To Russia with Love

Home @ Brisbane, Australia

2007-06-24T01:26:00.000Z

2 days to go until I depart on my crazy Russian adventure. I've been dreaming about it for three years and I can't believe it has finally come to fruition. I'm excited and a little scared. I'm going armed with many stories and warnings but the truth is I don't really know what to expect. I better go pack :) More updates soon

Singapore! @ Singapore, Singapore

2007-06-26T01:33:00.000Z

I'm in Changi airport at the moment, enjoying 15 minutes of free internet! How cool is that? I have finished 7 hours of my 32 hour journey and am contemplating whether to get chocolate slice or what looks like a croissant with a sausage in it. Mmm Choices ... It's 8:30pm Singapore time and I have to board at 10:22pm. So currently just wasting time, window shopping. I must say though, it may be unAustralian to say this but Qantas has to be my least favourite international airline. I was starving waiting for food and they didn't give enough liquids. Luckily I am boarding an Air France flight soon. Hopefully the reputation of French cuisine goes as far as plane food :) Looking forward to seeing St Petersburg. More updates later ...

I have arrived! @ Leningrad, Russia

2007-06-28T22:28:00.000Z

Well as you can see from the Entry name I have arrived in Russia. It's my third day in Russia and I have finally found an internet cafe not far from where I live, it's not well labelled and I had to get a friend to point it out to me. I live in Kapitanskya ulitsa in an apartment style dorm. There are two bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1 toilet and a kitchen. I am alone in my room even though there are two single beds. In the other bedroom there is a japanese and a french girl.

It is surprising how some things are so much easier than I thought they would be like the migration card I filled in was in Russian and in English. I had memorised the fields from a copy of one on the university website in anticipation that it would be entirely in Russian. I also got picked up from the Airport on time and arrived safely at the hotel without problems.

I started uni yesterday at Smolny. I took the free uni bus that comes to our hotel every morning at 8:30am and went to the administrators office. I took their test which consists me answering two pages of questions about me in Russian and 140 multiple choice questions about Russian grammar. I got 75/140 and got put in an advanced Russian class (to my surprise!). What was even more surprising though is the fact that I can actually follow the classes. My favourite so far in the grammar class. I think that it is because I studied grammar so heavily in the last semester at uni. I also have a reading class where we analyse poems and discuss their meanings (Pushkin here we come!) and today I had a conversation class where we discussed the inegalities between men and women, and in the second hour we talked about Russian composers. Apparently we also have a media class.

Life in Russia is never boring. It is sometimes challenging. For example I arrived at Uni early this morning at 9:30am so that I could use the internet before my 11:20am class only to find that the internet room does not open until 11:00am and it closed when my last class finished at 3:00pm. Also I arrived home to find that the lift had stopped working, luckily I only live on the 4th floor! Moments like this just make me smile and remind me where I am.

My understanding of Russian is improving and I am always surprised how much I understand in class. My first thought was to thank my Russian lecturers back in Australia. Thanks John and Lyndall!

Here's some fun facts that you may or may not know about Russia:
- the traffic lights go red-orange-green as well as green-orange-red and some of them have timers that count down to the red light
- to flush a toilet you lift the button not push it down
- never smile at strangers it is a sign of weakness

So while I am slowly getting use to seeing stern Russians in the streets, it was refreshing to see a mother smile at her daughter in the metro the other day and it's great to be in class as all the teachers smile at us.

White nights have advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are that even after class, late at night you can still go out and shop or party and there is no fear that you will be walking home alone in the dark. The disadvantage is that you have no idea what time it is unless you look at your watch and for the last couple of nights I have gone to sleep with bat eyes on (those eye masks you get on the plane).

I am discovering St Petersburg bit by bit. Yesterday I walked up and down nesky prospect and had blinis (pancakes with cheese in them) for dinner. Tonight I am going to dinner at a Georgian restaurant with some new found American friends. So more updates to follow as I discover more and more ...

