I had a 4 day weekend, so what better to do than catch a flight to St Petersburg and spend "International Women's Day" with colleagues and friends, Thomas, Cristy and Isaiah! This weekend was my second visit ever to Europe (if you count my 24 hour layover in Amsterdam back in 2005). After living in and traveling to Siberian cities like Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Abakan and Kyzyl it was hard to feel like I was still in Russia as I roamed the streets of St Pete. Sure there are lots of similarities – under one government, similar history, Russian is the predominate language, traditions coincide etc. – BUT as I looked around, the differences were insane!
First off, I ate at a REAL Carl's Jr and had an American hamburger with fries. Also, many people walked around with cameras and I heard a handful of languages being spoken on the streets. People in St Pete don't look at you funny if they hear you speak in English. Lots of signs are written in English and Russian. One lady commented that my Russian was really good "for an American".
It was great viewing this beautiful European city – that really seemed to give me a break from what I know of as "Russia"! Perhaps that "break" was brought on by the awesome fellowship of the Slawson family. It was SO refreshing to be around some fellow InterActers and share lots of laughs together. This family truly lives to glorify our Savior and radiates with joy and grace from Him. I can't wait until I get to go and hang out with them again…and see some more sights of this beautiful city :)
