I have been a terrible lazy blogger lately, so my apologies to my loyal readers, but I can promise this one was worth the wait ;)
Since being back from Moscow, I realized my time in Russia was running out faster than I expected. In a rush to see everything on my must-see list, I took a local vanbus to Peterhof. What a lovely city, and the palace is to die for! In the summer, the fountains run and are a sight to be seen! It was in this moment that I decided I must come back in the summer at some point in my life. There is so much beauty hidden under the snow and ice.
On friday, I met with a couchsurfer who had been my saviour at the beginning of my trip. We had tea and icecream and laughed all afternoon. She also invited me to a free concert at the British Library. He was a New Zealand expat who has been living in Russia for two decades and his music was quite comical and whimsical. After the concert, I was invited to play the game Mafia. The premise is a murder mystery, where we all close our eyes and the mafia memebers in the circle kill someone. When our eyes are open, we have to question and theorize who did the terrible crime. First timers luck, I was handed a card that said Mafia. The host of the game was very nice and explained all the rules to me. After I was found out (within the first round of questioning) I met a Russian who had lived in Calgary for 5 years. He drove a Brewster Bus tour through the rockies. It was interesting and nice to speak about home for a while. On my way out the door, coat on and everything, I heard someone in the next room playing piano. I snuck up to the doorway and stood listening. The musician happened to be the Host of the mafia game from earlier. Something inside me was drawing me to go and speak to him. I decided just go, so I went up and said, 'sorry to interupt, but I just wanted to say thank you for introducing me to Mafia and you play beautiful music.' We spoke briefly and he asked me for a hug, which of course I did. I then walked to the metro and went home.
Saturday morning I checked my email, and was surprised to find a message from the piano player. We will call him Mr.O. Mr.O asked if he could show me around the city, and of course I knew I only had one day left to do so - Sunday. I messaged him back and we agreed to meet while my pupil was at choir sunday afternoon.
Saturday was a busy day with my host mother. She took me to a super shopping centre called Mega, where we looked around and went to IKEA. Saturday night I worked nonstop with my pupil to get part of her big project done. Of course she waits until I only have a day left to get most of her work done. Sunday morning, I got all my souvenir shopping done. I managed to spend nearly every last ruble on the typical tourist junk. Without having packed a single thing yet, I went to meet Mr.O. He took me to a beautiful park, which happened to be quite icy. He offered me his hand to hold, and for the rest of the afternoon, we walked hand in hand. He showed me his favorite neighbourhoods away from the centre of the city where I had kept to for the whole month. He also helped me buy a couple of Russia story books to take home. At a cafe, he told me how beautiful my eyes were and gave me a kiss on the cheek. We then found out that he lives literally 5 minutes away from where I have been living. SERIOUSLY! GOD! I have been sitting in solitude for the whole month of february and mr.perfect is just down the street???? We took the metro together back to Sennaya Square. The train stopped suddenly and I fell into him. Before I knew it we were wrapped in eachothers arms, kissing passionately. On the TRAIN! I had become one of those public lovers I HATE! But I wasn't even thinking anything at the time, I just let myself go in the moment. He walked me to the door of my host family and we kissed goodbye. I was so mad at the situation; how could life be so cruel to send me Mr.O on my last day in Russia? Mr.O asked to see me that night, and I told him I would try to sneak away from my family for an hour so he could take me to the roof of his building and show me the city from a bird's eye view. My pupil was a bit unpset that I was going to leave for an hour, since we needed all the time we could get to finish her school project. At 1030, I slipped out to meet Mr.O. He walked me to his flat, and on the roof I realized how dangerous it was. The steep slope, combined with snow and ice and just a tiny fence along the edge of the 6 story building sent my heart into my throat. Mr.O held my hand and told me to trust him. We climbed on top of the chimney stack and stood wrapped in eachothers arms. It started to snow lightly and we could see the stars. We kissed and he pointed out all the building along the skyline. We also walked across to another roof! I was hopping roof tops in Saint Petersburg in the middle of the night! We spent nearly an hour just watching the sky holding eachother. When we finally made it back to the safety of the building, he asked me to have tea with him. I knew my time was running out, but how could I say no to this handsome man. We stopped at a small shop and got some cookies and Baklava and went to his flat where he had lived his entire life. He told me of how much he hates Russia and wants to leave, but the opportunites for work abroad are so scarce for Russians. I sent a text to my pupil telling her I was still on the roof and I would be home soon. Now, I promised my readers I would be explicit with details, but I just want to give anyone a chance to stop reading what comes next....so any of my 17 year old cousins out there, maybe consider this point the end of this blog post ;)
The sexual tension in the air could be cut with a knife. I could feel my body craving his touch, but I had told myself I wouldn't go for any one night stands. I wanted this trip to help me grow, and for some reason random sex really takes away from this mission. Mr.O grabbed my hand and gently pulled me to his bed. He slowly started to kiss my neck and chest. He is is so self-assured. He hands were strong and confident. He lifted me with such ease and I noticed how ripped he was! This guy works out! Arms of a real man, something I don't often get the pleasure of having wrapped around me. I lost myself in his eyes and let myself go. I don't want to turn into an erotic writer, but I will say that I have never experienced anything like that before. He is older than me, and I can tell he had done this many times before. There is just something about a man who knows what he is doing that is so sexy. I was utterly ravaged by a russian, to the point where I have a bruise on my leg from the piano...yup I got fucked against a piano! OKAY! The other dirty details are for me to remember with pleasure later ;)
I found my Russian.
I got back to my host family at 2am, and I don't regret a minute of it! I ended up packing at about 6am after finishing helping my pupil with her project. I didn't get a second of sleep. Mr.O sent me a couple of irresistibly romantic text messages. Musicians really are poetic in everything they do. What a charmer! I must say I was swept off my feet. From a great afternoon walking around the city to holding eachother under the stars! I can proudly say I got my Russian Belt!
Now I am in Sweden with some great couchsurfing hosts! Mr.O is still messaging me, one of which says, 'Thank you for lighting up my life.' Cheesy yes, but I have always been a sucker for cheese! I truly believe everything happens for a reason, but I must admit, I would have had a fucking awesome time in Russia if I had met him weeks ago! But I will take what I can get ;)
