Monday, June 29, 2009

 

 

 

 
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crunch time

I’ve decided to post todays blog with the one that I was trying to post on Saturday..

Hello!
How is everyone doing? I hope everyone is doing fantastic.. im doing pretty well.
Sunday :
Ok so at 6:30 am on Sunday someones car alarm was going off for like 15 mins!! Right outside of our window! And it had like every alarm sound possible…its actually funny now because why would anyone have SUCH and OBNOXIOUS car alarm.. I wonder if that’s really necessary..anyway I fell back asleep…THEN the wild dogs (probably the blond one which I named Spunky) was barking and barking and wouldn’t stop! So I just got out of bed and startd my day..I went to the Peter and Paul Fortress with my peer tutor- it was really cool to be that up-close and they had a bunch of little places where you could buy souvenirs which I didn’t even realize that they had anything like this.. there was a statue of Peter the Great there and it was so ugly! Haha Vasa warned me that it was ugly but I didn’t believe her until I saw it.. its this HUGE body sitting in a chair but he had such a small rounded head! She took a pic of me with it so hopefully ill get it..we paid 50 rubles to go up on this thing and get a look at most of the city.. I got some pictures. I don’t think anything will compare to what I saw on Friday at peterhof.. after we saw the fortress she took me to this cafĂ© that had really really good home made pies.. I got one with shallots and cheese or rice? And one with beef and onions.. so tasty! I wish I was able to make them myself but I don’t think I could.. after that we just walked around for a little while doing some window shopping. We separated around 5pm because I had to go home and get ready for the ballet! Yes- another ballet.. this one was called Shurale it was more like a play instead of a ballet.. I liked it but I thought the other one was better. There was a big thank you at the end of the ballet .. I think its because it was the first time they did this one in like 50 yrs – but Rachel and I decided to peace out so were walking to the bus stop and we see our bus (bus #6) so im like hey we should try to get on that so we don’t have to wait and she was like can we? I was like I don’t know we could try? Should we? Haha so I ran up to the bus while it was stopped at the red light and I pointed to the door and said “mozhna?” (can i?) and he let us in!! when the bus caddy guy came to swipe our cards he looked at us like we had 10 heads! We also noticed that we got on a nice bus with a tv and they were playing tom and jerry 
I also bought tickets to see ballet on ice.. it should be awesome im pretty excited! I love figure skating and I recently became a fan of the ballet so I’m thinking it will be amazing.. the show is swan lake by the way

Today I had class until 3 (yay early day) so I went to the store and bought things to make a salad.. I came home, ran, made dinner, went to the store to get more water, read a little bit of my book and now im just hangin out tomorrow is going to be a long day so I probably wont post anything.. I have classes until 4:30 and then Rachel and I are going out to dinner.. I wanna get chicken kiev again! We’re trying to plan things for our free time so that we keep busy- plus its really not fun being bored here and I actually try to avoid it at all costs..
It was kinda hard to fall asleep last night because people outside of our window were loading things into a truck? At 1:28 am??? Im telling you this place is pretty sketchy sometimes haha
The weather here has actually been really nice- today when I was running I could only do 25 mins  but I think its because im not used to having the sun on me like that- I know when I get home its gonna be like culture shock going from May-June weather here in SPB to JULY weather at home.. ohhhh I cant wait to come get a tan <3
Today when I was getting stuff for my salad I wanted to buy a pepper, a cucumber, and a kiwi.. well I only know the Russian word for kiwi (kivee) so I said to the lady (who probably thinks im a stupid American) zdrastvoyte, ya ne znayou slova… (hello, I don’t know the word) and just pointed to what I wanted.. ha! Those are the times when I feel worthless here but I think its funny at the same time.. I mean its all about growing here and being out of your comfort zone
Anyway I think that’s all for now so ill probably post on Wednesday

Love & miss
-M.


Happy Saturday 

I woke up at 2 pm today—but that’s because I didn’t go to bed until 7 am haha. We took the metro to meet joe and go to a club called “plaza” this place was supposed to be right on the water but we couldn’t find it so we asked 2 russian girls and they told us to go the other way..we walked and we still couldn’t find it so we asked a Russian waiter who told us plaza closed 4 years ago hahaha . there wasn’t anything really happening on our island because its pretty much the most boring island in SPB we flagged down a taxi and he told us about a club on nevsky prospect so we were like alright lets go.. we get there and theres a cover charge of 600 rubles (20$) and we were like ehhhh but we figured that’s what we would pay in the US to get in somewhere.. we get in and their playing awesome music! We all get drinks which let me just tell you that the Russians think a strawberry margarita (which it was on their menu and everything) is a lemon cosmopolitan thing LOL not to mention the price of it was 300 rubles (10$) ridiculous!!! Anyway the crowd there was pretty lame because everyone looked like they were between the ages of 16-18..so we sit and were just hangin out and we’re pretty disappointed that the club wasn’t that great but we decided to get up and make the best out of it and dance.. we got there around 12 and left a little after 3.. I was really sad that the club wasn’t that great but the music was AWESOMEE!! Jess you would have loved the music and I missed POLO’in it with ya! Haha