2nd week! @ Leningrad, Russia

2007-07-02T21:32:00.000Z

I am having a fabulous time in St Petersburg and into my second week. I'm enjoying life in crazy Russia more and more each day. The only things I miss are green vegetables and being able to drink tap water. Since last time I blogged I managed to find a book supermarket on Nevsky Prospect (open 24 hours a day) which had all 6 of the Harry Potter books in Russian! It's amazing to see shops that are 24 hours here. Also the supermarket near the uni hotel is 24 hours a day so if you are coming home from a late night you can stop on the way home for groceries (not that I'm speaking from experience or anything ;) )

I had an eventful weekend also. On saturday I saw the church of the spilt blood and generally wandered around Nevsky Prospect. I found where the hotel I am going to be in for the conference week. It's on the moika canal it's quite pretty really. On Sunday I went to the Russian Museum with Misha and an American girl called Paola. We took tons of photos and afterwards Paola and I went and got tickets to Don Juan opera at the Marinsky Theatre and went to the movies to see Ratouille. The movie theatre was something else. The movie was in the VIP room. You walk in and it's a gorgeous old theatre with statues on the wall and gold filigree. The seats are like business class seats on an aeroplane which recline right back and there are tables next to them. It was an amazing experience for just $10. The movie is out in Australia and is about a rat that helps a young man be a chef because he has a good nose for food! I didn't understand much of the Russian but being a cartoon animation movie I could follow the story. I think I might stick to kids movies though and Saturday morning cartoons!

You know you are in Russia when... @ Leningrad, Russia

2007-07-04T20:28:00.000Z

You know you are in Russia when you can buy umbrellas at a stall market when the weather is fine, but when it starts raining they disappear. (If anyone understands the logic in this, please explain it to me)

You know you are in Russia when you arrive at your class on time to find that the timetable has changed (without anyone letting you know) and you actually missed your first class!

You know you are in Russia when they do not have change for 50 rules (AUD$2.50). There is what seems to be a National change crisis. I spend so much energy trying to figure out how I am going to break my 500 rubles (AUD$25) and 1000 rubles (AUD$50) notes. In fact one time I was so desprete to have change that I took 400 rubles (AUD$20) out of the bank despite the huge bank fees because I needed to buy lunch that day.

You know you are in Russia when it takes 6 days to pay for your accommodation, lessons etc because the university administrators keep telling you to come back tomorrow and each time you come back they require something different from you. I can't really complain though because nothing compares with my roommate getting her passport stamped with 1st of June instead of the 1st of July!

You know you are in Russia when the supermarket is literally half filled with alcohol but you can't buy green vegetables.

As you can probably see I am feeling a little frustrated today with Russia in general. It is just momentary though and I know it will pass. In fact having got all my frustrations out, there are some positives/funny aspects:

You know you are in Russia when you can buy cigarettes off a menu in a restaurant.

You know you are in Russia when the lift to the hotel can only remember 1 floor at a time. For example you are in the lift and press 4 if someone else gets in and presses 12, the lift will forget the 12 and they will have to wait until you get out to repress it. (Only a Russian lift would work like this ;) )

You know you are in Russia when you have to exit a shop in a separate door then you entered (which I seem to get consistantly wrong and have to be told by the people in the shop to go out another door).

You know you are in Russia when there are two buttons on your television, one to turn it on and another to turn it off.

You know you are in Russia when you can buy half a litre of beer for AUD$2 and lunch for AUD$3.50.

I think living in Russia can be hard no matter what personality you are but it affects you in different ways. For my part I like to be in control and know what happens next. But living in Russia is teaching me huge lessons in adaptability and flexibility. Like when I turned up to my class today and found out that the timetable had completely changed. Deep breath ... Oh well it's time to shrug your shoulders and say it's Russia what can you do?

Despite all this, I had an amazing experience yesterday. I was walking with one of my Australian Russian lecturer's friends, Natasha and we saw a baby bear on a leash. His owner was taking him for a walk!! It was so amazing and I got photos! It was so awesome.

