Of Fish and Frostbite, Introduction

You have entered the study abroad blog of an American college junior spending the semester in St. Petersburg. Welcome!

I figured I'd start by making a list of the assorted advice I've received from friends and family. I'm not the first of my friends to study abroad, but I'm definitely the first to pick St. Petersburg rather than, say, Paris or Madrid. Everyone I talk to seems to have a very different impression of Russia, as evidenced by the bits and pieces catalogued below:

-Don't drink the water. (Thank you, State Department.) I assume that's why they drink so much tea...
-Don't buy anything that comes in cologne bottles. If you're intending to buy cologne, it might be cheap vodka. If you're intending to buy cheap vodka, it might very well be cologne.
-Sip the vodka, then eat the pickle. Sip the vodka, eat the pickle.
-Alternately, skip the vodka and just eat the pickles. (Hey, I like pickles.)
-Never accept a drink from anyone with a tongue piercing. (I assume that's not Russia-specific.)
-Don't get in a taxi by yourself. Practical advice for women everywhere.
-Carry an umbrella EVERYWHERE. I mean, the city was built on a marsh, so wet weather might be a good thing to anticipate.
-Keep your documents on you at all times, preparing to be stopped by the police. And be nice to the police when you're stopped; you'll get much further that way.
-Carry an extra plastic bag with you; you'll never know when you'll need it.
-Also, carry tissues, as they're apparently in rather short supply over there.

The advice to 'stay warm' has so many variations that it deserves its own paragraph. Granted, I'm going for the semester where the weather gets better as we go along, rather than worse. Still, though...it's about -13 degrees Fahrenheit over there right now, the city was hit by massive snowstorms around Christmas that still haven't been cleared up, and there was a fatality on Wednesday thanks to an icicle. (How does that work? Blunt trauma, or stabbing?) Rather than just a fleece hat, I'm debating a fleece-lined steel helmet. :P

Why Of Fish and Frostbite? I don't actually expect to get frostbite, but it's a very real possibility in a city that far north. And, as far as I understand, the American image of the Russian diet consisting of cabbage and beets isn't quite on target. There's also a LOT of fish. And pancakes. :)

I fly on Tuesday, and I haven't started packing yet. St. Petersburg actually limits travelers to 35 kilos of luggage total, which is, frankly, diddly squat. The adventures of fitting four months of my life into one large suitcase and a carryon will be documented in a following post, I'm sure, as well as the wonders of international air travel. :) For now, до свиданя!