After we left the club we went to subway to eat- and we were just trying to pass the time by doing stuff because the metro didn’t open until 5:30am after we left subway it was like 4am and so we decided to go to some 24 hour book store and then to this other 24 hour restaurant where I got fruit and a scoop of ice cream! I have a picture of it. It was an awesome 5 am snack hahah after that we just got on the metro went home like zombies and passed out! Nothing like being awake for 24 hours
I probably shouldn’t have done that cause now I just wont be able to sleep tonight but I can try anyway I figure I had to do it once.. didn’t wanna disappoint my big bro haha

Ill probably just do nothing today because I spent way too much money last night.. I think Ill just watch a movie or something and just relax

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend
Love & miss.
-M.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

internet in russia

i hate the internet in russia

its lame

so are their internet cafes

i had a post pre written but now my flash drive folder wont come up here yay!

ill post it later i guess

or maybe tomorrow when im not as frustrated

talk to you soon :)

Friday, June 26, 2009

PETERGOF!



--emily and i by the water

-- Rafie, Rachel, Kiwi, Emily, Me, Joe, Peter


--joe rachel and i


-- the heater that keeps us warm in that freezing stone building no matter what the temp is outside!


--our classroom


hey everyone! i have so much to tell you/show you!

well yesterday i had classes all day and then i met up with alex and paul and then we met up with their friend Inna and she was really nice..we saw transformers 2 and it was ALL IN RUSSIAN! funny thing is i knew what was happeneing even though i didnt understand the words.. it was pretty good..i tried this popcorn it was called sweet popcorn and it was delicious i wish i could bring some home for everyone to try!

today we went to petergof (peterhof) and so far its my favoirte place in SPB ..it was GORGEOUS! omg. there are no words for me to describe but i have pictures and videos that i'm going to post-- ill probably only post a little today because the internet in this place is being very tempremental in this place :( but i promise i will get all of them up soon!

so to get to petergof we took a boat over.. a hydro something that when it gets to a certain speed it goes higher off the water? it was pretty cool..my first boat ride :) when we got out to where there was just water i fell asleep lol.. you know what i think is funny? how i can fall asleep so easily on a bus, a boat, and a train, but when i wanna go to sleep in a bed it takes me forever!!

we had a really nice tour guide today she was so sweet and she had a wonderful sense of humor- ill post a pic of her later.. her name was olga..

oh something before i forget- while we were touring the palace today we were in someones bedroom and there was a chair next to the bed and olga was like can anyone guess what this is?? and no one knew so she told us and it was a camode!!! a nice looking golden painted camode!! i thought of my peoples at VHRC when she told us that.. we should invest in some fancy looking camodes for the residents haha!

KATHY SCHNURRR when i went to see transformers last night i saw a sign for the harry potter movie! the sign sounded like (garry pogger) or something like that it was funny but i thought of you! if i go back to the theater anytime soon ill try to get a picture of it for you :)

there are some pictures of my class and the classroom we study in.. i love our class we get silly sometimes but thats what makes it fun even if it is hard.. the last lesson on thursday was rough because we were doing big numbers such as 71213 and it takes me like 5 minutes to say it!

hahahah i forgot to tell you guys something the other day...when we went to the WWII cemetary i had to pee sooo bad so before we got on the metro i was looking for a bathroom and like the U.S. you cant just walk in somewhere and use their bathroom you have to be a customer.. but they do have port o pots....but.. i had to pay 15 rubles to use it hahahahah i thought that was funny and i thought i'd share that

another thing you always have to pay for here is taking pictures in museums and stuff.. and it usually costs like 5$! i think its silly but hey i guess they need all they can get here...

tonight im going to a russian nightclub!! im so excited- i cant wait to hear the music and see what its like.. me, two of my room mates, and joe from class are meeting up and its going to be a really late night because the club opens at 12 (the metro closes at 12 and bridges go up) so we're basically stuck until 4am which im sure we'll be in the club for the most part and then maybe go to a 24 hr cafe or something but DONT WORRY i know you guys are going to worry! but ill be fine :)

jessieee im glad to hear that everything went well!! i'll email you back tomorrow probably <3

ill share more with yall later
<3 xox
-M.

p.s. alright this internet isnt working well so im not going to be able to post any more than what i already have SORRY

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

summa summa summa timeee

hey

about the pigeons im guessing that its either the wild dogs or the stray cats that run loose around here.. im hoping that its not a human eating them! haha

today is like any other day here.. classes.. but somehow we got lucky- our second class was cancelled because they overbooked the teachers meaning there wasnt one to teach us... YAY! so since it was so beautiful here today (sunny and warm im guessing around 70) we walked out of school (which is right next to a river thing) and ate lunch there.. it was so relaxing and peaceful.. a definite mood booster at the time!

