I'm back from St. Petersburg! Happy to be back at "home" in Moscow. If I had to choose between the two, Moscow would be my choice hands down. There's a big rivalry between Moscow and St. Pete's. Didn't know that before leaving...wish I knew more before goin, but then again, if I had known, then I wouldn't have gone and I would have missed out on some amazing experiences. Wait til you hear! ....
First off I took my first sleeper train ever...and. Stayed in my first hostel! It was really beautiful for a hostel...and the peeps running it were beyond sweet and accommodating. I was glad to have been there to say I did it...but it was a long couple of days of walking around a strange city with, who I now refer to as my partner in crime, Liz. I love her. I met her in the airport on the way to Moscow and I would love to continue to travel with her. She's fun, smart, independent, a great worker and caring....and I don't now what I would have done without her. We had awesome adventures.
St. Pete's is in Russia, but is 6 hours away by train (things among many I've learned: Russia is huge!). I visited the Hermitage which is where Czars used to live and is now the house of the finest art in the world. It attracts thousands of people at a time....and guess who I ran into?...GUIDO! One of the kids I met on the plane ride in Paris to Moscow. Small world indeed. It was so incredible to have a second encounter with this amazing young boy, or man, i should say. And his mom was with him, and I had the chance to talk with her which made my day...the whole 6 hour sleeper train ride was worth those few minutes. His mom was so sweet...she told me Guido had come home from his plane ride to say he met a famous American actress...ha! How cute is he? She took our picture and we talked for a few, it just filled my heart. I was so happy to see him and tell him how much I love his country. He was proud to show me off to his mom...it was a beautiful, unreal moment actually. Once again another piece of proof: there are no accidents.
Another amazing moment in St. Pete's- Liz and I did a marathon shopping tour, and while in line waiting to try on some super cute Russian clothes, I met the sweetest Russian, St. Petersburg native, girl named Ekatherina (pronounced Kah-tee-ah in English). She was so excited to talk with an American and "practice her English" and she wanted to show us the city. We had almost 6 hours to kill and had no idea what to do in the city so we jumped at the awesome opportunity. She is 17, but has the wisdom of a 50 year old woman. We told her how in love we were with Moscow, Russia, the people, the culture, the history....and she proceeded to bring us to reality and give us the real deal on what it's like thru her eyes. She told us of the real struggles and day to day life events of living in Russia. She reminded us that Russians are sometimes lazy and bored and depressed too...but not her. She has the greatest outlook on life. The 'right' one if you ask me. She said, and I won't quote her because she spoke with such elegance and intelligence and it's not even her language!...she said- I like to be happy and positive, and I don't hang around people who aren't because I want to be around happy, smiling, grateful people. Haha! Smart kid. Ditto Ekaterina. She showed us the most beautiful parts of the city, the Summer Gardens...with the biggest lilac bushes I'd ever seen, fountains....statues...trees so tall and green and people all around, playing reading, walking making out (lots of PDA over here). Ahhhh. So peaceful. We fell in love with the city thru her eyes,..and we so much enjoyed our time with her. We became Facebook friends and took pictures to capture the memory that will soon be elusive. It's so strange to think that this experience with be like a blink of an eye...and at the same time, it will leave such a mark on me, that I will never forget this blink. Ever.
So, I'm back in Moscow, where I love it best. I love the city life...as opposed to St. Pete's somewhat suburb-ish life. Today is Russia Day. Kind of like there independence day, but much much different than our kind of 4th of July celebration. We were told to stay in our dorms today, because there aren't fairs or parades...there are protests and gatherings of the "opposition" as they call it. The people of Russia gather in the Red Square to march and express there feelings of opposition towards their President...and from what a few Russian students told me, a lot of them do not like their Pessident. Like Guido had said to me on the plane, They don't get choices like we do. And although they are now a capitalist society...all is not well in Russia. In Moscow, yes, life is good in the city, because these city people have money....outside of Moscow, people are starving. These past few days have brought reality to he front burner and I'm now being more realistic about the country I'm in love with. My life is wonderful and I must be grateful and I need to ask myself: What can I do? How can I make things better?...for now, I will live up every moment and take advantage of the wonderful life and opportunities and blessings I have. But. I can't help feel a little guilty for being so fortunate.
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