Hello all! Things are going well here, I’m just chilling on this rainy Friday evening. It’s nice to relax every once in a while. I had a pretty busy week. We had grade consultations, and I’m doing really well in my classes. I’m finding that I understand SO much more of what the teachers are saying. It’s amazing how much my listening comprehension has improved in just about 2 months. I also really enjoy being in such small classes. My teachers are great. A couple weeks ago, my conversation practice teacher invited my class over to her apartment and she taught us how to make blini! (thin pancakes). It was a lot of fun; we ate them with sour cream (of course) and raspberry jam. We also enjoyed a hot cup of tea and some nice Russian conversation!
It’s pretty cold and wet here, it’s been in the 30’s and 40’s lately. Guess what! I finally have internet (kinda) at my house. It have been on a crazy hunt looking for an antenna in order to get better reception, however after a few days of different salespeople sending me all over the city, I have decide to forfeit. I do not have a strong enough connection for Skype, but at least I can keep in touch with people with email, facebook and AIM. (which is more than I had before).
Well, it looks like I will be going home for Christmas which is really nice because I miss my family and my friends so much. My original plan was to stay in St. Pete in between semesters but plans have changed. It will be great to get back to Connecticut and relax. (Cleaner air there too)
If I were to recommend anything to anyone who is planning on studying abroad, it is to keep a journal. You will easily forget thoughts you had about simple things and the way you felt when you went somewhere/ saw something. I’ve written almost every day that I’ve been here. I’ve filled one and a half journals and I know that years down the road I’m going to open them up and really enjoy reading them.
I’ve been on a few excursions since I last posted. I had the opportunity to visit Piskarevskoe Memorial Cemetery. The mass cemetery is a memorial to the 2 million people (soldiers and civilians) that died during the horrific Siege of Leningrad from 1941 to 1944. The Siege of Leningrad was the 900 day attempt of the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy and Japan) to capture Leningrad- because of its industrial strength and the hub of the Baltic Fleet- Hitler felt that this would be a good way of getting into the Soviet Union in order to conquer it. However they were unsuccessful. People died by the thousands from little food, no electricity, the plunging temperatures and disease. Over 490,000 people are buried in this cemetery. There are 186 mass graves and they are labeled with stone slabs with stars for soldiers and a hammer & sickle for civilians. A pathway leads down the center of the cemetery from an eternal flame to a bronze statue of Mother Russia. As we walked from the flame to the statue, classical music played throughout the cemetery. The day we went it was a very gray day, and bitterly cold. It added to the solemnity of the place. Engraved in stone behind the statue is a poem written by Olga Berglotts, a survivor of the siege. I was able to really understand the depth of the sadness and loss experienced by the people of Leningrad when my host babushka told me that her grandparents died of hunger during the siege. Can you imagine that? I’ve have never felt closer to Russian history. Her grandfather rests in the cemetery. Her daughter Ira brought home a documentary on the blockade for me to watch. It was in Russian. I listened and watched as she explained things that I didn’t understand. I feel very fortunate to have been able to hear their story and I feel like I understand this dark time in Russian history much more.
The next week I went to the Russian Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography. (Located next to the Russian Museum) It was interesting. We had a guided tour and afterwards we were able to walk around on our own. I was able to see traditional costumes, tools, cooking utensils, toys, furniture, crafts, etc. from different ethnic groups and people in all the diverse parts of Russia as well as the different former Soviet republics.
The excursion this week was the Baltika beer brewery, located in the very north of the city. We got on the Baltika bus off of the metro which took us to the brewery. It’s like its own little city. What is fascinating about the place is that you don’t really see that many people working there. (the reason probably being that just about everything is automated and so high-tech). It was really cool to see the expanse of machines, vats, pipes, and rooms all dedicated to the production of beer. Baltika exports to 52 different countries and is second in Europe in terms of beer sales. Baltika brand is also responsible for 80% of beer exports from Russia. At the end of the tour, the guide brought our group to this large room where we were seated at a bunch of tables filled with different kinds of beers and sandwiches. It was really fun and it was an interesting excursion. Too bad I don’t enjoy the smell or taste of beer. Haha.
Things are great here and I’m so happy. I hope all is well with you guys, wherever you are in the world. <3
Friday, October 23, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
All Aboard! Волга, Волга!!!
