Two weeks of walking

Its been a non-hectic, hectic two weeks.

First off, awhile ago I got my host family chocolates just as a thank you for being amazing. They thought i was leaving, I was like no I just wanted to thank you. It was definitely a painful experience. The reason why I mentioned it is because of what happened afterward. The chocolates were in a nice foil and my host family started to play with it. First it was just to see if it could float in the air and it went all the way to crafting out airplanes. For like a whole week we all started taking various chocolate wrappers and making airplanes. Then we started rating how well they did. It was fun. Bet you never expected that to happen.

Saturday of last week was a very big cultural experience. I celebrated the moon festival with the Taiwanese. It is like the Chinese version of Thanksgiving minus the part of Indians and pilgrims. It is really just a time to spend with family and friends that you haven't seen in awhile. Usually you have a BBQ outside at night and look at the moon, but because it is Russian and cold we decided to have it during the day. I WAS NOT THE ONLY AMERICAN! it was wonderful. His name is James he is from Kentucky and goes to school in Minnesota. He has no personality. I think I have like the worst impression of American men here in Russia. They are all so boring. Could anyone please entertain me.

The festival itself was us (like 15 girls and 1 guy) making a BBQ by the dorm. Of course it was like 40 degrees outside and raining. It was very uncomfortable. I was frozen. There were like 3 grills (all bought from Ikea) that had various thing. Apparently for like 2 days straight some of the girls started to prepare for the festival getting vegetables, preparing meat, etc. So everything was raw and we cooked it on the grill. There was vegetables so I was good, but A LOT of vegetables. The Taiwanese are like my mother and Russians put together. They just don't know how to cook for a certain amount of people and over prepare (my mother) and then keep on feeding you (Russians). It was fun though.

I met a lot of wonderful people. It was hard sometimes to talk with them, because of the huge language barrier and all. We all kept on going back from Russian to English back to Russian. I even used some of the Chinese words I learned from class. One girl, this typically stereotypical Chinese girl who is overly animated and always pops up out of nowhere, told me I was smart because I knew some Chinese. It made me feel good. I mean seriously, she is the one who knows Chinese (with the complex characters-compared to Modern Chinese with simple characters), is fluent in English, and is learning Russian. I wonder who is the smarter one....

After we decided that the cold was too much we moved to the dorm. There we finished eating the food. There was just sooo much. There was also this lone Japanese girl there. I felt bad for her. Her English and Russian were on the same level as everyone else. It was like, how do you communicate? She was so wonderfully nice though.

So now whenever I see any of the girls I met at the Moon Festival they smile and say hi to me. They are too friendly. Actually it is really fun watching them all eat together. They are always sharing with each other. Like when they make a sandwich, one girl takes a bite and then just passes it around. It even happens in class now. Who ever has food gives it to everyone. I am so unaccustomed to this...

Anyways Sunday of last week I decided to be a tourist. Jessica was sick and I was like I don't want to go to a whole museum by myself, how boring is that. Instead, I decided to go to Nevsky Prospect. This is like the street where everything is happening. The clubs are here, the restaurants are here, Our Lady of Kazan Cathedral as well as the Church of Spilled blood are here/around here. So of course I had to eventually take picture. Obviously I have been here before, I am just a lazy, lazy individual. It was a little cold out but still quite beautiful. I just walked around wishing that America had such pretty churches. Well at the same time why are these churches exquisite. Aren't you suppose to like solicit a religion...does the elegance mean anything? that one Temple I found (yes I found one) was simple yet elegant. It was everything a religious building should be. It told you what it was and it took your breath away. There was meaning behind that temple, the Church on(of) Spilt Blood to me is like a landmark. It isn't a church, but a building. Same with Our Lady of Kazan Cathedral. Mind you I stared at both of them for quite some time....

