Hey Peter…(awkward wave)

Tags

Burgazada, Homesick, Istanbul, postaday, Princes' Island, Spring Break, Study Abroad, Travel, Turkey

Yesterday night, I arrived in St. Petersburg and it’s nice to be back here. I was surprised this morning when I woke up because the sun was out at 9:00am. The days are getting longer now and I wasn’t ready to leave Istanbul!

I’m just tired of school and I find myself caring less about it. Part of my just wants to go home to Los Angeles. I’m just a bit homesick. Soon I will be home. Just about one month left. Must enjoy this last month and make the most of it.

Anyway, back to the topic of Istanbul. It was great. I loved it. Also I made some new friends and I got to know people better. I’m going to miss walking up the hill to get to our apartment, waving to the butcher on our island, catching the ferry to the mainland, and the view from the apartment. It was fun while it lasted and at least I have a ton of pictures when I want to go down memory lane.

Enjoy!

A day off

Tags

balcony, Burgazada, Istanbul, ocean, postaday, Princes' Island, sun, sunburned, Travel, Turkey, view

Today is a day of relaxation. My friends and I decided to stay on our island today because we have been walking everywhere the last couple of days. I’m tired of walking everywhere in the beaming sun. My face is ever so slightly burned and pink. I have seen more sun in the last couple of days than I have in Russia. It’s great but I think my skin needs a break from the sun.

This morning I woke up early and just went up on the balcony. I just sat there listening to music and thinking about life. No one was awake and it was nice.

I adore this island and the view from our apartment. Can I just have that balcony and that view and take it everywhere I go? It makes me happy to see that when I wake up and I want it.

Now that I really think about it, I don’t want to live here. I only want to vacation here on the island. The island is called Burgazada and it is one of the islands of Princes’ island. Here are so pictures:

So much sun!

Tags

Istanbul, postaday, sun, sunburn, Travel, Turkey, wine

Istanbul has a lot of sun! My cheeks are just pink and they might be a bit sunburned. I can’t tell. I have only had one sunburn my whole life. This was such a great day and very eventful!

Right now I am drinking a glass of wine enjoying the company of some really amazing people. I love this vacation. I love this city.

The Plan

Tags

Istanbul, Moscow, postaday, Russia, St. Petersburg, Study Abroad, Train, Travel

I don’t have much to say today. I’m just waiting until it is 11PM so I can go to the train station. Just waiting…

Since I will be traveling, I don’t know if I will be able to post every day but I will do my best. It really depends if I have access to the internet. I should have access to it though.

This is the plan…

March 29: Midnight train to Moscow

March 30: Arrive in Moscow

April 1: Midnight train back to St. Petersburg

April 2: Arrive in St. Petersburg. Then head over to the airport to catch my flight to Istanbul.

April 10: Return from Istanbul.

 

The Snooze Button is My Enemy and other tales

Tags

alarm, classes, Family, Home, Home cooking, Istanbul, Moscow, Planner, postaday, recipes, Russia, school, Skype, snooze button, St. Petersburg, Study Abroad, Travel, Turkey

Утром, я не просьпалась, так я не ходила в университет. Я просьпалась в 12 часов дня.   Это не хорошо.

In the morning, I didn’t wake up, so I didn’t go to the university. I woke up at 12 in the afternoon. That’s not good.

It’s the snooze button. It’s so easy to press and then fall back to sleep. When I finally, did wake up, I was holding my phone in my hand. I must have turned my alarm off. Well, at least I have a whole day to be productive and get lots of homework done. That’s the plan but knowing me, I will get distracted doing something else. For example, blogging.

I consider this work. Sure, I enjoy writing here but it’s work…enjoyable work. In my planner I write blog so I do not forget. Ever since I got my first planner, about 1-2 years ago, I can’t function without it. If it does not go in my planner, then it does not exist and I will forgot to do it. It’s true. Of course, super important things are the exception. Also this planner reminds me to take my birth control every day and when to start a new pack. Planners are amazing and I love the little purple planner I bought here. It has a map of both the St. Petersburg and Moscow metro system, which is helpful. Enough about my planner but I want to tell you that I am getting a bit homesick.

Last night, I was talking to my Mom and my brother, David, but my Dad wasn’t there. I miss my Dad. I haven’t talked to him in a while because he is usually not there. However, it was nice to finally talk to my older brother, Carmelo, because it has probably been about a month since I’ve talked to him. Usually when I Skype with my family, he is at work or out with friends so we don’t get a chance to talk. One thing that I miss is my Mom’s cooking.

Oh, she can cook so well. I love just about everything that she makes and I wish that I could make it myself. The only probably is that I don’t know how to cook and I don’t know any of the recipes. When I get back home, I want to learn so I can make all the yummy goodness for my children one day. Also I don’t want these delicious recipes to get lost with time. I want them to be something that can be passed down.

Last thing that I wanted to say is that I booked my flight to Istanbul yesterday. I will be going there on April 2nd which will be right after I return from Moscow. It’s going to be great because I am going with a group of fun friends from the program. They’re an awesome batch of people. I can’t wait. I’m sick with the travel bug.

Пока! Bye! Adios¡

School on a Sunday

Tags

classes, Holidays, Istanbul, postaday, Russia, school, St. Petersburg, Study Abroad

I had classes today. Today is Sunday. I had all my Friday classes on a Sunday. I’m so tired. Who does school on a Sunday? Russia, why do your holidays have to land on a Thursday? Just make it on a Monday or a Friday. It makes things easier that way and then I wouldn’t have to go to school on a Sunday.

Don’t give me Friday off if it means that I have to go to school on Sunday. Next time I might just get food poisoning or get sick with the flu. Yea, I’m complaining because now I will have a 6 days of classes this week. That’s no fun. Weekend, I will look forward to you and we will have so much fun together. Pinky promise.

In other news, I will be booking my flight to Istanbul later today. I need to wait for my friend to send me the link to the website. The semester is going by so fast and I don’t want it to end.