Laura’s Russian Adventures

Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen to my humble abode!
This beautiful apartment complex is not ours, but the smaller, ugly dorm beside the nicer apartment complex is!

Here are some more shots of the building:

This is our Gostinitzsa/Гостиница! (ie. the student hotel).
Come on in the front door and see our apartment!

Once you step in the front door, this is what you’ll see.
Looking straight ahead you’re looking at our toilet room (In Russia, there really isn’t such thing as a western bathroom. In one room is the toilet, and in the other is the sink and shower. Gross for hygiene, I know). The square footage of our bathroom is probably 3 Feet wide, by 5 feet long. The toilet and plumbing take up at least 4 feet of that five foot length, leaving a few inches for you to fit your knees when you sit down. TMI, I know… but it was just such a small bathroom, I had to tell someone! The cherry on the cake for the bathroom is that the door doesn’t really fit the door frame, so if you want to have privacy in the bathroom you have to ram the door shut (which sucks when your bed almost next to the bathroom door – you wake up when people go to the bathroom) but when you want to get out of the bathroom, you pretty much have to bodycheck the door. We’ve named our toilet room ‘The Gas Chamber’… Although it sounds rather nasty, I am enjoying it all as part of my Russian experience.

To the left of the bathroom door is my (and Jessi’s) room! and right across from our room, to the right of the bathroom, is Leah and Ross’s bedroom. But before I talk about me and Jessi’s room, you may notice the other doorway to the right of the hallway (before the bathroom).
This is our Kitchen! I’ll show you guys!

Yes, I know, our stove is uuuuugly!
Well, actually, I should call it a cook-top, as they took off the knob to our oven so we couldn’t use it. At first we just thought it was broken, but when we inquired about it, they told us that they take the knobs off the ovens in the winter because they have found too many students using the ovens as apartment heaters… So…..
At the time this picture was taken, the only thing we could use to cook with was one pot and two working elements. Since then, we have since gone in together on a microwave. I never thought I would be so excited to get a microwave.

Anyhow, back to the bathroom hallway..

So this is the ‘bathroom hallway’. To the left is the toilet room that I already grossed you guys out with, and to the right is our shower/sink room.

And now… to my room!

Jessi and I were both taking pictures of the apt, so I almost got her in every shot I took of our room.

This is the messy part of the room. Much of our stuff is piled somewhere near the front of the room. We kind of split the room into two. Everything from the middle of the TV (kind of where the cubbard doors come together) and to the left of the TV is Jessi’s area, and everything to the right of that is my space. (aside from the clothes cabinet on my side).

You might notice the not so new blankets on my bed. They are made of 100% wool and are very heavy. They were the blankets that came with my bed. They can be uncomfortable, and there are unidentified hairs on them, so all my other roomates went and purchased new duvets from IKEA for their bed. I however, did not get a new duvet. I wanted to save the money for books and history trips. Nerdy I know… but I need to prioritize!

This is my side of the room. Very cozy!

And this is the final picture of my room. This is my looking through my eyes when I sit in bed. The Clothes cabinet at the end of the bed is shared between me and Jessi, and our TV doesn’t really work. It will get one or two channels a bit, but it’s all fuzzy and it’s hard to watch. But! On top of the TV, you might notice a family and Tsar! Let’s look a little closer….

Thank you so much Joanne!!!! Your generosity has followed me to Russia in many ways! I have two of the Imperial Family Ikons you kindly gave me with me for this trip.

And that concludes the tour of our little dorm room. Rooms not showcased were Leah & Ross’s, as well as Natasha’s.. mainly because that is their private space, so I don’t want to invade it with my camera and be all KGB on their butt.

So until next update guys!
♥ Laura

Ps. Post update – Since I wrote this blog out, and took these pictures a few changes have happened, I cleaned and rearranged a bit of my room and I need to get a better picture of our kitchen (now with microwave). Since I got internet now, I will try to do that sometime this week!

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On February 14th Leah, Ross, Jessi and I had tickets to go see The Nutcracker at the Mikhailovsky Theatre. It may not be the Miriinsky, but it was the start of a very interesting weekend.

Here is the group before we left for The Nutcracker!
From left to right, Me, Jessi, Leah and Ross. Leah and Ross are the cutiest couple I have met. They have a great sense of humor and are so much fun to be around. I am so very lucky that they became my roomates. They both have very good understanding of the Russian language as well as Russia’s Soviet past. It makes for good debate and ribbing between parties (since I am an Imperialist).

