CLASSES!

Class 1

SO I am still in this I must go to GSOM classes but can't because I haven't registered dilemma. To top it all off I have classes at St. Pete at the same time. I already missed day one because I had to go to that apt. at 10:30, and the school warns you about missing classes. If you miss too many you are departed. I don't want to be departed! So anyways I go to the internet cafe in the morning and find out that I still have no e-mail. I leave completely petrified for my existence and go to straight to Vladim again. Of course it is 30 minutes before class starts and Vladim is in a meeting with someone else. Thankfully someone is waiting for him too. I look at her and smile and she smiles back, instantly I know she isn't Russian so I start to talk to her. Her name is Kikki (I think that is her legit name) and she is from Denmark. AWESOME! Anyways she is in the same predicament as me. About 10 minutes before class starts we both see Vladim and he tells us not to worry and tells me that the IT guy is AWOL and hasn't done anything. So I am allowed in class. YEY!
Class number 1: OMG. GSOM classes are 6 hours, once a week, for like 2 months (and another 2 classes the next 2 months). Yes you heard me correct, SIX hours. That’s like 2 6-9s in a row. I do get 2, 45 minute breaks, but that is like human torture. So we start off class by introducing ourselves. There are 10 maybe 15 Russians in my class. They all speak amazing English; yes my business classes are in English. Then there is also about 7 or so Foreigners. They come from all over the world like Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Finland, etc. Yes, I am the only person in the class whose first language is English. An English class and I’m the only one that is English. How hilarious.
Well class goes well. I learn nothing. Yes 5 hours (because we left early) and I learned nothing about the subject-International Business Strategies. Hmmmmm, let’s hope this doesn't happen again. First he makes us explain Internationalization (which isn't globalization ) and doesn't even define it himself, so now I don't know anything about internationalization but must talk about. Then, after the break, he makes us get into groups of 3 and make an oral presentation about two competing global businesses, and of course he already has decided on these companies. My group gets Caterpillar and Kamatu (construction machine companies). I don't know about you, but does anyone know about Kamatu? Thankfully, the Russian in my group (I am paired with a Finish girl and a Russian boy) worked for Caterpillar for 2 years so he knows everything about them. He, however, doesn't know anything about Kamatu. So He talks for a couple minutes giving us all this information we need and then goes into his own world. And by that I mean he takes little pieces of paper (and there are like 20) and starts making Origami swans. No joke, in like 10 minutes he make 6 swans. So you know I am with some crazy guy. It all goes well, and my group gets out alive.
Unfortunately I didn't get to the best part. With limited internet access, I must give an individual oral presentation about a business strategy, 6 group presentations analyzing cases, and one group project making a 30 page case on a company. Wish me luck.


Class two.
Yey it’s my first day of Russian language class! I finally go to St. Petersburg University. I have already befriended the Scottish people in my class. Surprisingly one is actually a Brit and one is from Boston. Yes, out of 3 people that go to Edinburgh one is actually from there. Beside that there are like 10 people from Taiwan. They are all nice and apparently speak English.
I have three classes a week, 4 hours each. Tuesday is Conversation, Thursday is Grammar and Friday is Grammar writing and it is all in Russian. My first class was Grammar. Not as bad as I thought, but still quite painful, with my poor vocabulary and all. The teacher, Katya I think, is the cutest teacher ever. She is always smiling, yes shocking again, and pretty much reminds me of a preschool teacher. And with all due respect, I am in preschool again. The whole class is straight repetition. If I don't get something the first time, and trust me I don't, I get it the second time. And by the time the question gets to me I know what is going on. Also I don't have to worry too much about screwing up because everyone does it. I mean I am in a room full of people from Taiwan. Do you want to know how hilarious their Russian accents are? Too cute!
So either Class one day or Class two day, my day are getting screwed up, I went with Jessica to get soy milk. You see she is allergic to milk, not ice cream or cheese, just milk (because it is pure or something like that). Anyways it is very hard to find soy milk in Russia so we have to go to scary faraway places in St. Pete to find it or at least find their lack of it. So there is this one place Carousel that is like a big food market and is in god knows where St. Pete. So we get off at the nearest exist and it is nowhere to be found. We walk, no joke, 30 minutes along the highway to get to it. My legs are dying, or better yet, my ankles are falling apart by the time we reach the market. So we look around for a little bit and find nothing. Turns out they don't have it. Then we go to a store nearby, and again turns out they don't have it. Now Jessica is upset (she has been backpacking Europe for 5 week without soy milk) and I am broken. I mean in the legit term. The next day I find out I have Achilles Tendentious! Boy does my ankle want to kill me!
Random Fact:: Caterpillar has this marketing scheme in which they promise you that if your machine breaks down and you need a part they will ship it to you within 24 hours. So if you break down in Timbuktu you can get a new part in 24 hours. How freaking amazing is that?