Russia - St. Petersburg 01/04/2011

Day 2.

My first Russian breakfast - salad, scrambled eggs. sausages, and little Russian pancake things, sat with Nadja, Merritt and Leonard

1st on the agenda was the Hermitage museum located inside the Winter Palace - Our guide only took us to the most famous pieces in the museum as 'if you look at each piece in the museum for 1 minute then it would take 11 years to see everything' - simply amazing!! I was awestruck by the Winter Palace, it was a bit overwhelming thinking of all the people who had walked the very same corridors at some point in history (including Anastasia Romanov!! - exciting for me...) and couldn't help but try and imagine what it would have been like to live in a place like that. Going through my photos now I didnt realise how many photos of ceilings I had taken! I swear every room I walked into the 1st thing I photographed was the ceiling, I have never seen such detailed decoration on ceilings before, absolutely amazing. On our tour we went into the ballroom, Maygen and I danced together so we can now say that we have danced in the ballroom of the Winter Palace!!

The Winter Palace/Hermitage

Wierd to think who else has walked on this same floor

On the staircase in the entry to the Winter Palace

One of my many ceiling photos

Dancing in the Winter Palace ballroom - PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE!!!

coz everybody just randomly has a door this awesome in their house...

Yet another ceiling photo

My new best friend

Was trying to tell what he was looking at but still have no clue - what a let down

Amazing floor design



Another ceiling/staircase photo :P

Maygen and I attempted to ghost a Russian on the way to the restaraunt for lunch but we were caught early - damn reflection in car windows!!

Lunch: we went to an underground restaraunt place where we had a meal orgasnised for us.

Started with a salad and some bread - salad was extremely salty

Random shot down the table

Poor Kari (guy who organised the whole trip) got this present from the Russians serving us becuase it was April Fools.

Next we had Borsht - kind of soup thing, tasted pretty good :)



Then came this which was kind of like chicken parmajana with a side of potatoes

Then came desert which was similar to lettu (not that you guys have tried lettu but anyway :P lettu = Finnish pancakes)

After lunch we went to Kunstkamera museum which was Peter the Great's hobby. He wanted to prove that deformities like 2 headed animals and conjoined twins were due to scientific reasons not because they were being punished by God. It was kind of disturbing to see as there were babies, severed heads etc in jars in cabinets and skeletons of conjoined twins, Peter the Greats best friends heart, and many more creepy things which we got to look at, gave me a sick feeling in my stomach - it was one of those things were you want to look away but can't, I was thinking about how strange a thing it was for Peter the Great to collect, I mean some people collect stamps... to each their own I guess aha I will admit it was interesting in a twisted kind of way. Apparently when Peter the Great first started the collection he wanted all Russians to come and see it but nobody was interested - then he decided to give a free shot of Vodka to those who came to see it and there were lines for blocks of people trying to go see it aha!

In the evening we went to a folklore performance at Nikolayevsky palace, there is a palace on almost every block it is insane! Anyway, there was a singing group that were really amazing - the acoustics in the room were really good so the powerful notes would vibrate through your skull they were really talented. Then there was the dancing group - Russian dancing is so difficult yet they make it look effortless! I have some pictures

this was one guy  yet he did an entire performance as two people in a headlock fighting, it looked impossible for the things he was doing to be just 1 person but then at the end he stood up showing it was only 1 person - WOW MOMENT!!

Then we got back to the hotel and most people hung out in the lounge until curfew.

Russia - St, Petersburg 31/03/2011

First and foremost I would like to apologize for my lack of posting over the past few weeks, basically I had settled into a rhythm of everyday life and nothing earthshatteringly different from things I had already posted was happening, for me it was very interesting but would just be repetitive to people reading.

But I now have more things to write about =D

Russia Day 1.

On Thursday the 31st of March I got on a bus with 30 odd other exchange students bound for St. Petersburg, Russia. It was amazing to see some of the other Aussies from Karkku (language camp from 1st week in Finland) and also to meet my oldies (exchangies that have been here 6 months longer than me). Had lunch on the Finnish side of the border where we were joined by the other 2 buses of exchange students (97 of us in total not counting ROTEX and Rotary members who were there to supervise us) then we were on our way to St. Petersburg, I was so excited.

