From Class to Choir

It is hard to believe that I have been in St. Petersburg for over a week now! I have experienced so much, yet there is so much, much more to see and learn.

How have I been passing my time you ask?

For starters, I have been able to successfully navigate the metro every single day so far, and let us pray that it continues that way. On top of that, I have begun to expand my Russian vocabulary, although it is mainly centered around food (hungry, full) and things around the city (like statue, garden, and, of course, palace).

Smolny Cathedral - our university

Our classes began on Thursday. We have four and a half hours of classes four days a week. The classes are taught in Russian and I was able to understand the majority of what was going on in each class. Our classes are only composed of program students, and we are divided into six groups of seven students based on skill level. We will form bonds very soon! Rest assured, I managed through the first two days. And I will definitely share any hilarious, intense, or eye-opening experiences I encounter during my studies.

I had Russian music culture for the first time on Friday.  Three of the groups were combined into one class, so there were more people than in our usual classes. But we soon learned that this was no ordinary class. Our teacher came in and gave the normal introductory speech. Then, unlike the rest of our professors, she did not go around the room and learn our names. Her reason: we are too big of a group to learn names, but a wonderful size for a choir. I figured the choir thing was just a music joke. Oh how was I wrong. It turns out that we really are a choir! We are like Cinderella. At 1:50 pm on Friday we magically turn into a little choir, but instead a beautiful gown and a dashing prince, we get folk songs and out of tune singing. She passed around music, we translated it, and she sang it to us. And then... And then, she told us we were going to sing, first boys and then girls. I have to admit, we all took it very seriously. Yes, we laughed a little at first, but after we got that two-part harmony down, we sounded pretty good. But do not think this means I will be singing old Russian folk songs for you when I get back!

Here is a video of the song we sang; we were not this cute, or energetic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8i5f_F_JP8

Mini trip to Nevsky Prospect

After classes or excursions, my new приятели (preyateli) and I go on our own mini excursions. The word приятели is Russian for friend; however, the Russians have three words for "friend" and this one lies in between acquaintance and besties.  Anyway, we have surprisingly seen a lot, but it has failed to make any significant dent in the places we want to visit. Instead of getting smaller, our must-see lists just get bigger! We have walked all over the place, successfully ordered multiple meals in Russian, tried new things, and met new people. The excitement rarely stops, and I am grateful for a little bit of relaxation in the evening. We will see how much time I have for adventures once classes kick into full gear, but I will not leave St. Petersburg without getting the most out of every experience and opportunity!