So, this is it! Tomorrow I fly for home, so I thought I would reflect on things that I've learned as I've traveled through Russia and Estonia (and a day trip to Helsinki).
~The world is huge.
I mean, it's amazing how easy it is to communicate from one edge of the earth to another, but there are SO many people and SO many places and SO many different cultures in the world! It may sound silly, but I didn't fully comprehend until this trip that there are thousands of cities that are homes to millions of people who all go about their daily lives just like you and I do. These billions think and worry and laugh and pray just like we do, and that's amazing to think about when you realize it.
~Cultures are different, but the same.
Along those same lines, there are as many different cultures as there are people in this world, and they're so fun to get to know! Russian culture seems very reserved, with sober faces on the streets and little extraneous conversation, but once you talk to a Russian, they want to talk for hours! It's not okay to just say, "What's up?" and then walk away. I love that. If people like you, they tell you that they like you. If they're happy, they tell you they're happy (Inna did that very thing tonight at dinner, and it made me happy!). Even with the differences, Russians (and Estonians and Finns and everyone in the world for that matter) just want to spend time with people they love, have fun, and not have anyone tell them to do otherwise. Is that a global commonality or what?
~There is too much world to control.
Studying the imperial history of Russia, the soviet regime, and the occupations of Finland and Estonia have taught me that there is just no way that any country can have power over the world, for bad or for good. The Russian Empire tried to control about 1/3 of the world, and honestly did a half-way job. Basically, they spent billions of dollars on themselves and palaces while people suffered in every region under their control. Soviet Russia wanted the same size empire, and it costs them millions to starvation and terror of corrupt, paranoid leaders. Germany also occupied Estonia, but they exterminated the Jewish population while they were at it. Through all of this, the U.S. was fighting wars in varying degrees of righteousness in other areas. The Estonian Occupation Museum talked about waiting for a "White Ship," the Western Democracies who they hoped would grant them relief from the Germans and the Soviets, but that ship never came. For 50 years they suffered under totalitarian Soviet rule. Why? Because the world is too big and everyone has too many balls in the air. I'm not saying it was the West's job to bail out Estonia or that it's any countries job to do that sort of work, but it's a sobering thought.
~Nobody appreciates things the same way.
Being on a trip with a group of any size is a test on anyone's patience. It's not that everyone on the trip wasn't perfectly agreeable, it's just a long time to be with a group. Every one came on this trip for different reasons, and appreciated things to different degrees. I think it's really an asset to a trip like this rather than a liability though, because it never makes anyone grow to be around a bunch of people just like them (or be by themselves). It made me appreciate the cathedrals more because others didn't as much. It also peaked my interest in military history, because others had backgrounds in that. Most of all, it was great to hear so much about Chinese culture from my new friends. That was just like a bonus! I'm not saying I might not have enjoyed myself more if I had been on this trip with my best friends and family, but I think that I learned more about the subject, the places, the culture (and comparing it with ours), and myself by going with this group.
~History is people, and that's why we can never know everything.
Talking to Mikhail, Andre, Inna, her father, and Anatoli has given me a totally different insight into Russian history and how it continues to affect people today. Now, think about how many people there are in the world, that have lived in the world, or WILL someday live in the world. That's a pretty infinite number of different human experiences, all of which play an integral part in the history of the world. The most striking thing about learning all these peoples' personal histories is that, as hard as I tried to regurgitate it all to this blog every night, I can't possibly remember everything they told me. So even if you DID talk to every person that has ever or will ever live, you STILL wouldn't be able to remember all their stories and fit them together like they ought to be! That's AMAZING. History is much more than dates and places, my friends. It's a beautiful web of experience, and that's why I will never tolerate anyone who says that History majors are slackers.
And don't even get me started on Education majors.
Thank you, everyone who read part or all of this blog. I would have written these posts for myself, but knowing that you are reading it and getting something out of it made it much more enjoyable and much more constant. I love you, I would love to talk the ear off of anyone who asks about my trip, and I promise that I'll be writing again the next time I travel. :)
Friday, June 1, 2012
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Their Friend's Couch
Good morning!
Yesterday, i woke up, ate breakfast, and then we set out for the Russian Emperors' summer palace a few blocks away.
On the way, i commented on the number of residences that these people had, and Anatoli said that because Estonia was part of the empire, they liked to stay here sometimes and they had to have somewhere nice to stay! I wondered why they couldn't have just stayed on some friend's couch.
The palace was beautiful anyway. It was much smaller than any of the St. Petersburg palaces, but it was quaint. The ballroom was magnificent, again. There was a guide speaking English in there, so we stayed and listened a while. He talked for a half hour! In one room! He did say, though, that that ballroom is considered the most original imperial palace ballroom, because like I said before, the other palaces were purposely ruined during the siege of Leningrad.
We browsed the art gallery inside, and then the gardens. It was all very nice.
After that, we went up the hill to the Estonian president's office. There was some hullabaloo afoot, so we hung out awhile to see what was up. It turned out that the Maltese president was visiting and would be exiting any time now! So, we waited. I got pictures of both presidents!! Pictures which I still can't upload to Facebook. Grrrr.
After that excitement, we walked to a monument commemorating a ship that sunk in a battle during WWI. It's called "the mermaid" and I have no idea why, because it has an angel on top... It was pretty though, and commissioned by Nicholas II. I'm tellin you, these Tsars are hard to get away from.
Then we made the long walk home, and I took a nap!
We woke up in time for dinner, so we walked to Old Town and ate at a Caucasian restaurant. We are just eating our way across the northern Middle East! I like it! I had kabobs, cous cous, grilled corn, and bread with housemade butter. Sooo good.
Then we went walking for a lookout, because it was getting kinda close to sunset. We found some, and on the way, happened upon a little cafe (kohvik in Estonian) and decided to get dessert there! We had a traditional Estonian dessert of which I forget the name. It was ground up seeds and flour in a soup thing of cream, pears, and beer. Sound gross? It wasn't actually!
After our dessert, we decided to stay for a magic show! We went out and walked around a little, but then we came back. It was like a children's theater inside the kohvik, and the magicians were so funny! I'm glad we went. :)
After that, the sun was down, so we pretty much came straight back. A couple of our group was going to the airport last night, so we bid goodbye to them and went to bed!
