In the Footsteps of Tsars

Impressions of St Petersburg

2008-03-24T10:34:00.000-04:00

My first glimpse of Russia sent chills through me. After a twenty-minute descent, the plane broke through a thick layer of clouds revealing the country that I was to call my home for nearly five months. Spread out beneath me, the industrialized suburbs of St. Petersburg stretched as far as I could see. Gray skies, billowing smokestacks, snowy terrain, stoic soviet apartment complexes, it was all there-- Russia looked exactly as I had imagined it. I was actually convinced for a period of about three days that I understood Russia and the Russian people, but then slowly it began to occur to me that this certainty was just a shield of naivety. This country, as are those who inhibit it, is infinitely complex. Russia spans two continents and eleven time zones; its population consists of more than 140 million people from one of the widest arrays of ethnic groups in the world. To describe even an initial impression of Russia using conventional methods would be impossible.

Yet, as I prepared my notes for this essay, I realized that the use of a clever metaphor would aid the reader in understanding what it is that I attempt to describe. The possibilities of metaphorically depicting St Petersburg are nearly endless as it is a constantly shifting panorama of Russian life, but perhaps the best would be to relate the city to the metro that services it. As someone who lives in a rural area, I am constantly fascinated by this uniquely urban feature. For me, the metro is not an example of the changes I needed to adjust to in Russia, it instead represents the absolute lack of any need of a "learning curve." As everything in this country is so radically different from my life in America, there is nothing to which I can adjust. It is truly beyond comparison.

The St. Petersburg Metropolitan functions on the same antiquated infrastructure that existed when it first opened during the height of the Soviet Union. Over the course of its existence is has been witness to the slow collapse of a Superpower and the rise of a democratic state. The metro is rugged and worn, yet like a Russian babushka, it has aged very well. Even though the technology utilized by the metro is outdated, it remains in excellent condition because of consistent maintenance. The old 1950s style cars retain their shine and the stations are well kept. Similarly, Russian society inherited the rubble of a flawed ideology, but made the best of what it had, building its future on the remnants of the former Soviet Union. While there are signs of Russia's difficult path to democracy around every turn, they are treated as reminders of the past and benchmarks of how far the country has progressed in the past decade.

With a surprising consistency, a new train enters each metro station almost exactly two minutes after the previous train left. Because of its reliability, the metro is the most popular form of transportation in St. Petersburg. The metro operates as a well-oiled machine that seldom malfunctions. When there is a minor disturbance, it has minimal impact on the rest of the system. If the Nevsky Prospekt station is closed, the crowd crosses the street to use the entrance at Gostiny Dvor. If a recently purchased metro token is refused by the machine, one must simply buy a new one. No questions are asked; no complaints are lodged. Russian society seems to adapt quickly to minor problems, if it bothers to notice them at all.

Russians seem to place great importance on protecting this relative stability, even if it means passing up an opportunity for progress. Soviet era department stores, with their outdated system of counters and sales receipts, still exist even though they are much less efficient than their western equivalent. Additionally, the Kopek, a subdivision of the Ruble, remains in circulation even as its value has dropped to well below that of an operating denomination. However, even more so than these examples, the psychology of the Russian person still contains many elements tied to the Soviet Union. For example, the reliance on government to provide for and make right the problems in the lives of individuals, and the specific gender roles attached to men and women. These outdated, collective mindsets seem to hinder the furthering of Russian society and complicate personal achievements.

The St. Petersburg metro is the deepest in the world. To ensure that it to operates on a stable foundation, engineers determined that it would be necessary to construct the transportation network beneath the marshy soils of the Neva River, directly in the bedrock. This peculiarity manifests itself in the seemingly endless escalator rides required to reach each platform. Yet once you reach this level, St. Petersburg opens up to you; the metro is the gateway to accessing the city.

Likewise, Russians seem to guard themselves exceptionally well against all sorts of foreign intrusion. Each morning, when they leave their homes, the people of St. Petersburg put on a mask of rude indifference towards everyone around them. They push and shove, give cold stares, cut in line, argue about simple mistakes, and operate in an overtly aggressive manner. To those foreigners unlucky enough to get in their way, the people of Russia seem callous and uncaring. Yet, as I have come to understand, Russians have been forced to bury themselves beneath the whirling currents of change that sweep through their country. Like the metro, upon descending into their world, Russian society opens up to outsiders. They are almost impenetrable at first, but once you befriend a Russian, you will be exposed to the polar opposite of the street persona previously mentioned. Russians are truly among the warmest, generous, and compassionate people I have had the privilege of knowing.

Yet even upon being welcomed into a Russian home, many elements of Russian life remain mysterious to me; perhaps most frustrating is the inconsistent system of shared values. For a people who have been under the strict control of an authoritarian ruler since the formal creation of their state in the 9^th century, one expects that they would be invigorated by the prospects of democratic elections and freedom of speech. However, for reasons beyond understanding, these concepts are approached apathetically. Instead, much more importance is placed on paying with exact change and trying (without any noticeable success) to clean the streets. It is somewhat bothersome to see privileges traditionally held as sacred in the west treated with such indifference, but I hope to gain an understanding of this mindset during the remainder of my stay in this country.

Every morning, the metro injects a rush into what would otherwise be a mundane cross-city commute. When the train comes barreling into the station it brings with it a rush of air that seems to aggravate the already irritated swarm of people rushing to the platform. Everyone descends on the entrance to each car, pushing and shoving indiscriminately—even the babushkas throw punches. However, one feels an incredible sense of community as part of the mob. Almost as if it is a modern manifestation of the communal village spirit, there is no "I" in metro. Personal space is non-existent, as is the weighted importance of your own commute. There can be no resistance to the will of the majority, if they wish to squeeze every person physically possible into the car, it happens; if the crowd insists on sluggishly waddling as one towards the escalator, your own will for it to speed up is meaningless.

