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.