Newer Developments.

HEYYYYY!

I start work in a new school here, because my project is almost over and I wanted more work so my project leader let me be a part of this amazing culture studies project where I (along with 2 other indian interns, Ruturaj and Abhay) teach students of a private school about the Indian culture. The school itself, is nothing like what i have previously worked at. This school defines, "fancy" . It is a sprawling complex, with gardens, a swimming pool, a store , and it even has its own radio (we got to go on their show too!) . The students speak much better level of English, and are smart. The school is very techno-savvy, the staff speaks, or at least understands English . And, the best part I get lunch in the school! Its all typical russian food that i have grown to love now, so I am glad. All these positives make it seem okay that i have to commute for almost 2 hours to go, and 2 hours to come back. (One hour, by the metro. And i change two lines! Plus I gotta walk.) 

First day of class, we handled all three age-groups. The kindergartners (6years -8 years) , the secondary school (9years-12years) and high school (13years - 16years). 

Here's a video of me teaching them how "namaste" is done in india. 

So.. with the tiny kids, our sessions were a lot more interactive! Lot more games, more hand actions, more videos, lots of clapping, hi-5ing them if they get the answer right etc. Its no child's play, let me assure you. And it was something similar with secondary students! But with them, it was a lot more information. Now, after two classes with these kids .. I can proudly tell that they know India's capital city, Indian national animal, bird, and flower , they know the Indian flag colors and what they stand for. They can count 1-10 in hindi, they also know a silly, but famous indian hand game. ( Idk, what its called! i used to play it when we were small. ) 

However,  

My favorite of the lot, were the high school kids. Yeah yeah, they talk a lot in russian with themselves, they interrupt me a lot, they try hitting on me, sure. But the trick is to know how to engage these kids properly,  and plus I relate to them because I'm 19 myself. Been there, done that. 

The high school students, were fun to converse with. They could speak english so much better and they  mostly understood what I was teaching them. 

The first question i asked them was, 'So, what do you know about India? What comes to your mind when i say INDIA? ' And ohhh, the answers i got! Thats whyyy, My next blog post is going to be all about stereotypes. Both ; Indian and russian.

So from now, our classes are divided and i will work with the kindergarteners and the high-school. I am giving secondary school a break. 

The best part is, when we walk into class and the whole class goes "namaste" and when we leave they say "alvida" . OHHH THAT FEELING :')

This looks like its going to be a helluva experience! And i just wish i was going to be in Russia for longer. But oh well! :( 

When do i leave, you ask? I leave on the coming tuesday! NOT EVEN A WEEK LEFT. Ehh! 

Also, this weekend we are visiting ethnomir. That is, something like global village or something. Idk!

I'll carry my laptop, maybe. Will update blog! I just realized, i have so much more to write! And i have not much time.

Also, also I LOST MY PHONE!!! Ugh. Its lying in the bottom of the moscow river. How? Well, i was leaning over the bridge and clicking the picture of the most gorgeous sky and next thing i know a skateboarder almost narrowly misses hitting me! And i was so startled, that i dropped my iphone. 

WHY, OH WHYYY! I mean, I was vigilant about my phone all the time. How do you foresee such an event? Its such a once-in-a-time kinda thing! :/ 

#TravelTip 8 : Keep your belongings super safe! And you can't really trust anyone else to do it for you. 

Make sure you know where your phone, wallet and passport is at all times. 

Anyways, don't feel too sorry for me folks! But KEEP GALAVANTING! :D 

MayCo '14 .

I am just back from my first ever AIESEC conference, and I have gotta ask 'Is this what its actually like?'.

So, at our integration seminar our AIESEC moscow VP, Darina told all the interns that there is going to be a local conference somewhere towards the end of may. Having never attended one, we didn't know what to expect. Most of were inwardly groaning at the prospects of sitting at a boring, long speech sessions that would last hours together. I mean, thats what the general idea of a conference is, right?

WRONG! So totally wrong. 

There wasn't a dull moment at all.

Let me tell you what happened. 

We trainees, or interns - from India, Italy, America, Canada . About 9 of us,  left the city of Moscow, to go to our conference location. Now, it is extremely common for a local conference to happen at some hotel or a similar place ( as Sarah, our American intern pointed out to us is what happens in america atleast) but here, the conference was going to be at a house in the suburbs of  Moscow . We took the metro, and the train to a quiet station. It looked so removed from the city, but yet  it was actually not.  