The best way to utilize this metaphor has yet to be mentioned. One might be walking down a narrow, dark, and somewhat derelict street like those common in every district outside of central St. Petersburg, when in the distance appears the familiar glow of a blue M. Upon entering the doors of a nondescript metro station and spending nearly five minutes descending into the earth, the last thing you would expect to greet you is the sort of beauty found on the metro platform. Each stop is a temple of culture ranging from the patriotic bas reliefs that decorate Ploschad Vostanya to the ornate bronze chandeliers of Avtova. In this city, beauty is everywhere, hidden just below the surface. Street corners serve as the junctions of brilliantly colored buildings with sprawling cornices, as shared stairwells act as monuments to the stories of those passing through. Golden church spires, sparking tramvai wires, Corinthian columns, and rusty wrought iron gates all have added beauty when viewed as part of St. Petersburg's entirety.

The first time I ventured into the Primorskaya metro station I asked myself how I would find a way to commute on a daily basis, alone, through a city of four million people, with nothing to use as a guide but announcements and maps in a foreign language. I was dubious of the task that lay before me—four and a half months of the metro, four and a half months of Russia. Nevertheless, I found a way to make it work. Each morning, the process became a little easier until eventually it became routine. With its crowded streets and overabundance of visually stimulating scenes, St. Petersburg is very overwhelming at first, but over time, its ubiquitous charm quickly sets the visitor at ease. Today, I feel that this country, this city, is my home, albeit for only a few more months. St. Petersburg is a sprawling testament to Russian society — so deeply rooted in history and culture that the story of each building could spawn an epic novel.

From Above

2008-03-24T10:23:00.002-04:00

These pictures were taken from the colonnade surrounding the dome of St Isaac's. After climbing a narrow staircase leading up through a tower, ascending an even narrower staircase into a cupola, and then walking out across a catwalk high above the cathedral, you arrive at the observation platform. It is absolutely breathtaking. There is know way to perceive how massive the city is from the street, so when you are greeted with this sight it comes as quite a surprise. I have been looking at these pictures for a while, and still can't decide whether they accurately reflect the city. Sure some photos show famous landmarks, and others show the derelict buildings of classic Russian novels, but a lot of the charm of St Petersburg is lost when you literally look at it all at once. It is important, I think anyway, to take in the city as a unit... (the sights, sounds, smell, etc...) but to literally capture so much of it in once picture has a debilitating effect. Anyway, here they are...

St Isaac's Cathedral

2008-03-24T09:33:00.007-04:00

St. Isaac’s Cathedral is truly one of the most spectacular buildings in St Petersburg. It tops the list of recommended places to visit in nearly every guidebook, and for good reason. With its great dome (the third largest in Europe), towering over the Neva River from more than 101.5 meters above, the Cathedral cannot be missed.

St Isaac’s was built in the 19^th century by Auguste de Montferrand, a French architect commissioned by Tsar Alexander I, over the course of eighteen years. Montferrand studied St Peter’s Basilica (the largest domed structure) and St Paul’s in the United Kingdom (second largest…) extensively before constructing his masterpiece.

However great his architectural genius, Montferrand neglected to consider how the waterlogged soil of St Petersburg would handle the cathedral’s weight. Built almost entirely from Russia’s abundant marble deposits, St. Isaac’s weighs more than 350,000 tons (think 150,000 cars). Halfway into the 40 year project an enormous crack was spotted in the foundation and all construction was halted. Seeing his head on the chopping block, Montferrand contacted his rivals working in St Petersburg, and the entire architectural community attempted to devise a solution. Quickly, a hole matching the height of the completed cathedral was dug in the foundation. It was filled with tightly packed pine trees that had been dipped in tar (this gives them extraordinary stability in a moist environment) and marble. This solution succeeded in stabilizing the base of the cathedral, and construction was allowed to continue.

During the height of the Soviet Union, St. Isaac’s was used to house the Soviet Museum of Atheism, thus desecrating the sanctity of the cathedral and making it unusable. While Leningrad was under siege by the Germans in WWII, it also acted as a sdfehouse for the works normally stored in the Hermitage Museum (because of its indestructibility it has been dubbed “the safe”). Today the Cathedral remains a museum, but it has been rededicated to the architecture of Montferrand, and the history of the church. A small chapel exists in one of the wings of the church where services are held daily.

Monuments

2008-03-23T08:31:00.005-04:00

The Bronze Horseman is the most famous monument in St Petersburg.
Constructed as a memorial to Peter I by his grandaughter, Catherine II,
it is the masterpiece of French sculpter Etienne Maurice Falconet.
The statue consists of Peter, sitting atop a wild steed (Russia) with his hand
outstretched towards his great city. The horse stands atop the massive rock,
originally located four miles away on the Gulf of Finland, on which Peter
would stand to inspect his port. The statue gained fame thanks to
Pushkin's poem of the same name, from which I have posted a few lines

Behind him to the darkness wedded,
Lit by the moon's pale ray and slight,
One hand in warning raised, the dreaded,
Bronze Horseman galloped through the night.

Aleksander Pushkin
1833

Statue to Peter the Great outside the Park Inn.

The Rostral Columns sit on either side of Nevsky Spit, framing the Stock
Exchange building, and completing what is considered to be one of the most beautiful architectural ensembles in the city. The red lighthouses are decorated with ship prows representing each of the major Russian Rivers. On very special occasions, the columns are lit by a gas fed flame. I was luck enough to see this a few weeks ago (will post pictures in my post about Nevsky Spit). To be completely honest, when I first saw the Rostral Columns, I thought they were terribly ugly, but since then, they have really grown on me and I can see how perfectly they fit in.

