Days 1-5

Okay, it's about time to start writing in this, now that I've found out that my host family has wireless internet. I only even found out because my host mother wanted to know if I had any pictures of my parents and I said on my computer, which she assumed meant on the internet.

But yeah, here we go:

Day 1: Got on a plane. Got off the plane. Got on another (much much nicer) plane.

Day 2: Arrive in London. 7am there, 1am in my head. Okay. Eat the most expensive breakfast ever (people that know, it was basically the tavern special, except instead of $3.50 it was 9.95 GBP, which is about $16). Get on the last plane, arrive in St. Petersburg. I made it, but my luggage did not. Was given the run around at customs, after 45 minutes I learn that my bags are in London and I'd get them eventually. Go to the hotel, meet a bunch of people, including my temporary roommate Zoltan. Talk and talk and talk and

Day 3: talk and talk and talk to people and eventually go to sleep. Get up, eat breakfast, learn horrifying things about the city I'm now living in. "Icicles will kill you far before the mafia". Comforting? Anyways, more talking. Meeting lots of people. Visit the blockade memorial, explore some of Moscovskii Prospekt.

Day 4: Oliver, a guy here on the year-long program, informs me that produkti (general stores) sell canned gin and tonic. This I had to see. So, Oliver, Brenna, Nadya (someone who I met that is Russian, but more or less grew up in America) and myself go to one. Oliver asks for gin and tonic, they give him something called Red Devil Alcoenergy (about the least appealing word ever) instead, which he doesn't realize until we're outside the store. Meanwhile, Brenna is talking to an older Russian man who knows some english, and I'm translating for some chechnian (spelling?) men that are hitting on Nadya. Weird. One of them grabs her phone and types his number into it, then calls it. Great, now he has her number, which he called 20 minutes later. However, I leave much more confident in my ability to speak.

Morning comes. Lots of nervousness. I buy a cell phone. The number is 7-964-331-1924. You can text me, but don't call, because I don't know how much that costs yet. And remember, I'm probably about 9 hours ahead of you.

Eventually, to the host family. My host mother's name is Valentina Alexandrovna. She's very nice. I have forgotten her husbands name, but they have a son named Igor. She feeds me a lot. I have a very comfortable bed (also read: couch with mattress on top), and a room comparable in size to my living room back in Northfield. Very big.

Day 5: *knock knock* "Иван! Иван! Встаешь!" was what I woke up to. Valentina Alexandrovna is my alarm clock. I received a breakfast I couldn't finish, explained that I eat very little in the morning, and then she took me to Kazanskii Sobor, where I met up with the other CIEE folks and we took a tour of St. Petersburg, complete with blini for lunch. Awesome. I came back here, and spent some time talking with my host mother, and we watched TV. Dinner was good, and now here I am. More to come!