Anyway.. So we left for the Mikhailovsky in a taxi around 5:00pm, and arrived at the theatre around 6ish. Traffic is crazy in St. Petersburg. However, since we agreed on a price with the taxi driver before we left for the theatre, traffic made no difference on the price of the ride (400 Roubles from our dorm to the theatre.. only 100 per person). Getting there was okay, I got a glob of car dirt on the back of my leg when I got out of the cab, so I had to clean it with snow… *brrr*.

Once we got inside the theatre we checked our coats and purchased programs (only 30 roubles) and went upstairs to our seats. However, since we were so early, we had to wait outside the main theatre room until closer to 7:00pm. Outside they had a nice little cafe and mini museum of the theatre. The mini museum was very interesting, and Leah and Ross took part in the cafe appetizers (which looked amazing and delicious).

Closer to game time, we entered the theatre.
Leah and Ross were kind enough to share their pictures with me that they took (I forgot my Camera – I didn’t realize that we were allowed to take photos inside). So, without further ado, here is the inside of the theatre:

The stage and stage curtain.

I just thought that the theatre itself was beautiful, the stunning light fixtures and the architecture of the rows.

This stunningly beautiful Angel is above the stage

Me and Jessi inside the theatre during the intermission. It was a very interesting first experience in the Russian theatre system. The seating is not as comfortable as Centre in the Square (for those in Kitchener/Waterloo area who know what I am talking about). The seats had no arm rests and they were stuck chair leg to chair leg, so in some cases, you were rubbing legs/arms/buttcheeks with your neighbour. It was a very uncomfortable seating arrangement. However, the show itself was amazing. The actors were fantastic and the live orchestra was half the show to me. So the live orchestra of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker was worth the money alone

One of the rather funny situations that happened was during the ballet, there was a little girl who was sitting next to me, and because of the older women sitting in front of her, she couldn’t see the stage, so she ended up almost on my lap trying to see the show (which blocked by view of the stage). Eventually, after the intermission her mother held her on her lap on another seat (so I almost had arm room beside me!).

It was a great night at the ballet, and after the ballet things got even better.

This is the Mikhailovsky Theatre after we left it. As you can see, it was snowing pretty heavy. But it made for such a beautiful night.

After the show, Jessi, Leah, Ross and I went to dinner at a sushi house and it was the best dinner I had had since being in Russia. It was so fantastic (and expensive – $40) but it was worth it, and it totally made the night.

The walk home after the show was a little brutal (my only dress shoes were flats that I had not worn before, so they were cutting into my feet, and it was cold and slushy outside) but Jessi was a Jem and she swapped me shoes so I could have as comfortable walk home as possible. We arrived home at midnight, and although there were shortfalls with the evening, I think it was one of the most enjoyable nights I have had in Russia. At least so far…

Well ladies and gentlemen, that about makes this blog update! My Valentine’s date with Tchaikovsky went wonderfully.

Until Next Update!!
♥ Laura

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What a Sunday!
It had the potential to be fantastic, and it seemed to be going that direction only to be completely ruined by mid-day (roughly 5 o’clock)
So, let’s go through the day in themes! Starting with Amazing:

So today was the first day I had the chance to visit the Hermitage. In the early afternoon we did some boot shopping for Jessi (she needs a good pair of boots here in Russia!) and around 2 o’clock we headed toward the Hermitage. Entrance to the Hermitage is free since we’re students (which is flipping amazing!!!) so I have a feeling I will be visiting it quite often.

Anyway, arriving at the Hermitage was a little surreal (you hear and read so much about the history, to be the place of some of the biggest historic events is really something else).

So, let’s start with a little film. Below is Nicholas II annoucing World War One to the Russian People:

And now, here is the same balcony:

So much happened in this palace square. Before WWI was Bloody Sunday (not a topic that’s very happy) but the consequences of the event forever changed Russia!

A little back story… in 1905 there was a lot of unrest in Russia. On January 9th 1905 (Gregorian Calender) a peaceful protest to the Tsar positioned itself here in this palace square:

After the protesters arrived, they were faced with lines of military. What happened was Tsar Nicholas II was not living in the winter palace (the Russian people always assumed he lived there) and so he was not present for this protest, so the local police and military were ordered by some government officials to get the situation under control. Problem is, the way military soldiers get situations under control is appropriate when you have crowds of men, women, and children.