Чижик-Пыжик (Cheezheek-Peezheek) was installed by
the same Petersburg artist who installed the cat on Nevsky
mentioned below. It is a very small (and very difficult to locate) statue
of an owl sitting right on the water line of the Fontanka Canal near
Engineer's Castle. It is tradition to attempt landing a coin
on the Owl's shelf for good luck.

The Horse Trainers on Anichkov Bridge are one of the most photographed things on Nevsky Prospekt. They were sculpted by Peter Klodt von Urgensburg under the commission of Nicholas I (who actually had given them as gifts to rulers of Prussia and Naples before they were returned to the bridge in 1851) to sit on the four corners of the recently completed Anichkov Bridge spanning the Fontanka Canal. According to Wikipedia (Mark did not speak much about them in class...) they came under heavy bombardment during the siege of Leningrad and had to be buried in the gardens of Anichkov Palace for safekeeping.

Little cat that sits way up on the corner
near Nevsky Prospekt. It took me a while to find this one, but
when it was worth the search. The way that he peeks down at you from
high above is perfect.

The Pushkin Statue outside the Russian Museum on the Square of the Arts.
This is probably my favorite monument mentioned in this post, primarily
because of the way that birds seem to flock to the statue, alluding to
the humble nature of the greatest Russian poet.

The Admirality Building

2008-03-23T08:06:00.004-04:00

The Admirality Building was originally part of St Petersburg's sprawling seaport, but later became the headquarters for the navy of the Russian Empire. Constructed in 1718 by order of Peter the Great, it is situated in the heart of St Petersburg, at the meeting place of Gorhovaya Ulitsa, Nevsky Prospekt, and Bozensky Prospekt. Atop its golden spire (which can be seen aligned perfectly with the center of any of the previously mentioned streets) sits an icon of St. Petersburg, a weather-vane shaped like one of Peter's early sailboats. Today the building houses some of the Navy's administrative offices and (I believe at least) serves as a school for Naval Cadets.

Осторожно дверц закрываются

2008-03-23T06:54:00.007-04:00

St Petersburg

30F

Living in St Petersburg means taking the Metro. It is the most reliable, and naturally, the most popular form of transportation in the city. While I am far from being an expert commuter, I feel that during the past two months I have gained enough experience to write about my new favorite way to travel. The St Petersburg Metropolitan is one of deepest, reliable, and artistically significant in the world. Situated far below the city, in the bedrock beneath the salt marshes of the Neva River, it transports massive numbers of people each day without a hitch.

There are four different color coded lines (red, green, orange, and blue) that begin in the suburbs, converge in the city center, and then extend back out to the opposing side of the city from where they began. For instance, the green line begins in the Southeastern most district of St Petersburg, Рыбацкое (Rybatskoe), meets the other lines right along Nevsky Prospekt, and then continues up to the Northwestern most area of the city—my stop—Приморская (Primorskaya). Each station is a work of art depicting the district in which it resides. Приморская used to be the major port of St Petersburg, so the metro station contains stately marble pillars bearing nautical themed bas reliefs and a massive ship’s anchor at the end of the platform. A stop earlier on the green line, Достоевская (Dostoevskaya), attempts to recreate the streets of Dostovskey’s novel, Crime and Punishment, with wrought iron gates emblazoned with gold lettering as if they were shop entrances, as well as benches identical to those used in the city above. However some of the most beautiful stops are on the red line. Ploschad Vostanya is decorated with huge gold stars and ornate decorations celebrating Lenin and the first party congress. Further down on the Red line, the stations become even more elaborate… I hope to eventually post pictures of these places.

Маяковская

Пpиморская

Площадь Восстания

Сенной площади

Each day my experience on the metro begins by me readjusting all of my important items (wallet, passport, keys, cell phone, and camera) from external jacket pockets to internal ones to ward off pickpockets. I then approach the massive crowd of people standing at the turnstiles, slam my metro card down on the sensor, and impatiently wait for the green arrow to light up that says I may proceed. Then I stand in a densely packed group of people at the top of the escalator and push/shove to get a spot as soon as possible.

Because the metro is so deep (a result of the need to dig below the water table) the escalator ride down is endless. Generally, it takes about four minutes, though it often feels like triple that time. The deepest metro stop in the world can be found at Ploschad Lenina/Finlandsky Voksal, although it is only a few meters deeper than the rest. All normal escalator passengers follow the unwritten rule that says they must stand single file on the right side of the steps so that the insane daredevil types can race down the stairs at high speeds using the left side. I tried “running” down the escalator once as I had observed others doing, but decided after a very stressful experience that I would never do it again. Passengers are barraged for duration of their ride with public service announcements, radio advertisements, and colorful billboards to help pass the time. Young children often play games, dropping chunks of ice or even Ruble coins down the side of the railing and watching them role down to the bottom.

A few brisk steps later and you are standing in the station. To the left, trains arriving at Приморска, and on the right, trains departing towards Bасилеотровская. At the end of the marble corridor, a digital clock displays the amount of time that has passed since the previous train departed the station. Usually around 1:35 you begin to feel the whoosh of air racing through the tunnel. At 1:45 a low rumble begins far off to the right of the platform and within five seconds it crescendos into a roar. At 1:53 the bands of light crawl across the walls of the tunnel, and at 1:57 their source becomes visible. Unless the crowd is really dense, which it usually only is on Monday mornings, I stand with my toes right up to the line marking the furthest forward one can stand on the platform. As the train hurdles into the station at 2:01, an enormous burst of air rushes through the empty spaces between passengers. The train screeches to a halt at 2:05, but just seconds before it is moving at forty miles an hour, six inches from where I normally stand

Since Приморская is the first stop on the green line each morning, there is no need to force oneself onto the train or battle for a seat. However, during the afternoons, I am routinely squished and elbowed by others (and occasionally squish and elbow them back) as they vie for a chance to squeeze into the doors before they slam shut. As everyone piles in, they wait for the announcement they have heard at least a thousand times before… “Осторожно дверц закрываются.” Its calm, soothing nature is completely opposite the primal nature of those on the train. Bu-bing! Ost-a-roz-na, Dver-its Zak-ri-va-oots-ya (it means something like, “Caution, the doors are closing”). Three seconds later the doors slam shut on whatever is in their way. I will never forget the first time they closed on me; I had leaped on the train at the last second, but underestimated the standing room onboard. The interior doors of the train have rubber padding on them and are relatively easy to pry apart when necessary, but at stations with an additional set of metal external doors (like Gostiny Dvor) attempting this will result in serious injury. The external doors slam shut with an enormous force, and make a boom that echoes across the entire metro station.

