Ugh. Today was a bit rough. At breakfast I made an inappropriate and stupid comment about prices of food in Russia in comparison to the prices of food in the states. I said it literally without thinking, and while Nina Vasilievna showed no offense at all and carefully explained something about incomes here, I felt so ashamed and embarrassed. Finances is a topic you stay clear from in Russia, they made that clear in orientation. I guess I just needed to be a complete idiot this time so that I will remember to never touch a sensitive topic like that again.
Trying not to think about it, I tuned into my iPod as I put on my jacket and headed out to the metro station. We had an excursion today to the microminiature museum (I know, what in the world?), and we were all supposed to meet outside the Nevsky Prospekt metro station through the exit to Gostiny Dvor. I left for the metro station giving myself time to spare. Once there, I had the misfortune of stepping onto the escalator down the metro directly behind this couple who happened to be engaged in some game of kissing tag. They were uncomfortably close. To make things even better, when I got on the escalator behind these PDA mongers the song on my iPod changed to, of course, Taylor Swift’s “Red.” I guess it was the next thing on my playlist (OF COURSE IT WAS). The ride down the escalator was painful, and as I looked around at the people passing me on the escalator going up, I seemed to notice couples everywhere. Fuck you, happy people in love.
My next blunder occurred when I walked through the wrong exit in the metro. There are two exits when you get off: one to Nevsky Prospekt, and the other to Gostiny Dvor which is where my group was meeting. When I exited the train I took a glance up (without my glasses) at the sign to my right which I thought said Nevsky Prospekt. Okay, I don’t want that one. I want the exit to Gostiny Dvor. I turned and went in the direction of the other exit, but when I got off the escalator at the top, I found that I had managed to exit through the wrong one. Wait, what? I thought the other one was clearly labeled Nevsky Prospekt! Are they both named Nevsky Prospekt? Liv, haven’t you done this before?
Flustered, I called Jackie. After 5 minutes of crossing the street and trying to figure out where I was, I spotted my group down a ways and I literally ran down Nevsky Prospekt. I was the last one to arrive and they were all waiting for me. I was truly upset with myself; I cannot tell you how much I HATE being late. To be completely honest, I think its rude and completely avoidable (most of the time).
Strike two.
I continued to beat myself up for the rest of the day. Why did you make that comment, Liv? Why couldn’t you have taken another look at the sign in the metro, Liv? Consequentially, I was drained of energy and enthusiasm at the museum. The museum was small and consisted only of one large room with microscopes all lined up in rows. In short, this was a museum of microscopic objects. We had a little lecture at the beginning which explained how this museum came into being. Apparently, back in imperial Russia, there was this guy who wanted to make little mini objects (how does one come to such a decision, might I ask?). There are only a handful of these types of artists that still make such tiny pieces, and what they actually do made me question their sanity. Using incredibly specialized tools and instruments, these artists made airplanes, camels, horseshoes, medals, flags, submarines, roses, etc... that are crafted on top of the tip of a single human hair. Sometimes they are painted onto rice, while others are placed on top of poppy seeds or the halves of apple seeds. That’s how small they were. There were also mosquitos, spiders, and other insects incased in amber that you could see under the microscope (well, you needed a microscope to see everything there). Do you remember the second or third scene of the first Jurassic Park movie? When they found the mosquito in the amber? That’s what it was like. Very cool, but I was ready to go after half an hour.
We had lunch at a nearby restaurant (excellent mushroom soup), and after agreeing to search for Sochi gear, I changed my mind. I was exhausted and feeling blue. I took the metro home instead, and now I’m here.
It happens, these gloomy days, but I’m going to get some studying done and relax. I haven’t read Eat Pray Love in a while, and Elizabeth Gilbert will definitely cheer me up.
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