Well, first of all, so sorry I have not posted in what seems like forever!! I have had quite an eventful time since I last posted. I went on a cruise down the Volga! It was one of the most interesting and wonderful experiences of the semester so far. I began my journey on an overnight train to Moscow. We arrived in Moscow the next morning and spent about 8 hours total, taking a bus tour of the city and then exploring on our own. The last time I was in Moscow was in 2006. It seems so different! I think it’s because this time I was able to see a lot more. Walking onto Red Square is always a fantastic feeling, so much history and beauty kind of hits you in the face, it’s so overwhelming. I love Moscow, but it’s a city I probably would never want to live in. It is very large and a little intimidating. I must say, St. Pete is the place to be. I love it so much more than Moscow, purely opinion though. I don’t know what it is about St. Pete that is so wonderful but I think it has to do with its charm and character; it’s very hard to explain. Me in front of the Kremlin:
Anyway, I got on another over night train in Moscow to Ulyanovsk. Ulyanovsk is the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin, the communist revolutionary leader that was the driving force in the fall of the monarchy in Russia. (He lies in a Mausoleum on Red Square in Moscow now). I was able to see where he was born and walk through the house he lived in with his family. In Ulyanovsk, we boarded the cruise ship. I was rooming with my Russian friend Anya, a girl studying in St. Pete with me and a girl studying in Vladimir. We had two portholes as windows and we were just above the water. It was so beautiful at night and in the morning. At night, the moonlight shined on the water and in the morning the sunlight made it sparkle. So pretty. The boat was amazing, we had “dress-up nice” dinners and I was able to spend a lot of time with my friends.
The next city we went to was Samara. There, we got a tour of Stalin’s Bunker, which is 37 meters underground. (about 11 stories deep) Hitler’s Bunker was about 11 meters underground if that gives you an idea of how deep this actually is. We got to walk around the city as well. I woke up a little late this morning so unfortunately, I forgot my camera this day. Oops! I was not happy with myself. It’s ok, I have great friends who said they are going to share their pics with me. J We ate breakfast and lunch and dinner on the boat just about every day for the whole week. Every evening we had a lecture in Russian given by different professors that came on the trip. My group all had to give presentations in English based off essays we had written in Russian. The Volga is beautiful. The trees along the coastline were red, yellow and orange. It was so nice to see trees and not buildings. What is interesting about the land we saw from the boat is that it was different all the time. Sometimes there were trees, sometimes cute little towns, rolling hills, farmland, raw coastland that was a brown/yellow color (which was cool because it looked like it belonged in Arizona or something).
We spent the next day in Saratov. There, we visited a catholic church, the first that I had seen at all in Russia. My favorite part of the day was when we went to a monument for WWII at the top of a mountain looking over the whole city and the Volga. It was located in a military park. Again, we had a bus tour and got to walk around on our own. My friends and I also stumbled upon an amazing indoor food market that looked exactly like Eastern Market in Washington DC. Volgograd was next, and was probably the most interesting city we visited because it is the location where the Battle of Stalingrad took place. The entire city was destroyed during this battle. We were able to see a building that was the least destroyed amongst all the buildings; it looked completely destroyed. Now the city is really beautiful, it is completely built up and one could never guess that a devastating battle took place here upon first glance. On our bus tour we saw so many monuments in commemoration of the battle that was the turning point of WWII and led to the retreat of the German army. About two million Soviets were killed in this battle. I witnessed the changing of the guard at the eternal flame near the Mother Russia statue (Родина Мать). This statue is enormous and she holds a sword rising up to the sky. It sits on a hill and our tour guide told us when people arrive by train to Volgograd, you are able to see the statue from the train.
The day of after Volgograd was a day spent only on the cruise ship. We had a lecture on the wildlife and plant-life that we would be able to see in Astrakhan, our next city. That night we also had a Captain’s dinner where everyone dressed up really nice and I tried red caviar for the first (and last) time. The next day we were in an Astrakhan. This city is located on the Volga Delta, right on the Caspian Sea. I unfortunately was not able to see the Caspian Sea, which was a bummer because we were so close but nevertheless it was an amazing day. I saw the fortress there and I walked around with my friends for a little more than 4 hours. The sunset was incredible and the city was just beautiful. It was so interesting because the diversity there was unlike anything I had seen in any other part of Russia I had been in so far. The different influences in the architecture were also very cool to see. That night, we got on a 37 hour train ride back to St. Petersburg; A night, a full day then another night. It was fun though, we all bought a lot of food for the train and we had great conversations, fun times and tea. I didn’t sleep well at night, though, I was in the bed right next to the door that led to the bathroom. It slammed EVERYtime someone had to pee. So, I woke up a lot.
