Cinderella, Bongos, and Garry Potter

It is hard to believe I just completed my fifth-to-last week here in Petersburg. I am relieved to feel readjusted to daily life in Russia (that was much faster than the first time!) and, what's more, pleased to have this final month in Petersburg. We certainly took this past week in stride.

Tuesday night: Went to the famed Mariinsky Theater for the first time and am craving a second trip (a week from Tuesday!) I had no idea it was so close to my apartment (see: I Can See Russia From My House) - a simple ten-minute walk in a direction I have never explored before. Peter, Jessica, and I saw Prokofiev's Cinderella ballet. It was excellent and the dancers were amazing, but I prefer Romeo and Juliet. Cinderella was choreographed as a modern ballet, think leather jackets, fire escapes, and a backpack to carry the glass slipper, so that took some adjusting to. Found out afterward my host mom's daughter is friends with the prima ballerina, no way!

Wednesday night: Taught English at a night class for students about my age (or rather, was the token native English speaker for the evening). I enjoyed starting conversations and providing grammar and pronunciation help, and I plan to volunteer there the next four Wednesdays.

Thursday night: LOTS OF SNOW! Which was very exciting for me. Petersburg is beautiful in the snow.
Also enjoyed listening to AFRICAN beat music in a FRENCH cafe in RUSSIA (I know...). It is funny how cultures combine and where you find yourself in different places you visit. Excellent company present made for a wonderful evening.

Friday night: Saw Гарри Поттер (Garry Potter) in a movie theater on Nevsky Prospect. The problem: the only place in Russia you can see Harry Potter in English is in Moscow. Which we found out (naturally) AFTER we bought tickets (at the theater which usually shows English movies with Russian subtitles instead of Russian dubbing). ANYWAY I'm so glad I didn't wait five weeks. It was really awesome to see it and enjoy the effects and plot despite not always being able to follow the fast dialog. Quickly learned some new words (most notably 'wand' is палочка; you can also use the word for baton or chopstick). And some of the translations are pretty hillarious. Sarcasm, for one, translates rather poorly.

There isn't an "h" sound in the Russian language, so Russians generally have a hard time with that letter. My friend Heather gets called "Xiter" and "Xyetr" by most Russians. Anyway, to simplify matters Russia has changed "Harry" to "Garry", Hermione to "Germiona", and Hagrid to "Xagrid". It cracked me up sometimes to hear Emma Watson very seriously turn around and whisper "Garry!". A fun movie in any language!

До скорого,
Эмили