My First Club~

So last night was one of the most interesting experiences I've ever had. Kensie and I had been planning on going out with some friends to Double Bar. We headed out at like 7 and where at the bar by 8. We hung out, played a couple of really educational games of never have I ever, and decided to head back and go to a club near the dorm. We took the metro back and were at the club around midnight. But only after, me and my clutseness fell and scraped up my knee- again. 

The club was filled with middle aged people dancing in a way that I've never seen before. Normally when an American thinks of dancing at a club the film "Dirty Dancing" comes to mind. Not here-- at least not by the club goers. So Corey, Kensie, and I look at each other and decide we are going to need some liquid courage to stay here. So I go up to the bar and there is this 30 something year old man hitting on me... I order the 3 drinks for us- and politely as I can (with my acutely small knowledge of Russian) get away from him. Kensie got a look at his wallet and was like-- you could have gotten some free drinks outa him! Needless to say I told Kensie to have at him. :)

So we drink our little bit of liquid courage, look at each other and decide to just dance and have some fun. There is Russian techno music playing, with weird random English words, that nobody around us seems to understand. This is when the interesting stuff starts to happen. After about an hour of dancing 2 girls come onto the stage dressed in sequins, and not a lot else. They start dancing, and while nothing was removed the skimpiness of their outfits didn't leave much to the imagination. Suddenly the music stops and 3 or 4 armed men in black ski masks come in. It's the police. Kensie, Corey, and I are really confused-- because this is a pretty nice place. They bring out a dog, a miniature cute little hunting dog of some sort, and we realize that they are searching for drugs. Some people leave, and eventually we go back to dancing. 

Now the dancers are back out again, this time in maid costumes, that are even skimpier. They are accompanied by some girls dressed in thongs and sequins, and the dancing was back on again for about 15 minutes. At this time the DJ starts talking a lot of Russian and holding the microphone out to people in the crowd-- needless to say Corey, Kensie, and I backed away from the stage. I decided to use this opportunity to make a bathroom run- big mistake. Corey and Kensie informed me that the DJ pulled 2 girls on the stage and they had to "give a blow job" to a banana. Yeah- 

So more dancers come out and we dance again for another 15 minutes or so. The next person to come out is a man dressed in black from head to toe with his face like covered in a black hood. Well he started dancing, and soon he was down to a loin cloth of sorts with shoulder straps. He then produced 2 flaming torches which he danced with, blew fire with, and ran the torches up and down his body- like flames on his arms- don't try it at home kids- this guy was a professional. He left and the dancing continued for another 15-20 minutes. The girls came out again in yet another skimpy outfit and continued dancing. 

Then 2 bar tenders come out and do a drink making routine. It was pretty impressive- they made 3 pretty drinks and it was cool to watch. Then the DJ came back down and began auctioning off the drinks. At this point it was 2 AM, and I was exhausted. So we headed back to the dorms, which were farther away then I thought- note to self don't go drinking in heals, you may end up at a club, and therefore your feet will hurt. A LOT. We woke the guard up and got let into the building. I kicked my boots off and we headed to our rooms. I managed to get out of the night with 2 extremely sore feet, a skinned up knee, and only one blister. It was an interesting and fun night. And as I was getting ready for bed I couldn't help but recount the events of the night and just say- Eta Rossiya. 

7 weeks to go!

As of today we have 7 weeks left in St. Petersburg. We are a little over the halfway mark and I feel as though I've accomplished a lot. I speak enough Russian to survive, and have made some amazing friends. I have learned a lot about myself, about other Americans, and about Russian culture. I'm excited to see what the next seven weeks have to offer. I already know I'm going to Finland, Estonia; a ballett, opera, classical music concert, and a bunch of museums. And as I believe I've already showed, Daily Life here is an adventure in itself!

Quote from Last night: I don't know what the deal is...

its just a frickin fish!~ Alina

 Here's to an even more Amazing

Second Half of the Trip!

Motivation

I'd like to start out by thanking Laura for making me feel better today.-- It was one of those days today. Your an amazing sister.~

I have come to a pretty important realization today. As some of you know I'm from a REALLY small town in northwestern Wisconsin, I have a compulsive gambler for a "father". In high school I was the president of everything, and I maintained a very high GPA. I had dreams of going to law school, to either become a corporate lawyer or a politician. My guidance counselor tried to talk me out of college, why on earth would anybody from my hometown need college anyway?

