Now that I only have one week left...

So, thanks to my wonderful family, I am heading home next Saturday. I miss the US so much. The other day, Hot Stuff and I were going through a list of things we were looking forward to most. Today, I added "the celebratory smashing of this stupid Russian cell phone" to the list. The little red block of a phone that only allows calls, texts, and radio has caused me more grief over the last few months than I would have liked. But I didn't decide to actually post something just to rejoice in the fact that I'm leaving it behind.

Winter is definitely here. It started snowing earlier this week and hasn't let up since. Luckily the temperature has managed to stay in the low 20's, but I am so sick of snow right now. Don't get me wrong, the snow is pretty to look at, but when you have to walk in it... yeah...

I was going to take pictures, but, by the time I go outside, feet and cars have managed to turn the snow into a brown sludge, and the parts that are still white are hard to photograph without getting something ugly in it. Hopefully, I will be able to get out early enough sometime this week. It's too pretty not to share. Just hoping my great state manages to not have snow come in before I get there. Otherwise, I will be sad. T_T

As I'm leaving in a week, I'm going to inform you of the things everyone needs to know if they ever plan on coming here. Some advise, said or not, that will help with your future travels. I will post something every day.

Rule #1

Plan out what you want to see and go early. The Hermitage experiences so much traffic that there is a line outside. If you go early, the chances of your entry depending on how many people leave are significantly dropped. Other places are just so vast, you want to go early in order to see as much as possible. Also, by planning where you want to go, you can research the dates and times they are open so that you don't manage to go when it's closed....

Almost There

Exactly 3 weeks from now, I will be in Detroit. I will probably be wide awake due to the time change and excitement. At that point, I will be on my 108th day away from life as I am used to it. While I have enjoyed my time here, there are comforts from America that just can't be replaced.

1. Food

Everyone misses the food they are used to, especially if it's something they can't get outside of the country. In my case, I miss so many things. I realize that a few items on my list, such as Arabic food in general, ice cream, and seafood, I can get in many places. But I'm specific about what I want. I want Arabic food prepared by Parker's mother. I don't just want seafood, I want a crab boil, and not even Haagen-Dazs can compare to my love of a Braum's banana split.

As for the items not on my list... Ranch dressing, barbecue sauce, barbecue in general, a GOOD hamburger, meat cooked well in general.... sweet potatoes... I can't wait to go home and just pig out. Maybe then I won't look like death.

2. "Normal" Household

I know that the definition of normal widely varies from person to person. You may be used to something I am not, and vice-versa, but I am just ready to be inside an American home again.

For starters, I would actually like to be inside a house. I know I would feel differently if I lived in different places, but this lack of homes just feels so wrong. I don't like hearing everything that goes on in the apartment next door/above/below. I don't want to deal with these poorly insulated walls. I would like a house, please. Not only that, but I would like some of the things I am used to about a house. Like a real shower. One that doesn't require you to only use the handheld thing. I really think I'm going to take a bath when I get back to the states, something I don't know if some people here have ever done. I would also appreciate a toilet that doesn't smell like a porta potty.

That brings me to my next point. I would actually like to see cleaning supplies. From what I've noticed these past few months, the mentality here is "if it looks clean, it must be clean" or "eh, I'm not cleaning it." While my desk may look like a tornado took over thanks to notebooks and papers being spread all over it, I am willing to be you, it is the cleanest surface in this apartment. Once a week, I clear everything off, wipe down the table cloth, and put everything back. The other surfaces... let's just say I sat down to take off my shoes and dust came up from the stool. I really think the only two things that get cleaned (really and truly cleaned) in this apartment are the entry and the kitchen counter. I am not the most likely to be motivated enough to clean something, but after three months, you would have thought something would have been attacked.

3. Driving and Feeling Safe About It

I know that the first time I get behind the wheel of a car will probably to drive around the block, but even if I have to go on the interstate after four months without driving, I will feel more comfortable than I do crossing the street here. Drivers here have NO idea what they are doing. I can't wait to go back to America and, while not everyone follows every driving law out there, the police actually enforce them. The only time I have heard a police siren while I have been here has been in this week, and that's only because of the increasing tourism for the holidays.

4. Music

The music being played here is either really crappy Russian pop, crappy European pop, or Western pop that the US has either rejected or been sick of a while back. And, while I'm sure they are perfectly happy with it, I am sick of the pop. I want something heavy. In the words of Becoming the Archetype, "Make it sound nasty." I actually got to ask a guy where he got his metal, and he only confirmed my findings. They get it from streaming radio from England or, if they are lucky, the US.

::sigh:: I will be happy to be home.

In other new, I finally was able to eat the one food I had been banned from. Cucumbers. It was glorious. After all, it isn't cucumbers that make me sick. It is Russian "cottage cheese" called Tvorog.

Ok. I need to get back to my papers.

Cooking in Russia (aka: Operation Thanksgiving 2012)

As to be expected, food in Russia is VERY different than what I am used to. If you haven't already, go read my post on fish soup. But one thing Hot Stuff and I didn't think much of until it actually happened, was cooking a meal.

