so tired...waiting for my train back to Moscow...

Where am I right now? In Quo Vadis, our old internet haunt in St. Pete! This whole weekend has been your stereotypical voyage of self-discovery. I visited Smolnii and noted the tree where we drank champagne, my old neighborhood where we drank vodka, the "beach" where we drank still more champagne, and the Stout Bar where we drank sobaka shots. I'm actually surprised that I can remember anything about my stay, given the excessive alcohol consumption! Oh, Russia... why do you hate livers?

So yeah... the cathedral at Smolnii is still under construction two years later, but the school itself is freshly painted and looks pretty good. Sara and I went to the Stout Bar last night, and that place is hopping these days! It was packed with regulars, and had the feel of "Cheers" or something because everyone seemed to know each other. There was a live band that was really good, people were dancing, and the same bartender was there. Also, Sara and I were invited to dance several times by various Russians. In fact, it seemed that the "cool thing" to do was to dance with the "Italian sisters" (Sara and I, of course!) who were sitting by the bathroom. One guy even insisted on dancing with us both at the same time. We have dubbed last night "The Night We Danced With Every Russian in the Bar." A very clever name, if you will. Anyway, by the end of the night she'd received a marriage proposal and I was in love with a young fella named Pasha. Oh my god, he was so beautiful and chivalrous! Before he left, he kissed my hand and thanked me for the dance and then stood at the other end of the room and stared at me intensely while his friend dawdled. He was even hot by American standards - if he was walking around in Lawrence right now he would be eaten alive and/or fucked to death by hipster women.

We stayed in a hostel that's located instead a puppet theater building. It is called the "Puppet Theater Hostel," which is also a very clever name. It's not too bad, and on Friday night we hung out with our Russian neighbors and a Swiss dirt biker who doesn't speak Russian. He and the Russians had been drinking beer and cognac for hours, unable to communicate with one another besides gesturing, so when Sara and I showed up they were all excited that they could finally talk to each other (via us). We got some translating practice! The next morning we all got together for breakfast and a trip to the Kunstkamer.

I'm trying to remember if anything else interesting has happened; all in all, it's been a really eventful weekend. It's really weird to remember what I was like when I was in St. Petersburg last, on my first trip abroad in 2003. I was so timid and afraid to talk when we were in groups, and we were talking IN ENGLISH!!! What the hell was wrong with me? I was so un-adventurous; just walking around on Nalichnaya this weekend, I kept scolding myself for not checking out this or that little shop when I was here last. I was such a pansy two years ago, I can't even believe it.

At least I can comfort myself with the knowledge that I've made some progress since then!

Sara, Nafan, and I got our poetic theory tests back today; suffice it to say, I'm pleased I got the same score as Nafan, who amazes Russians everyday with his perfect speech and is generally linguistically gifted. The downside? Neither of us did very well. So my spirit of competition is appeased, while my grade suffers. The professor didn't seem to think it was the end of the world, since they generally cut foreign students a lot of slack... because we are at a certain (linguistic) disadvantage.

I was supposed to meet with my student tomorrow but apparently we can't meet until next week. Her name is Petimat and she can't come because her mom is going back to Chechnya and doesn't want her to leave the house or something. Also, my history professor's father died, so I don't have class tomorrow - and guess what I'm doing? Oh yeah, I'm going to Petersburg. Way to capitalize on other peoples' misfortunes and make a 4-day holiday of it! Sara and I are a little nervous about the train ride; all the lux cabins were booked so we will share a 4 person cabin with strangers. We're going to try for the lux cabin on the way back, though. Why is this important? Because Middlebury is paying for it! It's weird, every time we leave Moscow, Middlebury pays for everything. Hotel, all meals, train/plane fare, just as long as it's in Russia or the CIS. While in Moscow proper, however, we must fend for ourselves.

To which I say: I'd really rather not deal with the nightmare of purchasing train tickets, despite the financial boon from the university. That's why I'm grateful to have a roommate who is better at Russian than I am, although she was also nervous. I almost fired her and found another roommate, because she was supposed to book our return train as well, but she choked and dragged me away from the window before we could finish the return transaction. Oh yeah, and we also have no idea of where we will stay while we're there. I've made a list of some 3 star hotels and hostels that have a pretty good reputation with Middlebury students, but Sara and I are toying with the idea of renting a room from one of the babushkas who wait outside the voksal with signs. It could be interesting, but we'll see how brave we really feel after 8 hours on the train with potentially drunk Russian men in the bunks underneath us.

