First day- revamped

I have come to realize that airplanes are synonymous with death; you come out of there half broken and half emotionally disturbed. There is nothing else to it. I slept quite a lot on all 3 flights but it was by no means comfortable. I woke up a few times with a bad back and an overly sore neck. Also, ironically, vegetarians have it bad on planes. You would think that because there is no meat my meal would be gourmet, but no. While the meat eaters had chicken and shrimp pasta and a chocolate cake, I had an over cooked pasta dish with barely any sauce and a dried fresh fruit dish. Better yet, I got a cold-roasted-pepper and zucchini-bean salad while the meat eats got a fresh green salad, how ironic.
I started to get sick on the plane, not swine flu sick (I have been religiously checking my temperature), but my body hates me with a passion sick. It was probably from the bad food and high altitude. After awhile my body just wouldn't let me eat. It lasted the last leg of the trip as well as a couple of days after.
I am ecstatic about my host family, although they do not speak much English (and by much English I mean they only know a few words like walk, swim, wow, and very little), they are amazingly nice. Ludmilla/Luda (my host mother) first greeted me with a smile, surprisingly, and gave me slippers for the apartment. We attempted small talk right away and succeeded to an extent. Igor (my host father) made his first appearance at dinner. He loves telling stories and is very animated. It is easier to understand him than Luda because I can follow the stories with his hands and voice.
My room is fantastic. I have a wardrobe that fits all my things and even some, a table with a chair and a recliner. Best thing about my room: I have a balcony. Actually it is my own balcony because it doesn't connect to any room but mine. I am also on the 21st floor so the view is amazing. It doesn't overlook any famous monuments, because I am not by the main part of St. Pete, but it overlooks the water. I think I can even see Finland from where I am at.
Random fact of the day: If you want to get from Helsinki, Finland to St. Petersburg, Russia it take all of 35 minutes in a plane.