OPERATION THANKSGIVING 2012

Thanksgiving is the second largest US holiday, beaten only by Christmas. This day is usually meant as an excuse to gather the family together and eat otherwise elephant sized portions, but it is worth it.... until you do it all again a month later. Since there is no family to be seen here is Russia, and homesickness had begun to take over, Hot Stuff and I planned this day in the kitchen as best as we could having somewhat of a knowledge of what ingredients we would be able to find. Despite our planning, when we went to get the ingredients... Let's just say our recipes changed. The traditional turkey, for example, became a Thanksgiving chicken, which just sounds wrong. It was delicious, but that whole ordeal will come in a bit.

Since I was only allowed over to cook for one day, Hot Stuff had to try to make my family's rolls without me. She followed the directions and it failed miserably. The dough just didn't rise, which was weird since these rolls rise in the refrigerator. While I was making a new batch the next day, which ended beautifully, she went ahead and prepared the failed dough for baking. It actually rose, but it still wasn't as magical as the second batch. We did, however, add apple pie filling to some of the dough (best idea EVER), and turned another bit into cinnamon rolls, which needed more cinnamon, but were still rather tasty.

As, I mentioned before, the bread was a family recipe, which, like the rest of our recipes for the day, means the measurements were in U.S. customary and not SI. If you cannot eyeball a recipe, I recommend NOT trying to change measurements. I really think our meal would have failed had we not been able to say, "This looks like it would be about a cup."

Rolls ended up working out, but what about the sides, and what was the problem with the chicken?

For sides, we made mashed potatoes with onions and garlic (yummy), broccoli and cauliflower casserole, and candied carrots. You remember up above when I mentioned that recipes had to change? The carrots are a great example of that. There is no brown sugar in St. Petersburg. If you can find it, let me know, because we could not. Instead, we used regular sugar and vanilla sugar. It actually turned out really well.

While the sides ended up being delicious, the main problem we ran into, was not having enough cookware. All of the things that needed to be baked were immediately transferred to a plate or bowl when they came out of the oven, just so we could turn around and use the baking sheet again, the pot for the potatoes was originally used to brine the chicken, etc. It was a disaster zone not having everything you needed.

The chicken was supposed to be the centerpiece of the meal (having originally been a turkey in our game plan). We began to prepare the chicken and then realized something. Unlike the US, where any bird you buy is nice and clean, this chicken still had to have feathers and hairs plucked from the skin. We just opted for cooking the chicken and serving it skinless after giving up. It was rather tasty, but that fact alone almost made  Hot Stuff and I abandon the chicken and purely having sides and rolls for dinner (something that unintentionally happened anyway).

Overall, it was a great meal and a great experience, but, while I will hopefully get the opportunity to cook again, I believe Hot Stuff and I are agreed that it will never be on that kind of scale. We commend all who manage to cook like that, and now realize why Russian dishes are meant to be made in large quantities.

Long Time No Post

It's been... I don't even want to know how long since I last posted. Why? The answer is rather simple. Life has gotten in the way.

I don't normally keep things up like this, but I wanted to keep my family updated. Normally, I just do whatever and don't really care, but whenever your grandmother emails you asking if you are still alive... well, it's time to get out from behind whatever it may be and post a blog entry.

If you haven't figured it out by now, I am, in fact, alive and well. My brain feels like it's going to either explode or shrivel up and die, but I am physically doing alright.

Let's see... what has happened since my last update.... hmmm...

Since I have no idea what I posted about last (and am far too lazy to just save this post and go look), I will just tell you about it all.

In the past few weeks, Hot Stuff and I have managed to see several museums (I highly recommend the Museum of Communications), the rest of Yelagin Island (the island with the park we should have gone to the first time) and the palace and museums there, practically the entire Peter and Paul Fortress, and a great deal of other things.

Since I am being lazy, I am going to share Mappy-Map 2.0 with you. Yes, this is the name Hot Stuff and I have given to this particular map. The other maps we have suck. If it is bold (i.e. circled in black pen), we have seen it. We have also seen many other things not visible to you, either because the map doesn't have it marked, the location has been outside of the city center (Peterhof, Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad, etc.), because I haven't managed to mark them yet, or because of the glare (I'm sorry, but you can't expect to take the best pictures of a map).

I know these aren't the best pictures, but I tried to give you some overlap in order to give you a general idea of where things are located. I know you can't read the map anyway, but #2 has the Fortress at the bottom; #3 has (from left to right) the statue from Catherine the Great to Peter the Great, St. Isaac's cathedral, the Hermitage, the Kazan Cathedral, and the Church of the Savior on the Spilled Blood/Church of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ; and the last one has the Alexander Nevsky monastery.

Since my last post, I have also managed to see a parade of people dancing in circles and chanting on their way to the Russian Museum and, almost immediately after, find one of the sketchiest streets in St. Petersburg. If you ever plan on going, just ask me which places to avoid.

The video was much better....

I'm sorry that this post wasn't very educational or thought provoking, but my term papers are eating away whatever brain power I have left.

A Little More Culture. A Little Less Caring About Blogging.

I finally have pictures of things and, while I am rather happy about this, I have lost all motivation to go through them or even post them here. I honestly get home for the day and don't want to touch my computer. I, however, have an obligation to my family to keep them informed and assure them that I am perfectly safe, so I am going to post something, turn off my computer, and do something I believe to be a bit more productive.

My companion and I have recently been marking more and more off of our maps. I have a feeling the majority of it will have a rather thick outline by the time I return home. Yesterday, we managed to go to the Museum of Music and Mikailovskiy Castle, as well as see some pretty fascinating things.