We had to walk through a thick foliage of trees, bushes and wild dandelions that grew with a wild abandon, it was a very pretty walk to the house. 

And then , TAAAADAAAAA!  Please, ignore the goof and notice just the house.

Don't you think it is such a perfect place to be with a bunch of friends , for the most epic house party complete with a whole barbecue set up. Sigh! This is how cool how the location of the conference was. ( NO, we didn't actually have a BBQ or anything of the sorts :P) 

To cut the long story short, we all had an agenda to follow and here's what we did basically the whole conference : 

The sessions may have boring names, but the activities we did before each session, were sure not! I am not at liberty to reveal more.

Let me now take a moment here, to thank all the AIESEC members for taking so much effort into making this into such a successful conference. From the meticulously planned sessions, to the personal attention each intern received, to never ending activites, to these :

And a special mention to the amazing amazing amazing party , and to the party games *wink wink*!

AND THE JIVES!!! They were the bestestest. We just couldn't stop jiving. From Tunak Tunak ( which is my personal favorite!!) , to Alingo, to Superstar, to Go girls, to Bangarang, to Subah hone na de, to so many others.. i-cant-even-remember! :D 

These jives are from AIESEC allover the world! Brazil, Canada, India, Tanzania and it was amazing that being in Russia we were doing a dance on their music and their steps. Such a globally integrated thing to do! Roll calls are yet another fun fun fun thing! 

P.s : PEOPLE! Just Youtube all the aiesec roll calls and jives if you're really curious! 

One of my favorite sessions was, LC team building! This session was for the whole LC and not just the interns so it was twice more fun. I am not at the liberty to reveal these games, but lemme assure you it was so effective!

Yet another fun session was, when we had to have effective communication skills and explain to other foreign interns about a thing that was only particular to your country and something that they probably won't have an idea about. Indian interns chose, Mangalsutra, Ganna ke ras, Punjaabi kada. Sarah chose, Peanut butter and jelly (america) , Eva chose Lei Aai ( china) , maria chose to explain the shortest poem in the italian language (M'illumino D'immenso.) Milena (columbia) chose NO DE PAPAYA.  You can imagine what fun it must've been! 

Oh yeaaaah! We went on a walk, in the wee hours of the morning after a night of intense jiving sessions, and oodles of fun .. Me and anuj found a pond that was so still that you can almost imagine it to be ground and then we saw a couple of people sitting there , and fishing . There was such a cool breeze in the air, and such a beautiful sight.

Last two days were crazy! Crazy hectic, yeah. Crazy fun, hell yeah. People say, I am extremely lucky that my first conference turned out to be an international one! Talk about being at the right place, at the right time. :D
If the only complaint I would have would be the food, or the lack of it, rather.



And its unfortunate that, I won't be able to be a part of AIESEC because of hectic work load I'm sure will follow in my final year. Oh well! 

P.s I started work in a new school for a week from today, all about that next blogpost!





TILL THEN, KEEP GALAVANTING! :D

WEEKEND TRIP : St. Petersburg.

What a weekend this was! We returned with greasy hair, tired feet and big smiles on our faces.  

This weekend was the most awaited one, not only because we were going to St. Petersburg but we were going to THE St. petersburg. After reading about it in every travel guide book, to having all our Russian friends rave about it, to having Pranjali exclaiming about its beauty and charm, it was safe to say we were super excited about this trip to the city of St. Petersburg.

This is Russia's most 'European' city, with its network of canals to its neoclassical architecture, wild nightlife, edgy galleries, underground pubs, an extraordinary history and rich culture . This is Russia's most popular tourist destination ; which means a lot more people spoke English, and the prices in cafes were much cheaper than Moscow! Woohoo. Also the metro network is much simpler, and all the station names were also written in English ( which, by the way doesn't happen in Moscow) 

I confess that at first, as charmed as I was by the city somehow the awe felt superficial, just how you would feel when you visit a new place. But when you travel, your goal is not to admire 

a place for the photographs and Facebook updates, it’s to soak yourself with its soul. St. Petersburg took some time before I , like so many others fell prey to its beauty.

