I met Stefanie today! She joined our class this week after doing some one on one lessons last week. She’s from Geneva, Switzerland and an economist. She’s really nice and brand new to the Russian language… probably at the same point I was when I first got here. We sat next to each other and I helped her through most of the class, explaining what little things were or what Elena was asking us to do. RAAHH I’m learning!!! That was probably the high light of the day. We got some other new students as well: a mother and her daughter who are from China.
So many acquaintances and nationalities... How is it that I’ve only met one other American aside from Rachel?
After school, I rushed off to the edge off the island to meet Katya before heading to Peter and Paul Fortress. A whole mess of people were getting married today. I saw at least 5 brides within 10 minutes, all scurrying around with their wedding parties, taking pictures in front of the same landmarks. It was a little surreal.
Katya and I walked about 30 minutes to the fortress, the sun relentlessly beating down on us. Luckily, it is always breezy by the river, so we were cooled down a bit by that. As a result…so many half naked people. The fortress was a considerable walk from school and I was starting to come down with a cold. Not the best combination. I zoned out a few times during the tour and I think Katya picked up on the fact that I was exhausted, so she cut it a little short, which was kind. The cathedral within the fortress was the most impressive and held my attention the best, not to mention that the way we got our tickets was both resourceful and awesome. Katya is able to get in for free since she works at the museum, but I only get a discounted ticket since I’m a student. She picked up one free ticket at one office, and after deciding we wouldn’t be paying for the other, went around to the other office and she picked up another free ticket. AHAH yes.
Only Tzars and Emperors are buried within this Cathedral. It was kind of unreal looking at Catherine and Peter the Great’s tombs. I mean literally only arms length away is where their bodies were lying from me. These incredible leaders who I’ve heard so much about, seen so much of what they’d both built in this city, and am a witness to the effects their leadership still have on the pride of Russian citizens. Glorious. The interior of the cathedral was magnificent too. All gilded bronze, with huge chandeliers and pillars. My camera died shortly after entering the Cathedral, so the few pictures I did take will be up on facebook.
Katya and I walked around for another 45 minutes before calling it a day. My back was in so much pain from carrying my backpack around all day, and I was a bit sun burnt. It took me about an hour to walk back to McDonalds/the closest Metro station. I spent a considerable amount of time catching up with my boyfriend, among other people, that I forgot I needed to get home. Irina had forgotten her keys and needed me in order to get back in. I literally ran from my metro station back to my house to let Irina back into the apartment. We were both quite hungry, so we hustled and made food together. Aka she made the food, and I cut up a ton of veggies for a salad. There wasn’t too much fresh food in the house since she hadn’t gone shopping in a while, so we pulled out whatever we could locate in the freezer and cooked it. It was a very satisfying and large meal. Mmmm…
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