The Museum of Music was rather interesting. It was small, but its collection of instruments was breathtaking from the collection of pianos to the harpsichord to the Stradivarius hanging proudly. It actually gave me the desire to play a classical instrument, and, if even for a moment, classical music didn't seem as painful to listen to.

The castle was also rather interesting. I, however, would not have called this a castle. When one thinks of a castle, one does not think of what I went into, but rather something more like the castles in Scotland, Ireland, England, France etc. This was almost as though a palace had been built around a square. Don't get me wrong, despite size, the castle was rather stunning on the inside, with pictures of the Tsars and their wives and with detail put into ever square inch of the place, but I just wasn't very impressed. If you compare this castle to, say, the Winter Palace, you would think the palace was far more magnificent.

Speaking of the Winter Palace, Hot Stuff and I finished the Hermitage on Saturday.

It was a really beautiful and really big place. As it is a rainy day, I am not motivated enough to post many pictures  to show you just how gorgeous and just how vast the Hermitage's collections are. Instead, I will just leave you with the one statue (a personal favourite of mine), and let you figure out what it is.

It has been awhile since my last post. Hot Stuff and I have been going out and seeing so much lately that I've simply been too exhausted to post about anything. She definitely has a lot more energy than I do, as she has been posting a lot more about what we have seen. I, on the other hand, have been using my last bits of energy on other things that do not pertain to this blog in the slightest.

In the last week, I have been to the Memorial to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad, many churches, the Yusupov Palace, the only synagogue in Russia, and finally managed to make it to the Hermitage. It has definitely been catching up to me, so I am going to spend this post giving a small blurb about each of the places we have seen and will, hopefully, get to writing a full post in the near future.

Day 1:

Near Mayakovskaya Metro

Church of the Birth of St. John the Baptist (Chesme Church)

 This church has become famous for it's graveyard. It has been the burial place of soldiers since it's consecration. It is most famous as the burial place of the soldiers who during the Siege of Leningrad.

Statue of Lenin

 This particular statue of Lenin is apparently the largest Lenin statue in St. Petersburg at approximately 16 meters (52.5 feet) in height. Considering this statue is not very far from our next destination, it's locations seems fitting.

Memorial to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad.

This monument is incredible. It tells so much history in such little space. Along with this statue, there is an obelisk and a hall, in which, the history of the 900 day Nazi siege of Leningrad is told.

Near Lomonosovskaya Metro

Cossack Church of the Exaltation of the Church

This church stands on the site of the oldest cemeteries and churches in St. Petersburg. It is also known for having the largest Cossack congregation, which is why it is known as the Cossack Church. Unfortunately, this church is undergoing major reconstruction. I don't think this church has fully seen a service in over 100 years. In fact, I think any services on this location are reserved for the small chapels on the grounds if even that.

Volkov Cemetery (Literary Footpath)

This church was originally the location of the largest German Lutheran cemeteries. That changed, and many famous writers, poets, actors, etc. are now buried in the cemetery. The picture above is the head stone of Galina Kovalev, a Soviet and Russian (she died in 1995) opera singer and teacher.

Day 2

Central Railway Muesum

[There is no image for this one as we decided not to pay for photography. We will have to go back.]

This museum covers the history of the Russian railway system. It was very interesting and informative. If you like trains, you HAVE to go to this museum. If you don't like trains, you still need to go.

Naval Cathedral of St. Nicholas

This church was built for the sailors who had settled in the area. It became a Naval Cathedral in 1762 under Catherine II. It is one of the last remaining examples of true Baroque architecture.

Ysupov Palace

This palace is amazingly beautiful. While you have to pay for photography here, I highly recommend it. I think we would have greatly regretted it otherwise. Just know that this palace can get rather crowded with tour groups.

Day 3

Kazan Cathedral

This cathedral was named after the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, which is housed there. This also used to be the location of the Museum of Religion and Atheism.

Monument to Peter the Great (The Bronze Horseman)

This statue was built by order of Catherine the Great to commemorate the greatest Russian before her to have the throne. One the side of the statue it reads Petro Primo Catharina Secunda: Latin on one side; Russian on the other.

Day 5

The Hermitage

To be more specific, we visited the Winter Palace. This is one really pretty and slightly over glorified art Gallery. Catherine the Great loved to collect art. I mean LOVED to collect art. The entire museum is covered in paintings and statues. Don't get me wrong, it is very beautiful, but I get museumed out quickly here.

Day 6

Troitskiy Cathedral

This cathedral is not only one of the most beautiful cathedrals in St. Petersburg, it also has cannons in front of it. It served as a regimental cathedral and has plaques of regimental officers who have died on its walls. This cathedral has had important icons stolen and, in 2006, it burned. Luckily many of its renowned icons were saved and there was no major damage to the cathedral outside of the copulas. Reconstruction will, most likely, be forever ongoing.

Day 7

Mariinsky Theatre.

So this hasn't actually happened yet. The play is in an hour. I will definitely tell you about it! ^_^

Some General Rules to Live by While Abroad

While I am waiting for pictures, gathering the last bits of history before I tell all of our continuing adventures, dealing with school, and coming out of my stress bubble, I am going to share some general rules that you may already know or think about, but that you really need to act upon if you plan to be abroad for an extended period of time.

