Every ounce of sweet enjoyment I experience here seems to be accompanied with a twinge of bitter enlightenment. I will admit that this fact is partially my own doing because I have an uncanny knack for picking the most depressing or socially inacceptable topic and just going for it. Granted, I have learned a lot of wonderful information that has come from the mouths of ACTUAL Russian, but it is still very upsetting to my American psyche. My research outside of informal questionnaires has also shed some very unflattering light on past, present, and projected situations for Russian citizens. I am attempting to pull together some useful information so that I can begin the job of constructing a research topic and proposal to receive funding for a bit of research in Russia, but I am feeling that my intended work and/or research would be completely in vein here due to the immense amount of social and governmental challenges. Based on other industrialized nations and related research data, I would literally need to start a huge social upset to bring about the appropriate conditions for my project to even stand a chance of making it out of its infancy. While I am up for the challenge, I feel that my potential funding bodies may be a little less excited about that prospect.
Huh, but research aside, I am still loving my time here! Yes, dare I say, even public transit, in its unrelenting battle to ruin me and all Peterburgians, cannot even bring me down from my high as I just say Catherine’s Palace and Alexander’s Palace today. “Why, what is that you say? Catherine’s Palace is perhaps one of the most beautiful Palaces in the world? Well, who am I to disagree with such an intelligent assertion as that!” Yes. It was splendid to. The. Max! As I have said COUNTLESSLY throughout this magical experience, I never dreamed that I would see any of these places before I was 40, so to be here is just a dream…well, except for the Metro and Trolleybus. I’m pretty sure both of those places are undeniably real and slightly reminiscent of what I imagine hell to be like. All I can say is that I loved all parts of Catherine’s Palace. The grounds, the structures scattered throughout Catherine’s Park. It was all gorgeous! I honestly stood at the main entrance with my face nestled in the gate just starring at it for at least twenty minutes before my group finally had to drag me away. Everything about that building is inspiring to me and breathtaking. I really feel that after I see Paris and Rome that I will probably need to die because life will NEVER get any better. Let me just hope those trips do not come until I am much closer to an “appropriate” age for death.
Also, I have ONE week left until I return home for the summer. I have to say that, in retrospect, it has been wonderful. I have had some wonderful experiences and some very, very sobering ones as well. I think that study abroad can offical add me to their “somewhat more culturially enlightened” list of students now. I have just learned so much, as I had hoped, and gained so many important perspectives about too many things to even innumerate. I am just so happy that I was able to take part in this program and I really look forward to the day when I will be able to return to Russia.
