St. Pete's - 2 Days - Everything

"The Bronze Horseman" - Pushkin

Oh this place was incredible. The city is surreal. Beautiful cobblestone streets. Historic buildings. The city has a magical feeling. Maybe it has to do with it's nickname: "The City Built on Bones." Oh Peter.

И он, как будто околдован,
Как будто к мрамору прикован,
Сойти не может! Вкруг него
Вода и больше ничего!
И, обращен к нему спиною,
В неколебимой вышине,
Над возмущенною Невою
Стоит с простертою рукою
Кумир на бронзовом коне

And he, like under conjuration,
Like in jail irons’ limitation,
Cannot come down. Him around
Only black waters could be found!
And turned to him with his back, proudest,
On height that never might be tossed,
Over Neva’s unending wildness,
Stands, with his arm, stretched to skies, lightless,
The idol on his brazen horse.


I fell in love with the city even though I was in it for 2 days and 1 night. We took express trains through the
night there and back. I really hope to make it back to this city again. The people are nicer, the streets are
cleaner, and the heritage is rich. I will let the pictures do most of the telling for this post.

The Metro tunnels go super deep underground.

The group.

This is PM. It stayed light until about 2 AM - incredible.

Церковь Спаса на Крови

The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood

The Hermitage

Panorama of the Neva during "белые ночи" - "white nights" and the opening of the palace bridge.

Oh...The Doctors of Russia

So, I kinda stopped writing this blog while in Russia. I just lost steam, I guess. Maybe it's because our showers lost steam - seriously, no hot water messes with you. At any rate, I will conclude this Moscow experience with a few post-posts. :)

Thanks to Natasha, I was able to shadow some doctors and get some sweet experience in a Russian hospital. It wasn't a full blown Russian hospital, but more of a clinic type place. It was for those that actually had insurance. In other words, the richer Russians and foreigners. So, I suited up and began my shadowing.

It really was an awesome experience. The doctors were very cool and it was really fun to talk them during them during the surgeries about life. They loved having an American with them. Haha, it definitely was an exciting change for them to have an American in there with them. How random, right? They were just incessantly pounding me with questions about all the intricacies of my life and life as an American. I loved it too. It was a blast speaking Russian and talking with such interesting and open people. I really enjoyed everyone at that place. And their hospitality and kindness to me was unreal. It was an unforgettable experience.

As I said my goodbyes on the last day of me shadowing there, I told Nikita.... let me back track about him.

Natasha talked to the big guy, Nikita, at the clinic to see if I could come by and shadow. My first day when I came in, he sat me down and started talking to me. No joke, I felt like I was in the most formal interview of my life. And the guy could not wrap his head around why I would want to spend my time in the clinic. He totally thought I was pulling some kind of scam or something. I explained to him over and over what my intentions were and I think he pretty much conceited on this idea that I am a fanatic of Russia. Since I lived in Russia previously for two years and stuff. Haha, whatever, maybe I am. We became pretty good friends and he lost his skeptical look of me when I came back on the second day.

So, as I left, I told Nikita how much I enjoyed being in the clinic and that I could definitely work there someday. Needless to say, I got a job waiting for me in Moscow as soon as I finish medical school. How lucky am I. :)

It's Time for the Truth...HOWEVER You Like It

So, I have been keeping my posts pretty formal. I will give a little history with a little bit of the stuff that I like most and I generally keep things fairly impersonal. Not Today!

Let me just start with the fact that I have not had a solid stool once since I got here. Very unsatisfying! Plus, our toilet, if you don't remember, does not have a seat. This is the most prestigious university in all of Russia! Come on guys, that shouldn't happen.

Adding to this, I am terribly sick right now. Crazy painful stomachache. I haven't showered for a few days, (I will go into more detail about the shower situation) my room smells awful cause I haven't left it, and I threw up ferociously in our sink. Then this is where something interesting happened... As soon as I was able to open my eyes after the pain of hurling the few contents of my stomach into the sink, I noticed something. There was a bladder-like lining in the sink. It looked like what the sacks they stuff the mystery meat of hot dogs and sausage into - a translucent, slimy layer of who knows what. Soon thereafter, I felt much better. I think that was stuck in my stomach and couldn't be digested or passed. It explains all of symptoms. Russian food.

My next point - Russian food. Okay, it is just not very good from the cafeteria here. Sure, a few things here and there are pretty good. But the Russian food we are being exposed to here in the cafeterias at MGU is insanely greasy. Everything is loaded with oil. And the meat is always a mystery. When you ask what the meat is, the lunch ladies have a tendency to tell you to read the menu (which is in small font and doesn't make any sense - to us). It isn't all bad, of course, but still pretty expensive and did I say it is super greasy?

My last rant about the negatives of Russia goes back to my shower situation. There has not been hot water for over two weeks. Now, sure, you are probably thinking, a cold shower isn't that bad. Especially in summer! It can be refreshing, even, right? No way in crap is that refreshing. It isn't just COOL water. This water is coming up from deep underground where temperatures must be kickin' it around the freezing temp cause when it comes out is the most painful experience ever. You can't immerse your entire body at once. You have to slowly get your body used to it. By starting with the limbs you alert your body to the upcoming trauma and allow your body to go into survival mode. Your heart beats faster, adrenaline curses through you, and, unfortunately, your senses are heightened 10-fold. To further the difficulties, you forget how necessary warm water is for getting soap to actually let go of your body. At the temperatures of these showers, soap holds on for dear life and effectively hardens to your skin. I haven't been able to shave this entire time either.
This allowed me to grow out my beard. haha this is about 2 and a half weeks without shaving. Growing beards is not my strong suite. This one on the right gives good contrast though. I shaved me a stripe right through it. haha.


Okay, enough of my anger rants. You need to do it at least once a month in Russia. The country gives you plenty of ammo for it; very convenient. But it is definitely not as frustrating for John and I as it is for the other four though. You have to pay your dues of frustrations though. John and I paid are dues plenty on the mission. But I guess it's necessary to pay up again at each entry into the country. This week, I paid mine - in full. And...it was well worth it. :)