1. Nothing will go as planned.

While Hot Stuff and I have been able to keep things under control lately, we still haven't managed to fully keep everything from not going how we would like. Both of us have had to move since we've been here, and, while she moved to make things easier for her, I moved because the institute required it and have not had the best of times. While my host mother had lightened up a bit, she is still known between Hot Stuff and I as the "Never Lady". I still come home to find things reorganized in my room (I'm still waiting to come home and find the gifts on my table moved somewhere, and, like my charging cables, I will have to search high and low for them). I still have to eat foods I don't care for. I still only get one load of laundry a week in a tiny washer. We still don't talk despite efforts.

And then there is outside of the home. Different buildings/churches/museums have different hours. (I am working on a list of everything along with locations, hours, and costs that I will post in the future.) Google maps isn't the best in Russia. Spend the 150 rubles. Get a map. Mark on the map the location you need. Otherwise you may end up going to a Lutheran cemetery because the park looking place is where you think you need to go when, in reality, you already saw the church you wanted to see.

2. Don't plan on going into churches that aren't specifically tourist attractions.

If you don't have to pay to go in, don't plan on seeing the inside. There are so many services, special occasions, or events going on that going inside will be a little difficult. Also, just because it's a tourist site, doesn't mean you can take pictures. Another general note: When going to a church, always bring head covering. It's better to be safe than disrespectful.

3. Bring a camera, but expect to have to pay for photography.

While this isn't the case everywhere, Hot Stuff and I have found through our adventures that photography isn't always free or even allowed. Look for signs such as "NO FLASH" ans "NO PHOTOGRAPHY BEYOND THIS POINT". It may be really pretty and you may want to photograph the moment, but you might not be able to. Also, a resent change in Russian laws have made it illegal to photograph the inside of the metro stations. Luckily, there are many pictures online.

4. Send out a weekly or bimonthly email to your family.

While blogs are nice for telling people what you are up to, it doesn't answer the questions they actually care about. How are you? What's the weather like? How are classes/work? Do you need me to do anything for you? These are the questions your family wants answered. Not "We had so much fun doing x,y, and z and here's some history on it and here are pictures and i'm just running around seeing so many sites every minute I can!!" It's your family. They need more than that.

5. Skype

Skype is a wonderful and glorious thing, but it is also your enemy while you are abroad. My rule to you all (Note: This is not a suggestion), only get on Skype 1-2 days a week. Stress will hit hard, especially if things aren't going as you would like, but you can bet there will be people back home who don't care about how much stress you are going through because they think it's equal to theirs. In some cases, it may be. In others, it's not. They are dealing with the comforts of home, getting stressed out by school/work, and being able to see their friends, go places you miss, eat foods you miss, and participate in activities you miss. You, on the other hand, are in an unfamiliar place, communicating in a language you may or may not understand, having to learn what you can do and what times you have to do those things, you may have a curfew (either because of your host or because they raise the bridges at night), you may have a hobby you love but can't do... And to top it all off, you have to deal with stress. You may see this as not being fair and think that you are suffering a much higher level of stress than the people back home. It may be the case, but you should never assume so. You should never think that someone is  not understanding to your situation. They may not be able to fully understand what you are going through unless they have gone through a similar situation themselve, but it isn't and shouldn't be a competition.

I've found that, the more you communicate with someone, the more you seem to compete, the more stressful it becomes, and the less understanding people seem to be, because your stress is making it appear to be that way. Limit your time. Save yourself from getting angry. If you want to communicate on a daily basis, send emails until your days for Skype. If you have a family, Skyping more regularly is understandable. You probably want to say goodnight to your kids. Just don't try to  communicate with people every minute you have available. You need time for yourself as well in order to calm down from your "stress bubble".

6. Schedule

SCHEDULE EVERYTHING!!!

There is so much you want to do and so little time unless you plan. Plus, if you just go off and try to do something fun every free moment you have, you are going to neglect something. Schedule your days. I'm not saying "Today I'm going here. Tomorrow this is happening, etc.", but more like "I need x amount of time to get the important stuff done, leaving me with this time to enjoy myself." I'm playing catch up right now, which is why I'm saying this.

7. Have fun.

The most important thing to do is to enjoy your time. Don't let other people and things ruin your time in another country. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity. You don't want to spend it being miserable. Before you leave find out what you want to see. Research what's available as far as entertainment options. Know what you have before you go. It's not because you don't know if you can find something, but it will make it easier instead of  wondering around saying, "If I only knew about this sooner..." It's your trip. Do what you want. Just, please, think about the safety of what you're doing. Everyone wants you to come home in one piece.

Snowy Days Were Meant For....

Last week, Hot Stuff and I tried to go to St. Isaac's Cathedral, but, as it was a Wednesday, the cathedral was closed. Yesterday, however, classes were cancelled and we spent that time actually going inside.

Before I begin, I may or may not have mentioned a while ago that a Russian Student ID card will actually give you benefits. Hot Stuff and I went to St. Isaac's Cathedral and the State Historical Museum of Religion for free by showing them our ID cards.

While the latter museum did not allow pictures, we (well Hot Stuff) took many pictures of St. Isaac's.

This actually brings me to a very important lesson. Always have two sources of photography on hand. While both of our cameras were dead for one reason or another, my phone was not. And since I am smart and brought a cable that will allow me to charge my phone with my computer, I can actually upload pictures. Half of the pictures I have taken this trip, were on my phone.