The weather's heating up and the sun is shining more and more often which is great news for my walking/discovering jaunts. But also for my washing which after dutifully being washed in the bathtub now has a chance of drying.

I have a new соседка (roommate) in my apartment. She is Armenian American and yesterday we discovered an Armenian church which she was delighted with!!

Well that's pretty much all I have been up to since last I blogged. I hope everyone is enjoying their holidays and I am missing each of you.

Пока!

Saturday @ Leningrad, Russia

2007-07-08T03:26:00.000Z

I woke up this morning thinking 'weekend'!!! I met up some friends and we went to a 'bokzal' (station) to buy train tickets to Pushkin. It's where Catherine's summer palace is. Obtaining tickets at the station proved too difficult so we catch a matriutchka instead. A matriutchka is a yellow van that works like a bus except you tell it where you want to stop. We arrived at Pushkin only to find that the Palace was closed due to a technical problem. Mmmm. I actually laughed when I heard this (maybe Russia is doing wierd things to my head). So my friends and I headed off to a restaurant ate soup and then saw Tsar Nicholas' palace and the lycee where Pushkin studied. We had to endure guided tours in Russian but the museums weren't too bad. My head get saturated with Russian sometimes and I can't process anymore!

Yesterday I went with some other new found friends to see St Isaac's Cathedral and the sun came out for 15 dazzling minutes and we managed to take some amazing photos. I took both girls to my favourite blini restaurant Teremok (I had a blini with Red Caviar on it :) ) and as we were coming come it poured.

Tomorrow I will either go to the Hermitage or stroll around Nevsky Prospect shoe shopping but in the evening I'm going to see Dom Juan the opera at the Marinsky Theatre which promises to be spectactular. I will blog after I have seen that!

Big hugs for everyone at home you are all in my thoughts :)

A quest for ... name tags @ Leningrad, Russia

2007-07-11T05:16:00.000Z

I have been on a quest for the last week to find name tags for the upcoming conference. I was told that they are sold in stationary shops. That would be logical right? That's where the logic ends in this story however. So began the search for stationary shops. I started by simply exploring hoping that they would jump out at me. You know in Australia you go for a walk around shops and you are bound to find a stationary shop/newsagent. Apparently not in Russia. So I spent the last week walking up and down Nevsky Prospect. Yesterday I had a brain wave and looked up St Petersburg yellow pages on the internet and search the Russian word for Newsagent. I searched near a metro station I knew so that they would be close to where I would be staying and I came up with a list of 6. I found the first, it was inside a building and up two flights of stairs and they had name tags. But I thought knowing my luck when I need the name tags they might not have enough. So I looked at some of the others. Two didn't exist and the other three were on streets that didn't exist. Then I looked up a paper copy of the St Petersburg yellow pages (in Russian!) near a payphone and came up with some more names. The first didn't exist and the second was inside a strange building up two flights of old fashioned stairs and unfortunately I arrived 5 minutes after they closed so I didn't get to see if it actually was a stationary store or not. Who would think something as mundane as finding a stationary store would be so eventful?

So ends the saga I hope and more about future sagas as they unfold!!

Yesterday was a beautiful day and so I thought it was safe to wear some summer clothes. This morning was cold and overcast though and I finally bought an umbrella. A couple of hours later the sunny weather was back!! I think it was because I bought an umbrella.

I have this personal theory that Murphy of Murphy's law was of Russian origin and his law was common sense to him. I mean obviously anything that can go wrong will go wrong. That's not pessimistic that's reality. In fact I'm falling into this wierd mode of thinking. Something I go to visit will be closed or the lift will break down and I will shrug my shoulders or laugh and say that's Russia.

I went to the Hermitage today. I got in for free with my ISIC card (international student card). It's a first believe me. Everything in Russia costs something. I also think it's ironic that international students can get into the hermitage for free but Russian students have to pay.

