much wiser since my goodbyes to you
I’ve traveled the world
to learn I must
return
from Russia
with love
…
Privyet!! That just seemed so fitting I couldn’t resist using it. Thank you, James Bond. And you know I’ll be listening to that on the flight home…
It’s 9:30 in the evening now, on Wednesday – and I’m sitting here trying to kill time until 3 am! So what better to do than blog? Our flight leaves at 5:40, so taxis are going to pick us up at three…and I’m unfortunately way too excited to sleep before then, despite the fact that I did not get too much rest last night. But I’ll get to the reason why in a bit…
Yesterday we had a little “graduation” ceremony at the institute where we’ve been studying. It was quite cute, we got little diplomas and gave our teachers hugs and flowers. I simply had to take a picture as I was walking out the door for the last time…notice the annoying turnstile that we had to swipe our way through to get in or out with magnetic cards that rarely worked.
Then Shalini and I had our last lunch at Chaynaya Loshka, our most habitual lunch spot and the site of many long chats about the meaning of life. There’s this one kind of nerdy looking guy that works at the counter who speaks English, and he has always made a big deal out of speaking English to us and has been quite amused by us for some reason. So we decided to be awkward and bid him farewell – we told him we were leaving Russia and said goodbye, and he turned bright pink and it was quite amusing. We sneakily took a picture of him from our table. Of course I also had to pose with my last borsch and rye bread from Chaynaya Loshka.
Here’s a shot of the inside of the place…
And Shalini with the sign that says “Breakfast! Lunch! Friends!” All you need in life, right?
We had quite a bit of time to kill before our farewell dinner, so we decided to check out the Kirov museum/Museum of Soviet Childhood (they are a combined affair). Kirov was an important Bolshevik leader, and later head of the Communist party in Leningrad. He was eventually assassinated. Here are a few highlights from his apartment, including a really awesome study, a table that Stalin ate dinner at, and some hunting gear.
And on the floor above the apartment was the Museum of Soviet Childhood. Unfortunately we couldn’t really read all the signs, but saw some neat displays of toys and such. I especially liked this museum because the ladies working there were very friendly, which is sort of unusual.
After chatting in a cafe for a couple of hours, we finally had our group farewell dinner at a Georgian restaurant. It was an incredible feast, with SO many different kinds of delicious foods. Some highlights included pickled rhubarb, cheese in kefir sauce, chicken in walnut sauce, eggplant with walnuts and pomegranate seeds, grilled salmon…and of course the delicious khachapuri, Georgian cheesy bread. We also had delicious Georgian home wine, which is famous for being strong and sweet. Our professors offered some toasts! In true Russian fashion, the meal lasted for hours, with many rounds of food (ending in a delicious Georgian version of baklava and tea), much toasting, and much laughter. It was an incredibly enjoyable night.
Finally, at about 11:45, we got on the metro to go back…and some madness ensued. Days ago, we’d decided that it was essential that we at some point dance on the metro. You see, people here are extremely stoic on the metro – there are no smiles or impromptu subway conversations. It’s usually really crowded so we’d continually chickened out (and also usually didn’t have someone to film it). But last night the metro was nearly empty, and our wonderful Russian program assistant Lena was with us and agreed to film our antics, after making sure we all had our documents so we couldn’t get in too much trouble with the police!! And here is the resulting ridiculousness. I would also like to point out that by this time the Georgian wine had long since worn off…we’re always like this.
We also had to get a video of the phrase we all know so well now…Осторожно, двери закрываются (Ostorozhna, dvery zakryvayutsya – it means “caution, doors are closing”). This phrase is repeated at every stop and for some reason we all find it quite amusing. Here’s my friend Elle lip-synching it.
‘Twas amusing. It was also nice walking back at night and seeing all the Christmas (New Years) lights. I didn’t take these last night, but they’re from a few days ago…
The bottom picture is a billboard near my apartment. I think it’s a governent billboard because before it’s only advertised national holidays – but now it says “Happy New Year, and Happy Christmas!” It’s reversed because here New Years comes first, Christmas is January 7th and not as big of a deal.
Today was spent packing, buying flowers and a tea towel for my host mother, walking around with my friends on Nevsky Prospekt and chatting in a cafe one last time. Then I went to Lena’s apartment to to have a cup of tea and bid her farewell – she’s going back to her home city, near Moscow, where she’s working on her Phd! Lena has really been a godsend for all of us this semester – she’s been incredibly patient dealing with homestay problems, helping us set up our phones and internets, tutoring us, and generally providing insight into Russian life. She has come to be a really good friend, and I will truly miss her. It’s such a weird feeling to be leaving people and not know if you’ll ever se them again, but know that your lives are going on simultaneously across the globe…I had never experienced that before coming here.
I also had a nice dinner with my host mother…she gave me a St. Petersburg calendar, which was quite sweet.
And now I am twiddling my thumbs and anxiously awaiting 3 am and the arrival of a cab. We fly out of St. Petersburg at 5:40 am, then have a SIX HOUR LAYOVER in Germany, then 8.5 hours to Boston…if all goes well and there aren’t any delays, I should land in Boston at 2:40 pm tomorrow!!!! I absolutely CANNOT wait to run shrieking into the arms of my family.
It actually sort of all feels too good to be true right now…I can’t believe I’m finally going HOME. I have a feeling I’ll be a bit discombobulated for a couple of days!!!!
But I am SO EXCITED I cannot put it into words.
EEEEKK!!!!!!!!!!! Ya budoo doma zaftra!!!!! (I’ll be home tomorrow!!!!!!!!)
Can. Not. Wait.
Be on the lookout for a final post from America in a couple of days!
I guess this is the last time I can say…
From Russia With Love,
Rachel
it reflects a balanced view of the relationship between outside staying and an eternal call from HOME.