after school we went to go see a memorial cemetery for soldiers and civillans who were killed during WWII- i dont think everyone who was killed was buried here but i think they said over 6,000 victims..it was a really intense place to be..very solemn and quiet and it just made you wanna self reflect..very nice- pictures will be up soon

after that i came back to the dorm and made mac and cheese w/ broccoli and chicken (def. not as good as donna's mac n cheese but good!) emily and kiwi ate with me also.. after we ate me, kiwi, and carolyn went to lenta (the walmart of russia but not as good) and i got myself some bread.. ive been on a peanut butter hunt lately and i cannot find it anywhere! of course the sell nutella here but no peanut butter! who lives like this!!!! (besides jess) !!!! bah. anyway carolyn's mom is coming to SPB on july 8th or 9th so shes going to ask her mom to bring me some because im almost out ! (what a peanut hog)

tomorrow is my last day of classes for the week (thank G) sadly i'll be in classes until almost 5 but at least its kinda like TGIF for me.. we're going to Petergof on friday all day (the fountains mom!) im really excited to see it - from the pictures ive seen it looks like its going to be amazingly beautiful! i just hope it stays as nice as its been the past few days.. i mean i think im actually getting a tan here this week!

i think im going to the movies tomorrow night to see transformers.. emily saw the bootleg version already and said it was ok and that i would need to see the first tansformers to understand the 2nd which i didnt see it but oh well its something to do and keep me busy so im down .

so i most likely wont be blogging tomorrow i'll try to get on here sometime on friday to update everyone..

p.s. i lied in my last blog about jess getting her wisdom teeth out today ..its actually tomorrow. MY BAD!

alright im gonna head to the dorms now
love & miss
-M.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

i wish i was light on my feet

good day to you all

hows it going? guess what? im on my very OWN laptop right now sitting in a cafe with wifi...YAY it works! (for now)..

yesterday we had classes until 3 and then we rushed home, ate something, got ready, and went to mariinsky theatre! the ballet was so amazing.. there were some parts of it that were not that thrilling but most of it just took my breath away.. i mean i could really feel some emotion from the music and the dances.. it was just amazing thats all i can say. i think everyone should go see the ballet at least once in their lives..

there was one ballerina with a purple sparkly tutu that reminded me so much of cassidy! i really think she would love seeing the ballet and i hope i can take her to see one someday..

today rachel and i woke up at 5:30 am to run.. we decided that if we cant run after school (bc we're either way too tired or we dont get home until late) we'll run before school. i mean of course it REALLY stinks to get up that early but ya gotta do what ya gotta do. who knows if we'll be able to do it everyday but for now thats the plan..then i had language classes until 3 and then we went to smolny ..some government building that was pretty serious with their security .. we had a guard guy following our tour the entire time.. this place had alot about Lenin and another interesting thing about this place is that Kharkov was assinated in the building...

otherwise i'm very exhausted right now not only due to the fact that i got up at 5:30 but once again i havent been sleeping well here.. i've actually been quite homesick the past couple of days.. blah. wah wah wahhhhhhhhhhhhhh. trying to tough it out. :(

so tomorrow is a big day over there in the US!
arianna is going to italy!! woo hooo! i hope you have a blast girl <3
andddd jessiccaaa is getting her wisdom teeth out :((((
so someone be nice and bring her some pudding!
jess, dont worry about going under its not anything to worry about! you'll be fine i promise!!!!

heres a weird fact:
there are half eaten pigeons all over the place here.

im writing this all out of order
but it doesnt matter


alright have a good day all
love & miss
-M.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

these walls are useless

hey hope everyone enjoys all the pics i just posted!

yesterday i went to the anna ahkmatova (spelling?) museum with my peer tutor i really liked it.. a bit depressing because it showed you how people lived during the soviet times but i thought it was a really interesting place.. i also liked it because it was short and sweet lol i cant stand when im walking around a museum listening to a tour guide for hours its just not for me..

last night we went out to dinner at some bistro where i got some chicken, potatoes, and rice and a half-liter of beer lol! then we went to this place called pena it was like a restaurant / bar it was really a good time.. we walked down to the river but as we were walking it was downpouring and we all got soaked..we got down by the river and it was pretty packed with people and there was a concert going on a block down.. we got there around 1130 but then we found out that the fire works and stuff didnt start until 130 ugh- so we decided to go back because it was kinda chilly and we were wet.. me and emily tried the mcdonalds here last night and it tastes exactly the same as it does at home.. i was a little sad though that i couldnt get my burger plain because apparently you can customize your order here.. we got home just in time to watch the festivities on tv...

i woke up this morning and had some buckwheat and i came up to emily and kiwi's room to upload pics which took a pretty long time lol.. i have to study and do some homework today. i also wanna try and make soup but we'll see...i think im meeting up with alex to try to fix my internet once again haha..

alright well ill talk to everyone soon :)
love & hugs
-M.

picture post #2