Russians have a lot of paperwork...

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

We’ve had the commandant (lady in charge of our dorm) on our backs about picking up a receipt and taking a tuberculosis test. I’m not sure if it’s because she’s just really persistent or if she thinks we just don’t understand, but anytime she sees us, she chases after us and we get swallowed into a ‘conversation’ where she motions and repeats the same words over and over. It’s gotten to the point where I tiptoe past her office in the hopes of avoiding her. However, it usually doesn’t work because she apparently has no problem opening our door or grabbing us as we escape through the hall gate. Several others are also having the same problem and whenever it comes up, she ropes me in again to remind me and to make sure the others understand what I supposedly understand.

So, we woke up today hoping to cross that and some of our other chores off the big to-do list. Lisa and I went running again in the nearby park, and then Sarah and I were off to register our visas (You have to register within 3 business days after entering the country). We picked up chocolate blinis (pancakes with chocolate folded into them) on the way and rode the metro like old pros. (Random fact: the business where we registered is only a few meters from the Church of the Spilt Blood…Talk about a great view!) Unfortunately, the business has to send our registration information off somewhere to get a registration slip, so we have to come back again in a few days.

Park Pobedy: Where Lisa and I Run

Once we started our visa registration, we took a language placement test at the university. Now, I know you technically can’t fail the test, but I definitely did not test into the appropriate level…I thought the lady said, “seichas,” meaning now (which I took to mean begin). However, she actually just said, “chas,” which means hour. Thus, 100 questions into the 160 question test, my time was up and…let’s just say I did not do well…However, the lady said if the classes were too easy, I can come back in a few days and ask to be moved up.

After being given our schedules, Sarah and I went to the library to turn in the slip of paper that we were abandoned with on the first day. With that, we received several slips of paper, which we filled out and signed. We were then told to bring the new slips to another room to get our cards made. We had somehow already gotten our cards made, so we took the slips to a door by the laundry room, where an old Russian lady muttered about our lack of Russian. She took down our information for her records and then told us to go to another room to receive the receipts. We will have to take the receipts to the university tomorrow so they can make more paperwork, but for now, I’m happy that the commandant has one less thing to chase us down for.

Tuberculosis test and first day of classes tomorrow! I think I’m ready for some tea now…

Victory Day!

Monday, May 09, 2011

Today is Victory Day, celebrating the anniversary of Nazi Germany’s withdrawal from Soviet territory! It’s especially significant in St. Petersburg because so many were lost when it was besieged during the Great Patriotic War (WWII). They celebrate it with parades, concerts, and fireworks, among other things.

Preparing for the Parade on Nevsky Prospect

 So, since it was such an important holiday and everything else was closed, we naturally had to go exploring! We went to Nevsky Prospect with a Japanese student and our new roommate, Lisa, from Austria. However, it seems that during the 10 minutes we spent eating pishki (kind of like beignets), we missed the parade! I guess it must have been a very short parade…We walked around for the rest of the day, looking at the architecture and celebrations. We had a nice rest in one of the parks and we spent only 50 rubles ($1.79ish) each on our lunch: more cheese and bread (and sausage for those meat eaters)! And let me tell you, staying in Russia is definitely a confidence booster. We had so many people stop us and tell us we looked like Russian princesses. (New word: Zalushka = Cinderella). I could get used to this :)

We love pishki!

We were planning on staying until the fireworks, but after a day of walking, we were exhausted. Plus, we met some strange guys who set off a Taken Alert (Thanks Dad!), so we figured it was best to just go home.

Overall, it was a successful day and I’m excited about going to the college tomorrow; we have to take the language exam to place us in a class, but it will be good to start practicing my Russian! I put up some pictures of the festivities!

Lisa, Arisa, and I on Victory Day

Our Rescue: Orientation with Volodya

Sunday, May 08, 2011

I woke up at five this morning and used the last napkin we had, so toilet paper was made a priority on our list of things to ask about. We didn’t have orientation until 11:30, so Sarah and I spent our morning looking up random words, imagining what we might have done and packed differently, and snacking on my diminishing stockpile of nut bars.

The Only 'Documents' We Were Given Upon Our Arrival at the Dorms

Around 11, we left to meet Volodya, but couldn’t manage to fob ourselves through the gateway to the lobby. We stayed on the opposite side, hoping he would see us and figure out a way to release us. When he got in and didn’t see us, he stepped outside, so I managed to tell the lady behind the counter that we needed to exit. Upon seeing our key, she suspiciously let us out and we approached Volodya, our orientation director.

And hallelujah! He spoke perfect English!!! After seeing how shaken we were by the whole ordeal, he went back into the lobby to see about getting us some IDs. We were told that the woman in charge would be there in an hour, and because we couldn’t get off the campus without the cards, we spent the time exploring the campus and asking questions. From what I gathered, students with SRAS are usually on an SRAS campus. However, we are living in a different dorm this summer because our program dates conflicted with the Russian school year. We eventually got the cards, which act as fobs, and Voldya took us off campus to show us how to buy metro passes and do currency exchange. Along the way, we picked up and programmed our cell phones, so if anything happens, I can get in contact with anyone in St. Petersburg, from Volodya himself to the U.S. Consolate!