Today we're going to the Estonian museum of Russian and German occupation. It should be interesting! Then I have to pack and make sure my suitcase isn't too heavy!
I can't believe we leave tomorrow!!
Yesterday, i woke up, ate breakfast, and then we set out for the Russian Emperors' summer palace a few blocks away.
On the way, i commented on the number of residences that these people had, and Anatoli said that because Estonia was part of the empire, they liked to stay here sometimes and they had to have somewhere nice to stay! I wondered why they couldn't have just stayed on some friend's couch.
The palace was beautiful anyway. It was much smaller than any of the St. Petersburg palaces, but it was quaint. The ballroom was magnificent, again. There was a guide speaking English in there, so we stayed and listened a while. He talked for a half hour! In one room! He did say, though, that that ballroom is considered the most original imperial palace ballroom, because like I said before, the other palaces were purposely ruined during the siege of Leningrad.
We browsed the art gallery inside, and then the gardens. It was all very nice.
After that, we went up the hill to the Estonian president's office. There was some hullabaloo afoot, so we hung out awhile to see what was up. It turned out that the Maltese president was visiting and would be exiting any time now! So, we waited. I got pictures of both presidents!! Pictures which I still can't upload to Facebook. Grrrr.
After that excitement, we walked to a monument commemorating a ship that sunk in a battle during WWI. It's called "the mermaid" and I have no idea why, because it has an angel on top... It was pretty though, and commissioned by Nicholas II. I'm tellin you, these Tsars are hard to get away from.
Then we made the long walk home, and I took a nap!
We woke up in time for dinner, so we walked to Old Town and ate at a Caucasian restaurant. We are just eating our way across the northern Middle East! I like it! I had kabobs, cous cous, grilled corn, and bread with housemade butter. Sooo good.
Then we went walking for a lookout, because it was getting kinda close to sunset. We found some, and on the way, happened upon a little cafe (kohvik in Estonian) and decided to get dessert there! We had a traditional Estonian dessert of which I forget the name. It was ground up seeds and flour in a soup thing of cream, pears, and beer. Sound gross? It wasn't actually!
After our dessert, we decided to stay for a magic show! We went out and walked around a little, but then we came back. It was like a children's theater inside the kohvik, and the magicians were so funny! I'm glad we went. :)
After that, the sun was down, so we pretty much came straight back. A couple of our group was going to the airport last night, so we bid goodbye to them and went to bed!
Today we're going to the Estonian museum of Russian and German occupation. It should be interesting! Then I have to pack and make sure my suitcase isn't too heavy!
I can't believe we leave tomorrow!!
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Helsinki!
Hello! I am going to try to get this all down before we leave for the day!
Yesterday morning, we got on our ferry, but not before some panic and sprinting to the gate. It was exhausting! But I could have done without the guys yelling at us to hurry up. It was raining and really windy.
After that, I was a little grumpy, so I read my book on the ferry. The ferry was really nice though! It was like a cruise ship exactly, only the bottom three floors were for cars! There were not regular seats, so we found a spot on some couches at the front of the boat and I read my current book (Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen) for the two hour trip.
Then we were in Helsinki! From the docks, it honestly didn't look very pretty. We got off the bus to town and instantly were famished. Anatoli said the living cost in Helsinki is very high, so we decided to go to McDonalds. I had my first-ever Big Mac, and the meal was about $8. Phew. It was good though, and then we set out for a famous church.
Now the streets looked prettier. The architecture is heavier here, with a lot of stone and granite. Pretty!
It was only a few blocks away, so it was close! I forget the name of the church now, but the statue out front was of Russia's Alexander II (Mom, intertwine!). It was a pretty place, and we needed to find it because Titus and Michael were meeting a friend there later to spend the night.
After that we went to the Finland national History museum. It was really cool and Finlandy! I'll tell you more upon seeing you, but I'm trying to hurry here! It was free for students though, so pretty cool! And all the captions were also in English and Swedish.
After that, it was already 5! We went to a famous fish market in the other side of town for dinner. We had pan roasted salmon, vegetables, I had reindeer sausage, and little fishies that may have been kippers. It was delicious! Reindeer sausage was my favorite thing!
After that, I bought some Finnish strawberries. They're famous, and I've heard from more than one source that I have to buy them. I decided they would have to be my souvenir from helsinki, because I didn't see anything else I liked, and they were 6€ a pint!!!
They were worth it though. Best strawberries I've ever eaten.
In the corner of the market, the president of Finland's house stands! Anatoli poked fun at it, because it's noticeably smaller than the Swedish embassy. We also saw the changing of the guard there! It was nothing near as ceremonious as we saw in Moscow, but it was still cool! Fun fact: Finnish police don't even carry firearms. Only the swat teams, if that tells you anything about Finnish culture.
Then, the boys went to meet their friend, and some if us set off in the direction of a church that was blasted out of solid rocks!!! It was a little hard to find, being mostly underground and all, but we found it and it was awesome! We didn't stay long because there was a concert going in inside, but woe saw it.
Then, we decided we needed some ice cream. One always needs ice cream, I think. So we got some and some tea (i will miss that when I'm home. Hot tea is available everywhere here, even fast food places).
After that, it was time to head back already!! We caught the bus to the boat, the boat to Tallinn (eerily we were about half the passengers in a huge ship). I finished my book, and we played different card games. I want to play Euchre when I get home, no one here knows it!
Then we came home and crashed at about 1am. Oh! And I found a daddy long legs spider in my room! I tried to get it out, but it ran away and is now probably planning my murder.
I am sadly ready to come home. I miss everyone. I have had the time of my life here, but with only two days left, it's hard not to think about how close I am to seeing everybody! Don't think I haven't enjoyed or been grateful for this amazing trip, because I really have and am!
Today we are going to the museum of the occupation of Estonia. It should be really interesting!!
Yesterday morning, we got on our ferry, but not before some panic and sprinting to the gate. It was exhausting! But I could have done without the guys yelling at us to hurry up. It was raining and really windy.
After that, I was a little grumpy, so I read my book on the ferry. The ferry was really nice though! It was like a cruise ship exactly, only the bottom three floors were for cars! There were not regular seats, so we found a spot on some couches at the front of the boat and I read my current book (Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen) for the two hour trip.
