I’ve loved being in Russia, so far, but it hasn’t been all roses and song. These are the things I will gladly say do svindanya to when I leave in December:
Smokers – Everybody smokes and likes to blow their cancerous habit in my face as I walk around town. I once went to a club where Jarlath, our program director, was playing and I used half a bottle of Febreeze on my coat alone to get out the smoke smell. There’s nothing like stepping outside in the morning in the rare sunshine and inhaling a lungful of smoke and cigarette ashes. I mean, seriously people, smoking is BAD FOR YOU. Knock. It. Off. Thank goodness America has gone postal on smoker’s rights and the air in big cities is full of more civilized things, like exhaust.
Scarce/temperamental internet access – Oh, Vanderbilt, how I miss your wireless campus. Oh, wireless routers at home. Oh, friendly people who actually SHARE networks. I’ve said enough about this that I don’t need to belabor the point. Though, I will say that not having regular access to the internet has enabled me to understand how people can survive without a computer. Sort of.
People who don’t smile – I’m not really a smiling bubbly person all the time, which is why living here hasn’t been that bad, but I will definitely appreciate being back in a place where it is accepted and expected to smile and say “good morning” to people walking down the street. I miss being nice. Except on the metro. There, get outta my way, fool! I’m in a hurry!
Commuting to class – My dorm last year was located as close to geographical center of my campus as possible, so the longest walk I had was 10 minutes in any direction. In Russia, I have a 30-40 minute commute to school, if I take the metro and the shuttle. If I walk once I get out of the metro, it’s closer to an hour. I’ve gotten used to waking up at 7:30 to get to school by 10, but I will love being back on a campus where I can get dressed 10 minutes before class starts and still be early.
Russian-style university – First off, classes are 90 minutes LONG. It’s been scientifically proven that people start losing focus when learning after an hour. I’m used to 50 minutes of class time. 90 minutes each class, with an average of 3 classes a day, and only 10 minutes between classes = lame sauce. Especially since the Russians at Smolny decided that it was a brilliant idea to have everyone in the Political Science Faculty have lunch at the exact same time, every day, and make the lunch break only 40 minutes. (<-- Example of Russian efficiency, or lack thereof.) That’s enough time if you brought your lunch, but if you need to buy it from the cafeteria or from across the street, you’re either going to have to shove it down your throat as you walk or be significantly late to class. And God help you if you don’t have close to exact change at the Smolny cafeteria. The cashier lady might just stab you with her serving spoon if you dare flash her a 500.
Enormous time difference between me and family/friends – Since my internet is limited, I can usually only Skype/G-chat with people when I’m at school, which is usually egregiously early in the morning for those of the Central and Pacific Time Zone persuasion. Or, when I’m walking to Chernyshevskaya from Smolny and want to chat with someone as I amble through the park, I can’t call home unless I want to give my parents a heart attack at 4 am. Often at Vandy, when I’m walking back from Wendy’s and going to my room, I’ll give my mom a ring and chat with her. I miss having the opportunity to do that, here.
Freaking out when I see anyone in uniform – I’ve already said that the militsia frightens me. I’m looking forward to when I can walk past a cop and feel like he’s really there to protect me.
Perennially overcast skies – St. Petersburg is located on the Gulf of Finland, so there is always enough water around to evaporate and turn into clouds. This means that every morning for the past month, basically, I have awoken to grey/white skies or tiny patches of blue. I look forward to seeing beautiful sunshine more often than once a day, every few days. (Then again, when the sun does come out in Piter, the beauty of the city around me just shimmers. I always used to appreciate sunshine in America, but I do so even more now.)
Paying for lunch – I know that I technically pay up front for my meal plan at Vanderbilt, but swiping the Card or using Commodore Cash (aka monopoly money) just feels so much better than digging into my wallet for 100 rubles every day. Or going to the produkti and buying lunch meat/bread/cheese to take to school. I like meal plans, because they are yet another way of staving off this thing called “being an adult and paying for your livelihood.”
Not understanding a thing people say – I know that’s why I’m here, but let’s face it: I’m not going to come back speaking fluent Russian after only 4 months. While my comprehension and speaking skills are improving (at least, I hope so, for the sake of my host mom), there are still plenty of instances where I have no freaking clue about what someone wants from me. While I intend to stick with Russian and hopefully someday trick people into thinking I’m a native speaker, it will be nice to be back in a country where I entirely understand what’s written on the menu.
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