Ok, having a little more time today means a slightly more informative update. I have my schedule for the first week, which involves 3 days of school (2 hours of "Conversation", about what I'm not sure, and 3 hours of Grammar, oh joy of joys), and 3 days of tours. Yesterday was getting oriented at school, and some poor student had to take 20 of us to get cell phones, poor thing, and a quick bus tour of St. Petersburg which dropped us off mid-town instead of back at the school. Since I had walked to the school the first day, that meant learning how to use the metro and trying to remember where the metro was in relation to the school all at once, but I managed ok.
The metros here, however, are ridiculously far underground! On the way down, I decided to walk down the escalators, amazed that only 2-3 people shared the desire to get some exercise with me. After (no exaggeration here) 2 minutes on said escalator, and my calves starting to shake, I finally saw the end, and rested for the last 30 seconds. Suffice to say, I took the lazy way back up on the other end. I forget sometimes that living in a city necessitates exercise, as you have to walk everywhere, rather than drive.
While the sun has decided to take a break in favor of the more familiar clouds (with occasional sprinkles and one insane downpour now and then), it is still pretty warm- more so than CO's been lately. One piece of advice I'll be leaving for those who come after me though, is not to underestimate the humidity! The slightest exertion results in being drenched wtih sweat, which is only partly the heat, in my opinion. I'm not particularly homesick, but man I miss the 2% humidity back in Boulder. My hair is one big puffball of humid frizz. :)
Don't know when I'll be able to get pictures up (I know, I know, that was the whole point of this blog!), as the school computers don't have the software to get the pictures off the camera and I don't have net for my laptop yet, but I'll try to grab a memory stick this weekend and get 'em uploaded. I've been trying to be mindful of all of you and take loads of 'em- you may get sick of St. Petersburg pictures before I make it home!
Thanks for all the letters of support that came through after the not-so-great start. While I tend to take the view that "home is where I am", it's still good to know that I have connections with people who care for me, and I won't vanish into the ether over here. Off to class, and see how much I can learn through conversation, cheers!
The metros here, however, are ridiculously far underground! On the way down, I decided to walk down the escalators, amazed that only 2-3 people shared the desire to get some exercise with me. After (no exaggeration here) 2 minutes on said escalator, and my calves starting to shake, I finally saw the end, and rested for the last 30 seconds. Suffice to say, I took the lazy way back up on the other end. I forget sometimes that living in a city necessitates exercise, as you have to walk everywhere, rather than drive.
While the sun has decided to take a break in favor of the more familiar clouds (with occasional sprinkles and one insane downpour now and then), it is still pretty warm- more so than CO's been lately. One piece of advice I'll be leaving for those who come after me though, is not to underestimate the humidity! The slightest exertion results in being drenched wtih sweat, which is only partly the heat, in my opinion. I'm not particularly homesick, but man I miss the 2% humidity back in Boulder. My hair is one big puffball of humid frizz. :)
Don't know when I'll be able to get pictures up (I know, I know, that was the whole point of this blog!), as the school computers don't have the software to get the pictures off the camera and I don't have net for my laptop yet, but I'll try to grab a memory stick this weekend and get 'em uploaded. I've been trying to be mindful of all of you and take loads of 'em- you may get sick of St. Petersburg pictures before I make it home!
Thanks for all the letters of support that came through after the not-so-great start. While I tend to take the view that "home is where I am", it's still good to know that I have connections with people who care for me, and I won't vanish into the ether over here. Off to class, and see how much I can learn through conversation, cheers!
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