My first full day in St. Petersburg will officially be complete tonight when I lay down for a bit of rest. Thus far, everything has gone surprising well and been unbelievably amazing! I was slightly worried about my flight situation and potentially being placed next to a disgustingly annoying child or some overly chatting person who was insistent upon telling me all about his/her life/trip during my three hour flight to Washington, fortunately, that was not the case. Instead, I landed a spot next to this kid from Olathe, Logan, who was actually on his way to a place in Africa known as Swaziland and who happened to be pretty cool. Our game of Uno was welcomed break from stressing about the possibility to travel complications during my layover in Russia, of which there were none (thank the lord!). I did have to wait in the airport for about two hours in Moscow because Customs took way less time than I had expected, but I am more than satisfied to have select that as my biggest first-time-traveling-internationally-and-alone gripe.
Concerning my arrival to and time in St. Petersburg, well, as I said, it has been great! I am staying in a “gas-ta-knee-sa” which, to be frank, is the equivilant of a really crappy, dusty dorm room that I share with six other men. Due to this fact, the kitchen is a catastrophe, but it will certainly due for my six week stay. Although I share the kitchen space with seven, I have a sleeping room that I share with Aric, my classmate from home, and Sasha, a true-to-life, living and breathing Russian(!). He is actually speaks a bit of English which comes in handy during my moments of complete confusion speaking Russian. There is also another boy who he seems to be fairly good friends with whose name I CANNOT remember to save my life. They are both great, keep to themselves…probably because hearing me speak their language makes their stomachs turn, and have a strange affinity for “Married with Children.”
My in-city adventures have been spectacular as well. I will admit, I am still in shock and cannot actually grasp the fact that I am in Russia. Surprisingly enough even visiting the Winter Palace during St. Pete’s 307th birthday did not snap me out of my daze. I am certain that I will come out of it with a couple more nights rest and a few more amazing sites though. I am just so excited and so happy and feel so fortunate to be able to visit the city that made me fall in love with architecture. I am literally in awe of the fact that I not only SAW the Winter Palace, but that I TOUCHED it as well. As I jokingly said to Laura when I first laid eyes on the Winter Palace, “this is what being in love must feel like” and I cannot wait, nor can I believe that that is the experience I will be living for the next couple of weeks.
