Day and Night

that company has a ridiculous amount of money/Nevsky Prospect at night.

Sadovaya (Where I live) at Night

And this just looks really cool. I saw it from the other side first and I was wondering what spilled? Sprite tastes better here.

Sometimes I like to pretend I'm someone I'm not. Since I've been living here I've mostly been a secret agent. Renting out a room from an elderly Russian woman in an unassuming neighborhood and low profile location. My "missions" have included: photographing and geotagging parts of the neighborhood (using the GPS on my phone to geotag pictures so I can upload them to the map on my computer so I don't get lost), securing the delivery of top secret documents between metro stops (reading the morning newspaper), locating valuable antique Russian works of art (browsing antique stores). My latest mission is the most important one yet though! I'm a US secret service agent here in Petersburg infiltrating a Russian ultranationalist party plotting to kidnap President Obama while he's in Moscow... I know you're thinking that this sounds absolutely childish and elementary but TRY IT! It makes your life a lot more fun. When's the last time you had a fun day? My secret missions are fun everyday.

Today I saw a record number of Black people. Possibly a couple of Americans and the rest were definitely African. And I think that they feel safer being out on the streets during the middle of the day than at night. On my way back from our final excursion to the museum a very well dressed African shook my hand and asked me "how's it going" my response was "what's up homie". We're about the same age so addressing him as homie is very appropriate. We didn't stop to chat. We both just acknowledged each other shook hands and kept it moving like the laws of inertia (still waiting on someone to get that). Geeze!? Didn't you pay attention in high school physics?!

I don't know what's gotten into Tanya today. She's being unusually nice. Creepily nice but it feels really genuine. I was in my room and the doorbell rang and it was Tanya. I helped her with her bags that I knew were too heavy for her and asked her in Russian where I should put them. She mostly deliberately does not speak Russian but she told me (in Russian) to put them on the table. And then (all in Russian) asked if I wanted dinner and I said yes. After she finished preparing dinner (I've been sitting at the kitchen table this whole time finishing postcards and keeping an eye out on her making sure she doesn't try and poison my food) she asked if I wanted anything else (in Russian). I told her I was fine. She said if I needed help with anything that I should just come knock on her door. Word?! Did she just win a million rubles today or something? And I know the cynical person reading this is saying "her mom just told her to be nicer to you" but I'm telling you her kindness today was genuine. First time I've seen her smile...

Maybe I've just been reading her wrong this whole time. Plus dinner was excellent.

What I did today after my morning post. I left the house. Got some shaverma and a red bull. Hid the shaverma in my morning newspaper and ate it once I got to the bottom of the metro station. Got on the train and rode two stops to school. Showed up to class. Not on time. Not late. But precisely when I meant to. Because I'll be in Moscow next week class was 3 hours long as opposed to two 1 hour long classes. I had the young fast speaking teacher today. And funny thing is. I understood her. Perfectly. I participated and was attentive and I realize that Russian is starting to make sense. I still can't say four sentences without making at least 4 grammar mistakes but I can understand what's going on most of the time.

I went home. Typed up an e-mail to Ugochi. Which reminds me!** click on the link at the bottom. How silly/interesting is that. "I work for Nigaz." However, I once again have a leg up on what's going on in the world. My former area of expertise and Russia are making things happen in the world of energy. If the Ph.D. gig don't cut it for me you can find me between Lagos and Moscow making business deals for two countries that I think are both on the rise economically. I'd of course live and operate somewhere in the European Union cause both countries are extremely grimy and corrupt. But in terms of business ventures all my business people will be salivating over Nigerian and Russian markets in the next two to three years.

I've said enough. Postcards. Homework. Paper.

Stay tuned.

** http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8118721.stm

Where to Start?

The Sunrise is behind me and the Harvard students are in front of me. I took this at approximately 4:20 am.

Obama is behind Clinton.

Today was one of the most insane days to date. Starting with-

I woke up this morning with the dog whining annoying loud and cat scratching at my door. I go to the kitchen and they rush in. I just wanted to leave them in there so they'd leave me alone. I went back to my room and then decided to get breakfast. I go back into the kitchen and all hell had broken loose. The dog tore into the trash and it was all over the kitchen floor. I sweep it up a little but I was definitely NOT going to not bag it all back up. Turns out these animals are just starving cause no one has fed them today. I go back to wash the dishes I used for breakfast and the dog jumps up on me and bites/barks. This is just another day in my life here. I've got 35 more here.

Why is it so cold here!? Seriously! I was freezing when I went outside! My body got used to it but it's ridiculous for it to be that cold in June! I'm so happy I got a jacket before I left on sale at the Gap.

My host grandmother even agreed with me about the weather! She just came back from her trip to the country with her granddaughter. She said the weather was horrible and there was a lot of rain and that the kids could only swim in the lake one of five days they were there. She also told me how much more she liked me than the French student that was staying here before. She said he didn't talk much to the family at all and that he was very secluded. I like talking to her. She lived in Israel for a while and if I ask her anything (language, history, about her family, her life) she's always willing to tell me.

So I studied straight from 5pm until 12am. I stopped once to eat dinner at 9. And then I worked on it some more with Sonya (my host moms youngest daughter age 10) at the dinner table for a while. Came back to my room and got back on it. But I heard music and singing and loudness from the streets all night. Couldn't maintain focus and concluded my extended study session.

Imagine all of New Yorks high school students going to one huge prom that took place in the streets of Manhattan. That was last night. Russian High School graduation just took place and their version of "prom" was last night. Which consisted of high school seniors going absolutely nuts in the streets and turning all of the major streets in this area into a block party. It was a Quinceañera multiplied ten fold and an MTV Sweet Sixteen multiplied a 100 fold. Hands down the most ridiculous gathering of drunk teenagers running the streets in an array of colorfully fabricated dresses crimsons of seas and teal blues and the young military cadets in their uniforms and the guys that don't go to military school in their suave cool European style suits. People were running around with Russian flags (lots of people) and screaming like Jesus was in concert with Jay-Z and The Beatles.

I was walking to the Bar Sif works at when all of this was occurring. I moved there as quickly as possible. One false move or if someone had thrown something the streets would have erupted in violence and I might have ended up on the wrong end of an angry Russian mob.

Kicked it at the Bar with Sif and laid low until I knew there would be enough light to move around safely outside. Left with a group of students from Harvard and on the way back I saw all the damage that had been done. Beer cans trash, garbage, destruction of things like windows, phone booths, ect. Pandemonium.

And then it happened. This dude was just chilling and some guy taps him on the shoulder. And when he turns around he's met with a mean right cross. I saw it in slow motion when it happened. This guy LEANS into him strong with it. Like he was cocking his right back when he had tapped him with his left. The kid stumbles back and falls and then the guy starts kicking him. What then ensued was 3 of each of their friends also getting into it and the fight turning into a messy pileup. I didn't stop and stare! Cause I wasn't about to have anyone say there was a tall Black guy at the scene in a Yankees cap here to when the cops came. Plus the Harvard girls I was with were scared and kept it moving like the laws of inertia.

The sunrise was also breathtaking today.

After that I split up with the Harvard girls to get something to eat cause I was hungry. I walked by some maybe central Asian, Uzbekistan-looking cab drivers and one started to chant "Obama, Obama, Barak Barak Obama!" And then a couple of more chimed in. It felt kind of good. And on the way back after I had grabbed a bite I heard one of them chant it again. I also saw an Obama Matreshka doll (Russian nesting doll) at this souvenir store one day.

всё

Stay tuned.