Back To the Motherland...

Everyone has been referring to Russia as the motherland, which I find funny because I don’t actually have Russian blood, as far as we know. But I figured I should give a nod to the way everyone else has been referring to my experience so…I’m back in the Motherland! The trip wasn’t bad, I spent the time in the airports in Cleveland and Newark talking to my brother and the gang, and before I knew it I was on a mostly empty flight to Frankfurt! I had all three seats across the middle to myself, so I was able to lie down and I think I may have actually slept! In the middle of the flight the captain came on and said that it was about to get pretty bumpy – I had my seatbelt on while lying down anyway – and bumpy it was. I was in a dozing state but it was definitely the most turbulence I’ve felt on a transatlantic flight, and it lasted for a little more than a half hour. I napped a little more and then was woken up by the lights coming on and a light breakfast coming around. Landing was fine, it was funny listening to the crew in German and English announce that it was ‘bitter cold’ in Frankfurt when I knew it was about to get much colder where I was headed. Didn’t even have to go through customs – a little disappointed not to get another stamp – because I was staying in the international terminal to catch my next flight. So I read the German newspaper that I had been given on the plane, ate an expensive spaghetti bolognese (the airport is remodeled and very nice, but not a ton of food choices), and took a little nap in one of the lounges. Boarded for St. Petersburg without a problem, and tried to sleep again but the chatter of the Russians next to me largely prevented that from happening. They seemed incredibly excited and proud when they realized we were over Russian territory – and I was happy to be going back, for sure – in a way that made me question what on earth there was to be so proud of. I like this country, and I love many of the people here, but I don’t feel the same pride when I’m in a situation like landing in an airplane as I do when I’m landing in Germany or Austria. It was just an interesting comparative study and thought-filled moment as I hit the ground in Russia.

Orientation at the hotel was at intervals entertaining and mind-numbing. It was great to get a big hug from Irina Borisovna and feel immediately so at home, despite the funny looks from the new students. It was fun watching people go through some of the same stage we all went through on arrival and be able to help them, but the sessions got to be a little boring – when people weren’t asking entertaining questions like “Is there a barbershop culture in Russia?” – since it was the second time we’d heard pretty much the same information. I have loved catching up with the ‘old-timers’ as Irina has started referring to us collectively, most of whom were here or at least in Russia over break. The new students seem pretty cool too, all sorts as usual, though still very jet-lagged for the most part. I look forward to getting to know them better, but I know it is going to be impossible to replace the friendships I made last semester. If you’re reading this, девушкы, I miss you incredibly already and don't worry, Ira has asked about each of you and renewed her promise that if you show up at the door you can have all the blini you can handle, half my bed, and space in the closet. And she's continuing the awesome trend of speaking Russlish, which Pasha is starting to really find entertaining and I of course love. I really missed being a part of this Russian family, and I can't wait to see what adventures the semester brings.

Some other fun things that happened at orientation weekend:

- Remembered that the water in Russia does funny things to my hair for the first little while;

- First time back in the metro there were four militsia standing at the top, luckily I looked Russian enough to walk past all of them;

- Didn't have to get an HIV test in the creepy basement, but found out that Katya being so helpful that day last semester led to her job with CIEE;

- Saw a man in the hotel restaurant with four women, one of whom was in a crop purple sweater meant for someone 10 years younger, and another who was wearing a completely see-through top with a black bra;

- Ira climbed on a chair and rearranged the entire top of the refrigerator so that the picture of Cleveland on the front of the chocolate box that I gave her could be most prominently displayed;

- Our bus got so stuck trying to turn from one narrow corner to another in a snowbank that the driver and some passers-by had to take off the back bumper to make the turn;

And many more. I miss and love all of you very much, my internet is now up so I will try to be around a couple of nights a week to catch some of you online. Regardless, please post, comment, tweet, whatever, so I know you're out there J Much love from the incredibly snowy Piter!

Transition time...

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My last few weeks in Russia were incredible. The girls came over very often to cook, and Ira loved taking us shopping and taking care of her little brood. It wasn’t terribly cold until the last two weeks, then we started walking as little as possible and running straight for the teapot or hot shower when we got home. The fur hats and coats came out in abundance, though I have yet to borrow any of Ira’s, everything from the very traditional to the outrageous. The hats on the old men are my favorite, whether they are beret or cadet style they always have a flap that can be folded down over the ears. So they’re especially cute when its not quite that cold out and the flap is folded up. One of my Russian friends and I have decided that we need to bring muffs back into style, they’re just very practical and warm for walking around the streets. We’ll see what kind of a revolution we can get going. I got to spend some time with lots of my Russian friends the last few weeks, talking about plans for the holidays and planning things to do this next semester – Liza and I already have plans to shop when she’s done with finals in a couple weeks. Can’t believe those conversations took place more than a month ago, and now its time to go back to Piter!

My time at home over the holidays has been wonderful, relaxing, and just what I needed. I love spending time with my bests and catching up with people I haven’t seen in a while. Being able to text everyone constantly makes me smile, I don’t really mind not being in constant-every-second contact when I’m abroad but occasionally things happen and I really want to let people know immediately, like when I see a really crazy hairstyle or someone trips running down the escalator. As I get ready to head back, I look forward very much to all of the new things I am sure Piter has to show me, and I am excited to continue sharing them with you!

Thank you in advance for your prayers for safe travels, and I will post as soon as I can when I arrive in Petersburg!