Depending on the time of day, the train is either ridiculously crowded, or only very uncomfortable. As soon as I get in, regardless of how many people are in it, I try to find a place where I can hold onto the overhead railing. The trains accelerate/decelerate very quickly, and if you are not holding on to something there is a good chance you will lose your balance. Generally, I do not like to sit because there are plenty of бабушkи who need the seat more than I do. Overall, the ride is moderately bumpy, but very fast.

On the way to Пpиморская after
the doors close on the last car
departing Василеостровская
(12:05am)

I transfer from the green line to the red line at Маяковская (My-ya-cov-sky-ya). This entails getting to the door in time to leap out when the train stops, following the mob of people to the stairs leading down, and walking through a long and twisty white tunnel that connects to another platform. Depending on the layout of the station, the connection could be a tunnel like the one at Маяковская, an escalator ride up/down, or a transfer to the train directly across the platform. This part is time consuming, but relatively painless compared to what comes next.

I take the metro one stop north on the red line to Чернышевская (Cher-ni-shev-sky-ya) where I get off and meet a bus that will take me to the Smolny campus of St Petersburg State University. In case you have not noticed, most of the stations are named after soviet writers. Anyway, to get out of the metro is unlike any experience I had ever been privy to in America. Imagine a crowd of at least six hundred people, crammed together so close that you can feel the people around you breathing. Now imagine all of these people walking towards a three-foot entrance to the escalator. It is insane. The first time I was part of the mob, all I could think of was that scene from March of the Penguins when all the penguins are standing in a circle, wobbling back and forth as they walk. That is what this is like… hundreds of grumpy people, early in the morning, bobbing from their left to their right as they are funneled to the escalator. Sometimes I am certain that if I picked my feet up off the ground, the crowd would just continue to carry me… you are seriously pressed together THAT tight.

Even though it is far from the most comfortable/convenient/enjoyable/straight-forward way to travel, the metro gets you were you need to go, on time, every time. Personally, I think it is a boatload of fun. It gets mundane and annoying on some days, but it is much more exciting than driving along the same route every day. Moreover, while I have no way to compare the St Petersburg metro to that of other cities, I am almost positive that it is unique.

Gulf of Finland

2008-03-22T13:42:00.004-04:00

Ice Fishers

Random Drunkard

Primorskaya

Port of St Petersburg

A Few Random Photos

2008-02-23T17:01:00.006-05:00

St Petersburg

30F

I take a lot of pictures but unfortunately cannot upload them all-- I wish I could though. Here are a few that I really like but do not feel need a full post to be understood.

St Petersburg Administrative Office Building.

I can't remember where I took this photo, but I am pretty

sure that the bridge pictured is the one fabled to give good
luckk to those who kiss on it.

An old factory along the Moika.

I took this photo on the way to the hotel
my first day here... the traffic in this city is unbelievable.

I takу this path through Tavrichski Sad each afternoon
on my way from Smolny to the Metro.

The Moika Canal.

An example of two buildings that should not be next to each other.

The Pushkin statue outside the Russian State Museum.

A snowy night on Kazanskaya Ulitsa.

Suvorovski Prospect near Smolny.

The Fontanka Canal.

One of the horse trainers on Anichkov Most.

Another view of the Fontanka.

The Bells of Kazansky Cathedral

2008-02-23T16:51:00.006-05:00

St Petersburg
30F

Nevsky Prospekt

2008-02-23T15:42:00.005-05:00

St Petersburg
30F

Nevsky Prospekt is the main tourist attraction in St Petersburg. It is commercial and flashy, distinguished and incredibly elegant, filthy and loud, and representative of all the contradictions that one finds in this country. Although it is the primary place most visitors see, Nevsky is not what Russia is really like at all... it is no more than a facade. Nonetheless, it is such a treat to get a real hoagie from Subway or a burger from Carl Jr's.

Nevsky is like the Russian equivalent of 5th avenue. The street is lined with ultra high-end companies like Versache and D&G. Everything is ridiculously expensive. One of the major shopping hubs of the city is a huge building called Гостиный Двор (Gustiny Dvor). It was designed by master architect Francesco Bartolommeo Rastrelli (who also planned the Winter Palace and the Smolny Catherdral) and at the time of its opening was the first shopping mall in the world. Today, at more than a kilometer long, it contains more than one-hundred overpriced stores. It is amazing though, in the sense that if you need to buy something... anything... you can find it at Gustiny Dvor.

Among the other sites on Nevsky Prospekt: The Russian National Library, Kazansky Cathedral, and the Grand Europe Hotel. Also, Nevsky is one of three major arterial boulevards in St Petersburg that radiate outwards from the Admiralty Shipyards. This makes for an incredible photograph if you are daring enough to stop for a few seconds in the middle of the cross walk.

I spend a lot of time on Nevsky, but make sure to spend at least twice as much time exploring the "real" Russia. It is an amazing place to visit, especially at night when all the buildings are lit up, but while there, it is too easy to forget where you are. Perhaps this is/was why it is so popular, and why so much time and money has been spent by the government to preserve it.

