I'm on the third floor lobby of my dorm stealing wifi from the hotel across the street, and just ran into three Chinese students trying to do the same. They were having trouble so they approached me to ask how. But they speak basically no English and very little Russian. Their computers were all in Chinese characters. So helping them proved a challenge. But I got at least one of them online. That's the great thing about this dorm, there are students from all over the world studying Russian. Definitely an interesting experience.

We went to school for the first time today. All we had was testing so they can place us in groups according to our level tomorrow. Today I got lucky and my oral assessment went perfectly. I understood everything she said and responded reasonably well.

I have a friend who used to go to GWU named Ben. Ben once introduced me to another student living in his dorm who he knew was studying Russian. Yesterday, as I walked into a meeting with the whole group, I ran into this other student, named Matt. I knew he was in St. Petersburg but still, this was a great surprise. In addition to this, he's already friends with a girl here who I've been spending a lot of time with, named Gina. And finally, Matt, Gina and I all live extremely close to each other. Really right around the corner. At least, when I move into my real home we will. This is great because Matt knows the city very well and is a very advanced Russian speaker. He's studying here on a Fulbright scholarship. Last night he took us around to help Gina find an adapter, and then we went back to his (huge and dirt cheap) apartment with a few drinks. He invited me to attend Yom Kippur services with him and said he could get me into a real Shabbat dinner with some Russians. He also knows cool jazz clubs and pretty much just everything anyone could want to know. It really is weird, the Russian-studying student population in the US is a really small world. The more programs I do, the more I find that I know someone who knows someone else. It's happened several times over the course of orientation.

My phone number is +7 921 794 5379.

This is probably gonna be the least cohesive and uninteresting video I will post here, but I have nothing but time on my hands and wanted to show you what I’ve filmed so far. Some of it’s just us hanging around the dorm. Some of it is on the streets of Peter. Nathan, our resident director, is also shown at about 53 seconds into the video.



Honestly it's a pretty terribly video but I thought it would be fun to see some of the people I'm here with and just generally see where I've been. I promise there's better to come.

The most important thing I could ever tell anyone planning to study abroad in Russia is that you should never go to this country expecting things to work out the way they’re supposed to. That’s not what Russia does. Maybe you’re better off in Germany. If you have a good sense of humor and a spontaneous side, you could really thrive here. That being said, I think Russia is perfect for me.

Everything’s been wonderful so far. Don’t get me wrong. What you might mistake for complaining is more like amusement. Today would have been the day I would have met my host mother and got to know my new home. Instead I’ve moved into a different room in the dorms and I’ll be here indefinitely, though supposedly not long, until she gets better. I have a double room to myself. My suitemates, with whom I’ll be sharing a bathroom, are two other boys from our program, Daniel and Michael. Daniel had chosen to live in the dorm and will be all semester. Michael’s family is doing renovations and aren’t ready for him to move in. But he has gone on to meet them and see the home. So at the moment, Nina and I are the only pair to be currently unacquainted. I’m sure she’ll be worth the wait.

I’m very happy with the situation now, though, because I’ll be living pretty independently for the next few days. In the lobby on my floor, we can get free wifi most of the time from the hotel across the street. There’s a TV in my room with, among other channels, Russian MTV. I’m not worried about a lack of home cooked meals because Теремок, the Russian fast food chain, is basically my new favorite thing ever and they’re all over the city. I live near the center. All the students here are great, and I really like a lot of them, but the introvert in me is dying for some time alone and, since we have the day free and it’s been raining all morning, this looks like the perfect opportunity to just lay around and relax. Last night I managed to sleep from the relatively normal times of about 1 AM to 10. I was shocked to realize how well I slept, but it’s only 1:30 PM now and I’m already exhausted.

Yesterday, in the early evening, I went out with some people from our program: Gina, Cameron and Katie. Gina was meeting up with a friend of hers who she met on her first study abroad trip (to Vladimir 4 years ago, actually, funny coincidence) named Clare. Clare is studying in Peter with the Bard-Smolny program. Clare also brought with her a Russian girl named Regina who she met on the street at one of those Michael Jackson things where everyone does a synchronized dance on the street. We sat outside at a café talking and walked around a little. Then Clare, Gina and I split off so Clare could show us her neighborhood on one of the islands, I forget which one. We walked down a very charming street with musicians playing on all sides, and I thought of New Orleans (which is also like Russia because drinking on the streets is allowed). I said to Clare that Petersburg seems to have a lot of hipsters and she enthusiastically agreed. Outside of a Carl’s Jr. in the center we saw a girl with blue hair, spiked bracelets and a torn Sex Pistols shirt get kicked out for being drunk and then starting a fight with the security guard. I like this city.