Crossing the border went quicker than expected, all the Russians working on the border had the cylinder fur hats and for the first few hours in Russia we all thought that every Russian always wore one of these all the time but those dreams were crushed once we reached St. Petersburg.

First Impressions: I have never been in a city anything like St. Petersburg. The arcitecture is amazing, so different from anything in Australia I swear I took 50 or more photos of buildings as they passed us in the bus ahaha. The drivers in the city are a bit insane, cars pulling out or in where ever they want and there was no markings on the road so personally I was confused as to who was supposed to be driving where, I had to force myself to switch off what I call my 'driving brain' and just trusted that the bus driver knew what he was doing. Haven't been anywhere that has so many statues, almost every block there was another huge statue dedicated to Catherine the Great or any other respective person who influenced the city in any way.

The hotel was nice in the lobby and dining area, it was strange to see people smoking inside in a public place, my first thought was they were rebelling against 'the man' but then I remembered 'I'm in Russia, they have different rules!' haha Nadja (who lives in Kotka as well) was my room mate for this trip, it was good because although we live in the same town we hadn't had much time to get to know each other, so it was good :)

Back to School

Have gotten into the swing of Finnish school.

Wednesdays are now a really long day as I have an 8 til 3 school day then 3 hours of Finnish lessons from which finish at 19:10 so my brain resembles jelly by the end of the day haha

The awkward moment when you ask the person next to you what you need to do and they cant explain so ask their friend then the whole room goes dead silent to listen to the English speaking girl ask for help, hmmm no pressure haha

Had my first language studio lesson in English (where you sit at a booth with the headphones and mic etc) we did a test and I got a question wrong!!! I'm a disgrace to my people! aha but 29/30 ain't bad :P

Have been practicing my Finnish - was sitting with Hanna and Annina and read a text in Finnish about a guy discribing himself and his daily life and I translated into English and got about 90% right! so... GO TEAM! :D

Made the apple and blueberry crumble for my host fam. - it was a hit :)

Got sick and had to have a day off school but am all good now.

Host family held a dinner - whole heap of ingredients put on table and then each person gets a little pan, you put cheese on the bottom then what ingredients you want then another piece of cheese - was sooo goood ! Got an easter egg which needs to go into witness protection or something coz my host dad keeps trying to eat it haha

Also it is really wierd when pets dont understand English, I expected it in people but forgot about pets! My host dogs just look at me like 'uh-huh, the crazy Aussie is speaking English to me again, how can I put this poiltely?... I. NO. SPREKON. ZE . ENGLISH!' *walk off and do what they want* but I know some Finnish words they know now so they have to start listening now :P

One Week Holiday

The 1 week holiday seemed to fly by! Didn't get the chance to go downhill skiing as my host parents both had work but it's all good becuase it gives me a new experience to try next winter :)
Helsinki trip:
Left for Helsinki on Friday morning, got as far as Loviisa (roughly just under an hours drive) and the oil pressure in the engine stopped working correctly, recommended not to drive another metre so I went on a guided tour of the cafe in the petrol station 'and on your left you will see a variety of foods available and on your right, the drinks' ahahaha Had a hot chocolate and pulla then Olli arrived in the other car and we all went home, car was towed.

Had lunch at the Thai restaraunt with Hellu then went to Maddi's and stayed the night. Had sauna, had Finnish lessons from Maddi's host granddad then Maddi and I made an absolutely amazing apple and blueberry crumble.

Our creation

Was picked up mid morning for take 2 of going to Helsinki :P actually got there this time haha We went on a quick driven tour of the city, apparently it is more beautiful in the Spring/Summer because the snow on the sides of the road and paths is brown from the salt and sand put on it so it isnt slippery but for me it was still very beautiful because the arcitecture and set out is so different from anything in Australia. I saw the Olympic Stadium, Opera House, National museum, Modern Museum of Art, Presidents residence, the ship I will be going on to Sweden with my host fam. (exciting how I can just pop over to Sweden for the weekend :P ) the marketplace and so on... Then we went shopping in the city centre at Stockmann (equivilent of David Jones or Myer except an 8 story building!!) and in surrounding shops, didn't buy much, mainly some souvenirs to send home. The funny thing was my host fam. didn't see anyone they know but as we were leaving a heard an excited squel and was suddenly being hugged - turns out Laura (another exchange student i am friends with) was in Helsinki as well! it was really good to see her and funny that the Finnish people don't meet someone they know in a Finnish city but the Australian does haha

Did a Body Combat class at the gym (not actually fighting someone but with kicks, jumps, punches etc into thin air) was a raelly good work out except I was always 2 steps behind everyone else because all the instructions were in Finnish ahaha but it was still good.