Anyway.... before I get to the pictures, I will give you a bit of history.

St. Isaac's Cathedral (Isaakievskiy Sobor) is the largest Russian Orthodox Cathedral in St. Petersburg, and was dedicated to St. Isaac of Dalmatia who happened to be the patron saint of Peter the Great. It was designed by this guy

Auguste de Montferrand under order of Alexander I. The Empire Style architecture was hated by everyone but Alexander I, and after he said build it, construction began on the cathedral, which took 40 years to complete (1818-1858).

In 1931, St. Isaac's (without all of the religious trappings) became the Anti-religious Museum. The dove was removed and replaced by a Foucault Pendulum, which was first publicly demonstrated on April 12, 1931.

In 1937, the cathedral became a museum and all of the anti-religious material was moved to the Kazan Cathedral, which used to be the place for the Museum of the History of Religion.

During WWII, the dome of the cathedral was painted grey and the skylight housed a geodesical interception point used for locating enemy cannons.

When communism fell, worship resumed in the cathedral. To this day, the chapel on the left hand side of the cathedral is used for services and the main body of the cathedral (where tourists get to walk around) is used for services on feast days.

The cathedral is beautiful. They have done a great job reconstructing the cathedral. Some of the mosaics are still being repaired, but the ones they have repaired are gorgeous. For comparison...

The first didn't turn out as well as we would have liked, but that is the finished reconstructed mosaic. The second is the painting that was holding it's place during reconstruction.

The ceilings of the cathedral were so beautiful. I couldn't take any ceiling shots (I did something to my back), so Hot Stuff did that for me.

These are just two examples. If I were to put anymore, I know I would get carried away. I will just end my discussion of St. Issac's here and say that, if you're ever in St. Petersburg, you should go. Whether you are religious or not, this cathedral is just too beautiful to miss.

The snow is still coming down quite heavily. It makes me want to go to "The Home of Happiness"...

A Night on the Town & One Movie Later....

Lately I have been devoting my time to school and writing in my travel journal. Honestly, I haven't really felt that motivated to blog. "What should I write about?" becomes replaced with, "I have nothing to write about and I am not blogging about doing absolutely nothing so...."

That changed last night. It was supposed to be a night out on the town. We were going to go to a karaoke bar, have some well deserved fun, and get me out of this apartment full of misery. Instead, Hot Stuff and I ended up going to a rather classy cafe and enjoyed a nice meal, talking and laughing the night away. It was then that we decided we were going to try to follow proper etiquette for the remainder of our time here. ...well, meal etiquette anyway.

Today, we actually did what we planned (not that it hasn't happened in the past), and went to a movie. Let me explain something about "foreign" movies for those who don't already have this experience. Some languages are just impossible to dub over so subtitles are a must. Russian is not one of them. We didn't know this. We were debating about how the movie would be translated, and found out with the first trailer. 007: Koordinatiy Skaifoll (in English: Skyfall). If it wasn't for the fact that I already told Parker I wasn't going to see it without him (plus, it wouldn't be fair as it was released yesterday in Russia), I wouldn't go see it solely based off the fact that I wouldn't be able to hear any of the British awesomeness that comes with any Bond film. Alex Cross was interesting in Russian though...

Another good thing about Russian theaters... well, the one we went to, is that you have an option between salted and sweet popcorn. We decided on sweet and received caramel corn. My taste buds are so happy right now... Plus, for less than $10 Hot Stuff and I were able to get a jumbo sized popcorn and 2 drinks. That just doesn't happen in America.

As today was a coffee, bubble tea, popcorn and a movie kind of day, we disregarded the whole etiquette thing. That will have to start on another day. Be prepared for a post on the catastrophe that is to follow. I know I am.

Why am I not surprised....

I spent a good portion of my evening and this morning looking up information about St. Isaac's Cathedral, the square it's located on and the rather famous buildings that surround it, and what do I get? A closed cathedral. And, you know what, I'm not surprised. There seems to be a recurring theme here in Russia.

Everything that is connected with a museum is closed on Wednesdays.

Since Hot Stuff and I had something else on the agenda, we went ahead and did that, so it wasn't too much of a let down. ...That is, if you consider going to post offices enjoyable.

I'm going to say this now, this particular post office worked more like a DMV or the Social Security Office than any post office I'm used to. Now, as I didn't have to actually send anything, I sat there and watched, trying my best to understand how the system works. I'm not entirely sure, and I could be completely wrong, but here is what I saw happening.

A little note before I begin, I'm going to base this off of a woman who I'm going to call Package Lady.

Package Lady obviously arrived after we did and she was carrying a rather large bag of things she needed to mail. She approached the appropriate window (yes, there are different windows you go to for different mailing needs) and, after talking to the lady, was handed a box that was put together on the spot and a slip of paper (I'm assuming this had a number on it, but I'll get to that later). I watched this lady try her hardest to get everything to fit into this box that wasn't necessarily small, but was definitely too small for her needs. But Package Lady was determined to get everything to fit in that box, and she did it, though the box was not in very good shape afterwards. She approached the window as soon as she was done, but was turned away because her number hadn't been called.

Now to explain the number thing. From what I have gathered, everyone gets a number that corresponds to a certain window. When the window is available to help the next person, a loud noise goes off in the room and the the screens in the corners display the window number and which client number they are ready to serve.