When we said goodbye to Volodya, I felt ready to do anything. We had money, knew where the stores were, had a metro pass, and could fob our way onto campus and into our dorm. Sarah and I went to the store to buy food, tea, water, and toilet paper, and got back to our rooms safely. We were chased down by a guard at the entrance to our campus because I fobbed in Sarah, but at least we know security is really good!

More later! I’m going to eat some more bread and cheese. Yummm!

Day 1

Saturday, May 07, 2011

I’M ALIVE!!! Passport control went smoothly and my bag was waiting for me. I walked through customs and immediately saw my name on a waiting driver’s sign. Though I had a brief moment of panic when I didn’t see Sarah, the driver indicated that she was in the car already. Apparently he didn’t speak a word of English, but after a brief check by the police, we were off to the dorms and I was feeling much safer (especially when I noticed the driver had a cross and some pictures of Jesus hanging off the mirror). This wasn’t as scary after all…heck, I even saw people running!


The driver pulled up to a gate around our dorm, and after talking to someone inside a guard house, gave us some official looking papers and showed us how to get through the gate. That’s when we realized he was not following us. Suddenly a guard swooped in on us, demanding to know who we were and why we were there, and though he glanced at our papers, I truly believe it was our repeated Ya ne ponyimayu’s that eventually got him exasperated (perhaps even slightly amused) enough to let us through. He pointed to a building and said something about how he didn’t know what to do with us, so off we went, in search of…something…

Sarah noticed that the papers we had received assigned us to dorm 10, but where was dorm 10?! In our search, I did get to try out my new Oxford Russian-English dictionary! And the first word was…Laundry…which was not at all helpful in finding dorm 10. We also noticed a sign proudly announcing that the dorms were 45 years old…now that’s an accomplishment. After wandering around for an uncomfortably long time, pathetically dragging our luggage behind us like homeless victims of some disaster, we eventually managed to get to the dorm and gave our papers to a lady behind a counter. Following some confusion due to the language barrier, she led us to her office where we had a textbook conversation: Introductions and nice-to-meet-you’s all around. She then showed us a room and the bathroom…welcome to Russia!

So, after literally being abandoned in Russia, Sarah and I have managed to hole ourselves up in our room. We have no internet, no money, and no fob/IDs, so we cannot even leave our corner of the hall, let alone buy food. We also have no bottled water (foreigners can’t drink St. Petersburg water) and…SURPRISE… toilet paper is not provided. Thankfully, we are in the same room and I have enough M&Ms and nut bars to stave off starvation. Plus, we will be eating my muffin from Boston for breakfast. I also foresaw the uncertainty of this whole situation and made a point to fill up a water bottle in London. Thus, we also have half a bottle of water. All we have to do now is wait for our rescue (i.e. orientation). We meet a Volodya at around 11:30 tomorrow, in the ‘lobby.’ I really hope he speaks English because no one has been able to communicate with us, save some girl who simply told us it must be difficult not knowing Russian.

It’s 18:50 (6:50pm) here and Sarah’s asleep. I guess I’ll just sleep until morning, or until I dream up what to use as toilet paper…This might be more difficult than I thought….

Survival Supplies

And we're off!

Friday, May 6, 2011

Ack! I can’t believe I’m already going to Russia!!! Like, I literally can’t believe it. I pulled the first all-nighter of my college career last night, and I feel as though any moment I’ll nod off and wake up in my room again. At least I’m finished with finals though, and hopefully I’ll eventually get to Russia and realize there’s no turning back.

I had to say all my farewells yesterday. I spoke to my family and saw some of my team for the final time this season. I love them all so much and can’t believe half of them are graduating!! I’m going to miss them! I’m also definitely going to miss my daily dose of Ducky (aka Arielle), as she’s leaving Rhodes for a whole semester to go on European studies…*WAIL**

Despite the goodbyes, though, I’m still excited about my travels. Right now, I’m in the Chicago airport. I’ve got a nice long layover, and now that my belly is filled with hot chocolate and a blueberry bagel, I’ve got plenty of time to people watch. I’ve already seen several Russians pass through this gate. One was a group of young people, who I believe worked for National Geographic. They had an adorable little girl who entertained me with her singing. I’ve also been ease dropping on a Russian pair behind me. However, all I keep getting is “Ne budu… computer… professor… dictam.” Unfortunately, I think this is an indicator that I need to brush up on my Russian. Although I was planning on reading my Russian textbook in the airport, I’m exhausted, so I guess I’ll just hope living in the Russian language isn’t too brutal of a shock.

I’m going to call the fam one final time before Boston, but I’ll keep the updates coming! Special thanks to my fabulous roomie, Jo, for getting up at 4:15 to drive me to the airport!! Jo, you’re the best!