not very interesting, but some of those were built hundreds of years ago. We learned how families lived in the winter many years ago, they had very big houses, but they all pretty much lived in the same room, everything else was for storage and farm animals.
After that, we drove back to the city and dropped off most people at a bus stop. I was told to stay on the car because they were dropping me off at another bus stop. Once there, I was told to take bus 6 in order to get home. I waited around 10-15 minutes until the bus arrived, it was packed, and all the people in the bus stop wanted to get inside. Unfortunately for me, I am too nice and let most people get in before me. There was almost no space left, but I decided I was not going to wait for the next one, so I jumped in and pushed some people so the doors wouldn't crush me. After the doors closed, I was pushed against the door by the mass of people. I was fine until we started to approach the next stop. Since the doors open inwards, and I was pretty much leaning on them, there was going to be a problem. The bus stopped, I heard the hiss of the doors starting to open, and then felt something crushing my foot. Thankfully my sandals are pretty hard and stopped the door from opening. I stepped up into the bus and tried to open that half of the door, it didn't work. People left through the half-open door, others came in. After a few minutes of the bus not moving, people started talking and leaving, most of us stayed in, I didn't realize that since the door wasn't closing, the bus wasn't leaving. Since I didn't hear the hissing sound the doors make when they close, I figured they weren't trying to close them. After a while I heard something through the speakers, I didn't understand a word, but everyone got angry and started walking out of the bus. I figured I should leave too, so I got out and stood there to wait for the next bus. After 10 minutes, another route 6 bus came along and everyone in the bus stop got on, this time I wasn't so nice and got in first. As we left, I saw the previous bus sit there with it's flashers, I wonder how long it stayed. I have broken many things in my life, but never something like this. I think there were at least 50 people on that bus and they all got to waste 15 minutes of their life because of me, how sad. If I add those minutes, they come out to 750, which is about 12.5 hours, what a waste. I hope my bad luck doesn't increase during my stay here, next thing you know..... I don't even want to imagine what I can cause.
Anyway, I made it home only 15 minutes after I said I would be there, so my calculations were correct if that incident had not happened. I like guesstimating times, even though they never come out right, I am happy when they do. I think this is enough writing for one day...
Monday, July 2, 2007
First Day of Class
Today was my first day of classes. I got about three hours of sleep last night, I woke up around 12 for no reason and couldn't fall back to sleep. Around 7am I took a shower and ate breakfast with Владимир. We then took two buses to get to school, it took about 15-20 minutes, which I believe was very fast. While I was in the bus stop, I saw some buses that were completely packed with people, thankfully, the ones we took were fairly empty.
My first class was Russian language. I am in the intermediate level class and there is a total of two students including me. I think that is very good because we get to ask tons of questions and practice. We reviewed some of the basics and proceeded to learn some new things. The class lasted for three hours. After that, I ate the lunch my family gave me and went to the second class. This week we are taking a folk art class. In this class there are seven of us (the whole group) and we are taught how to paint in traditional Russian style, specifically Novgorodian (I think that's how you say it.) Next week we will begin with Russian history classes. I have always thought I am not very good with art, today's class proved it. Our teacher makes it look so easy and I can't do any of the brush strokes correctly, or I mix the paint wrong, etc... The class was very interesting and fun, even though I am not good at it, it is fun to do. After class, Владимир came to pick me up and tell me which buses we were taking. I'm not sure exactly why, but we ended up taking 3 buses and a trolley (the electric one, is that what it's called?) Once we got home, we had lunch. So far I have enjoyed all of the meals I have been given. Someone told me Russian food was not very good, they were clearly wrong.
After lunch I took a nap, I'm not sure exactly how long it was, but it was long. After that I was given a really good dessert which included milk, strawberries, and vanilla ice cream (not a milk shake though), it was very good. While we ate the ice cream/strawberry/milk Владимир showed me some of the paintings he has done, he is really good. I guess it is a hobby because he paints here at home.
I have only been here for around two and a half days and I think I am understanding words much better. I guess I'm getting used to the speed (unless everyone is slowing down, which is a possibility). Now I hear the words everyone says correctly, but I still don't know what most of them mean.
It is 9pm as I am writing this, and the sun is still way up in the sky. From what I checked last week online, the sun sets around 12 and comes out around 4am or something like that. The only time it is dark out is when I wake up in the middle of the night, if I didn't wake up, I would never see darkness. I think I could get used to this, I hate when it's dark out, it makes me tired. Since I took a nap, I am not very tired, I wonder how long it will take me to fall asleep today...
My first class was Russian language. I am in the intermediate level class and there is a total of two students including me. I think that is very good because we get to ask tons of questions and practice. We reviewed some of the basics and proceeded to learn some new things. The class lasted for three hours. After that, I ate the lunch my family gave me and went to the second class. This week we are taking a folk art class. In this class there are seven of us (the whole group) and we are taught how to paint in traditional Russian style, specifically Novgorodian (I think that's how you say it.) Next week we will begin with Russian history classes. I have always thought I am not very good with art, today's class proved it. Our teacher makes it look so easy and I can't do any of the brush strokes correctly, or I mix the paint wrong, etc... The class was very interesting and fun, even though I am not good at it, it is fun to do. After class, Владимир came to pick me up and tell me which buses we were taking. I'm not sure exactly why, but we ended up taking 3 buses and a trolley (the electric one, is that what it's called?) Once we got home, we had lunch. So far I have enjoyed all of the meals I have been given. Someone told me Russian food was not very good, they were clearly wrong.
After lunch I took a nap, I'm not sure exactly how long it was, but it was long. After that I was given a really good dessert which included milk, strawberries, and vanilla ice cream (not a milk shake though), it was very good. While we ate the ice cream/strawberry/milk Владимир showed me some of the paintings he has done, he is really good. I guess it is a hobby because he paints here at home.