So Package Lady had to wait a little bit before her number flashed on the screen. When that number flashes, you better get there quick. If you aren't ready, the number will change before you can get up. She was up at the window before I could blink. The lady handed her a slip of paper and Package Lady returned to fill it out and wait patiently for her number to flash on the screen again. (Package Lady must have been in a hurry, because she was insanely impatient. In the amount of time it took for her to complete the whole process, some people hadn't even finished filling out their address forms.) When it finally came to her number, Package Lady again approached the window and quite a bit of tape later, she left the post office knowing (or maybe it's hoping) that her package was one step closer to reaching its destination.

Now, as I said before, I didn't actually have to mail anything, so my idea of how this works could be completely different from how it actually works, but at least I am one step closer to understanding the workings of the Russian post system.

Hopefully, Hot Stuff and I will be able to actually visit St. Isaac's Cathedral soon. I did tell her all the fun historical tidbits I had discovered, but I'm tired of not actually going in a historical place. I want to change that. Soon.

Instead of that, we had lunch at a place that could rightfully be called a home for happiness and walked all the way to Sportivnaya, not only to walk it off, but to go to St. Vladimir's Cathedral (or The Prince Vladimir Church or whatever it's actually called). I can officially say I have said a prayer in a Russian Orthodox church. And, I actually remembered that it's right then left as opposed to the Catholic left then right. I will admit to watching people end their prayers and what they did upon entering and leaving the church so that I didn't look too much like I didn't belong there.

But more on all of that later. Right now, I want to focus on my day dream about those cookies from earlier today.....

I'll Have Mine Filleted Please.

I was going to save this for later, but, after the dinner I just had....

I normally don't eat fish. I was spoiled in my childhood by having a grandfather who was a fisherman in Hawaii. Needless to say, a lot of fish just doesn't taste good to me, so, with the exception of sushi, I tend to just avoid it all together.

In Russia, I can't exactly turn down my hosts food. I will go into more detail about what I normally have to force myself to eat in a later post, but dinner tonight was so... I don't even know how to describe it. Let me just say, I'm happy she doesn't eat at the same time I do.

It could be my fish snobbery, but I'm use to this

Becoming something like this

With or without the skin.

To me, this is normal. This is how I've always known fish to be and how I thought fish was typically served. With the bone, blood and guts missing.

In Russia, my experience has been really different. The majority of the fish eating I have done in St. Petersburg has been at home. In the form of fish soup. There is no picture of the fish soup that I had, because no one wants to post a picture of fish soup with the bone still in it. But, no matter who's place I've had fish at, this seems to be very common.

I can make myself eat a little bit of bone. Spine. No. But the little bones are very hard to pick out. Tonight, on the other hand, was special. I literally had to pull out the fish, open it up, and remove all of the things that should not be served with a cooked fish, with the exception of if the fist is being served whole on a platter. The only think I was missing was tail fin and head.

Since I think that floating scales are a bad sign, I would just like to include this video of how to filet a fish so that anyone can learn with what to begin with when you make a meal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WABTRGUyUTc

Note: I am not trying to be culturally insensitive. I would just appreciate not having to remove the guts as well as the bone.

If You Have a Hobby......

Today is one of my days off from culture viewing, and I am not okay with that. It isn't, however, because I want to be out and about so I can tell you more about the culture of this great city (even though I REALLY enjoy doing that). I am going through withdrawals worse than homesickness.

...and I didn't think that would be possible.

Back in the States, I have several "hobbies". These include sewing, watching movies/anime, playing video games, some light reading, and music. I am a mediocre bass player, but even though I don't devote as much time as I should to playing, some of my most fond memories with Parker (no, that is not his name) involve either me playing bass/guitar and sucking at it, or listening to him play something.

I don't get to play here. I decided without hesitation that I was not bringing my bass with me, and, even if I had, my host mother wouldn't have let me play it. I didn't really think it would be that big of a deal, but now I am missing good music (popular music in Russia = pop music passed over by Americans) and playing music more than anything.

But I'm not writing this post to cry or whine or pitch a fit about how hard things are. I'm writing this to give you fair warning on your future travels.

If you are going to be away for a long period of time, take a portable hobby with you. You may not think much of it, but when the withdrawals begin to set in, you will at least have something there to help you.

As for me, this Saturday is going to be spent at a KARAOKE BAR!! I am so insanely excited. Those Russians can just try to sing an American song better than me. lol

Seriously, though, bring a portable hobby and you won't end up like me. Going crazy and looking forward to turning karaoke into a secret competition between me and the others who dare try to sing in my native tongue. As stated: going crazy.

Sundays. The Day You Aren't Supposed to do Anything.

Back in OKC, Sundays are the days you go to church (or, in my case, wake up, notice service starts in 2 hours, go back to bed and wake up to find that service is nearly over), and then spend the rest of the day doing absolutely nothing. Maybe the work you neglected until the night before it's due, but, beyond that, a whopping nada.

I'm Russia, that is not the case. Well, not for me, the person who decided it would be the best idea in the world to cram pack my life with as much culture as possible. For me, Sundays are another free day to actually explore.

Today, Hot Stuff and I walked the rest of Nevsky Prospect. Well... that's not entirely true. We didn't walk on Nevsky Prospect, per-say, but we did follow the path of it. I just wanted to show her something cool, and get a little hidden pleasure out of it myself.

So... when it come to walking, Google still sucks, so please only pay attention to the black lines.

