Today was the first day of our 2 week language intensive. This intensive is just for us American students before classes actually begin at Smolny after the first week of February. We were placed into 3 groups without labels according to language proficiency, so it wasn’t stated who speaks the best and who doesn't. I had no idea that there were going to be only 3 groups, so I was pleasantly surprised and relieved to see that I was in a group with 4 other people (I’m not in my own special group for those that are behind in Russian hoorayy!). The groups were all pretty even too.
First we had grammatika, which wasn’t that difficult. We went over prepositional case, which is something that we learn fairly early on, but there were a few things that I didn’t know (mainly crazy linguistic exceptions) so I appreciated the review. The class was also conducted ENTIRELY in Russian. Our teacher Natalia spoke slowly and enunciated every word thankfully, and I felt like I could keep up. Actually, I felt like I could totally hang with the other people in my group. I still have a ton less instruction than they do, and they totally have me at scary, grammatical demons such as prefixes and participles (synonyms = misery and suffering from what I understand), which I have not yet learned. Of course, this was just the first day. I’m sure the fluffy, soft, little bubble of comfort and confidence I built for myself in that 11:00 am- 12:30 pm period will be horrifically popped, like tomorrow.
After a half an hour break we had phonetika. This class is going to be extremely important for us because it aims to cover topics and types of speech common to everyday activities, so basically the terms we’ll need to survive in the real world on our own. I have already learned a lot of new vocabulary between grammar and phonetics, and I am a grammar FIEND. I don’t know why, my vocabulary in english is nothing special whatsoever, but for some reason I really like learning new words in Russian. I think it has something to do with learning a brand new alphabet so recently, only three semesters ago. Because the cyrillic alphabet (it is seriously not that bad for those of you that don’t speak Russian) is so funny looking and so strange to my eyes that are already accustomed to a different alphabet, I believe that it actually helps me to remember vocab more efficiently. Because the words are odd and leave an impression as I write them in cursive over and over again, I think their uniqueness actually works advantageously to the disposition of my brain. I study vocab like its MA JOB and I work hard to remember new words, but I make mistakes and forget words literally all the time. I'm FAR from being confident at memorization and pronunciation. I spew errors like it's my second, third and fourth job, don't worry. Nevertheless, I find it oddly cathartic to write different Russian words in cursive... Okay, I can see that I’m losing most of you. That’s what you get when you agree to read an extremely nerdy person’s blog/journal, and consequentially, personal thoughts.
STAY WITH ME HERE.
After classes got out, a handful of us decided to find a place for lunch, preferably one with wi-fi. Shouldn’t be too difficult, right? There’s practically a cafe on every block, or a restaurant advertising a бизнес-ланч (business lunch) in most store windows. In reality, they’re really hard NOT to find. Well, you can only imagine our fate. We managed to somehow walk block after block, street after street, in a complete circle around Smolny without finding anything! I feel silly writing that because there’s no way that can be true! We walked around for HALF AN HOUR. I swear the streets were laughing at us themselves; “look at those hungry foreigners! Leave it to a bunch of Americans to look for cafes on the only 5 streets in St. Petersburg that don’t have any.” God DAMN. I even had a list of restaurants/cafes to check out (спасибо Джюти! I’m sorry if I just butchered your name), AND we had someone with wifi on their iPhone, but the iPhone led us astray, and alas, our stomachs were left empty, and at that point, forming internal icicles. Eventually we ended up exactly where we started, which at least gave us a point of reference. We then started walking along an embankment along the Neva and walked into the first place advertising food. It just happened to be a fancy palace. No big deal.
There was nobody else in the palace-restaurant except for us, and before I could ask my friends what the prices were like, a waiter had already started taking our friend Hunter’s coat. The prices ended up being very way too fair for the quality we got. That’s one thing I will always prefer about Russia to the US: the prices of food. I ordered a fancy shmancy beet and goat cheese salad (oh my god DROOL) for only 300 rubles, which is $10 US dollars. Yes please! After that some of us split up, but me and two others made our way across the Neva and onto Vasilievsky Island, where we all live. We all wanted to find gyms, and with the wifi from the restaurant we just left we had a few addresses in mind. So we thought. Long story short we walked around Vasilievsky for another half an hour without finding ANY gyms where, according to Google, there were supposed to be a bunch. I’m sorry, but what the hell? Do my glasses not work in this city? Do Russians purposefully hide their gyms on the 7th floor of buildings because they know that ignorant Americans will not look up? I was sad to not have found anything, but I’m going to search for others tomorrow. I’m worried about what all this blini is doing to my stomach, but hey, I must have walked at least 3 miles today, if not more.