Did I mention that it's been snowing/sleeting for over 24 hours now? Our literature professor laughed at us and asked if we could make it until May...

President Bush Urges Nation

October 19, 2005 | The Onion, Issue 41•42
WASHINGTON, DC—"Saying he 'could not stress the issue strongly enough,' President Bush urged the nation Monday in a televised address from the Oval Office. 'Fellow Americans, in this time of trial for our nation, I beseech you,' Bush said. 'Heed my words: This great nation, founded in freedom. Therefore, I implore all Americans. I ask you, in our hour of need. Good night, and God bless you.' Pundits agree that the message was the most forceful speech from the president since he interrupted regular programming to call on the nation in the spring of 2003."

RIP Rosa Parks

It's been almost 2 months, and my entries have been infrequent due to the greater convenience of journaling by hand, since it's free and my internet time is generally occupied with emails.

I went to a meeting with the Civic Assistance Center for the Children of Forced Migrants today. I'm going to teach English to a little Chechen girl! I'm excited, but I can't get started for a while because they don't have any new kids yet, only boys, and for some reason they pair male teachers with boys and female teachers with girls. I'm also going to be the official proofreader for the Downside Up organization's newsletter - they work with families and children with Downs Syndrome and promote community awareness. Also, Sara and I are going to take the midnight train to Petersburg for a long weekend holiday. We're going first class in a private compartment since the school reimburses these trips. Ha HA suckahs! Pay up!

The bird flu has officially made it to Moscow. I found this out today; I ate chicken yesterday. It was good, and I don't regret a moment of it. It was cheesy with broccoli and you really can't beat that! The way I see it, I didn't survive two car accidents and various other ridiculous mishaps just to die of the bird flu in Moscow.

I'm starting to get cranky though... I talked to Adrienne the other night, and confessed that I don't think "Russian Studies" is what I want to do with my life. I actually realized this in early July, when I was a month into the program in Vermont. I can't believe I'm getting this deeply in debt for a mere hobby! It's stupid! Of course, I'm really happy to be here - after all, it is your quintessential experience of a lifetime - but both Adrienne and I have agreed that it's a rather expensive joyride when all we really want is to go back to Kansas and live in our old apartment above her parents' barn.

In our history class the other day, our professor gleefully told us about a peasant custom for blessing the land prior to spring planting. The mind of a Russian peasant is a very literal thing, you see, and they reason that their local priest is the closest thing to God they've got and, since he's so close to God, he must actually have a little God on him. They literally take the priest and roll him around on the ground to bless the land. Seriously, I'm not kidding, they lay the poor man on the ground and roll him around the perimeter. He has absolutely no choice in the matter, as he also knows that he's probably got some God on him and he is obligated to help out in whatever way he can.

As for speaking in Russian all the time, it's really frustrating to be an idiot 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I am a blathering, babbling, incoherent, illiterate fool. I hate it. But it is getting better, and my roommate and I have taken to translating what we've just said (or tried to say) in Russian, and then translating it back into English to laugh at ourselves. For example, I attempt to tell my roommate that I would like to go to a certain museum, and then maybe we could go buy groceries after that. Once translated back into English, it sounds something like this: "If you not against, please be with me on journey to museum, and then to buy products in order to be eating supper." Another time, Steve attempted to translate the English (Austin Powers) idiom "That's not my bag" into Russian, and ended up saying "That is not my earthenware pot." And so on. It's annoying, especially when trying to speak to native Russians, but it makes them laugh often enough. The other night we tried to find a club and got lost so I stopped a couple Russian guys about our age, and no sooner had I opened my mouth than one began to laugh and say "I know English!" Then he translated my Russian into actual, correct Russian so that his friend could understand what we wanted.

Ah... these English moments in the internet cafe, submerged in god-awful Euro techno broken only by the occasional Lionel Richie tune... these moments are priceless. Actually, they cost about 75RUR, if you really want to be picky about it.