At the Hermitage and every other museum in Russia there are dejournajas. These are women who guard the collections and rooms with their dark stares and yell at you if you put a foot wrong. It must be the best job in the world. All you have to do is sit there all day and yell at foreigners.
I have devised a checklist of qualities that you must have to be a dejournaja:
1) Must be ancient
2) Must be able to scowl Russian style
3) Must be vigilant and ask every person with a camera if they paid to take photos (if you want to take photos in a Museum in Russia you are meant to pay for it on top of the entry fee)
4) Must look important and bored at the same time

Other news I bought a jacket and two pairs of shoes recently. Shopping for clothes/shoes is a completely different experience. Suddenly you have people asking you if you want to try them on. I usually can understand this with some difficulty. I learnt razmir - size. I am size 39 in Russian shoes. But when they ask are they comfortable and all this other stuff... It's a good environment to learn a whole pile of vocab and I don't go anywhere without a dictionary.

Well that's me up to date. Tomorrow evening I'm seeing Romeo and Juilette ballet at the Alexandersky theatre on Nevsky Prospect and I've been invited to attend a Rotary meeting on Thursday night. Given my level of spoken Russian this seems a little intimidating. But oh well, smile and nod right?

Later Alligator :)

The Theatre @ Leningrad, Russia

2007-07-12T04:21:00.000Z

I have realised that I haven't talked about my theatre outings. Russia is the land of theatre, ballet, opera, concerts. On Sunday I saw Don Juan at the Marinsky Theatre. It was amazing and the theatre is gorgeous. I went with a diehard theatre lover and she was a little disappointed that it was a modern interpretation - with the bandits in bandanas and sunglasses. Apparently it was directed by a Dutchman.

Tonight I have just come back from the Alexandrsky theatre, a less stunning theatre but the ballet Romeo and Juillet was stunning. I don't have words for how beautiful it was. Tibault in red and the most amazing dancing to a live orchestra and the most incredible music.

I think I am fast developing an addiction to ballet and caviar - both expensive pasttimes to continue in Australia!

Missing you all and thank you to everyone who has posted comments on this blog. I enjoy reading them so much.

Dining Out @ Leningrad, Russia

2007-07-16T03:18:00.000Z

Dining out in Russia merits a mention. There are two types of ordering. You can order from a fast food restaurant or a normal restaurant where you sit down and a waiter comes to the table to take your order. In a fast food restaurant like my favourite blini restaurant 'Teremok' you line up (usually for about 20mins as it is really popular) and skim read the entirely Russian menu for something that you recognise, order it, pay for it and take it. You can either have it здесь (to eat here) or с себя (to take away). Teremok's rival Chainaya lochka has a completely different method of ordering. You line up, order from one person, someone else asks if you want tea, someone else asks if you want salad and finally you pay someone else for your order and then go to a table to wait for it to come out. This is apparently a reflection of soviet times where you would enter a shop order something from the first shop assistance (i.e. a lightbulb) pay someone else and then return to the first shop assistant with the receipt to collect the desired item. From the point of view of efficiency and profitability this seems counter productive and from a western viewpoint a ridiculous waste of time but I can see if you have a communist viewpoint, think about all the people employed in that process. It may take 20 minutes to buy something but in the process, three people were employed in the place of one. In fact a lot of places in Russia especially administration work in this fashion.

Ordering from a normal restaurant can also be interesting. Service in Russia is by western standards very slow. Waitresses take their time bringing menus, taking your order and bringing the food. Sometimes you are lucky to get an English menu but usually it is a bit hit and miss. Waitresses rarely speak English and usually speak really fast. Interesting things that can be ordered of a menu are cigarettes, lighters and chewing gum. Food in Georgian restaurants are usually of a high standard and I have heard that Caucasian food is usually good too. After your meal you may be given chewing gum with the bill, it's a nice touch.

