Greetings from St. Petersburg!!! My flights went very very well, I highly recommend Austrian Airlines. I've only been in the city for about 3 days but so much has happened that it feels like longer! Here's some of the highlights of my trip thus far:
Saturday, Sept. 7
My flight arrived around 3:30pm and there were 3 other students on my plane. CIEE staff immediately met us once we got our luggage and walked us over to the hotel where we stayed during orientation. One of the girls from my flight, Julia, and I began talking and we found that we have a lot in common. She, like myself has Eastern European background so she speaks Russian fluently. There are several of us here that have relatives from former Soviet countries.
Once we were settled and had dinner, many people went to a super store next door to buy cheap phones and other stuff. Julia, her room mate, a few other people, and I all left for the store but because we left later than the rest we instead ended up walking into what appeared to be a huge arcade and entertainment building that seemed mostly closed. We noticed that a bowling alley was open and since it was only about 150 rubles or $4.50 per person, we decided to play. I was a little against the idea at first because I was so jet lagged, but it ended up being super fun. The bowling alley also had honey and cherry flavored beers that some people got and they were surprisingly good, although they tasted more like pop than beer. The bowling gods were on my side and although I didn't win I beat one person that I was tied with for a while so it was a good night. Afterwards, I was exhausted and immediately went back to my room and had a less-than-restful sleep.
Sunday, Sept. 8
This morning we had orientation sessions. I suppose I'll mention now that the CIEE staff is fantastic. After lunch we took a bus tour of the city which was a little overwhelming to be honest. We stopped a few times to take pictures, but none of mine turned out particularly well and some of the places we stopped really weren't that significant. It was nice getting out into the city though. The hotel felt like a mini US since everyone spoke English. I did my best to pay attention during the tour, despite my jet lag and whatnot, however, I couldn't help but notice two things that surprised me a little: 1) many signs and restaurants have English as well as Russian printed on them, and 2) there are a LOT of couples walking around this city. I guess it's a pretty romantic place.
In the evening we went to the actual store with everyone to buy our cheap phones and other things. We have the option to switch our phones to English, but most people are keeping them in Russian. I'm still getting used to it. That evening a lot of people hung out in the hotel and drank a bit to celebrate our first (less sleepy) night and to get to know each other a bit. We never did ice-breaker activities, thankfully, yet I feel like I've met most people already, which is really great. That night, Julia and I also took advantage of the hotel sauna which we realized was free. Banyas, or, Russian bathouses are a big part of Russian culture, and although a sauna isn't quite the same, it got us psyched for an opportunity to go to a real banya.
Monday, Sept. 9
Today was our final day in the hotel. We spent most of it in orientation sessions, which were pretty informative. In the evening our host families were supposed to come to the hotel by taxi to pick us up. And that's how it went for most people....
At first most people including myself were extremely nervous. The longer my name went uncalled, the more my nervousness turned into anxiousness. They were supposed to arrive between 6-7pm, but by 9 there were still six of us left. For some reason or another, our families weren't able to come get us, so CIEE's bus driver drove us all to our homes. I was the absolute last person to get dropped off. On the bus my anxiousness turned into slight anger, because I didn't understand why my family couldn't get me and why I had to unknowingly wait for so long. My anger eventually faded into tiredness and acceptance, and at 10:30pm when I finally arrived and met my host dad, I realized that the wait was worth it.
I've only been here for a couple of hours now, but I can already tell my host family is great. I feared it would be awkward but they are extremely welcoming, insisting that I use the informal ты rather than the formal вы we are supposed to use with teachers, hosts, etc. The apartment is small but quaint, and my room is lovely. They have two kids that are adults and have their own apartments, and they have an ADORABLE dachshund! Once I get to know them a bit more I will definitely post more about them and I'll try to post some pictures of my room too! Oh yeah, our building is on Nevskiy Prospekt-- which is the main avenue in St. Pete! It's also pretty close to Smolny, my school. So I am a very happy camper.
It's pretty late so I should go to bed! Now that I'm all settled, hopefully I be able to blog more consistently, we'll see. Until then, спокойной ночи!
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