So...I'm in Russia! We have been settling in the past few days so I havent had too much time to explore yet (except the grocery stores) but here are some of the highlights:
Peter and Paul fortress Cathedral. We got there at noon to hear them set off a cannon to let everyone know that Petersburg is alive! It was quite frightening
It is considered good luck to sit on Peter's lap. I was well bundled so it was actually pretty warm that day
sunset in front of the Hermitage
The wonderful Hermitage. We are going there tomorrow and I cant wait. Apparently it is so large that it takes 9 years to visit each exhibit and more than a lifetime to look at each piece of art in there for a minute each
my favorite.
St. Petersburg is wonderful. There is a lot of ice here, so I'm giving myself another 2 days before I fall. We've been doing a lot of walking, which is great. We also have metro passes. The metro stations 1)are built in a swamp city and 2) double as bomb shelters if needed so they are VERY VERY DEEP!! It takes MINUTES to get to the bottom of the escalator. On the bright side, it gives you time to put your metro card away and chat with friends. Its also very steep and move very quickly so it is a little terrifying to look down the stairs. I'll try to sneak a picture to post without looking too touristy. In other news, I am all move into my room:
Our well stocked fridge. Notice the oranges. They are super cheap and pretty good.
And of course, water that will not kill us. Lots of it. Dont worry, Ari, I am in fact buying clean water. Also, I somehow placed into the highest level of Russian. I honestly don't know how that happened because I dont think my test went that well and I am with native speakers and people who have been studying for 5 years. There is talk of splitting up the advanced class into 2 levels, in which case I would be in Advanced 1 instead of the combined Advanced 1&2 which actually may be better because all the native speakers may overwhelm me, but I would still be challenged in an advanced class. I think we will find out tomorrow. So far, everything is great and I cant wait to see more!
St. Petersburg is wonderful. There is a lot of ice here, so I'm giving myself another 2 days before I fall. We've been doing a lot of walking, which is great. We also have metro passes. The metro stations 1)are built in a swamp city and 2) double as bomb shelters if needed so they are VERY VERY DEEP!! It takes MINUTES to get to the bottom of the escalator. On the bright side, it gives you time to put your metro card away and chat with friends. Its also very steep and move very quickly so it is a little terrifying to look down the stairs. I'll try to sneak a picture to post without looking too touristy. In other news, I am all move into my room:
This is my side of the room with our shared closet
our kitchen. Our fridge is really nice and we have a stove and a sink. Most of the cookware and silverware was provided. We borrow everything else
Everything sounds lovely! I'm glad you're having fun!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I found your blog! Russia is amazing, I've only been here a week and I already know I want to study abroad again. How did you apply for that scholarship you're using?
ReplyDeleteYour pictures are seriously incredible, I really want to go there now!!
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone! Sudha, you really should come here, it is amazing and I think you would really like it once you got the bundling down. Kelcey, the scholarship is called the Benjamin A. Gilman scholarship and in order to apply you need a Pell grant. If you have that, you can apply for a scholarship up to $5000 OR if it is a critical language (which russian is),up to $8000. It is extraordinarily helpful while studying abroad, as I learned and they appreciate variety in their scholars, so being a woman helps you.
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