From Russia With Love

ok first of all, this is really lame but I am just so excited about it. Ok so there are these animal crackers that I would always buy and eat before Christmas. They were delicious. They were my snack. I just always had them. Then I went to the States for Christmas, and when I got back to Russia, I couldn't find them anywhere. ANYWHERE. I looked in every grocery store I could think of. Finally, I accepted the fact that they were gone. They didn't make them, they didn't sell them, I don't know but they were gone. Six months later, Kristin and Jeff and I decided to run to the продукты (that means little grocery store-sounds like "prodooktee") for some juice across the street from Kristin's apartment and I decided to get a bag of chips and as I'm walking down the aisle, a blue and red bag catches my eye and I realize--it's the animal crackers! There was only one bag there but I snatched it up and bought it! So that's the whole story. I told you it was lame. But how weird is that?

Anyway...I went to St. Petersburg this last weekend! It was nice (here are some pictures). Kristin and Becca and I went and we had to get up at 3 am to get picked up for the airport so we were exhausted the whole trip and it was rainy and cold...so it kind of wasn't the best trip ever, but it was still nice to see the city. Everyone says it's so laid back and slower paced than Moscow, but I wouldn't really agree with that. It just seems more historical and cultural, and it looks more European. We went to the Hermitage which is a huge art museum in the Winter Palace where the czars and grand duchesses used to live (and where the Romanovs--Anastasia and the whole Rasputin debacle--used to live! We went in the throne room and it looked just like in the cartoon movie! So of course I started dancing to try to recreate it...) but anyway the Hermitage is said to be only second to the Louvre in terms of how much art it holds (and how famous it is!). We saw some Picassos (not the first time...ahem), some Henry Matisse, some Van Goghs, ooo and my favorite was actually the ancient Asian and Indian art! There was no one else in that section and even Becca and Kristin decided to go see European art instead so I got to see it all myself and it was really cool!

We also went to the Church on the Spilled Blood which is where Czar Alexander II was assassinated and his son had the church built on the exact spot that he was killed (hence the name). The very center shows where he was killed so it's kind of weird but it was so beautiful inside and the walls are covered completely by tiny tiles making mosaics of Bible scenes.

We got to see our friend Julia there and we went to this fab little cafe and we left there at about 11:30 and because of the white nights, it looked like it was 3 in the afternoon! It was crazy. We wanted to stay up and see the bridges and see how it stayed light out until 2 am but we were too exhausted.

On Sunday we went to the Peter and Paul Fortress and we saw the cathedral where the Romanovs and Peter the Great's tombs are! It was really gaudy and gold and ugly inside...but it was cool to see the tombs. We took a boat tour on the Neva River and through some of the canals through the city and the tour was in Russian but it was still cool to see everything!

And ok, I'm going to bare my soul a little bit. Here goes: I'm kind of nervous about going back to America. I've kind of adapted to life here and I'm really comfortable living here...and now I have to change it up again. Not that I don't think I can, but I'm kind of nervous. Only a handful of people will really be able to relate to the life I've experienced here. I know it will be ok, but I also know that there will be a period of adjustment and I'll probably go through some reverse culture shock. Even when I was in St. Petersburg I kind of missed Moscow...

But also here's some excitement: my mom, dad, and Erica get here TOMORROW!!! They are on their way RIGHT NOW! So I've been getting everything ready and planning out our time together in Russia! Hooray!