Adapting to Life in Piter

I have been in Russia for one month already! It is hard to believe - time is going fast, but I still feel at pace with it.  On the weekends, when I have had free time, I have gone out with camera in hand and have explored the neighborhood around my apartment.  There are always interesting sites to happen upon, people watching (although this must be done secretly, you do not want to be caught doing it), and catching a glimpse of life in the city on and off the tourist track.  Today is election day in Russia and as I wandered the streets, I heard on more than one occasion trucks with loudspeakers encouraging people to vote. There are election posters up throughout the city.  

Yesterday, I visited Pushkin's Last Apartment and was able to see his death mask and an actual lock of his hair that Russian writer Turgenev had collected when he was a teenager.  Turgenev was inspired by Pushkin.  I have a mild cold right now, and at the museum, a curator somehow noticed.  She came up to me, took me by the arm, and urged me to sit down.  Confused, I stood back up when she disappeared, but she returned moments later: "Sit! Please! Sit!"  I kept trying to tell her that I felt fine, but she proceeded to tell the tour guide that I was sick, and then the tour guide told another curator to rise up from her seat so I could sit.  It took several moments for me, with the help of the student director of CIEE, to explain to them that I was fine, and then the tour continued.  Despite the fact that they were only trying to help, it was still a slightly awkward scene.  Other than that incident, the museum was interesting, and I found that I could understand the Russian tour guide better than I have on other tours.  

Greta and Alexander Pushkin

Afterwards, a friend and I toured Kazan Cathedral, and popped in and out of shops along Nevsky Prospect.  In a book store, I saw a teach-yourself Georgian language book, and lamented that the instructions were all in Russian - otherwise I would have bought it.  There are so many books here that I want to buy, but have so little room to pack them.  At the moment, I am skeptical about shipping items back to the United States from Russia.  

I figure I should say something about my host family since I have not really said anything yet about them. With some minor exceptions, I have been really enjoying myself.  They care, they are kind, they are patient, they are helpful, they are encouraging, and they are interested in me.  It is not always easy, but I have been trying to make an effort and speak with them.  They have been making an effort, as well, especially since I think they've noticed that I can be shy and will not always be the first to speak up.  They are asking me lots of questions and helping me as I stumble along in my responses.  It is a goal of mine to take more initiative in speaking, but I am definitely making progress with speaking Russian in general, and that is very important.

Here are a few pictures of the apartment in which I live: 

My Bedroom 

The front door to the apartment

Corridor  

The Kitchen (always a lively room in a Russian household).

My apartment building

Smolny Convent, once a school for noble ladies, now houses several departments from Saint Petersburg State University, including the Depart of Political Science, where I study with CIEE.

Smolny Convent at dawn (around 9:30 am in early February) 

I have one last note to mention before I go.  Last weekend, Russians celebrated Maslenitsa, which is a festival that is dedicated to booting out winter and welcoming in spring (1 March is the official start of spring in Russia).  I ended up attending several of them where I saw people burning effigies of winter (usually straw dolls), heard tradition Russian folk music, and saw children playing all sorts of different games.  Here is a video of an impromptu folk performance: (Those whom are reading my posts by email will need to go to the blog page to view the video: gretainrussia.blogspot.com) 

Don't forget to check out my blog page "Interesting Tidbits."  That's all for now!