One down, Three to go.

   This past month has been the longest yet shortest month of my life. I sit here and think back on all that I have done so far and feel like I have been here for a year but then when I think about coming home in 3 months I feel like I don't have enough time! But, it is a great feeling knowing that I have already done so much and I still have more time to accomplish and see a lot more. 

    I was reflecting on America, and I honestly didn't realize all of the things I took for granted back home. One thing I miss is definitely my bed. I love my apartment but the bed is really hard and I love my queen size bed back home. So if you are reading this, appreciate your soft bed. Another thing I am missing is a car. I love getting the exercise and walking everywhere but some days I just really wish I could drive to the places we have to go. On the other hand though, Russian drivers are literally CRAZY! I thought Utah drivers were pretty bad but Russians just drive where ever they want. It is amusing but also sketchy for pedestrians. Many of us have had close encounters with cars, but we look every way now before crossing the street. As weird as this may sound as well, I really miss having trash cans in every room. For some reason I can never find a trash can here, it is always a treasure hunt. Don't get me wrong from these last couple of complaints, I really do LOVE St. Petersburg because it helps me realize that I should be more grateful.  

      Now for a reflection on my week. It was a pretty chill week, teaching everyday; Russian class on Tuesday where of course Ivan was disappointed or laughing at our Russian language skills, and a lot of preparing lesson plans. Then the weekend came! If you have read my past posts you know that the weekend is my favorite part of the week, just like in America. This Saturday was really awesome. We went to St. Issac's Cathedral with Sveta (my favorite Russian). The Cathedral isn't super far away from our apartment and we each got in for free which was very convenient. 

The refurbished WWII columns they kept. 

       My first impressions of the outside of the cathedral was that it was jaw dropping. It is one of the biggest buildings that I have ever seen in my life, and a very tall building. There are these ginormous columns outside that weigh about 150 tons each. There is also a giant, golden dome on the top of the building that is the fourth largest dome in the world and can be seen from all around St. Petersburg. To say that the outside of this Cathedral  was simple is definitely an understatement. It is magnificent. 

Outside of St. Issac's Cathedral 

                                                                                         Now for the inside of the Cathedral. My description cannot do the beauty of it justice. The dome is breath taking. When you look up into it you have to bend your neck back as far as it will go and then you just stand there with your jaw open in awe. There are statues, paintings, molding, and gold flecks inside the dome. I just cannot give the beauty of the dome a great enough description. The rest of the cathedral was stunning as well. There were columns made out of a green stone everywhere. The ceiling was made up of gold painted moldings and hand painted works. An interesting thing about the floor plan is that it is in the shape of a cross and the ceiling tells stories from the bible all the way across. It was super rad. There were also mosaic (little tiles that make up a whole painting) all over the cathedral. Obviously you can tell that I absolutely adored St. Issac's cathedral. It is also very cool that Sveta gives us history lessons of the sites we go to see. This Cathedral has had 4 different models and has been remodeled every single time to be bigger and more extravagant. It also has a huge basement where they stored precious artifacts during WWII and the bombings. I just really love the history behind all of the Cathedrals and Buildings in St. Petersburg. It makes visiting all of these significant places better because I can pin a story to them in history. 
        

The dome. 

The mosaic. You can see the little pieces. 

Close up of part of the dome.

       After we went to St. Issac's Cathedral and had an amazing time, Sveta took us to our favorite Russian fast food place we have been to so far. It is called Terremok and it has the best blini's ever. Blini's are a little bit like crepes and they can be either savory or sweet. I decided to get the Caesar  blini this time which consisted of ketchup, chicken, lettuce, and onions. It did not taste like American Caesar at all so I was a little surprised but it was DELICIOUS. I also decided to get a dessert blini that was filled with strawberries so of course if was scrumptious. This restaurant is seriously so delicious that my mouth waters thinking about the food. I wish that they had it in America, so don't be surprised if you see a Terrmok pop up in Utah. Pleas come in though, you won't be disappointed.  

THE FOOD 

     Hopefully you all enjoyed reading my rant about another week in St. Petersburg. This really is an amazing city with various things to do and very kind people. If you think it looks fun I say take a chance and come and travel, or even if you are dreaming to go somewhere else. I SAY DO IT NOW! You only have so much time in your life and you never know what tomorrow is going to bring. So get on it and pursue that dream you have been thinking about, because if you don't you will never know. Have a great week everybody and love every minute of your life. 

