The trip over was absolutely fine. Everything went smoothly - even customs. I thought I was going to have to pay something for my baggage (they weighed it, and it was REALLY heavy) but in the end they just let it go.

So I'm here at Yulia's apartment, and I feel quite at home. It's strange, though, because Yulia's boyfriend, Kyle is here from Atlanta, and we are all speaking English. In a way I feel like I'm still in America.

Yulia cooked a great dinner; borsch, chicken and potatoes. I've never had borsch before, and I liked it. Kyle says that Russia is great except for the food. He thinks it's really hard for American's to get used to it.

I got to meet some of Yulia's friends tonight. They are all wonderful people. Some of them even live in the building, so I will probably see them a lot.

See the photos

Tuesday, May 29, 2001
Today was a very hard day. I woke up at 4 a.m., completely unable to sleep. I was so tired and I had to go to the University to arrange my classes. But before I could do that, I had to exchange my dollars for rubles. Actually, Yulia had to do it, because many places have started charging foreigners more than natives.

After paying my tuition, I had to take a placement test. There were 160 questions about Russian grammar, and it was so long that I couldn't finish it. They were very understanding, and scored it as best they could. (It wouldn't have mattered anyway, because I didn't know the stuff at the end at all.)

Finally we got some lunch, and on the way home, I fell asleep. I took a four hour nap, and then we ate rabbit for dinner with Natasha and Olga, who live downstairs. I was extremely happy because Kyle and Yulia bought me a bottle of ketchup when they went to the market for food. (I was very excited when I saw an advertisement for ketchup earlier in the day.)

Wednesday, May 30, 2001
I feel so much better today. I slept about 9 hours last night, and it has really made a difference. I was actually able to appreciate our trip to the center today. St. Petersburg is so beautiful! It's really impossible to put the experience into words.

We had lunch today at a place called Bogart's (named for the actor). The food was amazing! I had beef stroganoff, which came in a cup, more like soup. We sat there for a long time, enjoying the conversation. The music was American; they listen to a lot of American music here.

After lunch, we went to Dom Knigi (House of Books) on Nevsky Prospekt. I bought a couple of hardcover children's books (one of very questionable taste, I might add) and a kid's magazine with a focus on the Hermitage. The total: 80 rubles (about $3.)

Tonight Olga came up (She also lives downstairs), and she was eager to practice her English. She is very excited about taking me to the theater and museums. I told her that I will be getting a student ID from St. Petersburg State University, which will allow me to get in very cheap or free to many places. In Russia, an International Student Identity Card or my U of M ID would be worthless, and I would have to pay the foreign rate, which is about 6 times the cost for a Russian.

Thursday, May 31, 2001
Today was a great day. Kyle left this morning for Dniepropetrovsk on business, so Yulia and I went shopping. She took me to a market in Sennaya Ploshad (this is where Raskolnikov from Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment lived.) It was definitely not a tourist trap, and many of the shopkeepers were quite interested in me. One Georgian went on and on about how he wanted to come to America with me, and that he would clean himself up if he were to go. It was really quite funny.

Not everything was fun and games, though. The Mafia was everywhere, trying to trick unsuspecting innocents into losing a lot of money in their cons. I was walking through the market, when a man held out a yellow and black card to me. I reached out to take it, when suddenly Yulia grabbed my arm and dragged me away. I saw many more men with cards today, but I ignored them. I also had people shout random phrases at me in English, such as "Yankees Go Home." Yulia says that those are probably the only English words they know, and that I should just ignore them...

I finally got an Internet card today. Think of it like a prepaid calling card. It was 609 rubles for 50 hours this month. (That's about $23.) I may not need that many, but I figured that I'm better safe than sorry. I still need to set it up so that I can use it, which is complicated since the instructions are in Russian.

I have to admit that Russian food is already starting to drive me crazy. It's so different, and I don't really know how to describe it. I can eat it, but I don't really want to. I guess it's not something I'm ever going to crave.

