Oliver Twist

Privet from good ol' Saint Petersburg!! Another couch surfing meeting last night went extremely well! I met a gorgeous French man named Oliver! What blue yes he had. I even put up with the smoking table so I could sit beside him and share stories. He is so brave, he doesn't speak a word of Russian and he will be going on the TranSiberian railway all the way to China. This is one of my dreams, which will have to wait until my bank account makes a full recovery ;) We even spoke in french together - how romantic. Our legs touched under the table, and he didn't pull away! Great sign...but just my luck, he was leaving that night at midnight to Moscow :( What a shame! The few hours I spent enraptured in conversation with him put me in such a great mood! That was until I had to leave and I smelled my hair...I can't believe smoking is still allowed indoors. What a filthy habit! Remind me never to date a smoker...

Another success on the couchsurfing front: I met Alina today and we spoke at great length about all aspects of life. She brought me to her friend's flat, which is called communal living. The flat has 5 rooms, plus a communal kitchen and bathroom. Here lives Aljona and her roommate in one room, a mother with one child in another, a mother with TWo screaming children in another, a young couple in the next, and a single woman in the last. All of these people share a kitchen and the most private world of any house...the bathroom! Yikes! Fortunately, each room has a fridge, and Aljona even had a microwave. I was treated to some estonia candies and marzipan, yummm. Of course, we drank tea all afternoon, as is the russian tradition. I can swear they drink more tea than the Queen herself!

One of many beautiful ceilings in the Hermitage

Wednesday, I finally hit the Hermitage. What an incredible musem! It puts the Glenbow to shame 100x's over. I don't expect Calgary to have a 300 year old palace, but come on! Some original architecture wouldn't kill you. The art itself was nice, but the actually palace was in itself a museum. Walking the corridors that Queen Elizabeth petrovna and Catherine the Great once walked was such a surreal experience. I found myself looking at the ceiling in every room. What beauty in the details. I was lucky enough to get in for free (I am really milking the student discounts) but to take photos cost money. Of course, I cheaped out and didnt pay for the pass. Instead, I spent 3$ on postcards! I have maybe spent 20$ on food in two weeks, and my biggest expensive so far has been my tickets to moscow and my cellphone. Otherwise, I haven't really been spending anything. However, my handy snacks from Canada are running out :( I am wishing I would have brought my roommates nutri-gran bars she tried to pon off on me...oh well! Tonight, I am going to my pupil's choir concert, but she didn't tell me where it is! So wish me luck!