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Wednesday,
October 18, 2000
Monday,
July 20, 2000
Tuesday,
January 9, 2001
Friday,
January 12, 2001
Monday,
January 15, 2001
Wednesday,
April 4, 2001
Monday,
April 23, 2001
Saturday,
May 19, 2001
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Wednesday,
October 18, 2000
Yesterday I got my airline tickets.
I will leave St. Paul at 3:15pm on Sunday, May 27, 2001. Due to transfers
and time differences, I won't arrive in St. Petersburg until 3:55 pm on
Monday, May 28. Today I applied for a passport and an International Student
Identity Card. I finally feel like this trip is real. It all seemed like
one big daydream up to this point!
Monday,
July 20, 2000
I created my travel web site
today. I wanted to have an email address and a site ready for my trip.
It's not as design-savvy as I would like, but it is functional, and that
is the important thing! I got email from Yulia (Julia) today. She is in
Atlanta, waiting to escort the new group of visitors from Russia who are
interested in agriculture. I am also investigating various Russian language
schools in St. Petersburg. I want to get some kind of financial aid or
grants to cover the $3,000 tuition.
Tuesday,
January 9, 2001
The fear and panic is finally
beginning to set in. In 17 weeks I will be graduating from college. In
19 weeks I will be leaving home and going to live in a foreign country.
I haven't spoken Russian since July, and I am afraid that I won't remember
how by the time I get to St. Petersburg!
Friday,
January 12, 2001
I finished my application to
St. Petersburg State University. Now dad just needs to fax it to Russia
for me. The building where I will be taking classes is the place where
Lenin ordered the Bolsheviks to invade the Winter Palace and thus the
beginning of the Revolution. I will be living in a place that is steeped
in important historical events. It's pretty amazing.
Monday,
January 15, 2001
Today I met with Tatiana Prokaeva,
a graduate student in the Clothing Design Program. She is from St. Petersburg,
and I spent 6 hours at her house drinking tea and discussing all sorts
of things about Russia and America. It was wonderful to learn, but very
sad to hear about the conditions in Russia today. I feel very fortunate
to have the opportunities that I do. Wednesday,
April 4, 2001
One more thing done! Today I FedExed my visa application to the Russian consulate in Seattle. It's supposed to take two weeks, but we'll see!
Monday,
April 23, 2001
My visa
came!!! What a relief! I can't believe how low-tech it is! The visa consists
of a thin piece of paper with my photo stapled on and a stamp across it.
Saturday,
May 19, 2001
Great news! My friend, Peter Wohler,
has given me a Macintosh PowerBook to bring to Russia. It's 5 years old,
but I installed all of my design software on it with plenty of room to
spare. This site may get a little facelift, considering that I don't have
to worry about writing html code.
I have been incredibly busy trying to get ready for this
trip. Yesterday was my last day of work at the University of Minnesota
Foundation. Over the next week I have to take care of all my last-minute
details and try to get my entire room packed into boxes.
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