Needless to say, the military fired on the crowd. The number of those killed still hasn’t been agreed upon, but many people were killed. This was an important event because before this, people viewed the Tsar as the “little father” who would always look out for them, and cared for them unconditionally. After the 1905 Bloody Sunday and the way Nicholas II reacted to it, I believe that Revolution was no longer a possibility but a definite.

Anyway! That was just the history outside of the Hermitage, inside it was amazing. Since we arrived at 3:00pm, and the Hermitage was only open until 5pm, we only got to tour the first floor. Luckily, since I am now a local student, admission to the Hermitage is free, so I can go back as many times as I want to take it all in (which is great, because there is too much to take in for one trip). One of these days I will make a post just on the interior of the Hermitage, I feel I would make everyone fall asleep if I went into detail now about how amazing it is inside.

So overall, the visit to Palace Square and the Hermitage was amazing… Once we left the Hermitage, that’s when things got awkward (and worse).

Outside of the Hermitage, there are a couple touristy things within Palace Square. (as well as Tourist Traps) Lucky for my group, we didn’t get nailed with a negative tourist trap, only an awkward one!

Two people dressed in Imperial Garb walked towards our group and started talking to us in French. (I guess we look French?) After we responded in some broken french he realized we were English speakers and asked us if we wanted a picture with him and his co-worker (wife?). I felt a little guilty for having chatted them up a little and say no to the picture, so for 100 Roubles (about $4Cdn) we agreed to take one picture with them:

This isn’t too bad, sure it isn’t my best pose, but at least I got a group shot with Jessi. (I really dislike it when all the attention is on me)… but then, after that group picture, as I tried to get out my 100Rbls and pay the guy, he grabbed my hand and would not let go.

He asked for another picture and said it would be a good memento of my trip. I told him it was okay, and thanks, but that I really had to get moving. At that point the picture op moment went from awkward to downright embarrassing. I get really flustered when men pay attention to me, having this guy grab my hand and not let go turned my face beet red. And then to make it worse, he did this:

Leah grabbed a picture of the moment, and if you look closely you can see how red my face was. Awkward moment!! After he was satisfied with Leah taking the picture, I quickly gave him his roubles, thanked him for his time and quickly ran off further out on Palace Square.

We left through the archway of the General Staff Building, and inside this archway were tourist vendors. This was when things went from alright (albeit awkward) day to an awful, awful day. From a distance I could see a hawk tied to a stand, and two men offering photoshoots with it. I also noticed that these men seemed to be holding dolls. I was confused at this, but kept walking.

As we passed these men, I realized that these ‘dolls’ where not dolls at all, but monkeys trapped in what looked like stiff snow suits. These suits had no movement to them at all, and these monkeys were trapped so tourists could take pictures with them. What broke my heart even more was the faces these monkeys had as we passed them. They looked so sad. Overall the whole thing really upset me and the only thing I could think about after that was what I could to to help these monkeys. I realize now that there really isn’t much I could have, or can do. It’s not like I can take a monkey outside of Russia back home, and I know my roommates would not allow me to bring a monkey into the dorm. But the whole idea of these poor monkeys in suits that they can’t move around in, put in the hands of strange people all day makes me really upset. I’m sure some of you guys know where I stand on animal rights, it’s hard for me not to want to do something when I see particular things. Russia is not the place if your faint at heart for animals.

Anyway! That’s one long update!
I hope that everyone is doing well! I think of you guys a lot!
Until Next Update!!
♥ Laura

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I have a date on Valentine’s Day!

Since my boyfriend at home is reading this and probably wondering what the heck I am talking about, let me show you my handsome and dashing date!

Does anyone know who that guy is?

I’ll give you three guesses:

1. Pushkin

2. Tchaikovsky

3. Tsar Nicholas II

That was a pretty easy give away eh? No? Maybe?

I have a 7:00pm Date with Mr. Tchaikovsky! Well, kind of. I more or less have a date with Jessi to go see The Nutcracker at the Mikhailovsky Theatre, but a girl can dream right? It would be a dream too, as far as I know, because I don’t think Tchaikovsky played the ladies field anyway.

Anyhoo! That’s my plans for Valentine’s Day! I wanted to go to the Mariinsky Theatre, but they didn’t have any ticket sellers for the Mariinsky at my school the day I bought my ticket (of course they were there the day after…..) but that’s okay. I have been checking out the schedule for the Mariinsky Theatre too, it seems they have a showing of Eugine Onegin (spelling?) March 10th. I think it would be an awesome birthday gift to myself to go see it. I will see what money I have when the time comes. But I would like to plan on it.

