Hermitage

Tags

archeology department, CIEE, Hermitage, ice, museum, Russia, St. Petersburg, Study Abroad, Volunteer work

Today, I went to go turn in my volunteer application at the Hermitage and I did not know that I would be volunteering right away. Since I do now have my volunteer badge ready yet, I had to wear a temporary volunteer badge for the day. I felt kind of awesome because I got to go in places that normal visitors do not have access. Score!

So what did you do at the Hermitage today? Honestly, it was rather tedious and boring work. For the first hour, I was standing by the main entrance and telling people to leave their coats in the cloakroom. They asked questions and I did not know the answers. Thankfully, these two sweet girls were also by the entrance and they helped out more than I did. Both of the girls were very nice and they were great company. Then I went into the archeology department which I thought would be more interesting but it was not.

Basically, all I did was number and date some bags. The little bags contained something that looked like dirt or ash. I’m not so sure what to call it. The lady in charge told me that with that they would be able to determine what the pottery was used for. Yes, it was boring but the time passed quickly because I wanted to see how quickly I could get it done. I turned it into a race against myself. I needed to entertain myself somehow.

I don’t know when I will volunteer again. Maybe Tuesday or Wednesday.

Also while I was walking to the Hermitage, I kept slipping. It is so slippery outside and I’m surprised that I did not actually fall. I must have slipped about 10 times today. It’s so icy and I don’t even see it. Every time I slip, I feel so stupid and silly but then I saw a man slip pretty badly. That made me feel better about slipping 10 times because I realized that everyone slips. The ice does not discriminate and I am not the only one.

On the walk home, I realized that I am very thankful that I am apart of CIEE because it is a good program. It is because of them that I learned about volunteering at the Hermitage and about teaching English. It’s great!

 

 

No one is perfect

Tags

Hermitage, Personal, postaday, Russia, SOPI, St. Petersburg, Study Abroad, Volunteer work

Sometimes I do not make the wisest of choices but it’s okay as long as I learn from them. We all make mistakes and we all beat ourselves up for it. Then we begin to think about what we could have done differently but that doesn’t matter. We can’t undo what we did and we just have to move forward.

How do I move forward? Well I start by being productive. I just finished filling out a volunteer application for the Hermitage museum. I want to turn it in as soon as possible but I won’t have time until Friday after classes. The reason I will not be able to turn it in tomorrow is because I have a SOPI test.

Basically, I have to record myself answering some questions in Russian. This test will determine how well I speak russian. At the end of the program, I will take the same test and see how much I have improved. That’s pretty much all I know. Also I know that it is an experiment but I don’t know much else. Let me rephrase that, I don’t remember much else.

I should go do some homework and then talk to my family.

Пока! Bye!

So a new year is coming…

Tags

New Year, postaday2011, Resolutions, Self-Improvement, Volunteer work

Normally, I don’t make New Year’s resolutions because I don’t see the point in waiting for a new year to make a change. However, coincidently for me, I happen to what to improve myself right as this year is ending. So here are some of my New Year’s resolutions…

1. Volunteer at an animal rescue home, specifically Kitten Rescue
2. Volunteer at my local police station
3. Learn to drive (yea, I’m 21 and I don’t know how to drive =\)
4. Read minimum a chapter of a book a day
5. Take more pictures with people and myself in them
6. Go on some walks here and there
7. Do some crunches or something because I’m getting a little pudgy
8. Stop eating chips (Hot Cheetos are my weakness, especially at that certain point of the month)
9. Explore St. Petersburg more
10. Most importantly have fun!

I hope ya’ll have a happy New Year. Feliz Año Nuevo¡ С новым годом!

No More

Tags

Hermitage, postaday2011, Teaching English, Volunteer work

I am exhausted today. For the last couple of days it has been really difficult to get out of bed. Before I was able to get out of bed by 6am without any problems. Now my alarm is set at 7am. What happened? Не знаю.

Today I attended an information meeting about teaching English at a local business school. I am going on Saturday morning and I have to prepare a topic. I have no idea what I want my topic to be but I will think about that tomorrow. After this meeting, I made my way to the Hermitage so I can volunteer there as well. I have to fill out the application so I’ll do that tomorrow. For the Hermitage I have to volunteer a minimum of 20 hours per month so I have to figure that out. I’m sorry if this is not making sense or is jumping from topic to topic. Tomorrow should be a better day.

Our first Russian folk dance class is tomorrow so that should be interesting. I will tell you all about it tomorrow. I’m off to get ready for bed and probably fall asleep while watching a movie. Can you guess what movie? (Hint: think Sylvester Stallone)