Today was a terrible day filled with a disgusting amount of frustration. First and foremost, I cannot stand anymore of this St. Petersburg weather. I, lacking the apparently inherent “Russian foresight and fashion savvy,” do not possess the ability to seemingly ever dress appropriately for the weather. Hence, I have spent a great deal of my time outdoors being exceedingly uncomfortable. Whether it is hot, cold, wet, or any combination of the three, I have certainly been there multiple times throughout this trip and usually within the span of one day. I greatly enjoy this city, but when improperly dressed, as I always seem to be, the climate undoubtedly has the upper hand. Ah, and the hour and a half long commute home on the trolley bus for which I had to stand the whole time was wonderful. This in addition to my ten-minute wait to purchase only TWO items at the grocery store immediately after exiting the trolley bus really just makes this an absolutely splendid evening.
Ugh, although I complain it was not a completely terrible day. Kerry did manage to arrange a pretty great tour of the Russian Museum of Art for our group. Not everyone decided to engage in the tour, which was unfortunate, but it was still a great time nonetheless. I got to learn a great deal about the history behind the paintings and their subjects and actually see a lot of stuff that has repeatedly come up in my Russian classes and research about Russia. We did also go to McDonald’s for a comfort meal as everyone else was having a bad day as well. And, although it will provide a great deal of complication in my life for the few days, the International Economic Convention (or something to that effect) is being held in my neighborhood! I will be sleeping on the same island as some very important/influential people these next few days, hopefully some of their prestige will find its way over to my suite. I also have Swan Lake to look forward to next Thursday evening at Mikhailovsky Theater. I was slightly impractical and decided to get a front row seat, but how many times will I have the opportunity to see Swan Lake IN Russia? Granted, I will be eating Russian Ramen, but it is completely worth it!
I just hope that this Friday’s Red Sails celebration is without unfavorable weather. As Laura and I noted this afternoon, there are way too many things to do here aside from site seeing because there seems to be a festival for EVERYTHING. This past Saturday she, Katie, and I actually attended TWO on the same day in neighboring parks/squares for the International Festival of Flowers and Russia Day. That marks a holiday for every weekend I have been here and this upcoming Friday is Red Sails, a time for Russian high school students to celebrate the end of the school year with a huge party on Nevsky. Fireworks are then shot off as ships with red sails taxi around on the Neva river.
I will admit that the novelty of living here has worn off greatly, but I still count myself as fortunate to be here for the next 26 days (not that I am counting…). I have learned a lot from this experience and gained a lot of new and value perspectives, as most students who study abroad do. I just hope that I continue to learn and grow throughout the rest of this experience. Oh, and that I can keep the complaining to a minimum. I mean, while it may be St. Petersburg, one of the most historically and culturally rich cities in the world, it is still Russia. A place where something as simple as buying a bottle of water can become one of the most convoluted, but enriching, endeavors one may engage in.
