Po-Roos-Kee (In Russian)

Hello again Mom and Shepherd blog-creeper!

We are now in Russia and there is so much to explain that a single blog cannot possibly suffice. I'll give just an introductory insight now and hopefully post again with pictures, stories, and further details.

Immediately after arriving at the St. Petersburg airport we were met by our host from the school Janyne--we took the bus back to the school, dropped off our bags, and immediately set off to buy some food for breakfast and explore the area. The jet lag was pretty bad as we had done a 5pm-4am night in Frankfurt (which is another blog altogether).

The next few days were mostly spent riding the Metro--St. Petersburg's subway system--all around the city getting random stuff done to get our passport dates extended. The Metro is reallllllly cool, pictures aren't allowed in it but there are amazing statues and mosaics in the terminals located about 100 feet below the surface.

About the second or third day in St. P, we also played volleyball with some Uzbekistanian guys from our dorm named Elijah and Paul. Afterwards they invited us for chai (Russian for Tea) and we stayed up until 1 or 2 am talking about everything. If you had to guess what we talked about you would probably be wrong though. What we began talking about was the Crystal Castles album that one of them was playing and from there they started telling us about some of their other favourite groups: August Burns Red, As I Lay Dying, Underoath, Demon Hunter, and several other metal bands. They also told us about their Metal-Core band in Uzbekistan. It was a really interesting experience trying to explain "sweep-picking guitar solos" through the English-Russian language barrier. I think it worked out quite well though.

I was planning on blogging immediately after arriving in Russia but the internet works a bit differently here than it did at home. Access through the school is paid for by Megabytes used so you have to be careful to only access sites that don't have pictures or video. As of right now, we got one of our roommates to help us buy unlimited internet access that is quite expensive. Because of this, we are sharing 2 USB internet Modems among 5 people. It works, but I don't have an unlimited amount of time to pound out amazing 4-page long blogs filled with amazing life metaphors about beards, horses, and stamp collectors.

In two days time when I get the chance to use the internet again I will be back at it, cranking out non-proofread stories filled with amazing pictures, anecdotes, and as many references to "sweep picking" as possible.

Da Sveedenya! (Roughly translated to be "peace out A-town".)