A Snow Discovery

2008-02-23T15:16:00.004-05:00

St. Petersburg
30F

A few weeks ago, on a snowy afternoon, I decided that I need to visit a “green place” on the map because it had been far too long since I had seen a tree. In the very center of Vasilevsky Island is just such an area-- an enormous Russian Orthodox cemetery. Yet, for something so big on the map, it was unusually difficult to locate on foot. Only after about an hour of wandering around the island, I saw a dense area of trees surrounded by a wrought iron fence and decided to head in that direction.

Russian Orthodox cemeteries are very different than the type that most people have a familiarity with. Instead of granite headstones, they are filled with countless crosses of every type imaginable. Wooden, stone, steel, wrought iron crucifixes shoot up from the ground every few feet as if a packet of seeds were spread from somewhere high above. Additionally, the graves lay wherever the plans for the area dictate, even if it means in the middle of the forest.

As the sun was starting to set, I ventured into the Смоленское православное кладбище. At first I was confused because I did not see any of the graves, but as my eyes adjusted to the darkness, they seemed to jump out from between the trees all around me. It was an amazing sight. Everything was dusted with a clean layer of snow, and the darkness was slowly creeping in.

After about fifteen minutes of walking through the woods, I stumbled on these two beautiful cathedrals. Some sort mass had just let out from the one, and everyone was walking over to light candles on a stand beside the other. The whole scene was like something out of a movie. I tried to take some pictures, but they do not capture it very well. Certainly another “uniquely Russian” moment that I will not forget.

Paul’s Palace

2008-02-07T07:00:00.002-05:00

Pavlovsk
31F

Catherine the Great despised her son/future heir to the imperial thrown, Paul, so much so that while she was empress, she constructed a palace deep in the woods on the outskirts of St Petersburg where he and his wife were to live. The main estate is much more modest than grandeur that can be found at the Winter Palace, a clear demonstration of the tension that existed between Catherine and her son. When Paul ascended to the throne, he renovated Pavlovsk, transforming it from a place of exile to an imperial retreat. During WWII, the palace was nearly destroyed and its treasures looted by German soldiers. After extensive renovations, it has reopened as a publicly accessible museum.

The CIEE group met at the Pushkinskaya Metro stop and bought tickets at an incredible train station just around the corner. On the way out to Pavlovsk, the train passed through vast areas of frozen steppe dotted with weekend dachas. This environment stood in stark contrast to the densely populated streets of St Petersburg.

After an hour long ride on a train that looked like it was ripped from 1954 we arrived in Pavlovsk.. The palace at sits in the middle of an enormous park with winding paths and man-made canals. Regal pine trees tower over the path that leads from the train station to the center of the estate, with stands of birch providing the base of the forest. The scenery was gorgeous, but I spent half the time on my butt because the paths were completely iced over and covered with a thin layer of powdery snow.

Pavlosk

Metro, Ice-Skating, and New Friends

2008-01-29T06:59:00.000-05:00

St. Petersburg
32F

Today was awesome!

This morning, after a bowl of porridge and another cup of tea, Marina and I took a fifteen-minute walk to the Metro. The Metro in St. Petersburg is amazing. To enter each station, you must first take a five to seven minute escalator ride beneath city. This is necessary because of the salt marsh on top of which the city was built… in order to ensure structural stability, the engineers had to dig extremely deep until they hit bedrock. The subway itself is very loud and very crowded. Every two minutes a train arrives, and departs forty seconds later. This reliability makes it the most popular means of transportation among the residents of the city. I have never been on another metro before, so I have no way to gauge the speed we were traveling relative to other systems, but we were moving extremely fast. Much faster than I was expecting.

We met the group at Kazan Cathedral. Upon first sight of it, I was immediately taken back by how beautiful the building was. The other CIEE students and I spent a few moments exchanging stories of our first night’s with our host families before walking to Palace Square to go ice skating.

The Winter Palace is another beautiful building. At one point, it was the home of all Russian emperors, but after its siege during the 1917 revolution it was converted into a museum. In the middle of the massive courtyard overlooked by the palace stands the worlds largest free standing Granite Structure, Aleksander’s Column, which commemorates the Russian defeat of Napoleon’s attempted invasion. Many Russians are terribly offended that an ice skating rink has been erected in such a historically significant location, and as of this post, there Russian high courts have order that it be removed. Although I agree that it should not be located where it is, I must admit that it was absolutely amazing to skate amongst the decorated facades of Russia’s imperial palace.

For the record, I am a terrible ice skater and felt like a fool for most of the hour-and-a-half we were there, but I am pleased to say that I only fell down five times. Regardless, it was great fun to watch most of the other people skid around on the ice in a wobbly manner similar to my own. I use the word most because there were some incredible skaters there. They even had several professionals taking newbies by the hand and leading them around the ring. By the end of our time on the ice, a steady snow was falling. This moment was uniquely Russian and will never be forgotten.

During the afternoon the CIEE students met at a café and shared чай и пирог (tea and pie). In Russian, there is a special word for when two or more groups meet to have a discussion—собеседники (so-be-sed-ni-ki). After speaking with Roma, I do not think there is a good English equivalent.

Anyway, at the café I met three Russian students who spoke English very well. One of them in particular, Slava, shares many of my interests. We chatted about the U.S. and Russian elections, computers, our countries’ respective roles in the world, the differences between our Universities and much more. The time just flew by, and at some point during our conversation all of the other CIEE students had bid farewell to their Russian counterparts and went home. Slava and I spoke for over three and a half hours. When it came time to leave, he and I (along with two of his friends), exchanged email information.