Getting Everyone Up To Speed

So I know its been a while since I last said anything but so much has been going on.

Since I last posted:

• I have tried cross country skiing - epic fail! got about 300m and already found the ground, but will hopefully get better with practice
• First host Rotary club meeting - made a 20 min presentation on myself, Australia and why I wanted to be an exchange student - also said intro. to presentation in Finnish
• Ystävänpäivä (Valentine's Day) - more a day for celebrating friends not couples - scored a free week at the gym for being the friend of a member

• Discovered Tuesdays are going to be my least favourite day - Double English, Double break, history, double maths...
• I've been to Zumba - it definitely works
• Experienced Pankarrit - last day of school for 3rd years (equivilent of year 12) - they all came to school dressed up as different things including superheroes, grim reaper, a cow, captain Jack Sparrow, the mad hatter, hippies, etc. The seniors area was decorated as a jungle, also pulled some ´muck-up day´ style pranks like undoing the pipe under the sink so water sprays all over the persons pants.. yep, they got me haha, presentation by 3rd years to teachers and younger students such as 'the biggest smoker,' 'cutest couple,' 'best dancer,' 'best teacher' etc. To get into the hall where the presentations were they made everyone crawl on their hands and knees through a tunnel, the floor was covered in water and glitter which meant everyone was covered in glitter when they came out the other side but there was also uncooked macaroni as well which was crushed into the knees of my jeans, that was a bit gross - the dogs thought it was extremely interesting when I got home though -_- Also they all brought lollies to school and threw them everywhere - sometimes directly at people with force haha I swear I was hit about 100 times, it was pretty funny. Then at about 1 the 3rd years all got on a float and were driven around town whilst they threw lollies to people in the street (wondering how some of them survived in their outfits when it coz it was -27).
• Watched Wanhat - Dance for 2nd years becoming 3rd years and are now the oldest in the school. It was so cool to watch, traditional dances like waltzing then a dance at the end which was more contemporary with small parts from lots of songs e.g 'Vogue' - Madonna, and 'Thriller' - Michael Jackson etc

• currently on a 1 week holiday from school - been gymming with Maddi, wandering around Kotka, cooking lettu with the host fam, and *fingers crossed* going to Helsinki on Friday :D Oh, and obviously - practicing my Finnish :)

Finnish Music we listened to at Karrku

Throught our Finnish lessons at Karrku we listened to many different Finnish songs from different genres, I've included there videos on here for your viewing and my memories equally - If they're not your cup of tea that's fine too.

'Maasta Maahan' - Raappana

'Hyvää Yötä Ja Huomenta' - except the one we listened to was by Don Huonot not the finalists of Idol (Finnish equivilent of Australian Idol)

CAN'T FIND A DECENT VIDEO CLIP

'Melankolian Riemut' - Anna Puu

'Mikӓ Boogie?' - Fintelligens

'Missӓ Muruseni On' - Jenni Vartiainen

'Huomenna' - Uniklubi

'Taivas Lyö Tulta' - Teräsbetoni

'Viikko Sitten' Jukkapoika

Viisaus Ei Asu Meissä' - Apulanta

'Tinakenkätyttö' - Kaija Koo

'Hyökyaalto' - Antti Tuisku

'Ihmisenpyörä' - Happoradio

'Minä' - Kymppilinja feat Mariska

Hope you enjoyed :) If you made it this far!!

School Again

11 Helmikuu 2011

First moring of starting school at 8, had a double period of English, which started with listening to 'Eye of the Tiger' - random I know! Actually learnt some things I didn't know, but not about the English language, the class had to answer questions about Finland in English. Question: 'What do Finns do in their spare time?' Answer: 'We just keep skiing!' haha

Hired some Finnish CDs of artists we listened to at Karkku - hoping listening to Finnish music will improve my pronunciation :)