I've gotten bug bites on and off this entire year, but this is by far the most alarming. It's itchy as the dickens, but thankfully my roomate came to russia armed with cortizone cream so i've been attacking this one all day. I'm holding a penny in the picture so give you an idea of the unsettling large size of this bite. Help!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
There is nothing worse than bug bites on your foot because your feet itch all over again when you put your shoes on. I wonder what keeps biting me in this apartment! it's making my skin crawl (not to mention itch and swell in bites!) I've looked into it a bit and decided it's not bed bugs- and it's never regular enough to be concerned of an infestation. I'll call these two spider bites and do my best not to itch them anymore.
I bought a ticket to Yekatarinburg today to go and visit my dear Abbichka. I'll leave Monday evening and get in Wendesday morning. 36 hours on a train! I'm kind of cringing at the thought of such a long trian ride, but it's an experience I should undertake before leaving. And it's weaksauce compared to the transiberian ride my friend David had to take back to Vladivastock. Lucky for me, i'll be riding out with fellow fulbrighters Elizabeth and Anna. I'm hoping for beautiful snowy Russian landscapes to decorate our views as we spend a cozy lazy day in the plotscar.
Buying the train tickets was a reminder in how one simple task in Russia takes up an entire afternoon. Russia has taught me patience, if nothing else. After waiting in unmoving lines we noticed a new window open up and hustled over right behind a woman ordering a ticket. As the woman was almost finished another Russian lady pushed her way through us and mumbled something about being there before the ticket window went on break. Ok, that's annoying, but typical we all thought. Next, a SECOND lady budges in front of us. She argues with Anna about her place in line, and proceeds to purchase tickets for an entire excursion group!!! We had to wait while she negotiated and signed for 11 tickets. The whole ordeal took over 3 hours, so we decided that to indulge in a sushi lunch. after all, the dollar seems to be kicking ass and taking names over here so it's not the splurge it used to be.
I bought a ticket to Yekatarinburg today to go and visit my dear Abbichka. I'll leave Monday evening and get in Wendesday morning. 36 hours on a train! I'm kind of cringing at the thought of such a long trian ride, but it's an experience I should undertake before leaving. And it's weaksauce compared to the transiberian ride my friend David had to take back to Vladivastock. Lucky for me, i'll be riding out with fellow fulbrighters Elizabeth and Anna. I'm hoping for beautiful snowy Russian landscapes to decorate our views as we spend a cozy lazy day in the plotscar.
Buying the train tickets was a reminder in how one simple task in Russia takes up an entire afternoon. Russia has taught me patience, if nothing else. After waiting in unmoving lines we noticed a new window open up and hustled over right behind a woman ordering a ticket. As the woman was almost finished another Russian lady pushed her way through us and mumbled something about being there before the ticket window went on break. Ok, that's annoying, but typical we all thought. Next, a SECOND lady budges in front of us. She argues with Anna about her place in line, and proceeds to purchase tickets for an entire excursion group!!! We had to wait while she negotiated and signed for 11 tickets. The whole ordeal took over 3 hours, so we decided that to indulge in a sushi lunch. after all, the dollar seems to be kicking ass and taking names over here so it's not the splurge it used to be.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
two quick things to share
First off, I have a new roomate! EB (Elizabeth) moved in last week upon her return to Russia. She's studying at Smolny this semester and does a much more consistent job of updating her blog. So if I go for another month without updates you can hear about me through the eyes of EB. So far she's a stellar roomate.
second thing: last week I went to a Nina Karlson concert- she's a cute singer/songwriter from piter who sounds a lot like fiona apple.
second thing: last week I went to a Nina Karlson concert- she's a cute singer/songwriter from piter who sounds a lot like fiona apple.
Monday, February 9, 2009
I finally busted out the new electric toothbrush I got for christmas. This is my second attempt of switching over from manual to electric, so let me know if you think my teeth stay cleaner this way. (i guess that goes for you, EB, since you're the only one in Russia who reads this)
The weather in Petersburg is incredibly mild- it's 34 degrees today and rainy. The grey overcast sends my thoughts spinning about the economic crisis and its effects here in Russia. The Russian Federation is getting hit hard as international investors pull out and the price for gas and oil drop. When I got to Russia in September the dollar was good for about 25 rubles (which made all the conversion math swimmingly simple- 100 rubles= 4 bucks!). Now the ruble has dropped to 36 to the dollar. My rent has dropped dramatically. I was paying $580 when i got here. Even with the landlord raising it another 2000 rubles, EB and I are paying approx $414 each. Although it comes as a relief to my bank account (especially after a gluttonous trip around europe) I can't help but worry about the fate of the economy here and how bad things will be for my dear friends out here in the future.
