Monday, July 2, 2001
Tuesday, July 3, 2001
Wednesday, July 4, 2001
Thursday, July 5, 2001
Friday, July 6, 2001
Saturday, July 7, 2001
Sunday, July 8, 2001

Pre-Trip Journal Week One Week Two Week Three Week Four Week Five Week Six Week Seven Week Eight Week Nine Week Ten Week Eleven Week Twelve Week Thirteen Week Fourteen Week Fifteen

Monday, July 2, 2001
Today was a very frustrating day. It all started out when they wouldn't sell me a student ticket for the Metro. Apparently, my passport does not have enough numbers for their system. Then when I tried to buy a regular ticket, the woman acted like she couldn't understand what I wanted. I know I made myself perfectly clear, but she was just not at all helpful. I finally got my ticket and got on the train.

To make matters worse, I had to send my airplane tickets home because they are non reissuable / nonrefundable. I couldn't find anyone who knew where the FedEx office was, but I was finally able to find UPS. It was very close to the school, which was great. But it cost $50 for overseas express service.

After that business was taken care of, I walked to the metro. I went to the mall at Kupchino in search of Internet cards, but I couldn't find the right place. I was so exasperated I didn't ask anyone for help, and just went home. Yulia was very sympathetic, and encouraged me to just cry a little bit, which I did. After a while, I calmed down, and everything was fine.

The icing on the cake was when Vanya threw up on my bed. Then he went and threw up on the towels that had just come off the line. I can't be mad at him, though. He can't help that he's sick. Poor Vanya, he's still not feeling very well.

It may not seem like much, but when you are surrounded by people who don't speak your language, it can be very hard at times. Trying to explain to someone what your problem is can be very difficult, and oftentimes they don't understand. I'm just glad that I managed to get everything worked out.

Yulia bought me a present of popcorn today, she remembered that I had asked about it a few days ago. It was just the perfect "comfort food" for a day like today.

Oh, and I finally put the photos from the Zoological Museum on the site. Check them out!

Tuesday, July 3, 2001
I am in a much better mood today. Class went well this morning, but when I picked up my new schedule (they changed everything on us), I discovered that I have early morning classes 3 days a week now. So I wasn't very happy about that. But what can I do? At least my Library Day will be Friday.

After class, I sat outside and talked with Carolina from Argentina and Hatori. Carolina has such a positive outlook on everything here, and it was so refreshing just to talk with her. I had forgotten that my experience here depends on my attitude. So she helped remind me to just try to relax and take things as they come.

Wednesday, July 4, 2001
Many of you were surprised to see the corporate flag on my home page today. And I heard from a few people that they were confused as to it's meaning. Adbusters is an organization of advertising professionals who work underground to fight corporate domination in America. This Fourth of July, they made these flags with the logos of major corporations in place of the stars. Symbolically it represents how the power of the American people has been replaced by giant corporations.

So, I suppose everyone is wondering how I spent the Fourth of July in St. Petersburg. I started out the day by going to my classes. On the way there, I passed the British consulate, and I felt a ridiculous sense of pride and patriotism. I explained to everyone that today is a big American holiday, with parades and fireworks. Then I went home.

Yulia was so great. She bought flowers and cake for us. I had stopped by the kiosk on the corner to by beer. We drank our beer and ate our cake. Later in the evening, Seriozha and Olga came over, and we drank more beer. (Not too much -- I only had 4 pints over the course of 12 hours.) We stayed up late, and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. I had a good time, even though it's not the same as being in the United States.

Thursday, July 5, 2001
We decided to declare today a "library day" since we were up until 4 a.m. last night celebrating the Fourth of July. We slept until about 11 this morning, and by then it was so hot in the apartment that we had to go outside. We found a place in the field near our house where Yulia could lay in the sun, and Vanya and I could lay in the shade. It was a lovely day, and I'm glad we were outside! To top it all off, when we got back, we found that our hot water has been turned back on, so we both took showers!

In the evening we met Ira and went on a cruise on the Neva river. It was absolutely gorgeous. I got to see the city in a completely different way from the river. Afterwards, we had planned to go to a movie, but all the theaters were showing Pearl Harbor, which Ira had already seen. So we went to a cafe instead, and then we came home. Yulia is trying to talk me into going to the dacha tomorrow, but I think I should go to my grammar lessons.

Friday, July 6, 2001
Despite Yulia's invitation to go to the dacha today, I went to class. It was really difficult because we were studying some strange constructions which I didn't completely understand. In addition, we reviewed prefixes for verbs of motion. Verbs of motion in Russian are complex enough on their own, and when you add prefixes, they become very frustrating.

Natasha came over tonight. They are planning a big weekend getaway to a lake -- if the weather cooperates. Yulia told me to speak Russian, so I did. They nearly fell out of their chairs when I started talking. Apparently I am getting much better. They both agreed that my classes have been an enormous help. In any case, I was very proud, and I really appreciated their compliments.

Saturday, July 7, 2001
I woke up to thunder this morning. I was convinced that our trip was canceled. There was a torrential downpour, but then, miraculously, the weather cleared up! We decided to go ahead with our plans.

We were off to a late start, partially as a result of the weather. Yulia was a little irritated, because we had planned to leave at 11 or 12, and we didn't get started until 2 p.m. To make matters worse, we had to wait for the rest of the group in the McDonald's parking lot until about 4 p.m. By that point almost everyone was irritated, but I just took it in stride. I've been on enough of these sorts of trips to know how difficult it is to get a group of people organized.

We arrived at Lake Schuchye around 6 p.m.; for once I am grateful for the white nights!) We got settled in our cabins, and then took a quick dip in the lake. The water was perfect! Then the guys started the fire for the shashlyki (shish-ke-bobs -- incidentally, they thought that "shish-ke-bob" was really funny. Shishka means "pine cone" and baba means "crone.") There were 18 of us in all, and we just had a great time eating, drinking and goofing around.

See the photos

Sunday, July 8, 2001
I've decided that this place really reminds me of Camp Miller on Sturgeon Lake. The trees are the same (I think they're red pine). I was the first one up, and I headed straight for the water. Shortly thereafter most of the rest of our group joined me. We relaxed by the water all afternoon. Then about 3 p.m., the drivers decided they wanted to go home. (It was partly-cloudy.) Yulia was disappointed, but we really didn't have a choice since Ilya and Natasha were ready to leave.

I was very tired by the time we got home. It was a lot of work trying to understand everything that was going on. I had a great time, but it wasn't all that restful for me. Yulia had invited everyone over, and I was feeling pretty antisocial. So I have retreated to my room, and I'm planning to go to bed early.