I cannot begin to explain how excited I am by this development. The sort of conversation that I had with Slava was exactly what I came to Russia for. I was so nervous that my inability to speak the language would isolate me and make it impossible to meet the locals. But now, I have renewed confidence that the exchange of ideas that I had hoped would take place is 100% possible.

Marina and Roman

2008-01-29T03:06:00.001-05:00

St. Petersburg

34F

I was so nervous to meet my host family. We finished our initial orientation Friday morning and immediately returned to the hotel to check out and head home. When I got back downstairs, Roman was waiting for me. He was very courteous and speaks English well. After the housing coordinator formally introduced us, I lugged the life raft outside and waited while he pulled around his car.

Driving in St. Petersburg must be insane. There are way too many cars on the streets. When Peter the Great planned street map of the city, he had no idea the sort of chaos he was creating. The Prospekts (Avenues) are very wide and stately, the Ulitsas (Streets), on the other hand, are very narrow. From above, the layout of the roads looks fairly organized, but when you are actually in a car, it seems like you are driving through a tangled mess. Additionally, so much slush and mud gets flung up onto the windshield, you need to drive with the wipers on constantly and use the cleaner every thirty seconds.

I have no idea how Roman does it each morning. Between the masses of cars zigzagging every which way, the darting marshutkas, the long slow avto-bus (bus), and the ancient tramvai (wire trams), you are risking your life as soon as you put the key in the ignition.

Roman graduated from university last year with a degree in applied mathematics. For some reason, that sounds a lot more impressive than political science. He seems mellow, but is very kind. His English is excellent... we had no difficulty understanding each other at all. I feel much more comfortable with the knowledge that if something goes terribly awry he will be able to understand what I am saying. He loves American rap (especially Eminem and DMX) and has played basketball his whole life.

The ride to our apartment was long, but only because of traffic. I was intimidated at first because the outside of the Soviet-era building we live in seemed very dated. After an elevator ride to the 15th floor and a lesson on how to use my absolutely awesome apartment key (see picture) Roman took me to my (his old) room. On the inside, the apartment is wonderfully comfortable. I immediately felt like I was at home. There is a kitchen (with a couch on which Roman sleeps), a bedroom for Marina, and a kitchen. The hall is arranged in a T-shape, with the entrance being at the base of the T, a room off of each end of the cap of the T (Bedroom left, Kitchen right), and my room being directly at the top of the stem (opposite the entrance hall). I was not expecting the room I am staying in to be nearly as spacious as it it, and I was surprised by the beautiful view of the courtyard and surrounding buildings. When I arrived, lunch was waiting for me on my desk. After Roman went back to work, I snacked, unpacked and took a much needed nap.

Marina arrived home while I was sleeping. She is an economist by trade, and speaks very little English. When I woke up, I heard her preparing dinner in the kitchen but did not want to invade her space. Eventually, she knocked on my door and introduced herself. I really surprised myself...I actually took part in a multiple sentence dialogue in Russian, just as I have been studying. Furthermore, she knew exactly what I was saying! Marina is middle aged and has a very pleasant smile. When I could not understand what she was asking, she did not seem frustrated at all but instead tried to speak slower and/or in very broken English. Recently though, we have been using an enormous Russian/English dictionary to make conversation easier. Everything about Marina is warm and motherly, from the way her glasses sit on the tip of her nose to her friendly laugh.

We ate an enormous dinner together, interspersed with dialogue and explanations of how to say things like soup (soop), lemon (lee-mon), and spaghetti (spa-gett-i) in Russian. Haha, I felt very confident for a few minutes. Then she taught me butter (mas-lo), bread (Hchleb), and chicken (Koo-reet-sa) and I was once again lost in a language that seems a lot more complex than is necessary (for instance, a male cat, like Max, is a кот, whereas a female cat is a кошка). In time, I imagine I will get the hang of it. Dinner was very good and consisted of tea, bread, a fish soup, pasta, and chicken. I am quickly becoming a tea drinker, primarily because I know it has been boiled and I really do not like coffee.

During dinner, we watched the Russian version of Wheel of Fortune and I was amazed by the differences. First, instead of winning luxurious things like vacations and cars, the contestants play for modest items such as kitchen appliances. The woman I saw was hoping for an old refrigerator. Unfortunately, she did not win. The game is unfair to say the least...you are allowed to ask for three letters, and then you only have a few seconds to figure out what the three totally unrelated words were. Only one letter came up on her board, and she had no choice but to make a wild guess.

I am feeling very optimistic about the coming weeks. I do not think it will be difficult at all to live with my host family. They are so pleasant to be around and very tolerant of my lack of Russian language skills. They have hosted a foreign student each semester since Roman was very young (Marina whipped out a photo album after dinner to show me). I am very comfortable in my surroundings, and very pleased to be in the home of such kind, openhearted people. Tomorrow, Marina will teach me how to use the metro, and then I will have lunch and go ice-skating on Palace square.

What have I gotten myself into?

2008-01-24T19:56:00.000-05:00

St. Petersburg, Russia
28F

I woke up at three AM local time and listened to my iPod for an hour and a half before
finally falling back to sleep. I dreamed about home and taking the 611 Exit that leads to Dublin. When I awoke a second time at about six, I was sweating like you wouldn't believe. You see, the hotel room I am in seems to have a broken thermostat and an abundance of blankets on the bed. The temperature was set at 5 degrees Celsius (very cold) but it felt more like the inside of a greenhouse.

At eight AM, we had breakfast in the hotel dining room. Russians like to feed you... a lot. I have had twelve courses in the past twenty-four hours...all of which have been foreign. Dinner last night was something made out of meat with a whole bunch of sauce, breakfast this morning was sausage as well as some weird quiche like thing, and lunch today was borscht (which was surprisingly good). I have absolutely no appetite anymore... I do not ever want to eat again.