Bryan (the director of Smolny) was over the other day telling us about the horrors of Russian life in the 90's. After hearing him describe the shortage of food, how power plants in siberia would break down leading to whole towns freezing to death, and the incredible amount of inflation- it's not hard to see why Putin has so many supporters. The picture that Bryan painted of Russian life in the 90's is hard to imagine against the glamourous comsumer culture that Petersburg paints for itself nowadays. There were no ladies in stilleto boots clinging to their sugar daddies on the way to one of many sushi restaurants in town. When inflation was at its worst, a loaf of bread would cost more than a worker's salary in a month.
I'm going to get my hands on some more reading materials to better understand how Russia's economy changed so drastically and how the oligarchs took power. It seems this story is about to take a historical twist while I'm living in it.
The weather in Petersburg is incredibly mild- it's 34 degrees today and rainy. The grey overcast sends my thoughts spinning about the economic crisis and its effects here in Russia. The Russian Federation is getting hit hard as international investors pull out and the price for gas and oil drop. When I got to Russia in September the dollar was good for about 25 rubles (which made all the conversion math swimmingly simple- 100 rubles= 4 bucks!). Now the ruble has dropped to 36 to the dollar. My rent has dropped dramatically. I was paying $580 when i got here. Even with the landlord raising it another 2000 rubles, EB and I are paying approx $414 each. Although it comes as a relief to my bank account (especially after a gluttonous trip around europe) I can't help but worry about the fate of the economy here and how bad things will be for my dear friends out here in the future.
Bryan (the director of Smolny) was over the other day telling us about the horrors of Russian life in the 90's. After hearing him describe the shortage of food, how power plants in siberia would break down leading to whole towns freezing to death, and the incredible amount of inflation- it's not hard to see why Putin has so many supporters. The picture that Bryan painted of Russian life in the 90's is hard to imagine against the glamourous comsumer culture that Petersburg paints for itself nowadays. There were no ladies in stilleto boots clinging to their sugar daddies on the way to one of many sushi restaurants in town. When inflation was at its worst, a loaf of bread would cost more than a worker's salary in a month.
I'm going to get my hands on some more reading materials to better understand how Russia's economy changed so drastically and how the oligarchs took power. It seems this story is about to take a historical twist while I'm living in it.
Friday, February 6, 2009
peterburger pie
A real life parody of Sweeney Todd has broken loose in the media here in Petersburg. Apparently two 19-yr old goth/emo kids kidnapped and killed a 16 yr old girl and cooked her up in a pie! This is horrifyingly absurd. Here's the st. petersburg times article on it. I knew those emo kids were a breed not to be messed with. These streets are dangerous.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
The amount of blogging I have to catch up on doesn't even come close to the amount of laundry that needs to be done. I'll start now- now that all my guests have finally left and I have some down time before the semester and my work takes off again....
The Banya
I am slightly embarrassed to admit that I finally had my first real banya experience only two nights ago. The Russian banya is a tradition I had only experienced vicariously through tales of other Americans abroad. I could never convince Sashen'ka to take me as she believed that the banya boils your brains. I was hosting fulbrighter David and his (American) friend was visiting from Paris and needed an education in Russian life. We recruited a group: Sasha, David, Daniel, Anna, Carrie, Olga and me and headed to soak in the culture.
The banya is the Russian sauna- you beat each other over the back with soaked birch branches and take breaks from the heat by jumping into a pool of water (or snow if you're doing it right and banya-ing out in the countryside). You do this in cycles of three- three rounds in the banya, three breaks in the cold cold water. We only had time for one troika in our group and it was so much fun! The shock of the cold water feels amazing after sitting around and sweating.
The banya cleansed all the vacation out of me, and petersburg has gotten cold, as if to say "the time has come for more serious work, to sit inside and read and write."
The Banya
I am slightly embarrassed to admit that I finally had my first real banya experience only two nights ago. The Russian banya is a tradition I had only experienced vicariously through tales of other Americans abroad. I could never convince Sashen'ka to take me as she believed that the banya boils your brains. I was hosting fulbrighter David and his (American) friend was visiting from Paris and needed an education in Russian life. We recruited a group: Sasha, David, Daniel, Anna, Carrie, Olga and me and headed to soak in the culture.
The banya is the Russian sauna- you beat each other over the back with soaked birch branches and take breaks from the heat by jumping into a pool of water (or snow if you're doing it right and banya-ing out in the countryside). You do this in cycles of three- three rounds in the banya, three breaks in the cold cold water. We only had time for one troika in our group and it was so much fun! The shock of the cold water feels amazing after sitting around and sweating.
The banya cleansed all the vacation out of me, and petersburg has gotten cold, as if to say "the time has come for more serious work, to sit inside and read and write."
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