Then we were in Helsinki! From the docks, it honestly didn't look very pretty. We got off the bus to town and instantly were famished. Anatoli said the living cost in Helsinki is very high, so we decided to go to McDonalds. I had my first-ever Big Mac, and the meal was about $8. Phew. It was good though, and then we set out for a famous church.
Now the streets looked prettier. The architecture is heavier here, with a lot of stone and granite. Pretty!
It was only a few blocks away, so it was close! I forget the name of the church now, but the statue out front was of Russia's Alexander II (Mom, intertwine!). It was a pretty place, and we needed to find it because Titus and Michael were meeting a friend there later to spend the night.
After that we went to the Finland national History museum. It was really cool and Finlandy! I'll tell you more upon seeing you, but I'm trying to hurry here! It was free for students though, so pretty cool! And all the captions were also in English and Swedish.
After that, it was already 5! We went to a famous fish market in the other side of town for dinner. We had pan roasted salmon, vegetables, I had reindeer sausage, and little fishies that may have been kippers. It was delicious! Reindeer sausage was my favorite thing!
After that, I bought some Finnish strawberries. They're famous, and I've heard from more than one source that I have to buy them. I decided they would have to be my souvenir from helsinki, because I didn't see anything else I liked, and they were 6€ a pint!!!
They were worth it though. Best strawberries I've ever eaten.
In the corner of the market, the president of Finland's house stands! Anatoli poked fun at it, because it's noticeably smaller than the Swedish embassy. We also saw the changing of the guard there! It was nothing near as ceremonious as we saw in Moscow, but it was still cool! Fun fact: Finnish police don't even carry firearms. Only the swat teams, if that tells you anything about Finnish culture.
Then, the boys went to meet their friend, and some if us set off in the direction of a church that was blasted out of solid rocks!!! It was a little hard to find, being mostly underground and all, but we found it and it was awesome! We didn't stay long because there was a concert going in inside, but woe saw it.
Then, we decided we needed some ice cream. One always needs ice cream, I think. So we got some and some tea (i will miss that when I'm home. Hot tea is available everywhere here, even fast food places).
After that, it was time to head back already!! We caught the bus to the boat, the boat to Tallinn (eerily we were about half the passengers in a huge ship). I finished my book, and we played different card games. I want to play Euchre when I get home, no one here knows it!
Then we came home and crashed at about 1am. Oh! And I found a daddy long legs spider in my room! I tried to get it out, but it ran away and is now probably planning my murder.
I am sadly ready to come home. I miss everyone. I have had the time of my life here, but with only two days left, it's hard not to think about how close I am to seeing everybody! Don't think I haven't enjoyed or been grateful for this amazing trip, because I really have and am!
Today we are going to the museum of the occupation of Estonia. It should be really interesting!!
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Lots o' Stairs
Today we explored Old Town!
We first had our last class in one of the boys' rooms. It was about discussions, deliberations, an debates. I wish we could learn more social studies methods!
Then we set out for Old Town which is just a couple minutes from our hotel. It was so cool! Similar to yesterday's area, but even older! It was really quaint. There was a big stone wall around the oldest part of the city which used to be used as protection. We went in some really old Lutheran churches, one of which used to be the tallest building in the world! Granted, it was built in the 15th century, but that's still pretty cool! So, obviously we wanted to go to the top of it (what other use is there for tallest-building-in-the-worlds?). The staircase was so tiny and cramped! There were over 200 steps (Nicholas counted, but I forgot to ask the total). It was such a beautiful view!! We walked around on the tippity top roof part. It was creepy because there was a door out onto the roofing, but there was only a guard rail added on in modern times, so you really used to be able to go out on the roof, and there was not too much room for error up there, even with the rail! Anatoli said that the designer of the building was famous for his steeples, and one day when he was fixing the roofing, he fell and died!
None of us did though. So we climes back down the stairs and hit the bricks again. We walked down a lot of little streets. It was all so cute!
We went to the museum of Estonian history, which was super cool! All the exhibits had English subtitles and it was really modern! There were a lot of interactive exhibits and even a room devoted to how history can be interpreted in different ways! Estonia is a really cool place. They were part of the Russian empire, then independent, then taken over by bulsheviks, then independent again in 1921, then taken over by a dictator named Pats, then conquered by the Soviets again after WWII until 1991.
It was all really fascinating. After than museum, we walked to a part in the city wall where you could go up in some of the towers. On the way, there was a huge dance recital going on! There were boys and girls of all ages, and it was about the cutest thing I've ever seen. It was mostly Russian dances, but there was also a group that did flamenco and another that did hip-hop! It was awesome. I saw a group if little boys that did Cossack dancing; that was definitely my favorite.
Then we went to the wall. Anatoli was trying to communicate with the Ickes lady, but he wasn't having much luck until Titus suggested he speak Russian. It worked perfectly! It was hilarious because he had been trying to use English, and the lady was speaking Estonian, but they both spoke Russian, so it all worked out. We all climbed a lot more stairs and we were on top f the city wall! Anatoli started yelling to us in Russian, saw our confused faces, and repeated himself in English. Haha it must be so confusing to switch languages all the time! We went up and down in 3 different towers and walked around a pretty good part of the wall for a while. The view was really cool, because you could see the old village, but in the background you could see all the modern high rise buildings.
After that, we came back to the hotel, and Julie and I at at a Azerbaijani restaurant. It was delicious! we had Pahlava for desert, which was similar to baklava, and equally delicious.
After that we decided to rent bikes! It Was only 2€ an hour, so we took them out to the beach on the north side of town on the Baltic Sea! It was a really pretty bike path, and we pedaled along on our grandma-style city bikes. It was great! The weather stayed fine today (we've heard that the day often starts in sun and ends in rain, but not today!).
Then we got some candies at the grocery store and came on back to the hotel.
Tomorrow Helsinki!!!!!
We first had our last class in one of the boys' rooms. It was about discussions, deliberations, an debates. I wish we could learn more social studies methods!
