so i'm starting another one...

hey there friends. so ive been back in st. petersburg for nearly two weeks and this time im making it a goal to actually keep a blog. because the last two times i failed miserably. but i blame that on lack of internet.

sooo updates. now that i am in the dorm, and have a constant access to internet i have no excuse not to recollect my russian memories in this electronic public diary. For those of you that don't know, this is my 3rd time coming back to this awesomely romantic 19th century city. So far so good--kinda sorta maybe. Its different this time around for sure. People are missing, there are too many new american students to count on my hands and its been kind of overwhelming and underwhelming at the same time. But its an adventure.

I'm living in 1802 in my best friend's old bed and it's like i have taken her place. i miss her presence. you know who you are. some things are and feel the same but other things feel entirely different. These walls have the same peeling paint but now i am not seeing this room as a sanctuary from the host family like i did last semester. its just like any old place. i need to find a new saferoom i guess. Otherwise i actually like living here and fending for myself cooking my own food etc.

One thing i have found about being abroad--and reveled in-- has been the sense of independence i get from holding my own in a freaking large city with new people. This also makes me really appreciate all my people back home and all the friends i may/may not have lost touch with since high school. I wonder what they are all doing now? i wonder what their abroad experiences were like? are they having the same kinds of monumental experiences as i am? i hope so.

everyone always asks me "how's russia" or "how was it" depending on if i am home or here. I honestly don't know what to tell them. I could tell them what i think but it wouldn't really be the answer they are looking for. It's like life. Here and there I feel like the same thing. Its just life in different environments. There are still people I like and dislike, good days and bad days, and kindness of strangers that make me smile every so often. yes even in russia people can be unexpectedly nice. I still live and breathe by my ipod. I still like to have time to myself.

And I love this city. It seems to have two identities--the normal reality of urban life with tons of people and less time to spare, but then also there is this mystical quality about it that blindsides you in the most random instances. Sometimes when I am walking across the bridge to the Palace for classes and its freezing cold and the wind is harsh I will look up and see the most amazing land/sea scape and remember where i am. It hits me all at once that I really am in St. Petersburg and any misgivings I am feeling about the harsh winter weather or how many times i almost slipped in my walk so far fade into the background. And I am temporarily jolted out of the monotony of everyday life. its a good feeling.


less life philosophy and more description of everyday events. well this past friday was Eunice's birthday/Zach and Laura's apartment warming party. It was a fun night. A little crazy but fun anyway. Even bryan showed up for a little while and socialized with us lowly students. I had a good time. I even got to know a few of the newbies. And i am finding that i really like them. They are all so different and so unique it kind of amazes me. These were all perceptions that were kind of blurred by the effects of vodka and pepsi light but hey they were impressions all the same. I actually got to talk to a few of them in kind of detail and it was nice to learn what they are all about. I have a feeling this semester is going to be interesting.


then on sunday? night i went with radhika, louis and ben to alyosha---a sketchy little box of a bar/restaurant right by the metro that i must have passed almost everyday last semester but never went into. It was kind of hilarious. I sat there while they discussed the beats and kerouac and keats and I realized i didn't really have much to say on that subject--which made me think i need to become more well read when i get home. in all the spare time i have. they (louis ben and radhika) have some interesting opinions. i like it. it was a good time though because there were drunken russian oldies that were dancing all over the place and one older guy who insisted on coming over to us multiple times when he heard us speaking english. He said some crazy comments that I am not going to repeat here--partially because i didnt understand all of them due to the serious slurring--and partially due to the fact that what he said was kind of offensive haah.

but getting to know all the newbies is making me seriously miss some people from last semester. like emily of course because she was like my other half and sofie and eric in rsl--they made it interesting. I also miss randoms like matt and his crazy dance moves and lovely singing voice on the bus back from pskov. and pinski of course because we had shared experiences from summer and because his comments were priceless. i like puzzles and all of them were puzzles. i miss my puzzles.


enough for now. i think thats a long enough post to bore you all (if there is anyone reading this) to tears.


love you

--D