Elizabeth Powell ’19 | Features Staff Writer
I didn’t plan on going to St. Petersburg during J-Term; I just happened to see a poster for it in Hatfield and realized it was a chance of a lifetime. I read “Petersburg” by Andrei Bely awhile ago, and it made me want to see St. Petersburg in person. I thought about making the trip myself, but I didn’t know how to plan it, and the visa is expensive.
I didn’t know what to expect. I knew the saying about not invading Russia in the winter, so I packed a lot of layers and warm socks. My mother once told me about some Russian women she met through her job, and apparently some Russians can have less progressive ideas about gender than Americans. I also heard they use a lot of dill in their cooking. I thought that because our two governments were in a weird (love/hate?) relationship, a large majority of Russians wouldn’t like Americans very much.
We began our trip in Moscow. It snowed lightly, but constantly, every day, which gave the city a romantic glow at night. Everything looked prettier at night because of the holiday lights strung up everywhere, which was good because the sun came up around 10 a.m. and set around 4 p.m. In a hostel I stayed at in Moscow, we had to take our shoes off at the door and use slippers. We were also warned that we shouldn’t go in the kitchen with our coats on — and that’s how the first cultural clash happened. We had come in one day after touring around and my friend wanted to fill her water bottle, so she went into the kitchen with her coat on. There was someone at the kitchen table who saw her and got mad. I still don’t really understand why it is such a strong rule, but some cultural things you just can’t understand as a foreigner.
Back to my expectations. By now, a few days in, I had realized that they don’t use that much dill, it’s not that much colder than New England and my mother was more or less right, but Americans? I guess people actually do like us — at least in some contexts. When my friends and I went out at night, people would come up and talk to us, give us recommendations, offer to bring us to their favorite bars or tag along with us. My friend was even serenaded by a jazz singer outside of a jazz bar. I danced the night away and shouted Russian swears with Vlad, a random stranger I met at a gay club. People were nice during the day too; my friends and I struck up a conversation with a man named Mark at a Georgian restaurant, and he gave us some cafe recommendations. People, in general, were really quite nice to us, to the point where it made me wonder, do they like us because they hear us speaking English and know that we’re American, or do they like us, specifically? (Maybe it’s the vodka talking — let’s just say I took advantage of the likeability regardless.)
While Moscow is the capital and known for the Kremlin and the Red Square, St. Petersburg is iconic for its culture; it’s been dubbed the “cultural capital of Russia.” When we arrived, I understood why. The streets are modeled after the classic European style with lots of pale, pastel facades. There are also a lot of palaces, museums, venues, bars, churches, synagogues and so on — anything you could ever want to do. It had canals running through, with some small offshoots that made it feel, somehow, close to nature. So many important people and so many important things happened there, and somehow it felt very present in the city. I got to see a ballet at the Mariinsky Theatre, visit the Hermitage (I don’t think anyone outside of Russia/Russian studies has heard of it, but it’s incredible. It’s the Louvre and Versailles combined!), visit a Christmas market and, of course, take classes at a local university (it is a FLEX program, after all).
I found the university classes helpful in understanding the world around me. We had three classes: one about the culture of Petersburg, one on international relations from Russia’s P.O.V. and one on the revolution of 1917. I knew very little about all three of these subjects, but I came to a deeper understanding by the end of our classes, which made me feel more comfortable, or more at home, in Russia. I began to understand why Russia was challenging the U.S. to become more of a world power; I learned that Russians are proud of their role in World War II (they sacrificed/lost a lot in that war, as well) and why Russia still has a sphere of influence on the satellite countries. I learned about important statues around the city and debated the politics of changing names (St. Petersburg, Leningrad, Petrograd, etc.). I also learned more about what “soviet” actually means (or at least meant in the early government formed after the revolution), who drove the revolution, the political chaos after the Tsar was defeated and what actually lead to the “U.S.S.R.” we think of now. With this kind of knowledge, I felt like I was getting more out of the experience.
So to wrap this up, if you are reading this and have ever thought of going on a short-term study abroad kind of program at Smith, do it! They take your regular financial aid into account and can give you financial aid if you need it (I got it, and it’s what has allowed me to take this trip in the first place). You’ll be able to get a taste of a different culture, meet new people, learn new things and cross cultural boundaries.