Well I went on to a pretty good school, where I am a Junior who will graduate in 4 years with a double major in Business Management with Emphasis in Business Law and History (maybe Economics Major too...). I have a decent GPA (not as high as I'd like... thanks statistics :p... but it'll go back up). I'm involved in the most amazing sorority on the planet Kappa Delta. And I'm the secretary for Pre Law Society. Last semester I was an RA, and intern at a law firm, an economics departmental assistant, an ambassador, a mentor, and I think that's all my jobs???

Now you may be asking yourself the same question I was asking myself today... how did I come out of my background with so much motivation to succeed? I've been pondering this question a lot today... and have come to some conclusions.
1. I love new experiences
2. I love success and don't settle for less then my best
3. I surrounded myself with the most amazingly talented young women on campus, my sorority sisters-
4. My mom has driven me to succeed, and helped me open new doors--

I know I may sound snobbish right now and you may be wondering what I'm doing typing this, but to me this is me- its who I am. I have fought to get to where I am today. I'm not a success by any means, I've got a long ways to go, and knowing myself I can mess it up pretty easily-- but I am doing a fairly good job of making the best of what I have. I work hard for what I've accomplished. In the last year I've been dumped by my first love, did the Polar Plunge, dumped the rebound man, worked at a law firm, gone to China to study, worked at a camp for children with disabilities (blind, deaf, cognitively disabled, diabetic), and now I'm in Russia spending an entire semester in a country I knew almost nothing about before I got here.  I'd say that's a pretty eventful year.

I can only imagine what the future has to offer me. I'm 20 years old, in Russia, learning SO much, and in December I'll be back home in that small town in Wisconsin. Where I will hopefully find a temp job to fill my winter break time. Then its back to school for a semester of homework, work, KD, fun, and friendship. Then dadadadah LSAT time-- Life is going by so fast, it seems like just a while ago I was leaving for college, scared to death of living on my own.-- Now look at me.

This experience truly is once in a lifetime-- and even if I can't shake this horrid cold-- I'm happy to be here-- happy to experience new things-- happy to beat the odds.

Snow!

That's right readers its October 15 and the first snow storm has arrived! Unfortunately/Luckily (depending on your view point) the snow isn't sticking. I am from WI and never cease to be excited by the first true snow (and I assure you looking out my window all I see is white coming down). It seems different with it snowing here, not near as exciting, but more like watching the inevitable.

Moscow was quite an adventure despite being sick the entire time I had a lot of fun. Kensie and I explored St. Basil's and enjoyed a couple of meals at what could be my new favorite restaurant. They serve baked potatoes with a toppings bar. I <3 it. I also bought some really awesome souvenirs! Including a $15 winter hat that says MOSCOW. Its super cute, and more importantly super warm. :)

This week is fall break so Kensie and I have been exploring St. Petersburg. We spent 2 days trying to get into the botanical gardens, and then gave up. But we had fun in the processes so that is all that counts. We also went to the Aurora Naval Ship. That was cool, and I got some more souvenirs/Christmas presents! My shopping is almost done! :)

Being gluten free in Russia is not near as difficult as I thought it was going to be. I found a gluten free grocery store and have been there twice. I also don't mind eating a lot of the same thing, so I get by. :)

What I miss most about home right now is the water. I want to brush my teeth with tap water and shower and actually feel clean afterwords! It really is the simple things that make life worth while. What I love most about here right now is this city. It is HUGE! There is so much to see and do and thank God Kensie knows where shes going or I'd be lost all the time. The people here are so diverse and yet similar. Brenda said it well in her blog when she said that a woman dressed in the same clothes she probably wore in the war and a woman in 4" stilettos and a tight short skirt stand side by side on the Metro and both are at home here. Its really cool.

Are you Sure? Nope. Ok Lets go-

Today was an adventure. The day began with me not wanting to get out of my warm and toastie bed. Class today was a walking tour of St. Petersburg with my teacher who has lived here all her life. The tour consisted of about a mile long walk... and that's a minimum. Then Lindsey and I went to a local cafe with bottomless refills on tea and enjoyed relaxing and catching up. I then headed toward home and stooped and did my grocery shopping. On my walk home I found Brenda and we decided I should go shoe shopping, graveyard visiting, and then to church with her. So I quickly headed back to my room put away my groceries and was off to town again with Brenda. We went shoe shopping and I have decided a need a pair of Russian heals... they are TOO pretty. :) We were trying to find the cemetery where a lot of famous people are buried, and we may have found it... or not... we really aren't sure where we were. I know I ended up in an Orthodox Church and was in awe of its beauty. We were walking in this park and went through random gates that lead to what I'm sure wasn't the...shall we say foreigner's typical path???. I would look at Brenda and be like "are you sure?" and she would say "nope" and my response was always "OK lets go". In doing so we entered this park/cemetery/church area without having to pay. Afterwards we tried to go to her church... but service wasn't occurring... so we decided to continue shoe shopping and return to the cafe I was at earlier to wait for rush hour to die down. And now I'm back home. I had to use Liam, Emily, and Matt's brain to do my homework, and I have a quiz tomorrow on irregular verbs... I have studied a lot but I doubt I'll ever be ready for it. Anyway now it is off to bed :)

Fall Has Arrived!