By 8:30 we had to head over to our first day of orientation which was held on the campus. By that time it was still dark outside. The Smolny Campus of St. Petersburg State university is absolutely gorgeous. It consists of all these majestic blue buildings with an absolutely spectacular Cathedral in its center. I have never seen such vivid buildings in my life... pictures really cannot describe how they look in the morning, lit from the ground by enormous flood lights that light up the gold leaf and falling snow like some sort of ornate piece of jewelry.

Most of what everyone says is in Russian, though there is some translation. That is very unnerving. I really hope that once my Russian class starts things will get easier. We spent most of today talking. During the morning we discussed using the metro, safety, clubs and organizations, and the academic program. Then we had a five hundred course lunch, served by a never ending parade of Babushkas with trays of food. My main course was Borscht. I really liked it a lot. Very wholesome. After lunch we discussed home stays.

I am staying with a Mother and her son (who is my age). Their names are Marina and Roman. Our house is located on the largest of St. Petersburg's islands, Vasilyevsky Island. It is about an hour via the metro from the school. Should be very interesting. My home stay family is supposed to have Internet-- I am very excited about that. Very nervous about the metro though. Hopefully it won't be too overwhelming.

This evening was absolutely freezing. I have never felt so cold in my life. My ears really hurt from the wind, and my face was burning. We took a Mashuska (kind of like a little bus) from campus to a weird restaurant. It was like a mix between a McDonald's and an IHOP. I held up the entire line while I tried to figure out what I was doing... even after getting Jarlath, one of our resident directors to translate for me, they still messed up my order. Instead of getting crepes with apricot syrup, I got something with ham and mushrooms. Go figure. I guess those are easily confused. I really miss Diet Pepsi. I have been so thirsty...it is really hard to get something safe to drink when you don't know the language.

Haha. I went the ATM (or as they are called in Russia, Bank-O-Mats) and tried get some cash. It took me forever to find it...but when I did, I made sure to get out 800 Rubles so I wouldn't have to do it again for a while. Unfortunately, as I found out later, that is only about $32. Oh well, looks like I will be making another trip.

Today was minutely better than yesterday. I am still very tired and feeling quite overwhelmed. The culture shock is pretty intense, and I have not even gotten out there yet. I think the next few days are going to be tough, but I am going to try my best to keep calm and focused on my goal.

You can look at more pictures here!

Three Airports

2008-01-24T18:35:00.000-05:00

JFK

New York, NY
36F

I am sitting in Terminal B of JFK International airport. My head hurts, I am grumpy, and tired, and looking at an eight hour flight ahead of me. Oh well, it is taking me somewhere spectacular. It hurt more when I left from home than I thought it would. Up until this morning, I knew that I was finally departing, but thought that the difficulty of would leaving would be felt primarily as I adjusted to life in Russia. Boy was I wrong...seeing your family standing around you, tears in their eyes, really drove the message home that I would be gone for some time. That was without a doubt, the worst part of the trip... but it was so important.

I love everyone with all of my heart, and will think of you constantly.

JFK is a very clean airport. I like that. Arriving was relatively painless...so was checking in. Gotta tell you, the LOT people were very nice, but they seemed to be more interested pretending to be pilots than helping their customers. I was, naturally, the first one in line and therefore had the chance to observe the clerks' pre-flight checks. They performed their duties with such an sense of duty it made me wonder if they were preparing for an inspection by the Chief Desk Pilot or something. All the baggage tags were lined up perfectly in a row, the position of the computer monitors were adjusted, and the phones checked at least three times each. Finally when I was helped, the lady informed me that my flight had been delayed one hour....JAW DROPS. Yeah, so we will see how that works out. Hopefully, I won't have to negotiate the fare for a Russian cab to Repino, but if that is what I need to do, then I am sure that I will find a way to make it work.

I am camped out next to an outlet with burn marks all around it (haha...wonder how that happened) and beneath a very smudgy window that overlooks the control tower. With only three hours until the plane is set to begin boarding, I have decided to unpack and call this home for a bit. This plug is mine... all the circling businessmen will need to find somewhere else to charge their laptops.

Warsaw

Warsaw, Poland
Cold

I got my first glimpse of Europe just after sunrise. The ground was white and dotted with little red roofed houses. Warsaw is a city that has clearly grown horizontally much quicker than it has vertically. My flight out of JFK landed exactly at the same time that my flight to St. Petersburg began boarding. I literally fought my way through the crowds of people to the transit desk were I was met by several uniformed, and very young, polish soldiers. Then I ran to the other end of the airport and was corralled into a tiny room with fifty other people and a metal detector. The female soldier who was manning the XRay machine barked at me in polish for putting my bag in one of the buckets (I only did what all the other people were doing) while the male soldier at the metal detector gave me a very through frisking. Mind you, I was frisked by the secret service on multiple occasions, but this was a lot more invasive.

Finally, and in a record time of fifteen minutes, I made it to my gate where I was given a green card with the number 9 on it and directed down a long corridor that ended with an exit to the tarmac. After a short (and brisk) bus ride to the plane, I found my seat. We took off five minutes later and my Warsaw visit saw its end.

Russia

Saint Petersburg, Russia
35F

Well, somehow I made it! Russia is exactly the way I thought it would be. Brimming with character, gnarled by history, and speckled with contradictions. It's all here, every last bit of it... just the way everything looked in my head. All objects that can be covered by snow, are covered by snow. The architecture and infrastructure all look as though they had been frozen in 1975. The people seem tested and resolute. It is absolutely amazing.

CIEE picked up the first bus load of students at around 4pm. While we were chauffeured off to our hotel for the first two nights, Dr. Vergonona (who seems as lively and animated as they come) stayed behind to gather late arrivals. Traffic in St. Petersburg is terrible. Pulkovo International Airport is situated way off on the northern most outskirts of the city, meaning that as the drive progressed traffic got much denser. To drive what in Abington traffic would have taken ten minutes took us over an hour.

