Last of e.b. actually in p.b.

But not the end. Definitely not.

I've been really crazy busy in the last two weeks.... before June 10th it was all about saying good bye to Louis and the semester ending and doing things Louis wanted to do before he took off and preparing for Meri to come. It never felt like I was actually leaving, or at least I didn't let myself think about the fact I was. I was focused more on the people I am closest to leaving and arriving (within 36 hours of each other, that was an emotional mind fuck).

Now, over the past five days, it is starting to really sink in that I am going and so I have made myself incredibly busy trying to do everything, yes EVERYTHING ("I think you hold yourself to too high of a standard of things to get done" -- Meri), before we take off. We've been so busy I haven't had time to write in my REAL journal (you know what kind of busy I must be if that is the case, I was freaking out about it for a while but finally gave up and decided to just catch up tonight on the train. Meri has been talking me down about it being ok if I miss a day or a week of journaling because I have been too busy actually living my life) let alone on this blog, though I actually haven't been able to anyway because for some reason the internet at our house works fine except on all Google-related sites (gmail, blogger, youtube, basically the most important things).

I've been taking Meri to all my favorite places -- because I want to share them with her but also because I want to go to all of them one last time. We've been to the Russian Museum, the 3rd floor of the Hermitage (the French impressionists), the Boris Smelov photo exhibit, we've eaten at Stolle twice, we had Georgian food, we bought shit at Udelnaya that we will have to now carry around the globe with us, we saw Don Quixote at the Mariinsky, we've hung out with Katya and Olga and Misha and Stas a bunch, we've drank champagne while sitting by the Fontanka, we've walked through the Summer Gardens, the Smolenskoe Cemetery, and basically all over the entire city. All my favorite things.

We've also been doing a lot of things I have been meaning to do but hadn't yet -- we took a boat tour but at night (12:30AM - 2:30AM) to watch the bridges actually go up (I'd only seen them when they were already up), I actually go up the nerve to have my photo taken with the creepy racist character that hands out fliers for the sushi place near my house, and to ask the man who sells cigarette extension-holders if I could photograph him as well, and I bought flowers from the woman who always sits near my house.

I also finally did my fake wedding project, something I dreamed up at the end of last semester -- we started it with Louis on the one day that he and Meri overlapped, and Meri and I finished it ourselves the other night. We paraded all over the city with two Russian rip-off Barbie dolls in bridge & groom garb, Louis and Meri sprinkling rice on them as I took pictures of them in front of all the major sights: Church of Spilled Blood, St. Isaac's, the Bronze Horseman, Kazanskii Sobor, the Strelka, Peter & Paul's Fortress, etc. The pictures turned out even better than I thought they ever would (thanks to my helpers, I am certain) and really wanted to post them up here before I left but I definitely will not have time. Our train to Moscow leaves tonight at11:00PM which is in exactly six hours from now.

I will also not have time before I leave to post the last 11 self portraits from my project. Friday June 12th was my one-year anniversary of when I went to JFK, Saturday June 13th was my one-year anniversary of arriving in Russia, and Sunday June 14th was my one-year anniversary of when I moved into my host family, met Olga and Katya and Misha, and began my self portrait project. We had a "party shot" for my 365th photo (I somehow, by some miracle, despite the insanity and frequent lack of a routine for my life in Russia, never missed a day) of me, Meri, Adams and Lauren (all the current residents of my apartment, plus Louis's shirt so he was there in spirit) popping champagne and sipping mimosas.

But do not worry, in good time you will see all of these photos. And this entry is not the end of my "e.b. in p.b." blog. Even though I no longer will be "in p.b.", I will continue to update the blog as Meri and I travel when I can, just to let you all know I am still alive and we are in one piece. And then, when home again in August, bored and nostalgic and editing through thousands of photos, I will be sure to write some retrospective entries about Petersburg.

But this will be it for entries from Petersbug. I can't believe I am leaving tonight, I can't believe it has been a year already. Parts of it were amazing, parts of it really sucked, some parts dragged, but most of it completely flew by and I am sad to be leaving, but not that sad because I know I will be back one day, probably not that long from now. It's funny to me that the two places I know best in the world are now the Greater Boston Area and St. Petersburg, Russia. How random is that, but I love this city and will make a point to come back at least for visits for the rest of my life.

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN, CREATION OF PETER THE GREAT!