October 8th

Rough day in class today. Our first lesson got cancelled, so we had to be at school at the crack of noon for Russian Folk Music 101. After an hour of strenuous singing, we found out our class at 4 o’clock was cancelled too, so finished at 1 o’clock. Voronezh Gosudarstveni Universitet is such a fine (Russian) institution of higher learning… Anyways, so St. Petersburg. Quick run through of the last day: I went to Pavlovsk Park. This gem of a park (2400 acres) is quite off the beaten path (you have to take a train to get there) and in October when you couldn’t find a tourist if you tried, this park was essentially reserved for me. It was lovely to stroll through the tree lined paths and wander through the foresty parts and just totally relax. I found a grassy knoll and laid down for a nap. Before I drifted off to sleep in the lush grass I looked at my watch: 3:00 PM Friday. That meant 7:00 AM on the East Coast. That’s breakfast formation at school. That moment as I looked up at the beautiful sky in a gorgeous park in a wonderful city, I almost felt a twinge of pity for all the folks back home. But it quickly passed. Well, I can’t really find too much to go into about me walking around a park except to say that if you find yourself in St. Pete in the future, Pavlovskii Park is where it’s at. On the last day in St. Petersburg, I sojourned to the Russian Art Museum for Round II making this museum the only art museum that I’ve ever been to twice voluntarily and enjoyed it just as much the second time around. Well, that’s pretty much all there is to relate about my trip (I also bought the most delicious blackberries from this babushka on the train ride home, but that’s neither here nor there).

Voronezh Moment of the Day

I believe I’ve related in this blog at some point the admonition that one should under no circumstances smile when walking down the street while in Russia. Sometimes, though I am admittedly nearly perfect, I manage to not follow my own advice all the time. It was my first day back in Voronezh (Monday) and I was just generally happy to be alive. As it were, I just couldn’t help but smile. Mistake. I immediately made myself a target and sure enough as I’m walking down the sidewalk, lost in my own thoughts and oblivious to the world around me, the loudest noise I’ve heard happens right next to my ear. I jump about a foot in the air and turn to see that it’s a police car parked in the parking lot next to the sidewalk and they’d just sounded their siren. In the car are two police men who are dying of laughter that they just scared the bejesus out of me. Then one of the cops has the temerity to ask me for a light for his cigarette. Mustering up all the dignity I have left, I just glare and continue on my way. Semester Abroad day 41: I got harassed by cops on the way to school. Only in Russia.