At that point, Jackie, Hunter and I were beyond cold, tired, and in need of some cheering up. This cheering up happened to take the form of alcohol. Now, I’ve been in Russia since Thursday, so 6 days, and by some mean, twist of fate, until about 5:30 pm today I had not had a single drop of alcohol in me. In Russia. I felt completely and utterly blasphemous. So I guess the only way to right this wrong was to find a Belgian beer pub which is exactly what we ended up doing. Right? Right! It was underground, so it was immediately cool (yes, you can tell how many bars I’ve been to in my wee 20 years [ALMOST 21] of life). After getting situated I went to find a bathroom. I took off my glasses, gloves, and hat at the table, and when I found the bathroom and mirror I was able to take a look at my face. I looked like I had just been skiing the Rockies. My face was bright pink, and there was even a slight glasses tan. The wind had attacked my face so badly it looks like I was terribly sunburnt. Now, I don’t mean to rub it in (no pun intended), but have you ever seen ME sunburnt? I didn’t think so (that’s not completely true. I did burn and get a terrible sun rash in Georgia with the frisbee team last year - HI DASEIN AND CAMEL THROWS!). Teehee.
Anyways, BEER. While Jackie and Will ordered something normal, I had to be the one to order the дабл шоколад стаут (Double Chocolate Stout). No shame. It was a little too dark for me, and the chocolate taste was so subtle that I’m convinced only some chocolate stout expert would be able to point out and say pretentious things like, “Oh oh oh! Do you taste the earthy cocoa bean? And the way the foam dissolves as it reaches the tip of your tongue and spreads its mocha elements??” Stop, please. I am clearly not that sophisticated when it comes to that kind of stuff. Its okay though. My blood can’t tell the difference!
It was still a lot of fun though. We talked for a long time, absorbed more wi-fi, and concluded that we should try and speak more Russian with each other. We left, and when I got home 5 minutes later, the apartment smelled delicious. Nina Vasilievna, bless her Russian soul, had made me a big bowl of pelmeni soup. Pelmeni are little dumplings. These ones had meat in them, and I gulped it down like a pelican. Then I went back to my room and started my homework. Yeah, homework. Ewww! Yuck! Who actually studies and goes to class when they study abroad? Kidding, kidding. Didn’t I just write a paragraph about how nerdy I get over Russian vocabulary? I couldn’t fake being cool even if I tried. I like school, okay?!
Tomorrow my search for the gym shall continue, but an even more dire need has arisen. Why, ohhh why in the world have I not visited my dear Nicholas yet?!? Nicholas II and his family’s remains are lying somewhere in the Peter and Paul cathedral, waiting patiently for me. And why, ohhh why in the world have I not been inside the Hermitage yet?! I’ve been here for 6 days and blug gla;h]8]30t$%^”:M:J:FEY*M>KNQ’U3RY0;ugf;adj!!! This is absolutely unacceptable and it must change immediately.
To be honest, there's a part of me feels that some sort of moral obligation to go see the Romanovs ASAP. I genuinely feel like its my duty to go say hello, and that I’m being rude by merely being in Petersburg and not having taken the time out yet to go visit them. Do I sound like a crazy person? I think I sound like a crazy person. I won’t talk to0 much about them now because I’m sure I won’t be able to help myself once I actually do seek them out, but this excursion needs to happen.
I also need to find the Yusupov palace. Why do I need to find this you ask? Oh, well, it just happens to be the palace where Rasputin was poisoined (cyanide in tea crumpets- how clever, Felix Yusupov), shot, and after managing to run out into the courtyard screaming bloody murder (heh, pun very intended), shot again, brutally beaten, bound, and finally chucked into the Neva river where he was reportedly to have died from... get reading for this, drowning. I’ll have to find a passage in Nicholas and Alexandra to share.
This city is absolutely magical.
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