This trip is something I will remember for the rest of my life. It was incredible and I would do it again in a split second.
Anyway, I got on another over night train in Moscow to Ulyanovsk. Ulyanovsk is the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin, the communist revolutionary leader that was the driving force in the fall of the monarchy in Russia. (He lies in a Mausoleum on Red Square in Moscow now). I was able to see where he was born and walk through the house he lived in with his family. In Ulyanovsk, we boarded the cruise ship. I was rooming with my Russian friend Anya, a girl studying in St. Pete with me and a girl studying in Vladimir. We had two portholes as windows and we were just above the water. It was so beautiful at night and in the morning. At night, the moonlight shined on the water and in the morning the sunlight made it sparkle. So pretty. The boat was amazing, we had “dress-up nice” dinners and I was able to spend a lot of time with my friends.The next city we went to was Samara. There, we got a tour of Stalin’s Bunker, which is 37 meters underground. (about 11 stories deep) Hitler’s Bunker was about 11 meters underground if that gives you an idea of how deep this actually is. We got to walk around the city as well. I woke up a little late this morning so unfortunately, I forgot my camera this day. Oops! I was not happy with myself. It’s ok, I have great friends who said they are going to share their pics with me. J We ate breakfast and lunch and dinner on the boat just about every day for the whole week. Every evening we had a lecture in Russian given by different professors that came on the trip. My group all had to give presentations in English based off essays we had written in Russian. The Volga is beautiful. The trees along the coastline were red, yellow and orange. It was so nice to see trees and not buildings. What is interesting about the land we saw from the boat is that it was different all the time. Sometimes there were trees, sometimes cute little towns, rolling hills, farmland, raw coastland that was a brown/yellow color (which was cool because it looked like it belonged in Arizona or something).
We spent the next day in Saratov. There, we visited a catholic church, the first that I had seen at all in Russia. My favorite part of the day was when we went to a monument for WWII at the top of a mountain looking over the whole city and the Volga. It was located in a military park. Again, we had a bus tour and got to walk around on our own. My friends and I also stumbled upon an amazing indoor food market that looked exactly like Eastern Market in Washington DC. Volgograd was next, and was probably the most interesting city we visited because it is the location where the Battle of Stalingrad took place. The entire city was destroyed during this battle. We were able to see a building that was the least destroyed amongst all the buildings; it looked completely destroyed. Now the city is really beautiful, it is completely built up and one could never guess that a devastating battle took place here upon first glance. On our bus tour we saw so many monuments in commemoration of the battle that was the turning point of WWII and led to the retreat of the German army. About two million Soviets were killed in this battle. I witnessed the changing of the guard at the eternal flame near the Mother Russia statue (Родина Мать). This statue is enormous and she holds a sword rising up to the sky. It sits on a hill and our tour guide told us when people arrive by train to Volgograd, you are able to see the statue from the train.
The day of after Volgograd was a day spent only on the cruise ship. We had a lecture on the wildlife and plant-life that we would be able to see in Astrakhan, our next city. That night we also had a Captain’s dinner where everyone dressed up really nice and I tried red caviar for the first (and last) time. The next day we were in an Astrakhan. This city is located on the Volga Delta, right on the Caspian Sea. I unfortunately was not able to see the Caspian Sea, which was a bummer because we were so close but nevertheless it was an amazing day. I saw the fortress there and I walked around with my friends for a little more than 4 hours. The sunset was incredible and the city was just beautiful. It was so interesting because the diversity there was unlike anything I had seen in any other part of Russia I had been in so far. The different influences in the architecture were also very cool to see. That night, we got on a 37 hour train ride back to St. Petersburg; A night, a full day then another night. It was fun though, we all bought a lot of food for the train and we had great conversations, fun times and tea. I didn’t sleep well at night, though, I was in the bed right next to the door that led to the bathroom. It slammed EVERYtime someone had to pee. So, I woke up a lot.
This trip is something I will remember for the rest of my life. It was incredible and I would do it again in a split second.
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