Slava

So around this time of the year, I always get to thinking about Russia. It's been 2 years now since I arrived. May 6th (conveniently one day after May 5th, which celebrated winning WWII and the blockade of Leningrad (ok, not the actual blockade which was a nightmare, but the triumph of it all)). I remember being sick with worry and sorrow (I was leaving Dennis behind). I packed until 5:00 in the morning, trying to cram my life into one small suitcase for carry-on and 2 big suitcases for checked luggage. I left at 9:00 to go to Billings, where my flight left. A lady from my church, Ruth Reed had to take me to the airport because everybody else had work/school. My mom's last word of advice was don't take a wooden nickel from anybody. Odd last advice. Ruth didn't let me sleep during the 3-hour car ride because she was tired too and needed somebody to keep her awake. She took me to lunch at Johnny Carino's Italian restaurant. I was still feeling sick so I ate 1/2 of my soup and a salad. Then a 1 1/2 hour plane ride to Denver. I still didn't sleep, though not for lack of trying. Then a 2 hour wait and one last hamburger from McDonalds (or so I thought) and a 9 1/2 hour ride to Hamburg, Germany. That flight was awful. For one thing it lasted all night, I couldn't see the movie screen enough to enjoy the movie, and I was in the middle of the row. Also, I'd never tried to sleep on an airplane before, and was shocked at how uncomfortable it could be given the fact that one can recline and that one also gets a free pillow and blanket to use. Finally after about 1 hour of sleep in the past day, I met up with some more people of our group. We weren't pretty, but we were there and on the last leg of our journey. We flew 3 more hours and made it to St. Petersburg. It was sunny in Germany and drizzling in St. Petes. I remember on the bus we got our first glimse of Russia. The sidewalks were muddy with the rain, and there was a lady wearing a scarf pushing her gypsy bag along the muddy, pothole-filled sidewalk. After a quick bus ride we were taken to our host family. I was told in an earlier e-mail that I would have a roommate,also named Ruth coincidentally, and would be staying with Lyuba and her son Grisha. Grisha is only a few years older than me. They live along the canal Griboyedova, just around the corner from Hay Square, or Cyennaya Ploshod, for our Russian-speaking friends. This is one of the main settings for Dostoyevski's Crime and Punishment. It used to be smelly because animals were sold there. Now it's quite nice. There are 2 Metro stops very near each other. It was in walking distance of St. Isaacs, The Hermitage, Nevsky Prospect, and a McDonalds. That first night we were so tired but didn't want to sleep. I wanted to stay awake until I could take it all in. We were fed a meal of soup, boiled potatos, and hamburger patties. We drank hot tea (herbal!). We unpacked and lay in bed waiting for sleep to come. The next day Grisha took us on a walking tour of St. Petersburg. He showed us the Metro, we found a pharmacy, a post office, a "Russian" grocery store, and an ATM. He also showed us how to walk to school. After that Ruth and I went for a stroll. I bought some flowers from a small shop by our apartment and gave them to Lyuba. The next day we started school. All that happened the first day was a language aptitude test, which landed me in the "advanced" class and a small lecture on what would be expected of us. Afterward, we were free to go. I went for a walk with some of the people from my group and we found a McDonalds that was 2 stories tall and looked like a Russian cathedral, with onion domes on top. Finally some real american food! Wow. With blogs like these I should just write a memoir. I'll write more another day when I have some free time. I assure you I enjoy writing it more than you enjoy reading it, but I love reliving a great summer full of memories.