We're staying in a Petersburg dorm for the weekend and are supposed to move into our real homes tomorrow. But I won't be, because my host mom got sick a few days ago and is currently in the hospital. Apparently the home stay coordinator informed ACTR of this already, but the information was never passed onto me. Until she gets out, it looks like I'll be staying at the dorm. The home stay coordinator seems to think she should be out within a week, but she's going to check on the situation anyway. Not really sure what she got sick with. Not really sure what's happening at all. Don't really care though. As long as I get there soon.

Russia. Well at least it's proof that you can get sick in the summer.

We got cell phones/SIM cards today and walked a bit more around the city. Nothing really exciting has happened yet. Last night we were in town and a man took a picture of me. He walked up, showed me the picture and asked if I wanted to buy it. He also asked me where I was from. Since I was an AMERICAN refusing to BUY SOMETHING, he informed me I was cheap. He was serious, but I laughed. Then walked away. This wouldn't have happened in Vladimir. This may be my second time in Russia but my first living in a big city. Which we were all also reminded of by the fireworks that went off outside our dorm building about two hours after we'd all fallen fast asleep. And of course all our windows were open to let the breeze in. They weren't the pretty kind of fireworks, they were the loud illegal kind.

I got гречка с капустой и яйцом и вода с газом at Теремок. Maybe they are frequented for their блины but the гречка was delicious. Even better than the stuff they served at the school last semester. And super cheap. I think I know where I'll be eating lunch from now on. I also got a пирог с капустой last night for dinner, and it was also delicious. Conclusion: cabbage is a wonder food.

The weather is perfect. Is there anything better than the wind?

I am in an internet cafe in St. Petersburg, Russia. I've prepaid for my time here, and can't figure out how much time I have left, so I'll have to make it quick. Not really a problem since I'm exhausted and I've only been in the country for about, I don't know, seven hours. I'm not bursting with things to say like last time. Orientation was no big deal and I'm not consumed by the wonder of Russia the way I was last time. I've been here before. Russia. Not Petersburg. Still, it's familiar. Being here takes no getting used to, being back in Russia simply feels good. And I've realized it's the only country outside of the United States that I've been to more than once.

Anyway, my first impressions of Peter were not what I expected. The weather is my favorite thing so far, and while it's very beautiful, I'm not terribly awestruck. The canals are amazing but there are more important things to me here that I'm noticing. I'm more impressed by the mood, the pace. It's not as boring as Vladimir or chaotic as Moscow. It also doesn't feel as alive as Moscow, but just very comfortable. So where Moscow may be a better breeding ground for adventures, I've already decided that Petersburg feels like home. Again, I've been here a mere seven hours but that's what I decided is my feeling towards this city at this point. It may change. But I plan to write if it does.

So many things are different now. I'm coming into this semester with hindsight and experience, albeit a meager two months of experience, but I made enough mistakes last semester to know better this time around. I've already been speaking Russian a great deal and, to my surprise, I've been really genuinely enjoying it. I'm getting ready to work harder but enjoy it more. I do think individuals are highly influenced by their environments and, while I can't blame my laziness entirely on Vladimir, I do think it was not the best place for me and influenced my day to day habits. Here I already feel like I can breath better. We're also not starting out in the dead of winter, so that must help as well.

Basically, I'm safe, happy and really, really optimistic. I can see no reason why this won't be an incredible semester.

I will be returning to Russia exactly one week from today, so I'm restarting this blog. I'll be living in St. Petersburg this time. The word on my host mom, Nina Vasilievna Dovgart, is that she enjoys crosswords, music, and knitting. She has a son, Alexei, who is married and lives separately but visits often. I'll live near the center with a 15 minute walk to school. So far so good.

On the way back home from Russia, I'll be stopping by Germany to do some independent travel for a couple weeks. I'll be back home on December 30th.

My mailing address is:
191186 St. Petersburg
ul. Kazanskaya, d. 6
Laurie Spector
RUSSIA

I definitely have different expectations and goals going into the semester this time around. I guess that's obvious, last semester was my first trip to Russia and I didn't know what to expect. I'm gonna try to travel more, make more Russian friends, immerse myself in the Jewish community and speak a lot less English. But we'll see what happens.