Then we set out for Old Town which is just a couple minutes from our hotel. It was so cool! Similar to yesterday's area, but even older! It was really quaint. There was a big stone wall around the oldest part of the city which used to be used as protection. We went in some really old Lutheran churches, one of which used to be the tallest building in the world! Granted, it was built in the 15th century, but that's still pretty cool! So, obviously we wanted to go to the top of it (what other use is there for tallest-building-in-the-worlds?). The staircase was so tiny and cramped! There were over 200 steps (Nicholas counted, but I forgot to ask the total). It was such a beautiful view!! We walked around on the tippity top roof part. It was creepy because there was a door out onto the roofing, but there was only a guard rail added on in modern times, so you really used to be able to go out on the roof, and there was not too much room for error up there, even with the rail! Anatoli said that the designer of the building was famous for his steeples, and one day when he was fixing the roofing, he fell and died!
None of us did though. So we climes back down the stairs and hit the bricks again. We walked down a lot of little streets. It was all so cute!
We went to the museum of Estonian history, which was super cool! All the exhibits had English subtitles and it was really modern! There were a lot of interactive exhibits and even a room devoted to how history can be interpreted in different ways! Estonia is a really cool place. They were part of the Russian empire, then independent, then taken over by bulsheviks, then independent again in 1921, then taken over by a dictator named Pats, then conquered by the Soviets again after WWII until 1991.
It was all really fascinating. After than museum, we walked to a part in the city wall where you could go up in some of the towers. On the way, there was a huge dance recital going on! There were boys and girls of all ages, and it was about the cutest thing I've ever seen. It was mostly Russian dances, but there was also a group that did flamenco and another that did hip-hop! It was awesome. I saw a group if little boys that did Cossack dancing; that was definitely my favorite.
Then we went to the wall. Anatoli was trying to communicate with the Ickes lady, but he wasn't having much luck until Titus suggested he speak Russian. It worked perfectly! It was hilarious because he had been trying to use English, and the lady was speaking Estonian, but they both spoke Russian, so it all worked out. We all climbed a lot more stairs and we were on top f the city wall! Anatoli started yelling to us in Russian, saw our confused faces, and repeated himself in English. Haha it must be so confusing to switch languages all the time! We went up and down in 3 different towers and walked around a pretty good part of the wall for a while. The view was really cool, because you could see the old village, but in the background you could see all the modern high rise buildings.
After that, we came back to the hotel, and Julie and I at at a Azerbaijani restaurant. It was delicious! we had Pahlava for desert, which was similar to baklava, and equally delicious.
After that we decided to rent bikes! It Was only 2€ an hour, so we took them out to the beach on the north side of town on the Baltic Sea! It was a really pretty bike path, and we pedaled along on our grandma-style city bikes. It was great! The weather stayed fine today (we've heard that the day often starts in sun and ends in rain, but not today!).
Then we got some candies at the grocery store and came on back to the hotel.
Tomorrow Helsinki!!!!!
Monday, May 28, 2012
Ice in my drink!!
Good afternoon to you! It's been a great first day in the city of Tallinn! Let me tell you about it...
So we gathered at 11 for Anatoli to take us to breakfast. We went to a fast food place called Hesburger. It was very similar to McDonald's, and I got a chicken wrap with fries and a coke. To my very pleasant surprise, my coke came with ice! In Russia, and most of Europe, they don't serve iced drinks and even the "chilled" drinks are usually lukewarm. Dunno why. But I never really knew how awesome ice in your drink was until I didn't have It for two weeks. Mmm iced coke.
So, after Hesburger, we went a'walking towards Tallinn's old town. It's only a few blocks from our hotel. It was so charming! It's an actual real-life medieval town! All the roads were cobblestone and all the buildings were super old! The main municipal building (now a museum) was built in the 1400's! It was so cool, and it was way older than anything I've seen before. I took some pictures, but I'll take more and try to upload them tomorrow.
This week they're having a festival about the city's age or something (am I not hitting these cities at precisely the right time??) so they were having a demonstration of the city bus system in a square in the old town. It was kind of hokey, but they had all the old models of buses out on display, so it was kind of cool. Also, the square that they were on used to be the main public square during Soviet times, so the puppet government would stand there and receive ideological parades and preside over other official events. Hopefully we'll learn more about Estonian/Russian relations while we're here. So far, I know it has been, and continues to be, a tense relationship.
After walking around, we went to Tallinn University to meet some administrators and hear about the university. It was really cool and they were super nice! They told us all about their international programs and summer school programs. They boasted several programs offered in English, which was a cool concept that was new to me.
A few different women spoke to us about different aspects of the university. Kea has been president of the international student club for three years. She knows 5 languages pretty well. We all told her how impressive that was and she said something that sounded really profound to me. He suggested that because Estonians are from such a small country, and Estonian is such a different language, they feel like it's their responsibility to learn as many foreign languages as they can. Isn't that cool? I wish The whole world had that attitude! Especially Americans, some of which feel it's the rest of the world's duty to learn English, even though it's only the native language of a handful of countries. Oh, how I wish I knew more languages! I guess I have to learn. ;)
After the university, we came back to the hotel a chilled for a bit. Then Julie and I headed out for a mini-excursion. We went to exchange currencies, and we found a Tex-Mex place! We've both been craving Mexican food, so even though it was slightly pricey, we went for it. Suffice it to say, it was worth it. We also went to a little craft fair that was going on and I bought some super-thick 100% wool socks. They are cozying my feet as we speak.
Then we went to the grocery store to get some snackies. I got items including, but not limited to, the following: strawberry aloe vera green tea, blue cheese flavored nuts, pear soda (duh), bacon flavored crackers, pretzels, and hard candies. The store was really fascinating, and because a lot of the labels were in English, it was fun to go around and look at all the weird stuff!
Then we came back here and now I'm going to bed! Surely I'll dream of mooses and ice in my drinks. :)
So we gathered at 11 for Anatoli to take us to breakfast. We went to a fast food place called Hesburger. It was very similar to McDonald's, and I got a chicken wrap with fries and a coke. To my very pleasant surprise, my coke came with ice! In Russia, and most of Europe, they don't serve iced drinks and even the "chilled" drinks are usually lukewarm. Dunno why. But I never really knew how awesome ice in your drink was until I didn't have It for two weeks. Mmm iced coke.