Before I start about this trip, I really need to give a huge shout-out to Pranjali (AIESEC MUMBAI) who after spending almost a week in the city, had so much trivia and info to tell us! Where, What, Who, How - she answered all these questions and more! Thanks a bunch, Pranj and damn, i wish we could've done a trip together somewhere (Fret not, we'll make major plans in India, ok?)

A big hug for all the help, woman.

Now! Where was I?

RIGHT! So three of us (Me, Zara and Anuj) arrived at St. petersburg around 10pm in the night, after a whole day of traveling (It took us 9 hours from moscow; the fastest train takes about 3 hours) 

Just before we boarded our train, I happened to check my couch surfing inbox and to my shock, I found out that our hosts had some sudden emergency and they wouldn't be able to host us for the weekend . That meant that we would have no place to go when we reached St. petersburg! We decided not to worry about this and after we reach we'd find out a reasonable hostel to stay at.  

First 30 mins, was so confusing . We didn't know where we were, where to go and worst of all, NO ONE SPOKE ENGLISH (ugh, just wait for my rant!) . Finally, Google translate came to rescue and we were able to figure out how to reach Nevsky Prospekt.

Now, Nevsky Prospekt  is a broad and really, really long street which begins at Palace Square and runs through the heart of the city, ending at the Alexander Nevsky Monastery. From restaurants, to souvenir shops, to bars, to nightclubs, to impressive historical sites, to both the metro and the central rail station, to hotels to beautiful bridges; everything you could want is here. No visit to St. Petersburg can be complete without a stroll along Nevsky Prospekt!

TravelTip #4: I would strongly recommend buying a nevsky prospekt guidebook. (cost me about, 119 rubles only) . This way, you won't miss out on the any place of significance on the street.

After a quick dinner at Pizza Hut, we decided to go looking for a place to crash. I'd heard of a hostel somewhere close to Nevsky which was supposed to be quite cheap, called "Old Hostel" ,  so after getting its address from the internet we began walking. And it took us so long to figure out that we've been walking in circles , and finally after 2 hours of walking we reached . Thankfully, the staff was friendly and they checked us in even at 2:25am. We were put up in a dormitory with 8 other people, and we were so tired that we went off to sleep immediately.

#TravelTip #5 : Experience the hostel culture, atleast once. It much more cost-effective, fun, you meet more people, random plans get made, you observe a lot more quirks.

After taking our time, and getting up peacefully by 10:30 am we decided we are in no hurry since St. Pete's functions all night long . Anuj decided to explore the city all by himself (something he always wanted to do!) , 

So me and zara had brunch at this extremely cute place on Nevsky that served typical russian food, when the most curious thing happened. We were approached by two ladies, Ira and Lena who spoke to us so sweetly , but who were Jehovah witnesses and who wanted more foreigners to attend their church's bible meet. As politely as we could, we declined making excuses. Then, Ira pulls out the bible and quotes a passage from the bible and blesses our souls. 

Umm, Okaaaay! 

(and they gave us this!) 

We had just about the sweetest waiteress at the cafe, who spoke english (IT IS A MIRACLE!) since were so lost, she drew us this :

And directed us to the end of the street where stood the world-famous Hermitage. (On the way to hermitage, we saw loads of other attractions, but later more info on that! )Hermitage is also known to the world as the winter palace, is Saint Petersburg's prime attraction, a massive palace-museum boasting a collection of over 3,000,000 pieces spanning the globe. This is everything you imagine it might be!  If you go, try to choose a time when the crowds will be smaller. Despite the size, the place is packed with people, which make viewing the art a challenge. It is 300 rubles for Russians and 400 rubles for foreigners but students of all nationalities get in for free, but don't forget your student card with photo. Entrance is free on the first Thursday of every month. 

Right outside Hermitage is the Palace Square (Dvortsovaya Ploshchad). This place is so happening! You will see a lot of activities going on around here at any point of time, whether its day or night. Horse carriages, young people on roller skates, markets, people dressed up in grand costumes who let you click pictures with them for a small fee, and lots of people just sitting on the square without a care in the world!  Me and zara, cutely sat there and ate lemon cupcakes and drank water while debating who'll be the first biker to hit his head on the concrete and cry (You should see them!!! Such daredevils!). Great place to people watch :)

While walking to the hermitage, we passed a lot of other attractions of the city. The first of them all, was Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood. This Cathedral is wonderful from the outside with its onion domes (It is what to us, seems typically Russian.) This church was built in memory of the czar who was assassinated after abolishing serfdom in Russia. But tragedy! 

