MONDAY was kind of bizarre as Mondays go because I took.... four buses? I never take the bus. What is this nonsense. The first one I took was from Nevsky (where I was running errands in the morning) to school. The second one was from school to the Church of the Spilled Blood. The third one was from Nevsky to the dorms. And the fourth one was from the dorms to the Primorskaya metro (it was dark and cold and Emma and I were tired, okay? don't judge), followed by the metro home. Yes, Monday was a banner day for St. Petersburg transportation.
But, you may wonder, what did I do in the periods of time when I was not feeling vaguely nauseated on a bus stuck in traffic, unable to read due to the certainty I would vomit? (this is why I hate buses, the metro is so much better). Well, let me tell you.
The school part was dull. I had my first RSL exam in conversation class. You don't want to know. It's boring.
But why was I tramping over to the Church of the Spilled Blood randomly at 3pm on a Monday afternoon? Oh, that's right, just to meet up with Meri's dear friend and buddy and suite mate and nonsense from Georgetown, MARY ORTON. Yes, eat your heart out. I think we can officially say we are friends after meeting up together in ST. PETERSBURG. Sure, Mary and I hung out when I visited Meri in DC last January and in the spring before I left, but this was slightly more extreme and therefore slightly more epic and awesome. Mary is currently studying abroad in Copenhagen (she said everyone is super friendly and speaks English better than she does.... places like that exist??) and is on a fall break trip with her group in Russia. And.... ahh!!! We met up! It was so exciting. Look, we even got photographic evidence:
I also got to meet other American students who are studying in St. Petersburg for the semester or the year thanks to Mary. Mary's friend Tim from Georgetown is studying here for the semester with a different program from mine, and he also met us at the Church of the Spilled Blood along with four of his friends from his program. It was kind of funny to be hanging out with a big group of Americans all who had nothing to do with my program, some of whom don't speak Russian, while wandering through the market behind the Church of the Spilled Blood. I'll chalk it off as surreal experience number 8346236823 in Russia.
We then ended up settling at a well known ex-pat bar in the area and having a beer and sharing studying abroad stories. The contrast between studying in Copenhagen vs. studying in St. Petersburg is insane. It was nice to do that thing though with the other Americans where you share absurd stories about ridiculous things that have happened to you while living your daily life in the city ("You almost had your arm broken by a babushka shoving you on the metro too??"). Makes you feel more sane.
What was quite convenient though was the bar we settled at is called The Other Side, and it is the bar owned by that expat New Yorker Doug who I met through Cool! English when recording a couple weeks ago. Well last Wednesday I recorded again for Cool! English and Doug was once again there and told me that on Monday night the 20th his bar would be having an event where a rep from the U.S. Consulate would be there who could accept already filled out absentee ballots and issue emergency ballots if yours had not come yet. Well, as my absentee ballot is currently lost somewhere trans-atlantic, the skinny guy in the suit with the yellow tie and the blue shirt (how American!) gave me an emergency ballot which I filled out with some difficulty (the envelopes are so complicated! what the hell!) but can now proudly say that I voted in my first presidental election while sipping Russian beer in a bar full of expats. And who did I vote for? Sorry, Puppy, your liberal granddaughter is at it again. Remember, kids, Barack Obama has a "c" in his name. That was close. But very satisfying. And when I came home and proudly told Olga, Misha and Katya that I voted today, they were impressed. "Maladetst! (good job)," said Olga. "Oh, you voted for the black guy," said Katya.
Other Smolny kids met up with me at The Other Side to vote/turn in ballots as well, and then Lauren, Emma and I headed off to TACO NIGHT (hosted by Ilana Tabby) at the dorm. Yes. Unfortunately all of Ilana's homemade guacamole was gone by the time we got there, but her homemade salsa was amazing (who knew they had ingredients for such things in Russia?) and we got to meet some of the friends they are making in the dorms. It ended up being quite the international dinner party with about ten American girls, three Russian guys, a Frenchman, an Italian and a German. At one point on the right side of the room three Russians, the German, and two Americans were speaking in Russia, on the left side of the room Emma and the French guy were speaking in French, and the middle section was going strong in English. Oh, globalization. The most flattering moment of this evening though was when the Italian guy asked me how long I had been studying Russian. I told him two years and a summer (he's only been studying for four/five months) and he says, "Oh, so you're fluent!" I wish.
So that was Monday, ending with me and Emma making it to the metro before it closed and me coming home late enough to be hungry for second dinner (soup and candied apples kind of like those red pears that Nunni makes) prepared by Olga.
And today? Well, the usual. Grammar class (damn, I don't remember any good quotes from today. Ludmila Petrovna was off her game) followed by the class for practicing artists that I occassionally audit. But then tonight........... !!!!!!!
I went to the Mariinsky Theatre (second time in four days, Lauren and I recognized the coat room lady and the guy selling snacks. they're going to feel like close friends by the end of the week after I go back for a third time on Saturday night) and saw the opera..... CARMEN! Yes, Mom, yes! CARMEN. It was so long, oh my god, four and a half hours with intermissions, so long, I got home late once again, but it was so worth it. I don't know if any of you except Mom can fully appreciate how happy that opera made me -- it was like reliving my childhood, driving around in the car. It was so beautiful, the singers were fabulous, the orchestra was even better, the costumes were fashionable, etc, etc, etc, etc. Lauren and I just sat there glowing the whole time. Also, as they were singing in French and the subtitles on the little screen above the stage were in Russian (though I was proud of how well I could read those), it really caused me to listen to the music purely as music and I think I enjoyed it much more because of that. Mhm...
The one thing that continues to blow my mind every time I am at the Mariinsky is how different each time feels because each set and show is entirely different from the last one, and I just cannot comprehend how they have something like a dozen or more shows going at the same time and how every day they have to strike and re-set-up the set for that night's show. How the hell do the do that? But more importantly, where the hell do they keep all those costumes and sets and shit? That's insane. INSANE. Oh, the magic of theatre.
So clearly you can tell I am in a glorious mood and am going to go to bed humming away.
1 comment:
EB I LOVE CARMEN TOO!! I can understand - i hear the aria on background elevator music and scream with elation before I remember to feel rather embarrassed at the loss of composure. That made me so happy to hear.
When you come to Berlin i'm getting us tickets to an opera. Hopefully a russian one, so that I can read the subtitles and you can just, well, listen :-)
Post a Comment