Hello Readers!

It is officially fall here in Russia. We went to a beautiful park and palace combination today and I got to see history and play in the leaves... does life get much better? I don't think so. :) Ohhh wait it does I also got a new scarf! And this one is SUPER soft, its 50% wool and 50% silk. I <3 it!

Kensie and I adventured around the park, and got lost for a bit. It was great to be out in the woods again. Once a nature director always a nature director I guess. I just love being outdoors and there is no better time then in the fall when it is cool and brisk and you can walk for hours amongst the trees. The only thing that would have made today an even better fall day would have been football and a bonfire. :) Walking in the woods today was a lot like being back home, and it was fantastic.

 

 I still can't believe I've been here a month! Or that I will be here for another 2! I've grown accustomed to cars driving on sidewalks, drunks being passed out on Metros, money belts, doing everything in a language I don't understand 99% of the time... it has all become normal daily life. It is such an incredible feeling-- one everyone should get to have. So for you readers out there... STUDY ABROAD, travel "while your young and beautiful" (such a good song). It is one of the most challenging and yet most rewarding things I've ever done! Go outside of your comfort zone, who knows they may have silk sheets there. ;) even though they don't have them in Russia, so don't get your hopes up lol.

Oh the things You'll Hear

"I'm not afraid of breaking you Corey, I can throw you around and not hurt you."- Matthew

"You could be 3 for 3..." - Emily... this was all I got out of the convo... but it was funny at the time

"Ahh for sure..." Emily... frequently making fun of me

"I got a hat!" Matthew when talking about his new hat he got today...

"Ohhh Hush" Emily... frequently

"Is there something unmanly about eating a salad for dinner?"- Matt "Yes you are not a man" - the rest of us "but I'm from CA I need to eat Salad" Matt

"That's just weird... like Steak and Eggs who eats that"- Matt "yeah its good, people eat it, and its tasty"- the rest of us

"I'm tired of you making fun of my CA ways... respect my ways... respect my culture"- says Matt, the one who picks on my accent-

"My computer's name is Millie, she can be a bitch sometimes"- Emily

"Daniel didn't know what to think last night... We freaked him out again" - Matt

"10 points for Gryffindor"- Corey

"Hey Megan... is this a bad ass Monkey face or what?" - Emily

"How come I don't have more quotes?" - Corey

"Keep pushing Matt see how far it gets you"- Me "That's what she said" Corey--- for the record I was defending my roommate, he would have squished her!

"I don't see what your problem is... that's like drinking lemonade"-- Alina to Corey, Matt, and Emily hehe

"I got this" Emily hehe

Does anyone else notice how many weird things Matt says?

In addition to these wonderful things my friends say I also have some quotes from teachers that need to be shared. If you don't think they are funny... sorry but in context they are. :)

"Now when we speak about the CHOOORch...."- Maria

"If you walk in the Gulf of Finland you could be like Jesus Christ and just keep walking its so shallow"- Egor

"Of course they dealt with this situation the way Communists do... and shot him"- Egor

"You need to have long underwear or you will freeze"- Egor

"Life is a daily struggle: before lunch it is with hunger after lunch it is with sleep."- Egor

"Now I ask you to pay attention to...." Maria

There are many more and I will continue updating...

Daily Life is Fun- Cont...

So here in Russia we come across all sorts of people. Some are friendly, some are not, some are tall, some are short, some speak English, most do not. What I have come to notice is that we are all people. We may be from different parts of the world but we are all people and we are all on this world together. What I enjoy is the bonding between those of us Americans who are brave enough to venture to Russia. We get together, laugh about the oddities of this country, and laugh about the oddities of each other. For instance Russians wear sweaters, scarfs, and jackets when it is 50 degrees F outside. We wear hoodies and call it good. My roommate laughs because I apparently have a thick midwestern accent. She has started to pick up said allegid accent, and its funny. (My roommate is from PA.) All the while our California friend complains about his lack of accent.

