Catch up!

It seems like I am always playing catch up, but now I am in Saint Petersburg, and I have internet in my room, I should finally be able to post the same day as the subject of the post! Thursday we had our final class at Moscow State University. We were awarded with a certificate, and the neat part is that only one other person in the world has one of these certificates (and he is from Japan)!

 

 

 

 

Receiving my certificate.

After our final class and certificate ceremony we went to Kolomenskoe, which was a palace made of wood. This is where Ivan the Terrible grew up. This is not the original, but it was crafted as an exact replica of the old one. The grounds were absolutely gorgeous. There one stood just inside of the gate guarding the palace four lions. These lions, however, were machines. They were made with real hair and when someone came through the gate, they would roar at the intruders. Keep in mind, this was made in the very early 1500's! The lions no longer stand there, though. After several hundred years the mechanisms broke, and no one knew how to fix them! When we were done at Kolomenkoe I left the group and took the Metro to mom and grandma. Mom and I met Valya for pizza, and then we had to tell her goodbye. Although mom won't, I will see her again. She is coming to Saint Petersburg at the end of the month :-). I stayed the night with mom, but I had to leave right after breakfast because we were to leave on the train to Saint Petersburg early Friday afternoon, and I still had to pack!

Everyone is going to Saint Petersburg at this time, so we were not able to get the express train (go figure!). So we spent 8 hours on the train (instead of 3 1/2). We didn't arrive until 10:50pm, and this is what we felt like:

 We finally made it to the apartment where we will be staying very late. Today we are going to see how to get to the university, and just kind of hang out. Monday we will take exams to see which class we will be placed in. Ah! What a relief! I am finally up to date! I can't wait to go explore Saint Petersburg and post more pictures! I saw very little of the city last night, even though it was still light out at 11:30! I hope all are fairing well, and that you have a good weekend!