Saturday night and A tour of St Petersburg with a difference! @ Leningrad, Russia

2007-07-16T03:36:00.000Z

Saturday evening I hung out with some friends playing drinking games and then we took the last metro at 12:00am into the city and went to a club. This club had a karaoke section and well as the general dance floor. Nothing compares to seeing drunk Russian people sing old Russian songs (one of those one in a lifetime experiences). The dancing was good though and they played some English songs that I could sing along to. Some of my friends want to move on, so we went to a club not far from the Church of the Split Blood and danced for a couple of hours. Finally ending up in a blini place where a drunk came and kept trying to talk to us while we ate. Then I caught the first metro home at 6am.

Today I went on a tour of St Petersburg with a difference! Misha had met a girl who wants to start her own tour company in St Petersburg and they run their first ever tour this morning with us as Guinea pigs! It was like the Amazing race. We got a clue and we would have to figure where the next spot was. A memorable moment was when we were at the Church of the Split Blood and we had to try to 'earn' 10 rubles. A member of my team ended up juggling 3 umbrellas while we asked for money from passersby. It all ended with cake in a bistro. It was quite good and I learnt that the current Hermitage is the fifth Hermitage built as the others were destroyed. Also that the previous Hermitage was red whereas the current building is green.

Well that's me up to date. I have my last day of classes tomorrow and I move out of kapitanskaya ulitsa on Tuesday and on to the Pushka Inn on the Moika Canal. Conference week starts Wednesday evening.

France @ Cognac, France

2007-07-26T16:44:00.000Z

Hey everyone sorry about the lack of entries for such a long time but I was swept off my feet in work during the conference and I didn't have any time to blog. The conferece went well in my opinion and the delegates seems to have a rewarding experience.

I left Russia for France yesterday and now I am sitting in the Collatuzo's beautiful house in Cognac. Anybody who is not jealous, should be. The weather is fine and apparently sometime during the four days that I am here we will visit the cognac distillary. There is a blue's festival here at the moment and as the house is in the town I fell asleep listening to great live music last night! Also apparently the tour de France is passing by soon. This is the life!!!

I've having a few linguistic issues. Sometimes when someone asks me a question in French; I answer in Russian! I have also been saying isvenite instead of pardon!

Well that's me up to date.

Thanks for the comment Grandma, I am thinking of you and I can't wait to tell you everything in person! I went shopping in Russia and bought some great clothes like you suggested and looked chic for the conference :)

Cognac - a drink and a town! @ Cognac, France

2007-07-28T00:30:00.000Z

I am still enjoying the beautiful French town of Cognac. I go to sleep listening to live blues music playing not far from my window and wake up to the beautiful blue sky and a day full of promise. The food here is wonderful. Last night I went out with my host family to a restaurant where I had a melon salad, a succulent beef skewer with chips and a strawberry melba for dessert and of course a glass of cognac as an apératif!

Today I slept in again and I went with Charlotte and Clémence on a tour of Hennessy, one of the largest maisons of Cognac here. Hennessy was originally Irish but fell in love with France and stayed. The photos are of this tour, note the barrel with my year of birth!

Tomorrow I am going to meet up with the Barrauds, another of my host families from my exchange year. I'm looking forward to it. More later but I hope you enjoy all the photos I have finally managed to put on the internet!

A plus tard!

The Tour de France! @ Cognac, France

2007-07-29T01:55:00.000Z

Today the Tour de France passed the town of Cognac! There was a race against the clock and I saw more than 80 cyclists. They all arrive individually with a police escort in front and sponser cars behind. So if anyone sees the tour de France in Cognac on TV, think of me because I saw it live!!

On top of everything, Evans an Australian is coming second at the moment. In today's race he was 23 seconds behind the winner! And my host sisters knew the commentator and so they asked him if I could say a word when the Australian went past. So I yelled Allez Australie and Go Australia into microphone!

Very cool and the commentator kept saying and we have an Australian here and everyone cheered like I was some celebrity!

Tomorrow I head home. Part of me is happy to return to my room, my family, friends and life in Australia, the other part feels that I could keep travelling and escape the responsible life of work and study a little bit longer. But as the tickets are booked for tomorrow, I will take the train to the airport and fly for 20 hours to return home.

See you all in 3 days!