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Trip Start Apr 04, 2009 Previous
Entry Trip End Jul 29, 2009

  St. Petersburg, North-West Russia, Russian Federation
Sunday, July 26, 2009

So here I am with only 3 days left in this long trip. It is hard to believe that it is coming to an end. I have some museums visits and the like to write about here but today I just wanted to write a couple of lists...

Things I will miss about Russia:

1. Russian language - pretty self explanatory. I know that when I get back to the States it will be so strange to hear English around me in place of the swishing sounds of Russian and will be even stranger to read all signs, advertisements, menus, etc. in the latin alphabet in stead of the beautiful swirling Cyrillic alphabet. 

2. Friends - I've made some great friends from all around the world and had all sorts of interesting experiences from the beautiful to the grotesque to the culinary. It will be strange to no longer have Friday night "vecherinkas" where we watch silly Russian television and eat chips or lasagna or macrons.

3. Museums, theaters, architecture - Especially I will miss the Mariinsky where I have seen the best ballet of my life and the Hermitage which provided a quite refuge early on in the trip. The architecture here has become a backdrop that I am now used to but still provides such an elegant and calming ambiance among the sometimes overwhelming pushing and shoving of city life. 

4. Chudo bars (and other foods) - While my daily diet here has been somewhat bland there have been some exciting high points along the way. Mainly, chudo bars (lit. 'wonder' bars) which are sweet cream-cheese filled bars covered in chocolate - definitely not in the health food section if there was one here. Also, the usual blinis (the twin sister to the French crepe) and of course ice cream which is above and beyond any ice cream I have had in the US. 

5. Always learning - I am going to miss the mental challenge of living in this country quite a bit. Every day I feel like I have to work to understand something new - to understand the people, the language, or simply the metro system- I am always using my brain here and definitely some of that challenge will be taken away when I am in the US.

Things I can't wait for in the US:

1. Rich - I can't wait to get back to spend some real time with Rich. Without a doubt being away from him has been the most difficult part of this trip. Skype (being able to video chat on the web) has provided relief but nothing really compares to being with him in person. 

 2. Comfortable bed- I never realized how important it is to have a comfortable bed. Since the beds here have been most likely in the same spot since the 60s when this building was constructed they are not the most comfortable. Consequently a good night sleep is hard to come by. Definitely a full nigh of sleep on a comfortable bed will be one of the best things coming back to the States.

 3. American food - I mean not just the typical hamburger, french fries, grilled cheese American food. I mean corn and berries and watermelon and bbq and pizza and bagels and so much more. I never realized the exciting variety of food available in the States until I was away from it for more than a month. I can't wait to move from the repetitive grains + cabbage fare into a world of variety and choice!

4. Customer service/ smiles- I think this may actually be shocking at first but really I am excited to just see people smile in general. I am excited to go to a store and not get scowled at when I try to buy a $5 item with a $20 bill. (Here if you buy something for 200 rubles with 1000 ruble note almost always you will be asked for exact change and frowned at if you don't have it.) 

5. Familiarity - Finally, I can't wait to be in a place where I am comfortable and that is familiar. Simply to be able to ask for things that I want or need without taking a lot of time to think about it beforehand will be wonderful. I know this contradicts what I said about how nice it is to have a mental challenge but I mean both. I am going to both enjoy having a break from the mental exercise and I will miss it at the same time.

 
 Thats all for now folks! I'll be back soon with one or two more updates before I'm on my way.

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