Friday, June 1, 2001
Today was my first day of class at the University. On the way out of the apartment, we ran into Ilya, who was headed to the center. He was going to give us a ride part of the way, but the clutch in his car was broken, so we had to take a "cab" (paid hitchhiking) to the Metro.

We got to Smolny on time, but these old buildings are very difficult to navigate. You would think that if the classroom is 316, you could climb the stairs to the third floor and find it. Not so. We climbed three staircases until we found the right one. The teacher was a little late, so I was actually right on time.

There are a total of five students in my class: three Japanese guys, an older Irish man (from Galway) who is a Catholic priest, and me. They are all very friendly and curious about me. When they found out that I am a graphic designer, the whole room, including the teacher, had quite a reaction. I guess it's sort of novel here.

The placement test they gave was right on. After razgavor (conversation) in the morning, we had three hours of grammar lessons. We started by studying the participial constructions that I was never able to figure out during second-year Russian at the U. I may have gotten a better handle on it this time, but I'm not sure. I would like to look at the textbook, but the bookstore was closed yesterday (for restocking?) and I was not able to purchase the texts.

I have received several emails from people wondering when I am going to update my web site. Honestly, I have been very busy running around the city during the day and entertaining with Yulia's friends in the evening. My days are so full (too full!) that I just fall into bed at night. If I can't update this site everyday, I will at the very least be sure to write something here in my journal to be posted later.

Saturday, June 2, 2001
I suppose technically it's Sunday now, but I'm going to use that good old rule that if you haven't gone to bed, it's still the same day. I am utterly exhausted because we went dancing tonight. It was just getting dark when we left at midnight to go to the Metro Club. Ilya drove Yulia, Natasha and me, which was much better than taking a "taxi." On the way we stopped at a little kiosk on the side of the road and bought some sort of carbonated vodka cocktails in a can. I was concerned, but they informed me that it's perfectly legal to drink in the car and on the street.

For 50 rubles (about $2) we got into the club and were given five tickets for free soda. Ira was there waiting for us, so it was just the four of us girls, because Ilya went to meet his friend at an Internet cafe. The club was pretty amazing; three floors, each with its own theme. The music was great, but they played the same 8 songs over and over. By the end of the night, even I knew the words to most of them.

We left the club around 4 a.m. Dawn was breaking and the city was absolutely gorgeous. It's strange, but I hadn't seen some of the best parts of St. Petersburg until tonight. We drove past the Admiralty and Palace Square. That whole area is filled with the most beautiful buildings I have ever seen in my life. I decided right then and there that I will not be able to come home. It will be way too depressing.

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Sunday, June 3, 2001
Today was Yulia's dad's 45 birthday. We had to get up at 11 to catch the train to the dacha (summer house.) We overslept a little and could have missed the train except Lena was meeting us at the platform. She bought our tickets (8 rubles) which saved some time. We got on the train, and were on our way. It was an interesting experience, because we got off the train at the platform called "45 km." It was just a concrete platform in the middle of nowhere. We walked along a dirt path for a while and then along a paved road. Finally, we turned of the road onto a narrow, gravel road into the forest. Their dacha was the first one we came to. We had arrived.

The whole family was at the dacha, speaking Russian, of course. I was so tired from the disco that it was very difficult for me to speak and listen. We ate a lot of Russian food, which I'm sure was very good, but most of it wasn't very enjoyable for me. We did have potatoes and goulash, though. Mom makes Ukranian goulash, and this tasted the same as hers, which was sort of comforting. After lunch, I took a nap, which I desperately needed.

After my nap, things went much better. We had cake for dessert, which Yulia and I picked up from the bakery yesterday. I have to admit that desserts are one thing that the Russians got right! Yulia is always encouraging me to eat treats wherever we go...

I had a fun time talking to Yulia's two school-age cousins, Maksim and Nikolai. They were curious about the digital camera, and then they started to ask about the US. They asked which state I was from, and I told them Minnesota. They immediately began to talk about Beverly Hills, 90210, because the main characters are from Minnesota on that show. I had to explain that life in America is nothing like life on TV.

See the photos