Today was a pretty normal day- went to school, did my homework, my computer obtained a virus, Charles and Dan tried to fix it but Matthew finally got it to work. We made some good pasta type thing tonight. Emily, Matt, and Liam ate it on pasta but I ate it on potatoes. :) It was yummy.

I would also like to add this little sentence in here because Emily and Matthew are enjoying picking on my bad spelling skills. ym nema si Mgena. heheheehehe :p

I also would like to add some things to my blog thanks to an idea from Emily.

Quote of the day: He hit me. --- That's gonna leave a nail mark. Children!
Observation of the day: Californians named Matthew need to dress warmer.

Journal Entries

September 20, 2010 (day 25)

Dear Journal,

Today’s excitement was that we made bacon cheeseburgers and garlic mashed potatoes for dinner. It was awesome! Really really yummy. I think I shall be making mashed potatoes more often. People were happy, I got to eat food. I just wish living gluten free was cheaper. I do ok, eat a lot of potatoes, (but I love potatoes).

September 21, 2010 (day 26)

Dear Journal,

School, homework, laundry, chat with Laura, read my book, about it.

September 22, 2010 (day 27)

Dear Journal,

School, homework, read my book, go to the store with Brenda-- she buys I cook, write adoption papers so Emily can adopt Matthew as her brother. About it.

September 26, 2010 (day 31)

Dear Journal,

Yesterday Emily and Brett moved to homestay. So now its just me and little Emily. I think I’m going to enjoy this. We had company last night, James, Leeham, Corey, Matthew, and some other boys. It was nice to just chill and relax. I’m seriously considering going to Alaska this summer to work. I found an internship I really like- it could be fun. Or James knows some places to work that pay well because he’s a local. I don’t know-- have to wait and see. Today we went to KunstKamera. It was so disturbing. Peter the Great was a weird man who decided to forgive people’s debts to the government if they could bring him oddities of nature. So they did. They found babies with countless deformities, conjoined twins (in all sorts of random places) and even a group of sextuplets still connected to the placenta. It was the most disturbing thing I’ve ever seen. And I would like to forget it.

Reflections

Hello Readers,
I went to class today, I took a quiz I though I was prepared for, whoops. So now I shall have to crack down on the books this weekend. I have a lot of verbs, nouns, adjectives, you name it I have to learn it. But I suppose that is why we go to college to learn new things and challenge our minds.

In high school I took two years of Spanish. I hated every minute of that class. (sorry Senora if you happen to read this, but you probably knew this already) That class murdered my GPA, and I whipped my hands clean of it by my Junior year. As it turns out I wouldn't have needed the foreign languages to get into Ripon College. I was thankful to have already hit the wall and knew how to study before I hit college. That's right Senora I'm thanking you for 2 years of hell.

I decided freshman year to prove that I was able to learn a foreign language and took German for a semester. I really enjoyed it, but knew I would never do anything with it so that ended my foreign language studies, or so I thought.

Sophomore year I found the most amazing study abroad program in Scotland. I was so excited, I planned it all out, applied, and was accepted. It was perfect, I could study business and not have to worry about a language barrier. I could visit Ireland-- (I'm just a wee bit Irish... and in case you were wondering yes that is sarcasm) Then reality set in. $$$ chaching- no way to afford it. So I resigned myself to staying on campus, enjoying college and working my many on campus jobs.

Then by random chance I heard about studying abroad in Russia-- it was cheap. I applied, got in, financial aid worked out, I quit my jobs-- and here I am. In a country I'd never considered visiting, let alone living in and learning another foreign language. If you haven't surmised yet, foreign languages aren't my cup of tea. So this experience is defiantly different then what I had in mind. Yet in so many ways it is so much better. I jumped head first into a country I knew practically nothing about. Now I'm living in St. Petersburg, a city of 5 million, which as you saw from yesterday's post is HUGE for me. I'm taking 3 Russian history classes, each of which are worth 3 credits. And I am taking the mandatory 9 credits of Russian language. I often ask myself if I have lost my mind. But then I realize that this is SO COOL! I'm in RUSSIA, I'm learning RUSSIAN, I'm seeing things I've never even heard of.

If someone a year ago had told me I would be studying in Russia right now, I would have called them a liar and laughed in their face. Probably not very nice, but I wouldn't have been able to control it. But I have learned that the future is unpredictable. (Hell Russia's past is unpredictable). Life is short-- so I've decided to enjoy this trip. I've had a blast already. I've been abroad now for almost a month, its hard to believe. Who knows what the future has in store?