The hotel we are staying at is very nice. It is right across the street from the place where I will go to school. We will be here for the first two nights in St. Petersburg, after that, we will be living with our Russian families. Dinner was served at 7pm by the hotel staff...everything looked edible, but I didn't really have an appetite. Hopefully I will be feeling better in time for breakfast.

The first meeting of the CIEE group was incredibly intimidating for me. Even though there are four students who have virtually no experienced with the language, Dr. Longan spoke primarily in Russian. He was very accommodating though, and frequently made sure that I understood what he was saying (I did not). Most of the other students in the program have extensive language experience so everything they say sounds beautiful. Hopefully, I will speak like that one day. Overall, I am feeling very overwhelmed...as expected. I have had to heavily edit everything I have written because I am in a very negative mood. I realize that I am likely to feel this way for a while longer, but I just need to keep cool. I am overtired and a little shell shocked after the past 24 hours. Everything will work itself out in time...

I'm Ready.

2008-01-20T21:49:00.000-05:00

Perkasie, PA
16F

Well, I did it. I made it through the weekend, I packed, I set my heading for St. Petersburg, Russia and I pulled up the anchor. At this time tomorrow night I will be 30,000 feet above the Atlantic Ocean.

...And I am okay with that. I have been preparing myself for this day for quite some time now. St. Petersburg is going to be the adventure of a lifetime. Yes, I am anxious, but I think that is mainly about my initial departure. I am certain that after landing, I'll be so excited about my surroundings, any remaining nervousness will fade away. I am going to see so many incredible places, meet scores of fascinating people, and experience life in a completely new manner. Outside of politics, my passion is learning... and I just know that I will get one heck of an education over the next few weeks.

Haha. The first lesson came this morning: How to pack four months worth of winter clothing into one bag without exceeding a fifty pound weight limit. After several hours of creative maneuvering, I have a huge yellow Land's End bag (with wheels...much to my delight) that now, after being filled, looks like some sort of life raft. This thing is so absolutely jammed with books, clothes, electronics... you name it, I've got it... that it is going to take a structural engineer to get it closed again once I open it in Russia. Surprisingly though, when all was said and done, it came in under the weight limit. Go figure. I just can't wait to see the looks on the faces of my Russian family when I roll it through the door.

For just about the past month I have been changing the away message in Gmail Chat each day to reflect how long until I leave. I remember getting so excited when it rolled over from the twenty's into the ten's. Even more excitement came the week that my days left in the United States dropped into the single digits. In a little less than an hour I will change it one last time. Although I am somber about leaving home, I am ready for the exciting challenges awaiting me 4337 miles away. The big day is upon us! Next time I post, I will be writing from Russia.

72 Hours and Counting...

2008-01-19T00:55:00.001-05:00

Perkasie, PA
32F

It is beginning to dawn on me that in three days I will be en-route to St. Petersburg. Slowly, things are starting to wrap themselves up. Saying goodbye to friends and neighbors, leaving my place of employment for the past three years, making one last commute down to campus to complete work on the Dialectics... it all seems like part of some foggy lensed, totally surreal dream. I just cannot believe that this is really going to happen. I am going to Russia!

There remain several major items left on my once overwhelming "list of things to do before going to Russia" that need to be completed. I am normally not a procrastinator, but for one reason or another I have been putting them off. Naturally though, I will utilize this weekend to complete everything. However, I cannot begin to tell you the relief I feel now that I am once again in possession of my passport. It arrived this afternoon with my student visa. For those of you who are curious, my full name in Russian, as translated by the consulate, is Рори Дэнил Хафф. Haha. I love it!

Last night Perkasie received its first measurable snowfall. I immediately donned my Russia gear (new boots, hat, and gloves) to see how it would fair against the elements. I can report that the test was a success. Russia has this reputation of being a frigid, almost uninhabitable place, but I wonder if maybe St. Petersburg is an exception. All week, it has been warmer in the city of Tsars than it has been at home, and the ten day trend shows a similar pattern. While in all likelihood I will probably be whining about how cold it is from the day I land, I feel, at this particular moment in time, that the weather will be no hassle at all.

Overall this week went very quickly (as I expect this weekend will do as well). I am anxious, excited, scared, and moved to laughter by the thought that one week from now I will be living with my Russian family. The next couple days will undoubtedly be a delicate balancing act between wishing it were Tuesday morning and wanting to freeze time. All I can do is take it slow. I have made a commitment to myself that while in Russia I will learn how to live each and every day to the fullest... to exist entirely in the moment instead of focusing on the future. This weekend will be the perfect time to begin working towards that goal.

Two Weeks Out

2008-01-07T23:58:00.000-05:00

Perkasie, PA
39F

I am not quite sure how you are supposed to feel before you embark on an adventure. I guess this is considered my first, which is why I have no clue. To be completely honest, I really feel indifferent at this point. Traveling to St. Petersburg still seems like some distant event that may or may not actually happen. Up until about a week ago I was really excited about moving to Russia, but I think my nerves are starting to catch up with me... kind of balancing out my emotions.

One thing that does have me a little concerned is all the change that I am going to come face-to-face with in a short period of time. Anyone who knows me will agree that I am a creature of habit. My schedule is so fine tuned that my dogs anticipate my actions. However, I know that given time, I will embrace whatever challenges I come up against. I am standing on the edge of something that I cannot yet begin to see the depth or breadth of. It is inevitable that it will be difficult at first, but I just know that years down the line I will look back on my time abroad and see clearly the extent to which it transformed who I am.

I started on my list today. Got my prescriptions refilled and took two suits in to be tailored. I know... really boring stuff. Haha, it is a really boring list. Yet, it is forward motion. It is finally time to get ready.