Hello chaps,
It occurred to me the other day that some of you who read this will be future year abroaders in St Petersburg. I know at this stage in my second year I was starting to think about it, so I thought I would provide some information about what it's like around here. I had no idea what to expect when I came out so I thought I'd pop a little something up here.
I chose not to stay in a homestay as I didn't like it too much in Kazan - I had to sleep on a sofa bed in the same room as her 23 year old son, who slept on an armchair. I felt like I was invading in their personal space for the whole month I was there, and while it was good for my Russian, I had no idea how to conduct myself. Does one act like a guest? Is one a member of the family? To this day I still don't know, so I chose to live elsewhere. But those who do live in homestay accommodation here assure me that their hosts are very nice and certainly very different from the Kazan ones!
I'm staying in hostel accommodation provided by RLUS and the Benedict School at which I am studying. It's really not bad, we arrived with really low expectations so were quite pleasantly surprised. It's cleaned every day, pretty religiously. There is a kitchen with pots and pans, but you may wish to provide your own bowl and mug (I bought one here for 60 roubles) and each room has its own fridge and a sink. There are also two water coolers on each floor which also provide hot water on tap so gratuitous amounts of tea can be drunk without even having to wait for a kettle!
DO NOT DRINK FROM THE TAP, or you will get pregnant AND DIE. No, not really, I'm just having a Mean Girls moment. But it will make you pretty sick. And you will hate everything.
The place costs £10 a night and is definitely the cheapest hostel we've found that is nice and convenient. There is one toilet and shower per floor for each gender, which is actually really clean and I've never had to wait for long for it, if at all. There is no wifi though, which is annoying - I mean, I can live without looking at cat pictures online, but you will want to email your parents to let them know about any shakedowns that may or may not have taken place. (Hi mum).
The hostel is situated above a pizza restaurant which does spectacular tagliatelle bolognese.
You know you've hit a low point in life when pasta becomes a treat.
Moving on.
The classes are actually very useful and are streamed according to ability. All the teachers speak English but won't - perfect for your Russian. I personally get a lot from the classes and I've nearly filled one whole pukka pad already! Don't forget to pack them when you come out - and folders too, as you'll be given stacks of worksheets.
There is a stolovaya not far from the school which does awesome samosas and the staff there are ever so friendly - it's a family run place, which therefore makes it cute.
My advice for you packing-wise, if like me you've never lived abroad for this length of time before, would be to pack two weeks' worth of clothes, put them in compression bags as I mentioned in an earlier post and then find a launderette (the word in Russian is "Prachechnaya"). The best we've found is on Sadovaya ulitsa, between Sennaya ploshad and Nevsky prospekt on the right hand side of the road in the direction of Nevsky. It's in a typical unassuming courtyard and is surrounded by tacky wedding shops - it's ever so cheap and the babushki who work there are ever so nice and will even fold your pants for you. Lovely stuff.
And bring one pair of good black boots - I've not needed to wear my other shoes! Being a girl I packed 3 pairs (travelling light, you understand). Winter clothing is best purchased here as they take up space in your baggage and you won't need them straight away, but I brought a good coat with me which has so far been fine. Unless you will be out and about lots, which depends on what you're like as a person, don't bother with thermals - you won't need them on school days as all the buildings turn into saunas when it gets cold. The heating is centrally controlled and I think they must leave it on maximum. Good outerwear will do the trick, you'll be taking it off before you've even crossed the threshold.
There are two shopping malls which have European shops (including TopShop) down the bottom end of Nevsky, which are perfect for all your split pyjama bottoms requirements. On that note, bring a mini sewing kit, mine has literally saved my life. Well, as far as babushki and pyjama bottoms are concerned anyway.
I'm writing this at 1am, so I'll add more when I'm a little less addled in the brain...
It occurred to me the other day that some of you who read this will be future year abroaders in St Petersburg. I know at this stage in my second year I was starting to think about it, so I thought I would provide some information about what it's like around here. I had no idea what to expect when I came out so I thought I'd pop a little something up here.
I chose not to stay in a homestay as I didn't like it too much in Kazan - I had to sleep on a sofa bed in the same room as her 23 year old son, who slept on an armchair. I felt like I was invading in their personal space for the whole month I was there, and while it was good for my Russian, I had no idea how to conduct myself. Does one act like a guest? Is one a member of the family? To this day I still don't know, so I chose to live elsewhere. But those who do live in homestay accommodation here assure me that their hosts are very nice and certainly very different from the Kazan ones!
I'm staying in hostel accommodation provided by RLUS and the Benedict School at which I am studying. It's really not bad, we arrived with really low expectations so were quite pleasantly surprised. It's cleaned every day, pretty religiously. There is a kitchen with pots and pans, but you may wish to provide your own bowl and mug (I bought one here for 60 roubles) and each room has its own fridge and a sink. There are also two water coolers on each floor which also provide hot water on tap so gratuitous amounts of tea can be drunk without even having to wait for a kettle!
DO NOT DRINK FROM THE TAP, or you will get pregnant AND DIE. No, not really, I'm just having a Mean Girls moment. But it will make you pretty sick. And you will hate everything.
The place costs £10 a night and is definitely the cheapest hostel we've found that is nice and convenient. There is one toilet and shower per floor for each gender, which is actually really clean and I've never had to wait for long for it, if at all. There is no wifi though, which is annoying - I mean, I can live without looking at cat pictures online, but you will want to email your parents to let them know about any shakedowns that may or may not have taken place. (Hi mum).
The hostel is situated above a pizza restaurant which does spectacular tagliatelle bolognese.
You know you've hit a low point in life when pasta becomes a treat.
Moving on.
The classes are actually very useful and are streamed according to ability. All the teachers speak English but won't - perfect for your Russian. I personally get a lot from the classes and I've nearly filled one whole pukka pad already! Don't forget to pack them when you come out - and folders too, as you'll be given stacks of worksheets.
There is a stolovaya not far from the school which does awesome samosas and the staff there are ever so friendly - it's a family run place, which therefore makes it cute.
My advice for you packing-wise, if like me you've never lived abroad for this length of time before, would be to pack two weeks' worth of clothes, put them in compression bags as I mentioned in an earlier post and then find a launderette (the word in Russian is "Prachechnaya"). The best we've found is on Sadovaya ulitsa, between Sennaya ploshad and Nevsky prospekt on the right hand side of the road in the direction of Nevsky. It's in a typical unassuming courtyard and is surrounded by tacky wedding shops - it's ever so cheap and the babushki who work there are ever so nice and will even fold your pants for you. Lovely stuff.
And bring one pair of good black boots - I've not needed to wear my other shoes! Being a girl I packed 3 pairs (travelling light, you understand). Winter clothing is best purchased here as they take up space in your baggage and you won't need them straight away, but I brought a good coat with me which has so far been fine. Unless you will be out and about lots, which depends on what you're like as a person, don't bother with thermals - you won't need them on school days as all the buildings turn into saunas when it gets cold. The heating is centrally controlled and I think they must leave it on maximum. Good outerwear will do the trick, you'll be taking it off before you've even crossed the threshold.
There are two shopping malls which have European shops (including TopShop) down the bottom end of Nevsky, which are perfect for all your split pyjama bottoms requirements. On that note, bring a mini sewing kit, mine has literally saved my life. Well, as far as babushki and pyjama bottoms are concerned anyway.
I'm writing this at 1am, so I'll add more when I'm a little less addled in the brain...
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