We chose the wrong day and couldn't get inside the cathedral :( 

After walking away from the cathedral, we made a short visit to Mikhailovsky gardens, Art Square, Statue of Alexander Pushkin and Russian Museum. 

In Mikhailovsky gardens, we saw one of the most stunning scenes! A bride and groom having a wedding photoshoot! And oh my, she looked wow. 

(Looks unreal, innit? I know. It was! :') 

Another stunning cathedral is, The Kazan Cathedral. This is a fully operational church where visitors are allowed in but women need to cover their heads while entering. One may enter the church, or may simply take a seat outside and enjoy the sun. It is difficult to miss, even if you are just strolling along Nevsky prospect. 

And on outside benches of the cathedral, I SAW THE MOST GORGEOUS MAN EVER. He looked like a model, i swear. Even when he had a kid! Sigh, here's his picture (which i took slyly! :P)

And, NO! I didn't talk to him, of course.

Anyways, for dinner we went to this gem of a place which served Indian food called Tandoor (at Admiralteisky Prospekt) . I can't explain the wave of joy when we heard Hindi music playing and even better, the place smelt of Indian spices and masalas. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL! The food was great! We were craving spicy food and the place did not disappoint.The hotel itself was very ornately done, with a Taj Mahal background : 

That night we decided to go and watch the draw-bridges of St. Petersburg open to let the ships pass by (One of the things, pranjali told us we cannot cannot miss!) The bridges only open for 15mins, after midnight. So we whiled away our time by talking to this Russian-american couple who helped us figure out the right bridge, then we went and watched some guy perform at the Hermitage.
We reached early and were rewarded with a super view of the bridges opening! It was just wow. Imagine a road you were walking upon a few hours ago suddenly makes way for ships to pass!

The nightlife is so crazy in st. petersburg! We happened to watch this :

And while we were watching yet another (Of the many!) performances on the Nevsky prospekt, This lanky dude in rollerblades come up to me and sara and says, 'Naaamaste, Indi? You from Indi?' And then he proceeds to tell us about a girl he knew from India called "Krithika" who broke his friend's heart! Initially, I was a little wary because of the whole morning scene with the ladies but it soon turned out that he's just a goofy guy with an Indian story! He made us laugh so hard, with his hand actions and  accent! What a character.
After an extremely fun day, we eventually reached home at 4am and dozed off peacefully.

 Next day, after coffee's at a cute cafe (p.s thats where my whatsapp dp was clicked!) we headed off to Peterhof. When Pranjali told us that she cried at Peterhof, because it is so beautiful i was surprised. But after visit the place i can tell you, it is difficult not to be over-whelmed at the beauty of this place!
a little way out of St Petersburg to get to, you can take a boat ride from St. Petersburg (costs about 700 rubles one way) or you can do what I did!  Just go via the Metro and then take a mini bus. Travelling this way, we saved upto 1200 rubles each, because the bus tickets costed us only about 100 rubles! Hooray! :D 

TravelTip #6 : Do your research well, there is no better way to save time and cash! Find out your what's, who's, how's and where's and then proceed.  

Well, plenty to read up about this palace and too much to describe, but this is a must see attraction in St Petersburg. This palace has lots of fountains, gardens, benches, tulips but . . . the highlight of this place for me will be the walk to the sea, sitting on the rocks and talking to my best friend while dipping our feet in the water. It really was the best time everrr! 

TravelTip #7 It can be tempting, but please find out what is permitted by the management and the authorities and what isn't! Trust me, you don't want to get into trouble in another country! 

Peterhof :

SIGH! :') This place is a must for all the people who love romance, PDA and all that.

ALSO ALSO ALSO! When in st. petersburg, do not hesitate to dress up and look your fabulous best! This place is full of gorgeous women who walk around in skirts, dresses, heels, make-up, pants and looking like million bucks! And the men are not very far behind, either ;)

Well, all in all..