This was our path for the day. (Admiralteyskaya M --> Hermitage --> Place of Interest --> Mayakovskaya M) Something I carefully planned. ...and yes, it was just so I could see the Japanese Consulate. The French one was a plus! Also, I wanted an excuse to cross in front of the Hermitage again...

 When we approached the Hermitage (before we had to go out of our way to cross the street), we saw a group of people gathered in the square. We were wanting to check it out and hoping it wasn't a protest. Much to our amusement, it was Tai Chi (or some form of something) in the square. Regardless of what was truly happening, it involved a yellow hippo, who was demonstrating things to the best of its abilities and jumping around. Laughter really does make a person so much happier....

This is the Hermitage (aka: Winter Palace). This is the place where Alexander II died after being fatally wounded at the place I was not telling Hot Stuff. (At this point, it was still a surprise.)

This is the monument in the center of the square.

Okay. The Hermitage was not the cultural focal point of the day, so I won't be talking about it. That, with any luck, will be the topic withing two weeks. For now, I will continue along our walk.

The picture above is the sole reason I took Hot Stuff in the direction that I did. I don't need to know the location of the consulate. I never will. But I saw the flag on my map and had to. As Japanese is my Minor, I had to. The French Consulate wasn't a main attraction for me, but it still deserves a mention. If you ever need to know where it is, just look at the map above.

Now for the main attraction.

CHURCH OF THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST
or as it is more famously known
THE SAVIOR ON THE SPILLED BLOOD

This was the thing I had been hiding from Hot Stuff, and, again, I had to provide the history lesson.

Emperor Alexander II was assassinated and his son, Alexander III, demanded that a memorial church be built on the site. (FYI, that's point C on the map.) Alfred Alexandrovic Parland presented the idea and official name, and, after getting Alexander III's approval, things got set into action.

To give you a timeline...
-1881: Alexander II dies
-1883: Alexander III approves plans
-1887: Construction begins
-1907: Church was formally consecrated

So, this beautiful church was built, but it was never actually used as a church. The only services it saw, were those in memorial of Alexander II. Nothing else. Period.

The Church's decline:

After the revolution in 1917, the church started to deteriorate due to looting and vandalism. In 1930, it was closed as a church and was used as a warehouse. In 1931, people voted to tear it down, but it never happened. A second motion was approved to tear down the church and the date was set for 1941. The Nazis prevented it's demolition and the only thing that saved it from being destroyed in the war anyway, was that a nearby shell didn't explode. After the war, it continued to be a warehouse, this time for the opera, and again, in 1956, proposals were made to tear it down.

By this point, the church was in such bad shape. But someone saved it.

The Director:

The reason that the Church of the Resurrection of Christ still stands today is all due to one man. The director of St. Isaac's Cathedral and Museum. In 1970, he was able to convince the government of the church's historical value and it was made a branch of the St. Isaac's Cathedral and Museum in 1971.

After completing phase 1 of restoration, the church was opened to the public in 1997.

Did we go in? Sadly, no. We are planning on going back. It was just so insanely cold that we passed on waiting in line to buy a ticket. I would love to go in it. The only thing this church has for art are mosaics, and, I don't know if people can see it, but inside the church is the blood stained portion of the street where Alexander II's assassination took place.

I only have one more thing to say about today, besides the fact that it was cold and semi unproductive. There was a bridge near the church that had locks all over it. Can you tell me what it signifies?

I will post the answer tomorrow.

Cue the Culture

So, yesterday wasn't so much an eventful day in culture as it was a history lesson for Hot Stuff. I'm slightly saddened by this, but I know that it is only getting better from here.

Normally when we go somewhere fun and exciting the conversation is a lot like this:

Hot Stuff: "So my host mom told me that......" or "So I found out that...."

Me as my eyes wonder: "My word... That is pretty......"

Yesterday was different and not exactly typical for us. The day didn't exactly turn out as I had hoped, but I am still calling it a success on many levels. We got to see really cool things, eat some pretty good food, and I got to give a lesson in history on probably the most important man in Russian history. ...or at least that's what the Russians apparently think.

Round 1: History

If I were to ask you who the most important person in Russian history was, I bet you would not tell me the correct answer. That's fine. People have different opinions on who had more of an impact. The person I'm thinking of though, is this guy.

Okay. Okay. So that's really Nikolai Cherkasov, but I'm talking about the man he's supposed to be in this picture. Alexander Nevsky. And I am here to tell you all about him. :: evil laugh ::

Right now you are probably thinking, "Again? I thought I was done with history in high school...", but you really should know all of this.

So the short version....
Alexander was born in 1220 to Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich and never had a chance of becoming the Prince of Vladimir (it was a big deal). At the age of 16, representatives from Lord Novgorod the Great (really the name of a place) summoned him to be their new prince. He was a great leader from them and saved them from attacks from the North (getting the surname Nevsky after one of the battles), despite being exiled for a year and making his people pay tribute to the Golden Horde. He also made a treaty with Norway, Sartaq Khan made him the Grand Prince of Vladimir/Supreme Russian Leader (told you it was a big deal) in 1252, and died on his way back from the capital of the Mongol Empire in 1263.

That was his life, but something else happened.