Much love - beth

Travel Chronicles Part IV: Not Wanting to Leave

The rest of my time in Berlin was as equally incredible as the first few days. I walked all the way over to the Ku’Damm, a giant shopping street past the Tiergarten where what is left of the main tower of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church stands as a reminder of the horrors of war. The pictures inside are even more incredible, the ruins of the tower looming eerily above a wasteland of rubble, not a building standing to be seen. Today the area around it has turned into a prime example of the resilience of Germany, full of local and international shops and fun little side streets full of boutiques – and the Hard Rock Café Berlin. That evening I met a friend at the Pergamon Museum on Museum Island, a beautiful green space right by the Berlin Cathedral and in the middle of the Spree River. Got to speak German with the woman at the desk, explaining that I didn’t have an international student ID but she said my Russian one would be fine for the discount and actually seemed really excited to be playing with my Russian student ID. We grabbed our audio guides – mine in German and Melissa’s in English – and headed towards the museums main exhibit, the Pergamon Altar. It is in its own room, and complete with most of the original marble staircase and many of the marble decorations placed around the room and around the altar just like they would have been centuries ago. Each scene in the marble had an incredibly interesting story, like the one that you could hardly tell were a type of nymphs fighting right next to a depiction of Poseidon. You could walk around for hours just in that room, listening to the explanations of the scenes, the story of the excavations that uncovered the altar, and what used to take place at the top of the stairs inside the altar, though no one knows for sure. You could not, however, sit down on the stairs. Something about thousands of year old marble.

From there we went to the exhibition of the marble statues of the Greek and Roman gods, the museum is renowned for its collection and the exhibit was presented wonderfully, using a different bold color in each room that corresponded to a single god. Very interesting, and of course beautiful sculptures. The museum itself is incredibly large, from this exhibit we wandered through the Babylonian and Eastern art sections, until our stomachs didn’t care how beautiful the Ishtar Gate was or how famous the Muschatta wall was, or the incredible Islamic art and Arabic script. We walked slowly towards the exit, taking in as much as we could even as we left, through the giant lion statues that guarded Babylon and the mosaics that leant beauty to the ancient mosques. Out into the night that had already fallen, and strolled back towards the hostel talking about the incredible things we had seen and how cool it was that we were getting to experience things that the ancients had made. Then it was time for a slightly more modern invention – the döner kebap – and some good German beer at the restaurant and a bar, before calling it a night.

Friday Melissa wanted to see Sachsenhausen, but I had been to two concentration camps already at Dachau and Mauthausen and so passed on the trip. It was a gorgeous day and I happily grabbed my sunglasses – and forgot my camera. I wandered through a neighborhood between the hostel and the Museum Island where I would absolutely love to live someday, I imagine it will be awhile since it is sure to be an expensive area of town. The blue dome of the New Jewish Synagogue dominates the skyline of the area, not because of its height but because of its beauty and shape. Luckily I was able to capture a picture on my cell phone camera, though I’m not sure the image of the deep blue and gold against the light blue and white of the sky with the clouds will ever really leave my mind. From there I finally went inside the Berlin Cathedral, and climbed to the very top for beautiful daytime views of the city, as well as really interesting schematics of all of the different cathedrals that had built on the spot. The cathedral itself is beautiful, inside and out. A gorgeous organ and beautiful side chapels in baroque style intensify its beauty, and the crypt below contains many of the rulers of the ruling family of Prussia. I was struck most by the tiny coffins of the children of the emperors, decorated just as elegantly as those of the rulers themselves. On the way out of the cathedral, I was told about a choir concert being put on that night by many high schools in the area, and hoped to come back for it.

From the cathedral I headed downtown for one of my favorite things to do in Germany – sit in a bookstore and read for hours. I grab a pile of books, this time many that one of my professors in Frankfurt recommended I, and curl up in a corner, reading the first few pages of each one to decide which ones to buy. I eventually decided on a few, and took them back to the hostel before renting a bike and riding it to the cathedral for the choir concert. It was a great evening, I loved the feeling of being at a school concert in Germany and the cathedral was decorated beautifully for the event. I met some nice people, got a program as a souvenir, and got to ride my bike home after it was over, it was a rather long event. In the middle of the concert had been a speech about the great accomplishment in the fall of 1989 but also about the walls that still remain in today’s society. So I went to bed with plenty to think about, and woke up early to take advantage of my rented bike!

I rode all around the city, to places a little far to walk and really enjoyed being able to see the streets and people of a more everyday Berlin. I bought a small book on Advent at a book market by the Frankfurter Tor, and stopped at the East Side Gallery to look at all of the incredible artwork being done on a section of the Berlin Wall. Then I rode through the Tiergarten back to the Ku’Damm, and did some shopping at the Christmas Market in the center of town. Had a nice chat with the woman I bought a little smoker man from about her grandchildren and wanting to put out the biggest shoes possible for St. Nicholas day – because then when they are filled with goodies there are more goodies! It was a wonderful feeling having full control of my German back, it took a few days but it was great to feel so confident, and it was also making it hard to think about going back to Russia. That was Saturday, and by the time I turned in my bike and headed over to German Mass at St. Hedwig’s Cathedral, I was ready to enjoy my last night in Berlin but doubtful of what St. Petersburg would feel like after feeling so at home in Germany. I had a great last night out, and the return to Petersburg the next morning, as I talked about in an earlier post, wasn’t as difficult as I had thought it might be, thanks solely to my host family and how at home I feel with them. As I now prepare to head back in a few days, I know the same warmth will be waiting for me amid the Russian winter, and so I can’t wait!

Thanks for sticking with me through my travel chronicle, next post will be this weekend about my last few weeks in Piter and what I am looking forward to in the next semester. I head back on the 26^th of January!