Well things are interesting at school. I have not had Katya (my Grammar teacher) for like two weeks. I enjoyed it. She gets very angry at us, seems a little sexist (is always yelling at the boys), and has like no emotions. Week two without Katya was amazing. We had this really young teacher that always went off on tangents. One time she decided to talk about how men in Russian refuse to go out shopping and the other time she started talking about how chocolate is an anti-depressant. It really makes learning the language fun. We also have another student. You know when you see a white person you automatically think they are from America, well I do. His Russian accent (because that was the first time I heard him) was just like it would be if he was from say Texas. O how wrong was I. He is a Swish. Could I have been off any more. He speaks German, French, a little English, and is learning Russian. He is also the cutest 70 year old retired man ever. Was a music teacher and his wife is in Switzerland. He is here for 2 months. Anyway, I like him because now I can feel less like the minority. There is still a huge language barrier though.

On Saturday again I was alone. Jessica was out and about somewhere else. So i decided to just find a random place to go and see what happened. I picked a park that was a couple metros away. Never heard of it before but my map told me it existed. It was quite nice. I just walked around doing nothing. The trees were all perfectly fall. Every tree was a different color/shade. The birds were chirping, why they are still in Russia I do not know. I also enjoyed yet another group of weddings. I have come to the conclusion that as the weather gets colder, the dresses get uglier. Who ever said you have to be warm on your wedding day?

After the park i decided to walk around the area and found a Pizza Hut. Why i went in there I don't know. I think it is just because I am so sick of soft foods. Every time I eat with the host family I have soup, baked potates, bilinis, etc. i just wanted something crispy. Speaking of which, I really really really miss toast. Well anyways after that I almost died. I got sick from Pizza Hut. I really believe it was God's way of telling me to enjoy Russian food. I decided to take the metro back to Nevsky and just walked around. Anyways my stomach was so bad it was almost painful to walk, on top of that, it started hailing. Yes you heard me correct, it started to hail in October when it was perhaps in the 50s. How weird. I went to Dom Kinigi (the book store) and sat around there for a little. I mean I am used to Barnes and Nobles, that place is huge, but this place is even bigger. I think it has 3 floors and an actual restaurant. Mind you this restaurant is like overly expensive, but still like a sit down restaurant none of the less.

Saturday night I went to the dorm to see Jessica. Wound up that I stayed over and went out to my first Russian Club experience. I actually did not have the normal Russian club experience because I went to a high-end club, Brian paid. It was expensive and nice. The place wasn't crowded, there was an area that took your jackets and bags, and there was loud music area and a quiet you can talk area. It was fun. We wound up talking to this group of Russian students. Some of the people were from Vladivostok, South Osetta, and Armenia (maybe). A little unnerving yes, but still fun. I went to the club with Brian and Jessica, obviously, and also Thomas. He is Brian's roommate from Sweden. He speaks good English and also has been learning Russian for 8 years. He still has trouble, but at least he knows the language. So the whole night I listened to him talk to the Russians. Apparently Moscow and St. Pete hate each other? who knew that?

Well I had to be at the club till 6 because lovely dorms don't allow you to leave or enter the dorms from the hours of 1 till 6. No joke you are locked out/in. Of course there is a person by the door always, they just won't let you in. How mean. So we get back to the dorms around 7 and I can't go in. Apparently there are visiting hours as well, and they start at 8. I really didn't want to go all the way to my apartment and perhaps wake up my host family. So Jessica and I game planned. The lady already saw my face so it wasn't like i could take Jessica's entrance card and go in. So we went to the side of the building and switched coats. She took Brian's entrance card and I took hers (they are electronic things that let you in to the building more or less). It worked and I slept. WOOOHOOO

The rest of the day was boring. I went and walked along the beach front with Jessica. It was a wonderfully nice day, one of the warmest in awhile. The water was perfect (to look at), the walk was entertaining...

Today is not one of the nicest days out. IT IS SNOWING. I am talking about full on white stuff falling from the sky and sticking to the ground. I can handle hail, that is painless it ends, but this snow is not ending. EVERYTHING IS WHITE...white! it is cold and it is wet. It is beautiful but I think I am already over it. It was funny in class today though when I looked outside and said something like interesting and my teacher was like what and I was like I am from Florida. everyone laughed at me. Apparently snow is a common occurrence. Wonderful! I really need to find a GSOM bus to my apartment. It takes me 20 minutes to get home. Coming here today i was completely covered in snow. My gloves have yet to dry and I have been indoors for the past 4 hours. YEY. I am jealous of all you Floridians! basking in the sun, not a worry in the sky...tehehe