Due to a vision, someone dug up Alexander Nevsky in 1380 and found that his body was pretty much untouched. Perfect dead body after 100+ years = sainthood 167 years later. I would have given it to him immediately, but I'm not the Orthodox Church and churches have rules. This guy even has a feast day. November 23.

Round 2: Actually Going Somewhere

I needed a refresher on my Russian history and after finding this information out, I was all like, "WE HAVE TO GO TO PLOSHCHAD ALEXANDRA NEVSKOVO!" Just FYI, this is a metro stop in St. Petersburg. It also happens to be the beginning/end of Nevsky Prospect. I was thinking we would be able to find something about the guy there. After all, it's named after him.

When Hot Stuff and I left the metro station, we were greeted with this:

A giant statue of Alexander in the middle of a busy street. We did not go up to it. There was a lot of traffic and the only way there is to carefully time your crossing. We did however see what, on my map, looked like a park. As it turns out, we had actually managed to set foot on the grounds of Saint Alexander Nevsky Monastery.

Originally, this was the location of Alexander's relics and silver sarcophagus, but the sarcophagus has a new home at the Hermitage Museum. There were churches on site (obviously), but they were being repainted. Pictures will come later.

This monastery is also the place to buy fresh bread made by monks and is the home to cemeteries containing some pretty famous Russians. Unfortunately, it costs money to see the famous people, so we will be returning and I will tell you who rests there then. We did, however, find a free cemetery on the grounds.

As it turns out, this was a resting grounds for deceased members of the Communist Party. Some of the ornamentation was actually kind of cool and some of the names displayed the true fashion of keeping the name in the family. What was really interesting, though, was this one lady we found buried there. Unless you knew the person, you don't know how old she was when she died. All that is displayed is her name, year of death, and the year she became a member of the party.

Determined to return, we left to continue our walk to Mayakovskaya metro station. When we reached our destination, we had a little under an hour to kill so we ate lunch at a rather classy Pizza Hut. We were supposed to go to a movie, but, as we were forgotten, by the time the check arrived it was too late for that. Instead, we continued our walk. Since Hot Stuff needed to know the location of the Spanish Consulate, we decided to walk there.

Trying to find the consulate, we passed a pretty church...

...a new "Glass Monster"...

... and an Imperial Tours Maserati.

We finally found it!! (No, the "Spanish Center" is not actually the consulate, but it is the closest anyone who doesn't actually have business there is getting.)

We decided to return home and passed a statue of this guy: Adan Mickiewicz. We had no idea who he was, but I was correct in assuming he was Polish. It turns out, he was a rather famous Polish poet, essayist, and translator.

And, last but not least, when you find the spelling errors, you will laugh as much as we did.

It was a pretty eventful day. Today, we will be finishing the rest of Nevsky Prospect. I'm actually supposed to be meeting Hot Stuff at the metro in 5 minutes. I'm going to be a little late. Oops.

A Few Days and Little Productivity Later...

I am not typically someone who keeps up with blogs or journals or... well, anything really, but something here is beginning to change me. Maybe for the better, maybe for the worse, but there is definitely something going on here and that is EXTREME boredom.

There is really only so much class and attempted study I can take before my mind goes numb, and when my free time is spent watching reruns of "Top Gear" and "No Reservations" you know that there is really no hope for me. Most of this is due to the restrictions I have the unfortunate opportunity of living with. The rest is my own lack of self motivation.

I have decided to break this streak of unproductiveness and, after spending the best $3 I could have spent (minus the well deserved, world's most expensive can of Dr. Pepper), I have the means by which to put my master plan into action.

If everything goes as I would like, the next nine weeks are going to be the most culture filled weeks of my life. And my grand total of 6,895 non-duplicate pictures just from this trip will rise significantly. I have probably done this before, but allow me to explain... I have this problem of taking thousands of pictures each time I bring out the cameras. I then go through them and delete all the bad ones and all the duplicates until I have the pictures I think are worthy of having a place in my folders documenting my time here. ...and I've gone photo happy. Who knew I had that in me, because I certainly didn't.

So what is the master plan??

I'm not going to tell you.

I have this habit of planning to do something and never getting around to it. For example, I was supposed to go to the Hermitage my second week here. That still hasn't happened. I can, however, tell you this. Assuming Hot Stuff is up for it, the first part of my journey is going to be linked with what is probably the most well known street in St. Petersburg: Nevsky Prospect. My goal, is to walk this entire Prospect from its beginning at the other side of the bridge I can see from my apartment (if I open the window), all the way down to the Hermitage.  Of course, more is going to be involved than just an amazing leg workout, but, as I said before, if I told you, the likelihood of this actually happening significantly drops.

Wish me luck readers. Life is going to get a lot more colorful.

Russian Museum

After my last post, I realized that I never actually posted about the Russian Museum. Apparently my studies and outings are making me forgetful. lol

Our trip to the Russian Museum was great, and having a Student ID actually gives you something in Russia. In this case it was a discount making our trip FREE (my favourite number). The museum is rather large and certain wings were under construction during our visit. It was still a treat and we are hoping to return when they have been reopened.

After having sorted through the thousands of pictures I took there, I thought I would share a small number of them with you. They are in no particular order and only show some of the artwork you can find inside of the museum. This does not include many of the things associated with the Russian Museum, but I promise to post them later regardless of if Hot Stuff and I are able to return.

This is the ceiling.

I'm sorry for how long it took me to post these. I feel terrible about that. Hopefully part 2 will come soon.