So, after Hesburger, we went a'walking towards Tallinn's old town. It's only a few blocks from our hotel. It was so charming! It's an actual real-life medieval town! All the roads were cobblestone and all the buildings were super old! The main municipal building (now a museum) was built in the 1400's! It was so cool, and it was way older than anything I've seen before. I took some pictures, but I'll take more and try to upload them tomorrow.
This week they're having a festival about the city's age or something (am I not hitting these cities at precisely the right time??) so they were having a demonstration of the city bus system in a square in the old town. It was kind of hokey, but they had all the old models of buses out on display, so it was kind of cool. Also, the square that they were on used to be the main public square during Soviet times, so the puppet government would stand there and receive ideological parades and preside over other official events. Hopefully we'll learn more about Estonian/Russian relations while we're here. So far, I know it has been, and continues to be, a tense relationship.
After walking around, we went to Tallinn University to meet some administrators and hear about the university. It was really cool and they were super nice! They told us all about their international programs and summer school programs. They boasted several programs offered in English, which was a cool concept that was new to me.
A few different women spoke to us about different aspects of the university. Kea has been president of the international student club for three years. She knows 5 languages pretty well. We all told her how impressive that was and she said something that sounded really profound to me. He suggested that because Estonians are from such a small country, and Estonian is such a different language, they feel like it's their responsibility to learn as many foreign languages as they can. Isn't that cool? I wish The whole world had that attitude! Especially Americans, some of which feel it's the rest of the world's duty to learn English, even though it's only the native language of a handful of countries. Oh, how I wish I knew more languages! I guess I have to learn. ;)
After the university, we came back to the hotel a chilled for a bit. Then Julie and I headed out for a mini-excursion. We went to exchange currencies, and we found a Tex-Mex place! We've both been craving Mexican food, so even though it was slightly pricey, we went for it. Suffice it to say, it was worth it. We also went to a little craft fair that was going on and I bought some super-thick 100% wool socks. They are cozying my feet as we speak.
Then we went to the grocery store to get some snackies. I got items including, but not limited to, the following: strawberry aloe vera green tea, blue cheese flavored nuts, pear soda (duh), bacon flavored crackers, pretzels, and hard candies. The store was really fascinating, and because a lot of the labels were in English, it was fun to go around and look at all the weird stuff!
Then we came back here and now I'm going to bed! Surely I'll dream of mooses and ice in my drinks. :)
Goodbye Russia, Hello MOOSE!
Okay! Here is the story of our last day in St. Petersburg and our bus trip!
I got up at 10ish and started packing up my stuff. I didn't bother worrying about weight this time because we were taking a bus and there was no limit. But, my God, it was heavy! I'm going to have to be very creative in order to get all my gifts back home to everyone! It can be done, though, I'm convinced of that.
At noon, Anatoli came to the hostel. We had to check out of our rooms by then, but we still left all our luggage at the hostel so we didn't have to carry it around town. We walked across a bridge and came to the lane of museums again. We decided to go to the zoological museum, because it was only $2 and we had 7 hours to kill! It was pretty cool inside. There were stuffed animals from every corner of the planet. It was intense. I always get kind of depressed in these kinds of museums, because all the animals had to die for us to look at them! I like to tell myself that most of them died of natural causes, haha. There was a blue whale skeleton, a panda, all kinds of birds and insects, pretty much anything you can think of. The big draw was that they had one of the only actual wooly mammoth bodies in the world! It was found in Siberia and is now displayed in the museum. The trunk was broken off, and Anatoli told us that a dog on the expedition had chewed it up! I bet that would have been terrible to see after finding something so crazy-rare!
After we wandered around the zoological museum for an hour and a half, we went out on the streets to wander! We were like a group of vagabonds looking for things to do. We went to a traditional Russian restaurant to eat lunch. It was pretty good, I had fried potatoes with chicken in a skillet-y thing, but the portion was really small. Also a weird thing I noticed is that in Russia (and now Estonia), the wait-staff brings the food as it's ready and won't wait for everyone's dishes to be served. Once 3/4ths of us had our food, the others told us to go ahead, so we did! But, Julie's food didn't come until like 15 minutes later, so we were already done! I don't really know why they do that, because it makes everything so awkward, and everyone gets impatient at some point.
After lunch, we went to check if the summer gardens were open; they were! The summer gardens were started when St. Petersburg was founded, so it was their birthday too! They were packed with people. Peter I's first summer residence was in the gardens, and they have always been public domain. They were super-green, with not many flowers, but a few fountains and a carp pond (that was original to 1703!). We moseyed around a while, but the crowd was huge and oppressive, so we took off for bigger and better things: Donuts!
Anatoli told us about this Russian donut place, so we decided we had to go. They were soooooooo good. They were exactly like beignets except they were round with a hole in the middle rather than pillow-shaped. They were every bit as good, and were served the same way! They were so cheap too, like 12 Rubles for one donut (about 40 cents). We had our fill, and by then it was time to go back to the hostel to meet our bus that took us to the bus (ha).
We took our last metro ride to get home. It was sad! The metro is SO NICE and clean and easy to navigate. It made visiting the city super easy. I'll miss it!
We got back the hostel, lugged our luggage downstairs (whew!) and waved goodbye! It was sad too. We had made a lot of friends there and learned a lot about Russian culture that we couldn't have if we had stayed in a traditional hotel.
So the bus dropped us off at the big-bus station, and we were 2 hours early! Luckily there was a cute little park there, so we sat, played Fool, and walked around the area. I went to a Russian McDonalds! It was exactly the same as the ones everywhere, which was a little surprising, a little disappointing, and a little comforting all at the same time. haha.
So, our bus came and, man, was it swanky! It was a double decker, and each seat had much more leg room than the buses we've taken on band trips (I was steeling myself for another one of THOSE nights). The top floor, front row seats weren't taken, so a few of us went up there. It was super cool! Kind of scary because we were set a little in front of the driver, so it always felt like we were going to hit stuff.
