i made it!

after the million hour plane rides and a total 15 minutes of sleep we finally landed in st. petersburg. i stepped off the plane and some short blonde lady in a white lab coat points a machine at my face and starts yelling "KAK??? KAK???" and looks back and forth to the men in uniform while i do much of the same as i say "WHAT??? WHAT???" this goes on for a minute or two while i'm holding up the rest of the plane waiting to exit because i still have no idea whats happening.

after she points this machine at my forehead, chin, chest and stomach she says KAK??? a few more times and then says vot. and moves out of my way.

i guess they are paranoid of the flu and check temperatures? and i was over-heated carrying my 50lb bags?

welcome to russia.

we then waited in line at the passport control for maybe 10 minutes, they looked at it, looked at us, stamped it and we collected our bags.

"customs" was a doorway that was guarded by gossiping men who didn't even check our stuff, our bags weight, or our bags content.

skeeetch.

we then had 2 days of orientation in this hotel like 2 minutes from the airport outside of st. petersburg and we got cell phones set up (THE PHONES HAVE CYRILLIC) and crashed a lot and ate lots of buffet food. i drink a lot of coffee.

friday at 5 they drove us around and we went to our homestays.

maggie and i are living with a host mom, host dad, and two host brothers 26 and 29 (i think?). the mom doesnt speak english but she works for the program as the housing coordinator. the dad speaks a few words in english and at least one of the brothers is pretty good in english. we had pizza together as a family. and we did russian toasts, which was basically some one saying something i didn't understand and then clinking everyones cups and you take a swig. and do this throughout the meal until your drink is gone and then fill it up again. (don't fret mom it was only wine)

we each have our own rooms. decent size. I HAVE A TANNING BED IN MY ROOM. amazing. we're also a good 2 blocks from campus. so now i don't have to pay for tanning or transportation to school. amazing. the area around us is super pretty. a nice park, gorgeous buildings, and lets not forget the russian men with mullets.

mullets and tight pants are in.

i'm mostly super jet lagged and trying to adjust but loving it so far.