A Surprise Visitor at МГУ and Much More
Yesterday, Thursday March 10, was a day of plenty to do and not enough time to get it all done. I had a ton of laundry that needed to be done, and had two classes to worry about all before heading out to St. Petersburg around 8pm. To top it all off, the night before at 11pm Josh from SRAS sent us an email saying that Joesph Biden was coming to МГУ to give a speech on the relationship between Russia and the US. I was so excited, and there was no way that I was going to miss this opportunity to see and hear our Vice-President speak. We had to send our passport numbers and information to the embassy to get in. My good friend Joe had emailed me about it as well. The boys and I spoke with out Political Structure professor and he gave us permission to skip class in order to go to this event. We went to the new library and headed to the building to the right of it. Surprisingly, security wasn't that bad. We went through metal detectors at the very beginning, and someone stopped us before going upstairs to personally escort us. They were very happy to hear that we were Americans studying there. I was thrilled when they started speaking in English to us. I can typically get my way around once they realize they need to speak slowly in order for me to understand, but it was so nice to have fellow Americans to speak with, aside from my little group.
Once we made it upstairs and through another security checkpoint we entered a small auditorium that was completely packed. We knew that there were open seats other wise we wouldn't have been allowed in. So we split up and I managed to get myself a seat in the second row right next to the Washington Post and New York Times. I was psyched! It was only a little bit after 4pm, and the VP was supposed to start his speech at 5pm. It didn't start until 5:30, but it was well worth the wait. Once Joe Biden came out and thanked МГУ for sponsoring this location he said, "I would like to apologize to the students. I realize that in American Universities that you wait 15 minutes for a professor, and only 10 minutes for a teacher's assistant."
He spoke about how he and President Obama were working on "The Reset Button" for the relationship between the US and Russia, and how much it actually has improved over the years. 10 years ago, 70% of Russians believed that America was a threat, now however, only 40% of Russians do. While that number is still high, it is decreasing quite a bit. Biden went on to say that the Russian government had proven themselves to be for the better cause. They had turned down selling Afghanistan nuclear missiles several weeks prior to this meeting. Medvedev had shown a great interest in our Silicone Valley, and would like to have Russians and Americans working together to make a difference in our technological advances. This is something, Biden said, that they will continue to work towards. Biden focused on a lot about how this relationship will benefit the world economy and make a difference in the lives of future generations. What I was really impressed about was how much he focused on speaking to the students directly. There, however really weren't that many. It was mostly press and businessmen. The only students there aside from my group of Americans and the students on an internship for the embassy, were a select few economy and business majors. For the full speech and video, follow this link: http://www.svobodanews.ru/content/feature/2334855.html
After the speech, I met Joe after we spoke a little bit and realized that it was only a few minutes before 7pm, and we needed to leave the school for 8pm to get to the metro stop Комсомовсая which was very far north of the university. We ate a quick meal and with only a half hour to pack, I ran up to my room. Well, I never got to do laundry, so I just threw 2 pairs of pants and 2 shirts in my carry on as well as my netbook, no way was I forgetting that, said goodbye to my boyfriend for in case I wouldn't be able to talk to him for the whole weekend, and took off. We met Marina and her daughter Stacey (Анастасия) at the metro stop. We went upstairs and into the train station. Marina advised us to use the bathrooms before we got on the train, because for the first hour and a half it's forbidden to do so when you get on board. We went into the ladies restroom which at first I thought was great! It smelled like clean, it was white and shiny, and had lots of room to look at yourself in the mirror, straighten your hair, etc. So we paid 20 rubles, and when I opened the stall door, I wanted to scream and run away. Ok, well maybe not to that extent, but never seeing something like this before can be kind of terrifying. Marina came by and said, "What? This is typical of train stations. Just put your leg there, and it's clean, I assure you." It was a whole in the ground that very much looked like a man's urinal, but it was flat. I thought that was the strangest thing that I had ever done. But, I then compared it to peeing in the woods, so I guess it wasn't that bad...
We then boarded the train only to find out that it was all open. There were no single compartments/cabins like you'd see in the Harry Potter movies. It was packed with so many people. For the first hour, Chris, Tara, Rachel, and I played a few rounds of "We Didn't Play Test this at All." It's a fun and silly card game. Then people started to head to the dinning car, but Tara and I were tired, so we just went to bed. Around 2:30am, Rachel came back, I was only partially awake the entire time. Someone started snoring and if I'm in a room where people are snoring, I won't be able to sleep at all. The sound of the high pitched intake of breath always surprises me and wakes me back up. It's awful, I hope you don't suffer from it like I do.