We rode in style for about 3 hours enjoying the view of the Russian countryside before we came to the Russian exit customs. Not many countries have exit customs, but Russia does. They want to make sure that you're not smuggling out things or running from the law. It was uncomfortable because they obviously singled out our Chinese students. They asked them specifically for their passports and visas. We were a little offended, until Anatoli explained that because they're Chinese citizens, they need visas to go to Estonia, and they wanted to check their visas to make sure they could get INTO Estonia, because if they couldn't, they would have to go back to Russia. There was still some racial profiling that went on, because they asked them for their passports at first just based on looks, but I guess I understand why they had to do it.
At this point it was 1am, and I was groggy. After we made it out through Russia's border (Yay!) we traveled across no-man's-land to the Estonian border to go through THEIR customs. Anatoli said that it would be better because they don't make you get off and take your luggage in, but they did for us! We all got off, had to open all our bags, and present our passports. Everything was fine, though, and I got an Estonian stamp in my passport! Yay!
After we made it past the border, I wasn't really sleepy because I had taken just long enough a nap before the border to make me energized. I sat back up in the front seat ("The pilot's seat" as Anatoli said) and watch the sun come up. It was GORGEOUS! There were patches of fog low to the ground, and we were above them looking down into the fields. I took some pictures, but they were through the dirty bus window, so don't expect much. It was so beautiful.
After a half hour or so, we saw something on the road ahead. At first I thought it was a deer, but it was a MOOSE!!!! I've been dying to see one for years, and it happened so suddenly! It was a cow, and she ran across the road and away before I could get out my camera! It was awesome! Moose!!
After that, I was in a weird state between sleeping and waking until we arrived in Tallinn. Inna was waiting for us (she had left the previous day with her father). We took the trolley-thing two stops with our luggage to our hotel and dragged the bags up 3 flights of stairs.
Luckily, all of our hotel rooms were ready even though we were 6 hours earlier than the normal check-in. I was so happy! Our room is really nice compared to St. Petersburg, and we have our own bathroom with shower! So I took full advantage of that and then went to sleep directly. We were only allowed to sleep for 3 hours, and then Anatoli came to collect us.
So far today we haven't done much, but I'll tell you about it and what Julie and I see when we walk around later this evening to get dinner. I hope I can upload pictures soon, but right now it's being really uncooperative!
I got up at 10ish and started packing up my stuff. I didn't bother worrying about weight this time because we were taking a bus and there was no limit. But, my God, it was heavy! I'm going to have to be very creative in order to get all my gifts back home to everyone! It can be done, though, I'm convinced of that.
At noon, Anatoli came to the hostel. We had to check out of our rooms by then, but we still left all our luggage at the hostel so we didn't have to carry it around town. We walked across a bridge and came to the lane of museums again. We decided to go to the zoological museum, because it was only $2 and we had 7 hours to kill! It was pretty cool inside. There were stuffed animals from every corner of the planet. It was intense. I always get kind of depressed in these kinds of museums, because all the animals had to die for us to look at them! I like to tell myself that most of them died of natural causes, haha. There was a blue whale skeleton, a panda, all kinds of birds and insects, pretty much anything you can think of. The big draw was that they had one of the only actual wooly mammoth bodies in the world! It was found in Siberia and is now displayed in the museum. The trunk was broken off, and Anatoli told us that a dog on the expedition had chewed it up! I bet that would have been terrible to see after finding something so crazy-rare!
After we wandered around the zoological museum for an hour and a half, we went out on the streets to wander! We were like a group of vagabonds looking for things to do. We went to a traditional Russian restaurant to eat lunch. It was pretty good, I had fried potatoes with chicken in a skillet-y thing, but the portion was really small. Also a weird thing I noticed is that in Russia (and now Estonia), the wait-staff brings the food as it's ready and won't wait for everyone's dishes to be served. Once 3/4ths of us had our food, the others told us to go ahead, so we did! But, Julie's food didn't come until like 15 minutes later, so we were already done! I don't really know why they do that, because it makes everything so awkward, and everyone gets impatient at some point.
After lunch, we went to check if the summer gardens were open; they were! The summer gardens were started when St. Petersburg was founded, so it was their birthday too! They were packed with people. Peter I's first summer residence was in the gardens, and they have always been public domain. They were super-green, with not many flowers, but a few fountains and a carp pond (that was original to 1703!). We moseyed around a while, but the crowd was huge and oppressive, so we took off for bigger and better things: Donuts!
Anatoli told us about this Russian donut place, so we decided we had to go. They were soooooooo good. They were exactly like beignets except they were round with a hole in the middle rather than pillow-shaped. They were every bit as good, and were served the same way! They were so cheap too, like 12 Rubles for one donut (about 40 cents). We had our fill, and by then it was time to go back to the hostel to meet our bus that took us to the bus (ha).
We took our last metro ride to get home. It was sad! The metro is SO NICE and clean and easy to navigate. It made visiting the city super easy. I'll miss it!
We got back the hostel, lugged our luggage downstairs (whew!) and waved goodbye! It was sad too. We had made a lot of friends there and learned a lot about Russian culture that we couldn't have if we had stayed in a traditional hotel.
So the bus dropped us off at the big-bus station, and we were 2 hours early! Luckily there was a cute little park there, so we sat, played Fool, and walked around the area. I went to a Russian McDonalds! It was exactly the same as the ones everywhere, which was a little surprising, a little disappointing, and a little comforting all at the same time. haha.
So, our bus came and, man, was it swanky! It was a double decker, and each seat had much more leg room than the buses we've taken on band trips (I was steeling myself for another one of THOSE nights). The top floor, front row seats weren't taken, so a few of us went up there. It was super cool! Kind of scary because we were set a little in front of the driver, so it always felt like we were going to hit stuff.
We rode in style for about 3 hours enjoying the view of the Russian countryside before we came to the Russian exit customs. Not many countries have exit customs, but Russia does. They want to make sure that you're not smuggling out things or running from the law. It was uncomfortable because they obviously singled out our Chinese students. They asked them specifically for their passports and visas. We were a little offended, until Anatoli explained that because they're Chinese citizens, they need visas to go to Estonia, and they wanted to check their visas to make sure they could get INTO Estonia, because if they couldn't, they would have to go back to Russia. There was still some racial profiling that went on, because they asked them for their passports at first just based on looks, but I guess I understand why they had to do it.
