Raskolnikov and Co.

Today was a looooooong class day. I had a conversation class followed by a newspaper reading class, which normally isn’t that bad. But today we had a sub for newspaper and she was horrible. We’ve had her before, and we were hoping to never see her again. She seems to think that when we don’t understand what she says, repeating it over and over again will somehow make us suddenly understand. Our normal newspaper teacher is awesome, so today was really rough for that last hour and a half. But after we had lunch and tea, and listened to the guys regale us with stories of their Wednesday drinking escapades, we headed out to today’s adventure.

Our quest of the day was to walk down Suvorovsky to Nevsky to Ligovsky to find the F.M. Dostoevsky Memorial Apartment on Kuznechny Per. Dostoevsky lived the final years of his life in that apartment and it’s also where he wrote and finished Brothers Karamazov. The apartment was remodeled by the state historical committee to look exactly like it did when Dostoevsky lived there. Since Crime and Punishment is one of my favorite books of all time, it was very cool to see where Dostoevsky lived and worked. Dostoevsky was fascinated with St. Petersburg and most of his stories are based in the city. Having lived in Peter, I can now understand how the setting is perfect for a story like that of Raskolnikov’s. The city’s character changes depending on the time of day and year; you can get lost or know exactly where you are; the streets and the architecture provide a texture to the life here in St. Petersburg that you cannot find anywhere else. The museum was small (and free! Hooray for student IDs) but totally worth the trip, especially for me!

After the museum, we hopped on the metro at the Dostoevskaya Station and headed over to my island in search of an underground market someone told us about. We don’t think we found the market, but we did find a trinket/souvenir shop where Hannah bought a Soviet style watch for her boyfriend back home. Also a plus, there was some sort of Russian Navy event going on in the street as we were walking through Vasileostrovskaya, so there were lots of handsome men in uniform just chilling on the street. (Good in any country, yes?) They were obviously just messing around and checking out the women walking by, and their superiors’ attempts to keep them in line were laughable. We decided it was just a rehearsal or an informal event or something. My island is the hub for the ports and the Navy, so I’m accustomed to seeing sailors and naval officers everywhere, especially riding the metro with them.

I scrapped my plan to walk home (my feet hurt so much) and took the metro back up to Primorskaya instead. When I walked into the hallway, I ran into my host father who reopened the door for me with a huge smile (he’s a jolly old Russian man), and when I walked into the kitchen, my host mom was sitting there with her daughter, who was excited to meet me. They made an attempt to speak slowly so I could understand but when it became apparent that I was understand what they said, they sped up and lost me a little. She was impressed with what I was able to discern and it was good practice for me because she asked me tons of questions. I always enjoy having multiple people to talk to, so it was nice to come home to that.

Interesting Tidbits from This Week:

1) I have been told that I speak Russian quickly when I know what I want to say.

2) I have been told that I speak Russian with a Ukrainian accent.

3) I have been mistaken for a Russian 9 times.

4) I have been told that I look and dress like I’m from eastern Europe and that’s why no one bothers me here and why the militsia haven’t stopped me for my documents.

5) Someone asked me for directions again: I understood them but had no idea where they were trying to go.

6) A man gave up his seat on the metro for me today, that’s a first.

7) People were speaking English in my metro station the other day, I turned around and answered their question and by the looks on their faces, I totally freaked them out.

8) I have acquired a black and orange blockade ribbon, and I intend to tie it onto my rear-view mirror in my car like everyone here does. 

9) Before I leave St. Pete’s, I will have to do laundry in a bathtub, wish me luck.

10) I have officially had ice cream every day for the past 11 days. Record?

Love and hugs to all at home!

xoxo