SO I went to the circus last weekend! It was great and I cant wait to tell you everything that happened every second. I also sneakily got some great video, but it is stuck on my camera and no one can help me. I have not given up hope yet, so I am going to wait until I try my HARDEST to get the video on the web and then talk about it all at once. Is that okay with you? If it is not, I dare you to come to Russia and beat me up over it. Then I’ll take you around town… I find a new pastry place every day…
Riding in STYLE
ANYWAYS Today I want to talk about the METRO:
Going up and OUT!
So there is a metro in St.Petersburg. It is similar to many other metros that I have been on. At this point i have ridden it in Tokyo, London, New York and St. Petersburg. I think that is all. Anyways, Tokyo gets the award for cleanest and New York gets the award for dirtiest. Here, the metro really isn’t that dirty. Its pretty nice actually, well the ones that I have been to so far. St. Pete has the deepest metro in the world, which means you ride on the escalators for about ten hours to and from the trains. Sometimes, if Lindsay and I are running late, we will briskly walk down the escalators which is scary. When it rains you can hear the slipperiness waiting for the right moment to strike an innocent metro rider with a fall thousands of feet down, taking out 445 making out couples in its path. It is really only a matter of time before I see it happen. Winter is coming.
But other than that, it is pretty much the same as riding the metro anywhere else, except it is in Russian which means you really have to pay attention to all the stop names. AND people are usually carrying onions or woven baskets of mushrooms. Also since everyone dresses up all the time, Metro is prime place for me to check out some shoes. Its nice.
For real, these people go on and on for years. Its a place to meet and REALLY get to know friends.
Some stops are really pretty, like the one that is by our house, it has a beautiful red tile portrait of Myakovsky. During busy times, the metro is busy. You really have to push to get in sometimes, and getting out is the worst thing because you all have to file like cows on to the escalators. Not so fun, and often times your body parts get stuck in weird places. Its not like this all the time, but since Lindsay and I have class starting at nine, we are riding the metro at 830 like every other person in the world. But I am thinking this happens everywhere, because Regina told me in Tokyo they have people employed to specifically push others in, and that she has gotten lifted into the air before. Either way, I snuck some pics today. I should probably take more of the metro but you have to sneak cause I am it is illegal, and if a police sees you you are just in trouble.
OH AND I GOT IN TROUBLE YESTERDAY!!!! LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT IT! Well, you guys know about CAT ALLEY right? http://alexandrafeet.com/2011/09/08/cat-correction/ WELL if you look closely, at the back of cat alley there is a barrier and a security guard. I never really knew what was behind there so I explored because I KNEW that was where cats live. On the other side, there is a junkyard kind of area aka CAT HEAVEN. There are huge pieces of metal, electric things, garbage, wood… everything. And about 34212 cats, including a baby kitten I thought about taking. Anyways, I realized that it probably wasn’t smart for me to be there by myself, even though it was small, so I left. As I was leaving, the security guard spotted me and was not super happy about me being there. Here is the conversation that followed as I think happened. Remember this is all in perfect Russian:
Guard: GIRL! What are you doing there! Get back there!
Me: I lived there (pointing to every building nearby, nice accidental use of past tense.)
Guard: Why where you back there?! What were you doing!?
Me: I love cat. (singular, not plural. When I speak Russian I get scared and only remember words in singular, so I love one cat only I guess.)
Guard: Why did you go there?!?!
Me: I love cat and wanted to see where they li…
Guard: Live. (She helped me make the right word, third person pl. SO NICE.) She looked me over and saw that I didn’t have anything. I think she asked me for my passport, and I was going to say I was taking out the trash but I realized I know zero of those words.
Guard: It is forbidden.
Me: Forbidden? Sorry. Thank you. Forbidden.
So that was my adventure. I think that could have actually turned out not so good, but luckily the security guard decided to take me at my word that I like cat. The bad news, is that I saw Orange Lover there, and let me tell you her eye infection that I saw last week has turned into a double eye infection that is so bad that she cannot even open her eyes. I tried talking to her and she moved her head like she heard but just sat there. Ive been going back (to the alley and not to the FORBIDDEN ZONE) looking to see how she is, and I haven’t seen her yet. I hope she is well. 
Oh, here’s a picture of Kyle’s MANdy bar.
"PROTECT FROM WOMEN" all I know is I better not have a chocolate craving. WHO KNOWS WHAT WILL HAPPEN?!?
NO WOMEN! Look up close!!
I’m sure with the exception of the one cat, probably Orange Lover that you do love, all the other cats are pretty mad at you now.
The Mayakovsky metro stop is the best!!! He was such a babe…
Good thing that you answered “I love cat” or things could have gotten scary. Wonder if the security love cat too.
I think I remember her saying something like “CATs?! you LOVE them??” I think she did not love cat.
oh that was a great conversation…i wonder why a guard was there though??
How is the SRAS program? Do you have any advice for others thinking about studying abroad in Russia?
I really like the SRAS program, I have nothing bad to say. They are really helpful, and that comes in handy a lot during Visa processes and general living here things. My group ran into some problems with housing as the dorms here got full, but that was out of SRAS’S control and they found us something even better. Are you thinking about studying abroad in Russia? Because to be honest, my only advice is GO FOR IT. Everything is new and interesting and I have not regretted my choice for a second.
Laughed Out Loud (LOL) at:
1. Orange lover now having a DOUBLE eye infection
2. The candy bar strictly for men. Does is have extra ingredients in it? Like testosterone?
Also, Why can’t you take pics in public??? Sorry if you already wrote this somewhere, but I missed it.
You can take pictures in public, but sometimes it is not the best idea to just point out the fact that you are a tourist.
On the metro I am thinking it is illegal, just because the moscow metro (and other ones) around the world have actually been targets for various terrorist attacks, so its just not good for anyone to have pictures to make plans. I actually think its illegal in the US too, but not as strictly enforced.
Omg that MANdy bar is HILARIOUS. If they tried to stock it in the USA, half of the people here would die. Including myself. It’s like the “ladybeers” they’re coming up with now.
Also, our subways here in NY are dirty. I won’t lie. Sometimes I get on ones that are sparkly clean but most of the time… I do not.
girl they totally have lady beers marketed to to the fullest here. i have yet to try them. they have fruit in them…
Would you tell me more about cat alley? I haven’t heard about it and from what Lizzy said about Russia before, I thought MOST allies in Russia would be full of cats.