Expectations were high ; and I am happy St. Petersburg did not disappoint. It was everything people said it was, and more.

Promise me you'll visit? Ok :D

Till then, KEEP GALAVANTING! :D

p.s Thank you for all the feedback, guys! Keep letting me know what you think of my blog! :D

The Past, and the Present.

For the past 10 days, i was put up in a hostel along with other AIESEC interns, near Arbat street where I shared the place with other people ; few who have been here for months and few who stay only for one night , and disappear the next.  I've seen so many interesting people during the course of my time there! From a guy who probably never showered and slept naked (well, thats what the boys tell me! :P), to these two girls who click pictures with everything ; the pan, the bacon, the indians, the coffee mug. , to a fat russian who has yelled at me at least thrice for being too "loud" , to the caretaker Dennis who i suspect will be so glad when we all leave.
I shared my room with Zara, the italian intern Maria, a famous russian Youtube blogger Irina, and a polish girl whose name I just can't remember. Anuj and Jagan were put up in the next "boys" room. Let me tell you something, there wasn't a single dull moment with these people around! There was always something or the other happening all the time! From having breakfast together, to making crass comments , to making sudden plans and returning home late, to the boys getting in the "we-will-cook-indian-tonight" mood, to sleeping late because we've got swag,  it was so much fun!
(p.s - watch the instagram video and the "tunak tunak tun" dance in the kitchen )

Notice how i said everything in the past tense? Sigh. I was living in the hostel, but now!! I am staying with a russian host.

Thats because yesterday,  Ildar informs me that i will be moving out and he will be there to pick my luggage in an hour or so. And i was still at work! I msged zara, and i rushed back home and the whole time I kept thinking of what my host may be like. I knew nothing about my host, except that her name was Olya, and that she was a vegetarian. I reached home and I found my bags to be packed already.. such a darling, that zara is :')
After a last check at things, and talking to Anuj about "Oh damn, now i will have to sleep early" and "who will give me company while walking to the grocery store" , I was ready to leave.

Ildar was right on time, and after a quick goodbye and promise to feature in Irina's future videos and to be in touch with everyone else we left for the Arbatskaya metro station.
My new house was in Profsoyuznaya station (in the orange line , which means i had to change my lines three times at least to reach somewhere!)

Imagine walking all the way with a really heavy suitcase. Actually, Ildar carried the bags so yeah I don't know should I even complain? :D
But then again, he lost the way to Olya's apartment. Intially he kept fooling around, but after a while we both realized that we are actually lost. After asking people and lots of walking we finally reached our destination late at night.
Olya opened the door, and she turned out to be a young, stunning russian who lived alone in a flat with room for two. The apartment itself is what my mother called, "Clean and Neat" . Very cute, very cosy apartment with just enough room for her and me.

I had pictured two extreme situations - either I would have a grand, lavish room to myself, or i will be sharing a small sofa with a thin mattress. And both situations which I wasn't keen on!

Instead -

 

I think the set up is ideal! :D
And she was so sweet, I've no restrictions and I even got my own set of keys to the apartment!

She made me feel so welcome, and made me feel like i am truly her roommate and she's not a "host" but a friend! As soon as i entered home, she made me and Ildar some Herbal tea (russians just adore these things!) And soon, after he left she took me to a supermarket so I could buy my own groceries. On our way back, she explained how she is a terrible cook herself (umm, she's not lying! She is.) but that she would love to learn some indian cooking! And I thanked god, for all the cooking practice i got in the last 4 years ; both hostel and my PG. Sure, I can teach her how to cook Dal and Rice! And curry.

This is such a sight for sore eyes! :') This is my larder of food ; Complete with Bread, Cup noodles, Spagetti, Rice, Ketchup, Maggie (Like, duh!!!), chat masala, croissants, bhujia (like, double duh!!), coffee powder, Gems and Polo. :D

Woohoo! :D


Olya turned out to be an extremely soft-spoken girl, who wanted to improve her English skills and wanted to learn more about India and its culture. She loves tea, and is very helpful. I am so glad to have her as my host!
I would love to post a picture of her and me, but we both look like crap right now so naaaahhhh! :P



Tell me what you think! Till then, keep galavanting, folks! :D