I now sign off, leaving you with an even more ridiculous picture of my date:

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Since before we landed in Russia, my roomate has always wanted to see what is left of Rasputin (in a jar). Our Russian Revolution professor included it in one of our lectures, and it’s been on the itinerary since.

**warning**
The following may be offensive to some and disgusting to all
**warning**

So yeah…. On Monday Jessi was pumped to go see Rasputin’s alleged junk in a jar. The museum that was holding it was called the ‘Museum of Erotica’ which was based out of a still working venereal disease/proctology clinic. Even that sentence makes me want to go get another shower. The place was interesting to say the least. It really wasn’t a museum either, it was more of this clinic with some obscene figures in a shelf on the wall. Finally, at the end of the hall, there was Rasputin’s junk in a jar.

Jessi got her picture with it, Leah and Ross got their picture with it, so I tried to make the best of it, and got a picture with it. (I’m linking it, because looking at it might make people loose their lunch). Also I realize I look awful in this photograph, keep a sympathetic heart, I was really sick, I normally don’t look this bad.. really.

For those who are historically interested. I don’t actually think it’s the real Rasputin junk. Rasputin was buried (fully intact I believe) in 1916. He was dug up again many months later (after the revolution) and burned. I do no think that before he was buried he junk went missing. And.. whatever is in that jar is too well preserved to be his junk when he was dug up months later.

So anyhow…. that was monday.. (maybe that’s why I felt so sick to my stomach tuesday? …no? )

♥ Laura

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What a week!
Last Friday(February 6th) I happened to get pretty sick with what seemed like a flu and a cough.
The flu symptoms seemed to go away after a couple of days, but that cough (which has been haunting me since shortly after I landed in Russia) was here to stay. Normally, a cough isn’t the kind of thing that keep me from going places, or doing things…. but this cough was something I’ve never felt before.

I don’t know if you guys have had this experience, but when I cough after so many times one after the other I start to gag, which ends up with me running to the bathroom to get sick. This stayed with me from Friday the 6th, until, I would say… this morning. I went to class on Monday, and it was really bad so I stayed home Tuesday. (Remind me to mention Monday’s activities if I forget — It’s about Rasputin…kind of). Anyhow.. after staying home Tuesday I went in to school again Wednesday, problem was that the cough was still so stong that I ended up having to get up and leave class every 10 minutes to run to the bathroom. The last time I got up to leave, my teacher said that it would be best if I just left because I was interrupting the other students (which was true, and fair enough)…. so, I stayed home on Thursday to hopefully get better (because I have a date on Saturday! So I need to be better! — but I’ll go into detail on that later too). Anyhoo.. so that leads us to today. The cough was pretty bad last night, kept me up and little sleep = grumpy Laura. But! On the brighter side, the cough isn’t as bad as it has been all week. It has it’s moments, but it’s much better, so I think I am on the mend.

I hope I am on the mend anyway.. I’ve been sick ever since I landed here with either a cough or flu. I would like to be normal in Russia for once (normal – bodywise anyway).

So that’s the deal with why I haven’t gone hardly anywhere up until today. (which I’ll get into later as well)

So… here is hoping that I get better for the weekend and for the coming week of classes!

Till Next Update!
♥ Laura

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I am hoping to go get internet today.
There are these two super friendly American students we ran into who know how to cut the crap with the running around and just get internet from a local provider (instead of through the university). We’ll see how that goes.

Shout-Outs!

Uncle Cliff & Aunt Sheila! > Hey Guys!! It’s so great to hear from you! Thanks for the well wishes! Sorry the blog is so late at getting updated. The internet around here is similar to the Canadian internet connections of 1996. (Thanks again for always letting me use your internet when I came over as a kid – it honestly made my day). I’ll be sure to do a shot of vodka with you guys in mind Love you guys! Miss you! ♥ Ps. A big Hello to Grandma if you see her!

Keith and Cathy > Hey Darlin’! It was so great to hear from you! I’m still waiting on a good internet connection to send all my emails back out. Until then, I am thinking of you guys, and I truly appreciate the pickpocket tips! I have taken full precaution now for them, and haven’t had another situation since. Thanks for the tips! I hope this message reaches you guys well! ♥

Helen > LOL! Thanks for the messages. I can’t say I’ve seen the dill pickle chips around here, but I’ll let you know if I do! We have them in Canada too, so it’ll be a great treat to find. (a little reminder of home food).
I actually hit up a local McDonalds the other week, it was interesting to see the other menu options!

