Hey everybody! The last few days we've gone on a couple more excursions. On Thursday we went and saw the Hermitage. It was a beautiful building filled with tons of art from around the world. There's not much Russian stuff there. The ceilings are fantastic. They will remind you of the Sistine Chapel ceiling painting by Michelangelo. As pretty as it was, there was just too many art pictures in there. It was interesting for the first hour....but I'm not an artsy person so I became uninterested pretty quick. I didn't even take any pictures of it. Sorry! It costs money to do so (which isn't a big deal), but I would have only taken 2 or 3 pictures anyway.

On Friday we went on a jazz boat cruise. It was the best time I've had since I've been here. Basically you ride up and down the Neva River for 2 hours while a band plays jazz music. And of course, you get drunk....that's the whole point of the boat ride. Saint Petersburg is absolutely beautiful at night. The tension you feel as a foreigner disappears as everyone on the boat becomes friendly with another (perhaps it was the booze)....People on other boats and on the street wave as you pass them by. It was great.

And finally today, we went and saw the residence where Peter the Great lived. It will make you very jealous. Fountains litter the residence and the view of the Gulf of Finland is great. The palace is about 300 years old and they still have the collection of books that Peter read. It was very interesting.

But there's a mystery to this city and the people. Everyone appears to be very reserved and doesn't talk much. But in fact, in my opinion, friendships take some work to establish here. But once they have been forged, they last for a lifetime. Friendship seems to be more special in Russia than the U.S. Friends are very close....almost like brothers. We're definitely not as close to each other in the U.S. as these people are in relation to friends.

Speaking to people in general is always interesting. They obviously know you are a foreigner, but the reaction is always different. You usually get a smile when attempting to speak with Russians. But occasionally you get a bad look on someone's face as if they don't even want to waste their time with you. They will still talk to you, of course, but I've come to realize that Russians are very patriotic people...especially the older ones. They have no problem with you coming here, but it seems that they wouldn't want you to stay. In my opinion, I think they believe that no matter how bad your country may be, you should live there and try and make it a better place instead of immigrating somewhere else.

Another thing is seeing the remnants of Communism around the city. It's all too easy to find little stands where people are selling CCCP hats, scarves, and anything else they can fit those four letters on. And, of course, you have the gigantic statue of Lenin and random buildings that have the hammer and sickle on them. But the weirdest thing is speaking with the older generation of Russians who lived through the time when we we both were number 1 enemies. It's amazing that we can easily forget the past and become friends again.

The style of clothing that people where is typical European, but it has its Russian fling to it. The majority of women wear very formal things and always look professional and beautiful. Wearing jogging sweats to class or not putting on make-up before going out is a definite no-no here. You just don't do it. A lot of the women I've seen wear high heels and they walk in them for a long time! I don't know how they do it. I get tired just walking in my regular shoes.

I took the metro for the first time earlier this week. It's one of the most scariest things I've ever done. All of the metro stations have escalators down to them and they resemble England a lot. But there are metro entrances that have to go under the Neva River. These will freak you out. The escalator is SO deep that when you get on it, you can't see the bottom. The first time I got on it, I looked down and started losing my balance. I hold on for dear life every time.

Well, I need to get some sleep now. It's one in the morning. Today we will finally have a day where we can sleep in and not have to take a group excursion. Me and some friends are going to try and see a war museum tomorrow.

--Coleman