After a 7 hour train ride, we finally arrived in St. Pete's on Friday March 11, at 6:20am. We got off the train and headed to the nearest Кафе Хауз (Cafe House) where we had breakfast and coffee. This was the first time in a full month that I had a cup of coffee. Back home, I was highly addicted to coffee in which I needed at least a cup a day otherwise, I'd get bad headaches and be horribly cranky. Lucky for me, Russian tea is just as powerful of a caffeinated beverage. That first sip was purely heaven for me. It was like taking a sip of paradise. Around 9am, we went to the hostile, but couldn't check in until 1pm. So we left our bags with the workers and headed out for some adventures!
On our way to the first place on the agenda, I saw Levi's, H&M, and my heart was jumping up and down like an excited puppy. Considering all my laundry problems, I really want to go shopping. Rachel and I began talking about how we need to go shopping, and she manged to find herself a Russian boyfriend who is a lawyer! He knows of some malls where things are cheap, and I made her promise to take me, so I just need to wait a little while longer.
First stop was Saint Petersburg Public Museum in which they had a lot of ancient icons, statues of people and of mythology, ethnic Russian clothing and goods, portraits, paintings of war, the bible, everything and anything. It was fascinating, and I could have spent quite a bit more time in there. Afterwards we went to lunch in which we broke up into two groups. Those who wanted to go to McDonald's (aka those who wanted to go back to the hostile and sleep), and those who wanted to try some ethnic food and do more sightseeing. Can you guess where I went? Don't forget, I didn't sleep at all on the train...
I was more awake then I had ever been. I was so excited to finally be in Saint Pete's, and there was just SO much I wanted to see and do. We went to a restaurant where they made Russian pie. For 160 rubles ($6) I got to choose between chicken, fish, or pork. The meal consisted of a bowl of soup, a salad, a Russian pie which was basically Paschal bread stuffed with either of the three meats above, and a pie with the choices of strawberry or cherry. Not to mention the tea that came along with it. The food was so good, and definitely was the most well spent $6 of my life. I couldn't finish the meal, but neither could the boys! All of us Americans started with the salad, and Stacy, Marina's daughter commented on just how strange that is! Russians always start with the bowl of soup to warm up, then the salad.
Once everyone had gotten to the point of wanting to loosen a notch in their belts, we headed back outside to find a lovely Russian blizzard had moved in. We clung to our hats and went onward to go to two of the most famous cathedrals in Saint Petersburg. First up was the Cathedral of the Kazan Mother of God. It was so beautiful, and a feeling of home came over me. I was in my natural element of an Orthodox church. I had never seen a cathedral like this one that even though it was Orthodox, the icons and paintings on the wall were all more of a modern age, and definitely not of Byzantine make. Still, my heart was filled with a feeling of warmth.
Next up was The Cathedral of the Spilled Blood. This is where Alexander I was killed. This cathedral was simply beautiful, but it didn't touch my heart like the other one did. It was turned into a museum which was quite worthy of being one, because it was made completely out of mosaics.
After walking for a good chunk of the day, we decided to come back to the hostile and seeing what everyone was up to, and you guessed it, they were sleeping, and still are. As it is only 4:20pm, I can promise much more to come!
Once we made it upstairs and through another security checkpoint we entered a small auditorium that was completely packed. We knew that there were open seats other wise we wouldn't have been allowed in. So we split up and I managed to get myself a seat in the second row right next to the Washington Post and New York Times. I was psyched! It was only a little bit after 4pm, and the VP was supposed to start his speech at 5pm. It didn't start until 5:30, but it was well worth the wait. Once Joe Biden came out and thanked МГУ for sponsoring this location he said, "I would like to apologize to the students. I realize that in American Universities that you wait 15 minutes for a professor, and only 10 minutes for a teacher's assistant."
