Untitled Update

This weekend = St. Petersburg Combined-Birthday Extraordinaire! I had a blast, even though I was only there for about 12 hours, and never saw the sun. We took the bus after class (a 3-hour ride) and arrived in Piter (The colloquial name for St. Petersburg) at 7pm. On the way to the hostel, we saw some noteworthy attempts at English. Here's one:


We made it to the Hostel, went out for Asian food across the street, and then met up with some other American friends who were studying in Piter/Moscow. They took us to some local clubs, and we had a great time dancing and singing along obnoxiously to all of the American music they played (i.e., almost every song).


The nightlife in Piter is so great, I almost didn't notice that it was already 6am! I took the 7:30am bus back to Novgorod with a few friends, but not before picking up some pirozhki for breakfast at a nearby 24-hour cafe. As soon as I got home, I collapsed on my bed and slept the day away. When I woke up, of course, I realized how much I smelled like cigarettes from being in the club, and immediately took a shower/did my laundry... Good idea.


Today I went shopping with my friend Ira, who was extremely helpful and patient with me as I struggled to find clothes in Russian sizes. We had particular trouble with jeans --- what a mess... American legs are much larger than Russian legs. I did ended up finding a dress for the rest of my Russian Show-Choir performances (because I just look shabby next to all of the Russian girls in my ensemble... Not any more!) I have three concerts left, but it's possible that my director will add more. I am singing Christina Aguilera on Wednesday: a personal request from the concert organizer. I'm okay with that, as she originally had me singing Blink 182 while two Russian cheerleaders danced around behind me (the cheerleaders had to drop out of the concert, which is why I'm now singing alone. How unfortunate...)

In other news, I have exactly 4 weeks left to enjoy Russia. I have NOT seen Harry Potter yet, but I may go with Ira and her friend to see it in Russian before I leave. I may also (hopefully) go back to St. Petersburg with Ira and Dima (who are perhaps the GREATEST Russian friends an American girl could ever have, by the way). AND I still have to figure out how to make this apple pie for our Thanksgiving potluck this weekend... wish me luck!

Miss you all, love you lots, thanks for reading!
Sarah