My trip to Russia was an extremely stressful and enlightening adventure. My complete inability to understand any of the language (written or spoken) was a major hindrance. Although I was in a group of 30 American students and 2 leaders, one of whom was fluent in Russian, I still felt intimidated by the people and the culture. While I am sure that the majority of my apprehension was a result of decades of poor relations with the United States and anti-Communist propaganda, I found there were many truths . Unlike the extremely clean and efficient Denmark, Russia seemed much grittier and edgier, which made for an exciting trip. Not being able to drink the water, eat fresh fruits or vegetables, or generally understand any of the language provided many challenges. Although we were assured that Russian cities were no more dangerous than major cities in the U.S., our confidence was shaken when passing another DIS group in our hotel lobby while leaving Moscow. The dialogue was as follows:

Me: How did you like St. Petersburg?
Other student: You need to be really really careful. Three people from our group got mugged while on the train, including Carsten (the 65 year old tour leader with decades of experience).
Me in thought bubble: (Oh joy!)



The few Russian people I interacted with her friendly and helpful. However, the only ones I could interact with spoke English well. It made it difficult to tell what Russian who only spoke Russian were like.

However, I did have one incredible experience with a Russian student which I will surely never forget. When we visited St. Petersburg during the second half of our trip, we had the option of taking part in a "St. Petersburg Behind the Facade" tour. This 3 hour adventure proved to be my favorite part of the entire week, partially due to the company, but also because it felt as though I was seeing Russia for what it really was. Our group was divided several times, and I ended up with 6 other students and our leader for the afternoon, Barbara, a University student studying and living in St. Petersburg. To set the scene, a few physical details regarding Barbara. She was about 20 years old, 5'7", brown hair, light skin, tight pants in the typical European style, dark coat and of course, the best accessory, cigarettes. I'm quite aware that most Europeans smoke, but Barbara proved to be the only chain-smoking tour guide I've encountered thus far. Not only did she constantly have a cigarette in her mouth or hand, but was extremely exuberant and excitable. I guess the best way to describe her is to say this, she's the kind of person you imagine will turn into an eccentric old woman some day that owns dozens of cats and dyes her hair neon pink at age 75. Her energy level was incredible as she regaled us with Russian college stories and a brief history of the area. I was enthralled with her.

There were many highlights of the afternoon, most of which will make Mom and Dad cringe a bit. First of all, while visiting tenement housing, we rode in an elevator using exposed cinderblocks as counterweights. I'm surprised that the four of us didn't plunge to our deaths. Secondly, the roving packs of feral dogs and cats that occupied the back streets most certainly carried every variety of disease you could think of. I missed seeing wild animals.

Finally, the most dangerous activity, and therefore the most fun, climbing on the roof of an old apartment building by crawling through an attic crawl space (ie, Tetanus Risk Factor of 10). While in the attic/crawl space, we saw remnants of where homeless people had camped. Barbara assured us that climbing to the top of roofs was a very popular college student activity. The challenge is finding broken or unlocked doors. However, what college student activity would be complete without cheap alcohol? Luckily, Barbara had planned ahead and brought cognac (or rubbing alcohol with brown coloration) and plastic cups for us to sip upon as we viewed the city from our roofscape. This memory is my favorite of the trip. Seven college students from different cultures, sharing their experiences over bad cognac. I was glad to know that the college students and cheap alcohol is a universal thing.

While I learned a great deal of history about Tsarist Russia, Communism, and the fall of the USSR, I'm sure I will forget it all (most of its already gone). I can learn history again and again throughout my lifetime. But, when will I ever be on top of a rusted roof in St. Petersburg sipping cognac again?



**Barbara is the one facing the camera**