I have only been here for around two and a half days and I think I am understanding words much better. I guess I'm getting used to the speed (unless everyone is slowing down, which is a possibility). Now I hear the words everyone says correctly, but I still don't know what most of them mean.
It is 9pm as I am writing this, and the sun is still way up in the sky. From what I checked last week online, the sun sets around 12 and comes out around 4am or something like that. The only time it is dark out is when I wake up in the middle of the night, if I didn't wake up, I would never see darkness. I think I could get used to this, I hate when it's dark out, it makes me tired. Since I took a nap, I am not very tired, I wonder how long it will take me to fall asleep today...
Sunday, July 1, 2007
First day in Russia
I flew to NYC on Wednesday and stayed at a friends house. I met a few of her friends, went around the city, and had a lot of fun. On Friday, I took a cab to the airport and met with the people that were going to Russia.
The first flight was from JFK airport to Helsinki. It took a little over 7 hours, so it was not bad at all. I didn't sleep at all, I watched two movies, a few shows, and listened to music. Another interesting thing was that in the row in front of me, there was a 3.5 week old baby, it was so small! I'm not sure why the parents travel with such a young baby, but it seemed to go ok, the baby did not cry for more than a few seconds.
The second flight was from Helsinki to St. Petersburg, that one got delayed one hour, but it was not a problem. The flight itself only lasted for 40 minutes. For some reason, Finair (the airline) decided I was vegan, and only gave me vegan meals. They had my name and seat number, so I couldn't really say it was not me. I ended better off than the non vegan meals, I got fruit, salad, and other stuff, which was more than what the normal meal was.
After we got to St. Petersburg, we took a bus to Novgorod. I slept for most of the ride, I think it was a few hours, I really don't remember.
The bus dropped me off near the apartment complex where I am staying. My host father went to pick me up there. Once I arrived, I met my host mother, grandma, and sister. They were all very nice. I still have a very hard time communicating with them, but we are doing just fine. I also had a great dinner. I don't usually eat strawberries, but I figured I would try them because they grow them here in their garden. After I ate one by itself, Татьяна, my host mother, told me to cut them and eat them with milk, like cereal. It was very very good, and with some bread on the side, made a great dinner. I also went to get a SIM card for my phone, an internet card, and got some money from the ATM. I went to bed around 9pm/ After not sleeping for a day an a half, I was very tired. Also, at some time during the day, I called my dad using Skype. I have an ATT calling card, and a Russian phone number I need to call to use it, but I haven't figure out how to dial it from my phone.
Today I woke up around 7:30am, showered, and later had some sort of fruit mix with something else for breakfast. Around 10:30, I took the bus to the Kremlin and met with all the other exchange students. We were given a tour of the Kremlin, we saw the Millennium of Russia monument, the St. Sophia cathedral, and several other things. We then had lunch in a restaurant that is actually inside the Kremlin walls, which I thought was pretty cool. Tomorrow I will start class at 9am, so that should be fun. Waking up has not been a problem for me, since we have almost 20 hours of daylight.
I think I'm going to go buy some notebooks and pens for tomorrow, I have to figure out where, but it shouldn't be a problem.
The first flight was from JFK airport to Helsinki. It took a little over 7 hours, so it was not bad at all. I didn't sleep at all, I watched two movies, a few shows, and listened to music. Another interesting thing was that in the row in front of me, there was a 3.5 week old baby, it was so small! I'm not sure why the parents travel with such a young baby, but it seemed to go ok, the baby did not cry for more than a few seconds.
The second flight was from Helsinki to St. Petersburg, that one got delayed one hour, but it was not a problem. The flight itself only lasted for 40 minutes. For some reason, Finair (the airline) decided I was vegan, and only gave me vegan meals. They had my name and seat number, so I couldn't really say it was not me. I ended better off than the non vegan meals, I got fruit, salad, and other stuff, which was more than what the normal meal was.
After we got to St. Petersburg, we took a bus to Novgorod. I slept for most of the ride, I think it was a few hours, I really don't remember.
The bus dropped me off near the apartment complex where I am staying. My host father went to pick me up there. Once I arrived, I met my host mother, grandma, and sister. They were all very nice. I still have a very hard time communicating with them, but we are doing just fine. I also had a great dinner. I don't usually eat strawberries, but I figured I would try them because they grow them here in their garden. After I ate one by itself, Татьяна, my host mother, told me to cut them and eat them with milk, like cereal. It was very very good, and with some bread on the side, made a great dinner. I also went to get a SIM card for my phone, an internet card, and got some money from the ATM. I went to bed around 9pm/ After not sleeping for a day an a half, I was very tired. Also, at some time during the day, I called my dad using Skype. I have an ATT calling card, and a Russian phone number I need to call to use it, but I haven't figure out how to dial it from my phone.
Today I woke up around 7:30am, showered, and later had some sort of fruit mix with something else for breakfast. Around 10:30, I took the bus to the Kremlin and met with all the other exchange students. We were given a tour of the Kremlin, we saw the Millennium of Russia monument, the St. Sophia cathedral, and several other things. We then had lunch in a restaurant that is actually inside the Kremlin walls, which I thought was pretty cool. Tomorrow I will start class at 9am, so that should be fun. Waking up has not been a problem for me, since we have almost 20 hours of daylight.
I think I'm going to go buy some notebooks and pens for tomorrow, I have to figure out where, but it shouldn't be a problem.
I'm in Russia!
I haven't had time to write anything, but I will soon!
My host family is awesome, they are all very nice. I will put something more detailed later.
My host family is awesome, they are all very nice. I will put something more detailed later.
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