Lets Do The Time Warp, Yeahhhh

WOW. All I have to say right now is two weeks is a really long time. My last post was the week before our travel week began, when I was swamped with papers and tests. But Friday finally came and all was well. It actually felt weird that we were all about to embark on a two-week break because (that week aside) I didn't really feel like I needed one. At school, I can't wait for spring break to come, but being here is almost like a constant spring break. But hey, I'll take the two weeks off.

St. Petersburg
I left on Sunday, March 28 for Russia with my Russia Past and Present class. It was a DIS organized trip with a corresponding one-credit class I've been taking on Russian history. Our first stop was St. Petersburg. Ironically, we stayed in a hotel called Moscow. It was more like a huge convention center. Here's what it looked like:



My first impressions of St. Petersburg were that it was cold and rainy. There was still ice on the ground in most places. Our teacher said Russia was going through it's annual thaw. My view of the city on that first day was that it was old and run down. All the buildings looked like they were deserted leftovers of another time. There were street trolleys operating that looked so cold and uncomfortable- old, rusting, and completely metal. No cushioned seats or anything. All the posters in the metro stations looked like they were from the 80s and never got taken down. The whole landscape of the city makes you realize how much more recently Russia became modernized, and it's still working on it. The country was literally stuck during the Soviet Union, and you can tell. Here's pictures of a trolley and a metro poster:



I took this photo from our moving bus but hopefully you get the idea.

Check this out:



Even the people are lagging behind on the times. I saw one too many mullets in my one week in Russia and definitely too many fashion violations. Not only were we pretty sure that the woman who worked in the restaurant car of our overnight train from St. Petersburg to Moscow was working a second job as a hooker, she also looked like an ogre. Literally. Her face was green. It was like she had put on foundation, but it was green instead of tan. Needless to say we were a little taken aback and didn't order anything. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

Probably the most notable moment of our first night was our experience with Russian vodka. We ate dinner at a restaurant called Cafe Jam (actually owned by Danish people!) and our teacher got each of us a shot of vodka and proceeded to explain to us the right way to drink it. I'm sure you can guess that it doesn't involve mixing it with Fanta or chasing it with cranberry juice. The Russians mean business when it comes to vodka. They usually give a speech leading up to the initial drinking of the shot about how great it is that everybody has come together, etc, etc. Jon's (our teacher, a Dane who used to live in St. Petersburg and speaks fluent Russian)speech lasted about ten minutes, making it the most build-up shot of vodka I'd ever had. When we finally took it, it burned and made us all feel extremely warm. It was so strong. Russians always chase vodka with food. Usually pickles or something pickled. Sounds weird but is actually kind of good. The salt mixes well with the liquor flavor. We actually chased with bread that night, but I encountered the pickle habit later in the week.

Tuesday we took a bus sight seeing tour of the city, which wasn't a huge success for me because it was cold and windy outside, making me not pay attention to any of the information Jon was giving us, but it was really warm on the bus, which made me drowsy and tired and prompted a 20-minute nap between each excursion. We saw the Peter and Paul fortress and cathedral, where all the leaders and royals are buried. Nicholas II's family has an entire room to themselves, and they are actually considered saints in Russia. I couldn't help but take a picture of Anastasia's plaque...so funny that probably every American child's first point of reference when it comes to Russia is that animated movie.



She's on the right!

Tuesday afternoon was a little better just because the sun came out. We went on a walking tour and saw Dostoevsky's apartment and a TON of churches. If there's one thing Russia does right, it's churches. They are beautiful and ornate and covered in gold. Amazingly intricate and have the slightest smell of wax from all the candles burning. We actually got to see a service in progress on Sunday night, which was pretty cool since it was Palm Sunday. Inside a Russian church, women must cover their heads, while men must uncover theirs. You're also not allowed to lean on anything or put your hands in your pockets. All of the churches (and most of the buildings in Russia) are painted in pastel colors on the outside- blue, yellow, green- and are known for their "onion" shaped domes. Here are some pictures:



I can't remember the name of this one, but it's where we saw the service on Palm Sunday



This is inside the Peter and Paul cathedral



We saw this one on the way to the Mariinsky theater. Sorry, don't remember the name. There were so many churches it was hard to keep track!



I think this is called the Church of Spilled Blood. Notice the "onion" domes.

Monday evening we went to the Mariinsky theater and saw Swan Lake performed. The theater was beautiful inside...completely pastel green and gold. And I always love going to the ballet, so seeing a Russian ballet performed in Russia was amazing.

Ok I'm not even on to Tuesday and this is already too long. Russia was just such an interesting place! There's so much to say. I'll try to do Tuesday quickly and save the rest for another post.

Tuesday morning was filled with the kind of touring I prefer. It wasn't about sight seeing, but about meeting Russians, seeing how and where they live, what their culture and every day lives are like. We split into small groups and had a young Russian take us around the city. My group's guide was Maria, who was super cute and really nice and willing to talk to us. Russians don't usually like tourists, so Maria was great. We visited a typical food market, a communal apartment building, stopped for tea, took our time, chatted. It was great. In the afternoon we had a tour of the winter palace, which is massive and spectacular. Jon said everything was so built so large to remind visitors to the city of Russia's size and power. Take a look:





We had the rest of the night to ourselves and nothing too noteworthy happened. I'm off to bed! Installments for the rest of the week will come soon!