Mom & Dad > Hey guys! Things are good here. I am still sick (only managed to get one day of school in this week — I tried for two, but ended getting sick at the school). But I took the other day off to sleep it off. I think things are starting to leave my system. Also, Dad, Russian are very big ABBA fans! You won’t believe the amount of ABBA (which also has Russian lyrics) I have heard over the last week. Love you guys! ♥

Eric> Miss chatting with you! Once internet happens (hopefully soon, as in today) we’ll chat it up. I hope your knee is feel better and today went okay. Love you! ♥ Give the kitteh’s lots of loves from me, I miss them too like crazy. I think I am going through cat-withdrawal.

Helena > I really hope you are feeling okay. I don’t imagine you’ll get this message, but I am thinking of you and I am hoping that things are okay. You’re one of the strongest ass-kicking ladies I’ve met, whatever comes your way, I have no doubt you’ll kick it down. *hugs*

HSA> HEY Groupies! Miss you guys like nuts. I could so use your humour and company here. How does Russia ’10 sound?
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Uh oh. Internet here is being difficult. I will save the rest of the updates for later.

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I am not used to drama in residence (lucky for me, I know). But it seems that my luck as run out, as this weekend I got enough drama to last for the years I missed out before.

However, by today, one my roomates is moving to another room all together. So hopefully that will be the end of everything.

In other news this weekend, to get away from the tension and stress at home, a few roomies and I went to the St. Petersburg Oceanarium. It was beautiful and sad at the same time. As some of you know, I don’t particularly fancy zoo’s because they make me sad. (I don’t like seeing animals behind cages, I feel bad for trapped animals). But for some reason, I thought an aquarium would be different.

It was different…. to some degree. (The animals don’t give off the impression that they feel trapped, like I get at zoos) but there were some fish who were missing eyes, or had obvious infections.

Outside of the negativity, the sharks were beautiful and the sting rays were fascinating!

I tried to take some photos of the event, but my camera doesn’t do aquariums well… so! I have some from the official oceanarium website and got some from my roomies Leah & Ross.

This is the ‘under the sea’ walkway. Inside, this tunnel houses many sharks (no great whites unfortunately )and beautiful fish! Since I don’t have a pictures of myself in the tunnel, I used my skills in photoshop to superimpose myself there!

As you can see, it’s a pretty accurate representation. LOL.

The rest of the weekend was full of homework, being sick and doing laundry. (Note! Hand washing and hanging to dry doesn’t work as well here as it would in Canada. It seems that my apartment has absolutely no ventilation, and no air movement; thus wet socks at night, are still wet socks in morning)

Here at the dorms, we’re not given a regular laundry room. Instead, the sweet babushka’s will take your laundry (for $10 a load) and do it in the small facilities that only staff have access too. It’s a really bizarre way to do things, I don’t particularly fancy other people washing my undergarments. (and rather expensive too! – as the washers in Russia only hold 1/4th of what a Canadian washer will hold)

Anyhoo… It’s a new week of possibilities coming up! I look forward to seeing it unfold!
I’m working on the Russian Food and my Dorm updates! (it takes a lot of compiling of images and stuff!)

So before I let you go, check me out in Jaws!

See you wonderful people next update!
♥ Laura

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Well, this weekend started with a bang, or more like a “uughh… *cough* … huff… *hack*… uh oh..*RUNS TO BATHROOM*”

Last Wednesday (February, 4th) I was doing well, I had made it off my week long cold, and all I had remaining was a small cough. … Then Thursday’s walk home complicated things a little. You know how in Ontario (at least Southern Ontario) we say that Hamilton is a hotbed for nasty air quality? In Russia, I would say it’s like Hamilton, x20. The air is so thick with pollutants and smog you can taste it in your mouth, feel it in the grit on your teeth, and eventually, it takes a toll on your lungs. (At least for this Canadian Girl).

On Thursday, Jessi, Erin and I adventured after class to find the St. Petersburg Oceanarium (I hope I spelt that right). According to my travelbook it was located at 8 Marata Street. We got off the metro and walked a good four or five blocks, only to see that 8 M. Street was nothing but shopping stores. We returned back to the metro (getting a little lost for a second, only because the entry and exits to Russian Metros are not the same spot all the time and headed home. On the way down the escalator (which is a rather long ride) I noticed a poster for the Oceanariam. It was located at 86 Marata Street. Ah well, either way. At least we know for next time. Thursday night, after a long day of walking I felt a sore throat again.