At this point it was 1am, and I was groggy. After we made it out through Russia's border (Yay!) we traveled across no-man's-land to the Estonian border to go through THEIR customs. Anatoli said that it would be better because they don't make you get off and take your luggage in, but they did for us! We all got off, had to open all our bags, and present our passports. Everything was fine, though, and I got an Estonian stamp in my passport! Yay!
After we made it past the border, I wasn't really sleepy because I had taken just long enough a nap before the border to make me energized. I sat back up in the front seat ("The pilot's seat" as Anatoli said) and watch the sun come up. It was GORGEOUS! There were patches of fog low to the ground, and we were above them looking down into the fields. I took some pictures, but they were through the dirty bus window, so don't expect much. It was so beautiful.
After a half hour or so, we saw something on the road ahead. At first I thought it was a deer, but it was a MOOSE!!!! I've been dying to see one for years, and it happened so suddenly! It was a cow, and she ran across the road and away before I could get out my camera! It was awesome! Moose!!
After that, I was in a weird state between sleeping and waking until we arrived in Tallinn. Inna was waiting for us (she had left the previous day with her father). We took the trolley-thing two stops with our luggage to our hotel and dragged the bags up 3 flights of stairs.
Luckily, all of our hotel rooms were ready even though we were 6 hours earlier than the normal check-in. I was so happy! Our room is really nice compared to St. Petersburg, and we have our own bathroom with shower! So I took full advantage of that and then went to sleep directly. We were only allowed to sleep for 3 hours, and then Anatoli came to collect us.
So far today we haven't done much, but I'll tell you about it and what Julie and I see when we walk around later this evening to get dinner. I hope I can upload pictures soon, but right now it's being really uncooperative!
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Radio Babies in Jars
Hiiiii!
Sorry for the gap in posts, but last night proved too late for me to keep my eyes open and type! I'll tell you about the past two days:
First, we had our last day of class in school 53. We were there on the day of their end-of-the-year festivities, known as Last Bell. Accordingly, all the kids were squirrellier than normal. Our lunch was exceptionally good too. We had chicken noodle soup, a rice pilaf with chicken and a sweet roll. It was soo good! The only draw back was that we had that thick, pink drink again. Blech.
After lunch, Anatoli offered to take us to the street right across the river where a bunch of museums are. Only 3 of us wanted to go, so we headed out and decided to go to the anthropological museum. It was really cool! It had displays of ancient and modern cultures from every continent at least. The weirdest part was a collection commissioned by Peter the Great himself. It was a bunch of malformed fetuses! I swear I'll have nightmares for weeks! And by a bunch, I mean at least a hundred; conjoined twins, brain hemorrhages, and all matter of bodily disfiguration. At first it was fascinating, but after about two rows of displays, I was very done with it.
So, after the museum, we came back to the hostel and took a nap for as long as we could, because we knew we would be out until 5am. Anatoli's friend Valentine was taking us out for a "vodka party." So, I slept until about 8 and then chatted with Andre about movies and other things.
We set out on our walk at about 11:45, stopping at Valentine's favorite view of the city, "the most beautiful view in all of Europe, must be." It was gorgeous. He helped me take some blur-less nighttime photos (which I will upload to facebook as soon as the internet is working a little better)! Then, we walked around the Hermitage, which was also lit up beautifully. There, we saw a saxophone player who had a blind in front of him so you couldn't see him. Valentine told us that this man is a very famous player who had played for all the Russian Presidents. Now that he was retired, the Governor of St. Petersburg pays him some money to play in the Palace Square. He doesn't like to be recognized, so he puts the blind up in front of him! Weird, huh?
Around 1:20, we went to a coffee shop to watch the bridges draw up. There were a LOT of people out just to watch the event! There are 13 or so that are drawn every night, and there's a gap of 10 minutes between each bridge's drawing, so that if you miss one bridge, you can hurry to the next if you absolutely need to get to Vasilyevsky Island (where our hostel is). It was really cool! We watched two go up, and then we went walking for the clubs.
Valentine took us to Nevsky Prospekt, the main drag in town, and down some back alleys until we came to the club, called Radio Baby (do you get the "before & after" in the title of this post now??). We went in, and my eyes are burning just typing about it. I should have assumed that Russian bars would be smokey, but it was a lot of smoke. We all took a shot of vodka with lemon (for 5 bucks! haha) and it started to be a little much for me. I haven't been feeling the best, and that much smoke would floor me on a good day. I had to go outside, and soon Anatoli and Inna came out with me. I apologized for putting them out, but Anatoli said he was honestly looking for a good excuse to leave the club. We walked around Kazan Cathedral (very preferable to clubbing in my opinion, haha) and waited for Valentine to let us know that they were done. They were about 20 minutes later, and we met them and walked around to another club, Punch. I decided to not even go in this one (I felt like I should try it at first, but I felt better once people said that it had been even smokier than Radio Baby). Anatoli, Inna, and I walked around again, this time down Nevsky for a while. I felt a little lame, but I just don't like clubs! They feel boring to me in the U.S. unless you're with the ideal people, and it was no different in Russia. I'm glad I tried it though! Plus, it was nice to talk to Inna more. Fun fact: she told me that her mother and grandmother told her when she was little to never sit on a rock, because if girls sit on rocks, something bad happens to them. Don't know what, but I risked it, haha).
We met them in a cafe (in Russian, kaфe) after they were done with Punch, which was a little longer, and it was 5:00 am! The time had gone really fast! The sun had risen at about 3:30am, while we were walking on Nevsky.
The sun was still rising when we walked back over the bridge, though, and it was really pretty. We got back inside, I took a shower, and then (as Grandma would say) fell asleep before my head hit the pillow.
Today! I woke up around 11, but then I read my current book (Mansfield Park, Jane Austen) until about 4pm. It was nice to relax again, especially with this dumb cold. At 6, Julie and I went down the block to a Georgian restaurant. It was recommended to me to eat in one while in Russia, so we had to do it. It was DELICIOUS. By far the best food I've had in Russia. I had a little roast whole chicken stuffed with nutpaste and mushrooms, with a yogurt sauce and fried zucchinis and eggplant. It was soooooo good. Julie had shish kebabs, and we split a napoleon for dessert. Mmmmmmmm.
