Saturday, September 14, 2013

Russian language class + more pics

Yesterday our group had our first Russian language class (part of our ILP program fee covered a certain amount of classes for us!) The class was a couple of hours, which at first seemed really daunting/boring (it was Friday night! I wanted to go have fun! haha), but the time flew by. Our instructor was very nice and she made things interesting. We went through the alphabet, grammar rules, and studied some Russian words. It was great!

After class was over, us girls headed out. We ate dinner at a restaurant where I had a ham/cheese "blini", then we went and walked around on Nevsky Prospekt, and looked around in H&M (a clothing store, although not Russian, I believe it is Swedish.) The Russian women here dress so classy and sophisticated all the time...it makes me want to dress up more! The whole time while I was walking around H&M I was thinking, "So many cute clothes, so little money." ;)

Here are some recent pictures!

 
Walking around Nevsky Prospekt last night
 
A canal on Nevsky Prospekt
 
So here is St. Pete's on Google Earth!
You can see the Baltic Sea leads right
into our area. And there is a big lake
to the right of us.

I thought I'd show you where I'm located
in St Pete's! We are a bit far away from the glamorous
buildings and tourist destinations, but it only takes
a bit of time on the metro to get there!
 
 This isn't how every morning is, but yesterday
this was the sunrise I woke up to!

A beautiful Russian sunrise!
 
Till next time,
Maegan



8 comments:

  1. Dear Granddaughter, This is a great experience. I have several questions for you. Do you wash your clothes in your hosts apartment? or do they have a public Laundromat? If most people ride the metro, how do they shop for groceries; do they only buy what they can carry? If you are sick do they have medical buildings with doctors offices? Love your posts. Love Grandma Rogers.

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    1. Yes I do laundry at my host grandparents house! From what I've seen, most Russians here have one washing machine and then you hang dry your clothes. As for groceries, we have three stores right in our neighborhood. But most people don't buy in bulk, I don't think. They do probably buy only what they can carry. As for medical buildings, I only went to one here for a few health tests (in order to start teaching.) But I'm sure they are widely available. The amenities here are just about the same as the US!

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  2. Dear Maegan, Are you saying they have one washing machine for the whole apartment building? Do you have any kitchen duties to help out your host grandparents or household duties? Have any more people stopped you on the streets and tried to talk to you? Hopefully your Russian Lessons will help you. Love Grandma Rogers.

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    1. No every apartment has their own small washing machine. :) I have kept my room clean, washed my dishes, and tried to help out all that I can. Other than that I haven't been assigned any chores. No one has tried talking to me on the street recently, but if they do, my Russian lessons will definitely come in handy!

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  3. ADDENDUM: MAEGAN: Grandpa Rogers just read your blog post. He ask me to ask you if you have met any young Russian men and what you think of them. Grandma Rogers.

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    1. It seems that the only people I associate with on a daily basis are either small children or adults. I actually haven't met any teenagers yet. Although I have seen plenty of them around. Like on the metro. Some young Russian men all dressed up in their business suits, heading to work. And they are mighty fine. Mighty fine. ;)

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  4. Mighty fine, lol!!! That says alot coming from YOU, Miss Maegan!!

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    1. Haha. I was just being silly. I have seen some cute guys though. Although not more or less than the U.S.

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