Привет!

I can hardly believe it, but I'm in Russia!

St. Petersburg is a fascinating city from what I've seen so far. There's so much to say, but this will have to be a short post because I have to go to sleep. It's 12:49am and there's still light in the sky! Today was Russia Day in Russia, commemorating Russia's "independence" from the Soviet Union...so it's not really exactly a very big deal, but it's a day off for the people here.

Outside the window of my hotel room is a yard full of tanks. Yes, tanks. Amphibious armored vehicles. Apparently the hotel is connected to a military base of some kind?

Anyway, I'm getting a cell phone tomorrow. The number is:
+7 931 208 71 37
but I would prefer if you contact me via Skype or iChat or email or facebook, because it'll be expensive.

Also, I'll be moving in with my host mother! More on that later.


And finally...

Russia smells.

That was the first thing that hit my senses when I got off the plane. After only a few hours, I feel I can say--Russia is full of odors. Usually it's stale cigarettes (Pulkovo Airport was one of the crappiest, dirtiest, worst smelling airports I have ever seen), but there were other ones when I was walking around this evening too--lilacs, mostly.

Another very cool and interesting bit is the stray dogs. There are lots of them, but they are brilliant animals. First of all, the two I have seen so far have been obviously intelligent, and obviously healthy as well. They cross roads intelligently, and I heard a rumor that the stray собаки have even been known to ride the Metro. We'll see about that.

What a country!