Saturday, June 10 2pm
Yeah! I finally got some sleep! Although I'm still not in synch with local time, at least I am not so grouchy!
But in an attempt to "keep it real," I thought I'd share some of the "challenges" that I have encountered so far.
The language barrier:
Virtually no one I have met so far has spoken any English, and of course, all of the streets signs, commercial signs, etc, are all in written in Russian. Since that is a Cyrillic language, it is extremely difficult - intimidating in fact - for me to try to decipher.
"Where am I?"
Apparently, the hotel in which I am staying is not on any available map. I have discovered that it is nowhere near the city center, nor is it near any Metro center. Taxis are not available directly from the hotel, and one must take the bus if you'd like to go anywhere independently. At this point, I am not confident enough yet to feel comfortable in taking a bus - without knowing how to come back. It's not that I don't trust a taxi driver to know how to take me back without over-charging, but... well, actually I DON'T trust them to do that. Maybe after a bit more studying.
The stomach bug:
I was warned that the water in St. Petersburg has very high levels of giardia and other bacteria, and thus it is quite unsafe to drink. So I have attempted to be careful to drink only bottled water. Yet, somehow, the ol' stomach bug has managed to grab hold of me. I expected it, and have the meds to counter the effects, but it'll take a day or two to work, as many of you undoubtedly know from your own travels. So, until then, I need to stay near the um... facilities.
My dirty laundry:
I have not washed my clothes since leaving San Francisco one week ago. Thus, some of my favorite outfits are about to grow legs and walk away! I was planning to use a laundry service in London, but at $6 per shirt, I thought it was too costly. However, here they would charge $10 per shirt (using an outside service, since they don't even offer it). So today was hand-washing day in my room.
The Hallway Police:
My hand-washing apparently alerted the "dezhurnaya" - a sort of babushka hall monitor. I am not really sure of what role they perform, but there is one on every floor. They take your room key when you leave, and the apparently scowl at you if you are up too late or have guests, from what I am told. Mine was not pleased that I was washing clothes in my room, but was not helpful when I asked her how else I could take care of it. She also could not care less that the light bulb was burnt out in my bathroom. (It still is.)But these are just "challenges" to overcome. For example, I learn what certain words LOOK like in Cyrillic. The word for restaurant looks a little bit like "Pectopah." And when given a Russian menu, I recognized something that looks a bit like "6opw" which is borscht - a soup of beets, carrots and kidney beans, with a dollop of sour cream. Quite yummy, actually!
I'm going to chill out today, and hopefully be up and able for an exploration of the city center tomorrow. Now, if I just knew WHERE the city center was, I'd be all set!
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