Then, we came back here, and I skyped with Mom and Pat (and almost Dave, but I forgot that he was one hour off Eastern time, whoops). Then, Julie and I walked across the bridge to watch a fireworks show in honor of St. Petersburg's 309th birthday! They were great fireworks! We walked back just now at 11:15, and the sun was JUST setting. It's really cool to be able to be out that late without it being dark at all.
Tomorrow at noon, Anatoli is taking us out to go to some celebrations for the city's birthday. We have to check out of the hostel at that time, but we'll leave our luggage and come back for it before we go to the bus station at 8pm. Then we're going to Tallinn!!
It's so weird that we're already leaving St. Petersburg. It's been an amazing, beautiful city. I'm sad to be leaving what feels like so soon, but I'm excited to move on to Estonia and Finland, and also ultimately to be back home. That won't stop me, though, from continuing to have a great time abroad! :)
Sorry for the gap in posts, but last night proved too late for me to keep my eyes open and type! I'll tell you about the past two days:
First, we had our last day of class in school 53. We were there on the day of their end-of-the-year festivities, known as Last Bell. Accordingly, all the kids were squirrellier than normal. Our lunch was exceptionally good too. We had chicken noodle soup, a rice pilaf with chicken and a sweet roll. It was soo good! The only draw back was that we had that thick, pink drink again. Blech.
After lunch, Anatoli offered to take us to the street right across the river where a bunch of museums are. Only 3 of us wanted to go, so we headed out and decided to go to the anthropological museum. It was really cool! It had displays of ancient and modern cultures from every continent at least. The weirdest part was a collection commissioned by Peter the Great himself. It was a bunch of malformed fetuses! I swear I'll have nightmares for weeks! And by a bunch, I mean at least a hundred; conjoined twins, brain hemorrhages, and all matter of bodily disfiguration. At first it was fascinating, but after about two rows of displays, I was very done with it.
So, after the museum, we came back to the hostel and took a nap for as long as we could, because we knew we would be out until 5am. Anatoli's friend Valentine was taking us out for a "vodka party." So, I slept until about 8 and then chatted with Andre about movies and other things.
We set out on our walk at about 11:45, stopping at Valentine's favorite view of the city, "the most beautiful view in all of Europe, must be." It was gorgeous. He helped me take some blur-less nighttime photos (which I will upload to facebook as soon as the internet is working a little better)! Then, we walked around the Hermitage, which was also lit up beautifully. There, we saw a saxophone player who had a blind in front of him so you couldn't see him. Valentine told us that this man is a very famous player who had played for all the Russian Presidents. Now that he was retired, the Governor of St. Petersburg pays him some money to play in the Palace Square. He doesn't like to be recognized, so he puts the blind up in front of him! Weird, huh?
Around 1:20, we went to a coffee shop to watch the bridges draw up. There were a LOT of people out just to watch the event! There are 13 or so that are drawn every night, and there's a gap of 10 minutes between each bridge's drawing, so that if you miss one bridge, you can hurry to the next if you absolutely need to get to Vasilyevsky Island (where our hostel is). It was really cool! We watched two go up, and then we went walking for the clubs.
Valentine took us to Nevsky Prospekt, the main drag in town, and down some back alleys until we came to the club, called Radio Baby (do you get the "before & after" in the title of this post now??). We went in, and my eyes are burning just typing about it. I should have assumed that Russian bars would be smokey, but it was a lot of smoke. We all took a shot of vodka with lemon (for 5 bucks! haha) and it started to be a little much for me. I haven't been feeling the best, and that much smoke would floor me on a good day. I had to go outside, and soon Anatoli and Inna came out with me. I apologized for putting them out, but Anatoli said he was honestly looking for a good excuse to leave the club. We walked around Kazan Cathedral (very preferable to clubbing in my opinion, haha) and waited for Valentine to let us know that they were done. They were about 20 minutes later, and we met them and walked around to another club, Punch. I decided to not even go in this one (I felt like I should try it at first, but I felt better once people said that it had been even smokier than Radio Baby). Anatoli, Inna, and I walked around again, this time down Nevsky for a while. I felt a little lame, but I just don't like clubs! They feel boring to me in the U.S. unless you're with the ideal people, and it was no different in Russia. I'm glad I tried it though! Plus, it was nice to talk to Inna more. Fun fact: she told me that her mother and grandmother told her when she was little to never sit on a rock, because if girls sit on rocks, something bad happens to them. Don't know what, but I risked it, haha).
We met them in a cafe (in Russian, kaфe) after they were done with Punch, which was a little longer, and it was 5:00 am! The time had gone really fast! The sun had risen at about 3:30am, while we were walking on Nevsky.
The sun was still rising when we walked back over the bridge, though, and it was really pretty. We got back inside, I took a shower, and then (as Grandma would say) fell asleep before my head hit the pillow.
Today! I woke up around 11, but then I read my current book (Mansfield Park, Jane Austen) until about 4pm. It was nice to relax again, especially with this dumb cold. At 6, Julie and I went down the block to a Georgian restaurant. It was recommended to me to eat in one while in Russia, so we had to do it. It was DELICIOUS. By far the best food I've had in Russia. I had a little roast whole chicken stuffed with nutpaste and mushrooms, with a yogurt sauce and fried zucchinis and eggplant. It was soooooo good. Julie had shish kebabs, and we split a napoleon for dessert. Mmmmmmmm.
Then, we came back here, and I skyped with Mom and Pat (and almost Dave, but I forgot that he was one hour off Eastern time, whoops). Then, Julie and I walked across the bridge to watch a fireworks show in honor of St. Petersburg's 309th birthday! They were great fireworks! We walked back just now at 11:15, and the sun was JUST setting. It's really cool to be able to be out that late without it being dark at all.
Tomorrow at noon, Anatoli is taking us out to go to some celebrations for the city's birthday. We have to check out of the hostel at that time, but we'll leave our luggage and come back for it before we go to the bus station at 8pm. Then we're going to Tallinn!!
It's so weird that we're already leaving St. Petersburg. It's been an amazing, beautiful city. I'm sad to be leaving what feels like so soon, but I'm excited to move on to Estonia and Finland, and also ultimately to be back home. That won't stop me, though, from continuing to have a great time abroad! :)
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