Learning Russian, Sickness, and Prison

     The second full week in St. Pete's flew by super fast. I started to realize that I have been gone for almost 3 weeks! It seems like I have been here for a year already, but I am happy I still have a long time. This week was full of another adventure....so let's reminisce. 
      On Tuesday mornings all 8 of us girls take the Metro to the center of the city for our Russian class. I was thrilled when we were told that we get to learn Russian for the 4 months while we are here, but it is a very difficult language. The alphabet has a lot of symbols instead of letters, but I think I have finally got the symbols down and I find myself trying to figure out what things say while walking around. Of course I don't know what the words mean once I decipher them, but at least reading is a step towards understanding the Russian language. One of the most embarrassing things about Russian class though was when our teacher Ivan asked me a question and I answered Si (in Spanish) instead of Da (which is yes in Russian). I don't know why but my first instinct is to speak Spanish to the Russians. I guess I just revert back to the foreign language I know really well. Anyways, learning Russian is definitely not easy but I will at least know some when I get back to America!
      After Tuesday, the rest of the week was not very fun until Saturday. Unfortunately, while I was teaching my kids on Wednesday night I got really sick. My limbs started going numb, I had uncontrollable chills, my lips turned blue, and I almost passed out. Luckily I made it back from the school (thanks Lucy) to slip into a sleep coma. That didn't last long though because I was woken up and found out that I had a fever of 104 and high blood pressure! I haven't felt that miserable in a while. So, I had my first experience of going to the doctors in Russia. Fortunately we found an American clinic so everyone spoke English, I got some blood tests done and an examination and I am fine! Just some bad virus, but I am thankful it wasn't anything bad. DON'T WORRY people, I get to stay in Russia and you can keep reading my blog :) Oh, by the way it was the classiest doctors I have ever been to, they had gold elevator doors with molding. Russians must think we have classy doctor's offices back home. 

The Tombs

        FINALLY, on Saturday I was feeling great enough to go on our Cultural excursion for the week. Sveta, our spunky, funny, loving Cultural expert took us to the Peter and Paul Fortress. I love Saturdays because of the exploring and because we get to see Sveta of course! Anyways, the fortress has a Cathedral in it and a Prison. The Cathedral was very beautiful inside just like all of the Cathedrals I have been in so far in St. Pete's. There are diamond chandeliers all over, gold moldings, painted ceilings, and colored columns. This particular Cathedral was the home of Russian Royalty who have been buried underneath. The coffins are on top, which were made out of beautiful marble, and the bodies are below the ground. We got to see where Anastasia's memorial was, along with her family. The Cathedral was also really really tall. The tower was the tallest in St. Pete's until recently. 

The Outside of the Cathedral

A View of the inside of the Cathedral

The Tower

           Along with the Cathedral, the Fortress was blocked in, hence the word fortress. We walked out right along the river and you could see a whole skyline of St. Pete's. It was really pretty. There was also a Political Prison located inside of the fortress. It was kind of creepy being in cells that people were actually locked in once upon a time. 

Walkway to the Cathedral

        














         Overall, the Peter and Paul Fortress was a successful Cultural experience. It was very beautiful, historical, and fun. I loved the views especially with the arched entry ways and cobblestone walkways. On our way back we stopped at Burger King, definitely more expensive than it is in the United States but I thought it was worth it because it was A LOT better than BK in America. 

Inside of a prison cell

            Another week has come and gone in Mother Russia and I have really really started loving it here. I can't call it home just yet, but surprisingly I love the Russian people, the food, and the atmosphere. I am even starting to like the "smell". I am looking forward to another week with my kids and adventures. I hope everyone has a good week and try to serve someone that needs some help this week. Peace!
   

Russian Kids and Having an Adventure

I survived my first full week in Russia! To be honest it feels like I have been gone for a year, that is good though because I don't want it to start flying by even though I can't stop that. I started teaching school on Monday! I teach a class Monday morning (7 years old), a kindergarten class Monday and Wednesday nights, and a different kindergarten class Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. The first week was definitely a challenge getting used to all the different schedules at the different schools and getting adjusted to the kids but they are all adorable! I love each and every one of their unique personalities. I can only imagine how much my love for them is going to grow, I like to call them my Russian babies. I am still working on names but of course some of the outgoing ones really stuck out. I love being called teacher Bre. I am loving it here.

This little girl is Anusha, she has the prettiest hair and cutest personality. 

This is Alisa, she loves me and has a big personality. She is really smart.

   One of my greatest memories of this week would definitely have to be Friday night and Saturday. On Friday we decided to go exploring after classes and we got lost in the city. Even though it was freezing cold and we walked about 5 miles I had a lot of fun. St. Petersburg reminds me of a European city. The architecture is so stunning and the landscape is gorgeous as well. There are bridges everywhere and the city runs along rivers. I love it here and I cannot wait for the weather to get better. 

   On Saturday we went to the Hermitage, which is also known as the Winter Palace. It was seriously the most beautiful building I have ever been in. It is right on the river and it is huge. There is gold, molding, and marble everywhere. It has been turned into a museum so there were also statues and paintings everywhere. It is one of the biggest Museums in Europe apparently. I also got to see a Michelangelo sculpture, some Leonardo Da Vinci paintings and paintings by Rembrandt (a dutch artist I love). It was an amazing museum that would literally take 8 years to look at everything in it for 30 seconds, but we plan on going back. A funny story about being there was that some young (late teens) Russian military trainees were there and they kept following us around because they thought we were exotic because we could speak English. Another Russian guy asked to take a picture with us, which was hilarious because we don't think we are that special. Overall, the Hermitage is my favorite place I have been so far! 

    A week full of new people, new places and new adventures but one of the best weeks of my life. I can't wait for the coming weeks in Russia. I hope you all enjoy the pictures, I will try to post some more. Have a fantastic week, I know I will! :)