The last videos of the cruise! I got tired of editing them so just threw some of my favorite moments together and that's all you get to see for now. I have other footage of other stuff and the cruise happened an entire month ago, so we're moving on.





Today was no school! Gina is sick! On Friday we're going as a class to see the opera La Traviata. Halloween was great! We made food, mostly under Gina's instruction, while Stacy made decorations and Nathan offered supplies and a venue. Swine flu is apparently raging in the US? Have any of you gotten it?

It's snowed a few times here but hasn't stuck. Here's a picture of my host mom listening to music on my iPod.



















Here is a picture of a Kalashnikov rifle-shaped vodka bottle.















Here's a picture of a kitten.

Move over God, because there's a new God in town, and her name is Nastya Vasilieva. I don't know about your God, but my God got me a free ticket to see Swan Lake at the Mariinsky Theater. Does it really get any better than that? Not to mention, she swung us by this beautiful synagogue nearby, as I have not yet been to a synagogue in Peter, so that I could catch one last glimpse at my old God. JK, of course, I love all Gods equally. Anyway, a lovely experience, to put it mildly. She's such a cool person, and conversation comes so easily with her. She treats me like a younger sister, spending all of first intermission trying to hunt down an English program and buy it for me so I could understand the plot of the ballet. I kept telling her not to worry about it, but she persisted and eventually found one in the hands of the elderly woman sitting beside us. Granted I don't know much about ballet, but everyone knows beauty when they see it. It was amazing.

I saw my first dead body in Russia on Wednesday. Finally! Everyone's got their own dead body story in Russia, really it's the strangest thing. Walking by the metro on our way to the excursion at the Museum of Political History, we see a body on the ground covered in a sheet that does not cover all. Two men, perhaps police, were standing idly by doing nothing, maybe waiting for transport, but acting strikingly nonchalant. I would assume it was a homeless man, died perhaps of the cold or hunger, not too "exciting" but all the same... it would surely have attracted more of a crowd in the US. Especially in such a crowded place. Maybe not? Either way, interesting stuff! Dead bodies!

Speaking of which, Halloween! I am part of a team that has been tasked with arranging a party at our resident director's apartment. Tomorrow I'll hunt down some sort of costume. Keep your fingers crossed for some quality fake blood!

On Saturday I had one of the best experiences of Russia. My tutor invited me to her apartment for a dinner party. It wasn't until after I arrived at her apartment that I discovered she wanted me to spend the night. My Russian was horrible enough on Saturday that I apparently missed the telephone conversation wherein she asked and I accepted the invitation. I decided to roll with it. My tutor, Nastya, and her fiance Yuri were the hosts, and their guests were Lena, Lena and Dima. They made the entire dinner, like good little хозяйкаs in training, and then we preceding to drink a lot and have great conversations. It's the first time I've been a part of something like this as the only American, and that's probably why it was so amazing. After a while, especially after the drinks, and after I got to know and like them all so much, words started running together and it didn't matter that I didn't understand them all the time. I forgot we were speaking in Russian and it felt like we were just talking. It was just so fun.

С днём рождения кому-нибудь, который родился в этот день!

More videos!

I have a lot of footage from the Volga cruise but have only successfully uploaded a few of the edited videos so far. Here is what I've got right now with more more more to come. It's all in chronological order.





In the meantime.... Halloween is fast approaching, as is a visit from an American friend. My first and only visitor during my time studying abroad in Russia! Alycia, friend from back home, will visit in late November and stay with Nina and me. I cannot even imagine how fun that will be.

Wednesday we will tour the Baltika beer factory!

And now I don't know what else to say, thus:




(Press play)

Well it's certainly been a while, hasn't it!

Obviously I couldn't update the blog while on the Volga cruise but, I'll admit, now that I'm back in Peter it's been difficult for me to make updates. For one, living in a home without the internet makes things substantially more difficult. Also I guess at some point every semester I begin to tire of relaying every aspect of my life abroad. There's a lot of joy in writing about my observations and experiences but at the same time it can also feel like an obligation. Also, my English sucks. I'm not even going to try to write eloquently today.

The bottom line is, the Volga cruise was amazing. Epic. Fantastic. It was my first cruise ever, and I'm really eager to take more in the future. Just living on the boat itself was a lot of fun. I have many videos which I can't upload now because of a slow internet connection.

My life at the moment: same as before, I suppose. My tutor's invited me to see whatever I want at the Mariinsky Theater this month because she has a friend that can get us a discount. My host mom has invited me to The Russian Museum this Saturday but I think I might skip that to show the kids from Vladimir around town (they're coming this weekend!) On Sunday I might prepare for a class presentation by baking cookies with Gina but overall I'm trying to have a low-key weekend. If anything, I've found that the quality of my life would improve drastically if I slowed down a bit and got more sleep. I mean sure, "live fast die young" but not till I've graduated college, preferably.

I already have to go, but will be back soon. Всего доброго!