He spoke about how he and President Obama were working on "The Reset Button" for the relationship between the US and Russia, and how much it actually has improved over the years. 10 years ago, 70% of Russians believed that America was a threat, now however, only 40% of Russians do. While that number is still high, it is decreasing quite a bit. Biden went on to say that the Russian government had proven themselves to be for the better cause. They had turned down selling Afghanistan nuclear missiles several weeks prior to this meeting. Medvedev had shown a great interest in our Silicone Valley, and would like to have Russians and Americans working together to make a difference in our technological advances. This is something, Biden said, that they will continue to work towards. Biden focused on a lot about how this relationship will benefit the world economy and make a difference in the lives of future generations. What I was really impressed about was how much he focused on speaking to the students directly. There, however really weren't that many. It was mostly press and businessmen. The only students there aside from my group of Americans and the students on an internship for the embassy, were a select few economy and business majors. For the full speech and video, follow this link: http://www.svobodanews.ru/content/feature/2334855.html
After the speech, I met Joe after we spoke a little bit and realized that it was only a few minutes before 7pm, and we needed to leave the school for 8pm to get to the metro stop Комсомовсая which was very far north of the university. We ate a quick meal and with only a half hour to pack, I ran up to my room. Well, I never got to do laundry, so I just threw 2 pairs of pants and 2 shirts in my carry on as well as my netbook, no way was I forgetting that, said goodbye to my boyfriend for in case I wouldn't be able to talk to him for the whole weekend, and took off. We met Marina and her daughter Stacey (Анастасия) at the metro stop. We went upstairs and into the train station. Marina advised us to use the bathrooms before we got on the train, because for the first hour and a half it's forbidden to do so when you get on board. We went into the ladies restroom which at first I thought was great! It smelled like clean, it was white and shiny, and had lots of room to look at yourself in the mirror, straighten your hair, etc. So we paid 20 rubles, and when I opened the stall door, I wanted to scream and run away. Ok, well maybe not to that extent, but never seeing something like this before can be kind of terrifying. Marina came by and said, "What? This is typical of train stations. Just put your leg there, and it's clean, I assure you." It was a whole in the ground that very much looked like a man's urinal, but it was flat. I thought that was the strangest thing that I had ever done. But, I then compared it to peeing in the woods, so I guess it wasn't that bad...
We then boarded the train only to find out that it was all open. There were no single compartments/cabins like you'd see in the Harry Potter movies. It was packed with so many people. For the first hour, Chris, Tara, Rachel, and I played a few rounds of "We Didn't Play Test this at All." It's a fun and silly card game. Then people started to head to the dinning car, but Tara and I were tired, so we just went to bed. Around 2:30am, Rachel came back, I was only partially awake the entire time. Someone started snoring and if I'm in a room where people are snoring, I won't be able to sleep at all. The sound of the high pitched intake of breath always surprises me and wakes me back up. It's awful, I hope you don't suffer from it like I do.After a 7 hour train ride, we finally arrived in St. Pete's on Friday March 11, at 6:20am. We got off the train and headed to the nearest Кафе Хауз (Cafe House) where we had breakfast and coffee. This was the first time in a full month that I had a cup of coffee. Back home, I was highly addicted to coffee in which I needed at least a cup a day otherwise, I'd get bad headaches and be horribly cranky. Lucky for me, Russian tea is just as powerful of a caffeinated beverage. That first sip was purely heaven for me. It was like taking a sip of paradise. Around 9am, we went to the hostile, but couldn't check in until 1pm. So we left our bags with the workers and headed out for some adventures!
On our way to the first place on the agenda, I saw Levi's, H&M, and my heart was jumping up and down like an excited puppy. Considering all my laundry problems, I really want to go shopping. Rachel and I began talking about how we need to go shopping, and she manged to find herself a Russian boyfriend who is a lawyer! He knows of some malls where things are cheap, and I made her promise to take me, so I just need to wait a little while longer.
I was more awake then I had ever been. I was so excited to finally be in Saint Pete's, and there was just SO much I wanted to see and do. We went to a restaurant where they made Russian pie. For 160 rubles ($6) I got to choose between chicken, fish, or pork. The meal consisted of a bowl of soup, a salad, a Russian pie which was basically Paschal bread stuffed with either of the three meats above, and a pie with the choices of strawberry or cherry. Not to mention the tea that came along with it. The food was so good, and definitely was the most well spent $6 of my life. I couldn't finish the meal, but neither could the boys! All of us Americans started with the salad, and Stacy, Marina's daughter commented on just how strange that is! Russians always start with the bowl of soup to warm up, then the salad.
Once everyone had gotten to the point of wanting to loosen a notch in their belts, we headed back outside to find a lovely Russian blizzard had moved in. We clung to our hats and went onward to go to two of the most famous cathedrals in Saint Petersburg. First up was the Cathedral of the Kazan Mother of God. It was so beautiful, and a feeling of home came over me. I was in my natural element of an Orthodox church. I had never seen a cathedral like this one that even though it was Orthodox, the icons and paintings on the wall were all more of a modern age, and definitely not of Byzantine make. Still, my heart was filled with a feeling of warmth.
Comments
Post a Comment