Woke up friday (I actually woke up many times between Thursday night and Friday morning due to aches and pains) with a sore throat, a very dry chest cough, headache, aches and paints, and a crazy headache. Unfortunately, it seems the most I could do was lie in bed and cough up a lung.

I hope this thing boots itself from my system before too long!

Till next update!

♥ Laura

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Internet and Pictures!

This update will be more of a pictorial collage. I haven’t had time since my last update to write on the happenings around here due to the amazing amount of homework I am given each night. (It honestly blows my mind) I don’t understand how they expect students to take in Russia and do their homework, at the moment it seems it’s either one or the other.

Before I put up the pictures with a little narrative, I should mention my Internet situation. Currently, I do not have Internet in my dorm. I have gotten every one’s emails as of today, but I don’t have enough time at the moment to reply to them all (only allowed one hour on here) Every so often a sketchy wireless connection appears and I avoided connecting for the first week. I then found out that everyone in my group has tried this connection and it works sometimes. So, I do try to connect to it, but it only works about 10% of the time, and only stays connected for 10-15 minutes. So until I get my Internet in my dorm, I may be able to receive emails, but sending back out seems to kill my connection. I will be in touch soon though, I don’t know how much longer I can go without Internet and keep my sanity. So I will be working as hard as I can to get that connection.

Now for the pictures! Life in Russia since my last post has been tiring. It’s been mainly school, with a little bit of sight seeing on the side (mainly due to the amount of homework my lovely professor dishes out). The sights I have seen since my last post have been the Church on Spilled Blood/Saviour on Blood , and the Finlandskiy Railyway Station.

I unfortunately don’t have images of the Church on Spilled Blood/Saviour on Blood to share. When we got there I realized that I did not have a SD Card in my camera. I will definitely go back, and take more, but it was frustrating that the first time I should see the Church, I was not able to take pictures. After we saw the Church, we made a quick walkabout in the open market directly behind the church. There were some very interesting items for sale, and the sales people get all over you if you even glance at their wares. But overall, it was a nice first visit.

The weather in Russia right now is getting pretty darn cold. Apparently February is the coldest month in Russia, and I truly believe it. It’s hard to go about and do touristy things when class doesn’t end till 3, and it takes almost 2 hours to get home after that. You get pretty pooped. Not to mention how cold it is.

Anyway, the only other touristy thing I’ve been able to do thus far is make a quick visit to Finlandskiy Station. For those unfamiliar with the territory or history, Findlandskiy Metro/Train Station is the place where in April 1917, the exiled Lenin and his Bolshevik companions returned from Switzerland to a huge welcoming reception at this Rail Station. Although he was forced to flee Russia again in the Summer, he came back in the fall and spurred the 1917 Revolution. They now have a statue to Lenin erected here as well as the some of the train Lenin rode in on in 1917. (Pictures of this place are below)

Other than that, I got my student card finally (so I can now visit museums, etc for cheaper) and I plan on going to Tsarskoe Selo this Friday with some kids from the Saskatchewan group. (here is hoping it pans out this time, we planned to do this last Friday and they all dropped out)

Anyhow! Miss everyone and I hope to touch base with everyone soon (hoping the Internet works out soon!)

Cheers!
Laura

Pictures:

First I’ll start with Smolny!

The Smolny Convent, I believe.

Another great angle of it!

The Outter area of the 1/4th of the Smolney. One of these days I’ll get it all.

My Roomates! (minus Erin) outside Smolny! (From Left to Right; Jessi, Ross, Natasha, and Leah)

The Trip to Finlandskiy Station!!

The whole station, including Lenin.

Just Lenin, all alone, by himself.

Lenin’s Train!

And this is just a nice shot of St. Issac’s that I got the other morning on the way to campus. There is a bit of dirt on the picture, but that’s because our university bus has never washed it’s windows, probably since it was purchased.

Topics coming soon!!

Russian Food! And the odd things you’ll find here! (Yes! That’s Red Caviar Flavour!)

My Dorm! Here is a little taste for it. The highlighted red part is the dorm in which we all (all 6 of us) live. I’ll go into detail (with pictures!) soon!

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Miss you all! ♥ ♥

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