PERSPECTIVES6 February 4, 2010 � Mount Holyoke News

The cultural capital of Russia, St. Petersburg,was my home this past semester and is an in-credible place to call home. - –

When I went abroad, I knew that my adventure wouldbe life-changing, but I did not know exactly why it wouldbe so transformative. I never thought that I was divinginto a world I knew nothing about. I hadwalked the streetsof St. Petersburg with Dostoevsky’s dilemma-struckRaskolnikov. I was there, through the triumphs and thetragedies of many Russian heroines and heroes as theynegotiated their lives in and with this city.

In Russian literature St. Petersburg is not just a setting.Instead, St. Petersburg is a fully developed, full-bodiedcharacter of its own. It is a city filled with beauty, kindnessand brightness; yet at the same time it is a city filled withsadness, greed and ugliness. St. Petersburg’s dark winterdays and summer white nights well illustrate the city’s ex-tremities—they depict a strong contrast, which con-stantly reminded me that things are never as simple asthey may seem.

As soon as my plane landed in Pulkovo II, I felt a con-nection with Russia and St. Petersburg. My semesterstarted with a trip to the Museum of the Blockade in St.Petersburg, in which a tour guide talked about the 900-daysiege of former Leningrad. The siege lasted from Sept. 8,1941 to Jan. 27, 1944. I went in that museum not being ableto understand 40 percent of what my tour guide was say-ing. I walked out having understood so much. This oddconnection anchoredme in St. Petersburg, whether I likedit or not.

Perhaps it was my own past that triggered this strongconnection—my Slavic background that roots me to Croa-tia and Serbia andmywar-filled childhood. Perhaps it wasthe painful sadness aroundme that erased all borders andallowed me to understand the people of St. Petersburgsimply on the basis that we are all human. Either way, Igraspedwhymy host-grandmother and grandfather neverthrew away food.

While I was there I strolled the halls of many gold filledpalaces and saw the still-existing communal apartmentsonmy Crime and Punishmentwalk, this time really walk-

ing the streets Raskolnikov did. I visited the Hermitage,the Russian Museum and the Church of the Spilt Bloodwhere Tsar Alexander II was assassinated. I got to seeSwan Lake at the Mikhailovsky Theatre and go to theopera Iolanta at the Mariinsky Theatre, having missedAnna Netrebko’s performance by a few days. I experi-enced the magic that is Piotr Ilych Tchaikovsky over andover again.

I encountered the never-smiling Russian that one seeson the street, and the warm ever-smiling Russian that one

interacts with at home. I finally experienced migrationfrom one country to another through choice and transcen-dence instead of force, need for survival or a better life. Iwas there to study Russian—which I did—but I alsolearned much more.

My time in Russia was anything but a fairytale, but Iam thankful for every single moment. My experience inSt. Petersburg cannot be qualified on an emotional scalebetween “good” and “bad”—it is much more nuancedthan that.

BY MARIJA TESLA ’11CONTRIBUTINGWRITER

Strolling the streets of St. Petersburg

abroadGift ideaswhen

yyoouustudystudy

Nestingdoll fromRussia.

1.

Russian nesting dolls,also known as ma-tryoshkas, make greatgifts for family andfriends waiting backhome. They are usuallywooden female figures ofdifferent sizes anddressed in sarafans.Nowadays, matryoshkascan be modeled after well-known world political fig-ures and entertainers.

Russia

At the opera Iolanta, Mariinsky TheatreIn front of the Church of the Spilt Blood

Photos by Marija Tesla

Umbrella from London.

2.

If you want to retain thememory of the rainy daysyou spent in London dur-ing your study abroad,buy an umbrella. Betteryet, get yourself one thatcarries images of thecity’s most popular sceniclocales, views and motifs.Black-and-white umbrel-las also make great giftsfor fashion-savvy individ-uals.

U.K.JewelryfromBrazil.

3.

Some of the most beauti-ful handcrafted jewelry inthe world is designed inBrazil. If you are planningto study abroad in thisLatin American country,look for bamboo neck-laces, stained glass ear-rings, exotic beads andother ethnic jewelry.

BrazilWine fromSpain.

4.

Here is a chance to retainthe taste of Spain with thetextured flavors of theworld’s most sophisti-cated wines. Take home,for instance, the Sherry,which is produced insouthern Spain. If you aremore of a champagne fan,grab the sparkling Cava,which comes from theCatalonia region.

Spain

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PERSPECTIVES 7February 4, 2010 � Mount Holyoke News

One of the many things I am going to miss from mylast semester abroad is living in a big city. Budapesttruly is one of the most beautiful European capitals, di-

vided in two by the Danube river and colored by the eclectic architecture of bridges, cas-tles, parks and museums.

In the fall, I joined the Budapest Semester in Mathematics(BSM), a program designed especially for math undergraduatesfrom the U.S. and Canada. The term had 69 students, most ofwhom had never been to Europe before. As we found ourselvesin a foreign country with a different culture and language, itwas easy and fast to build friendships. We were rarely bored—weekends were full of sightseeing, traveling and partying.What’s more, the city’s location enabled us to travel around Eu-rope and see places like Prague, Vienna and Krakow.

We got a sense of both the historical heritage of the cityand its lively social character. Budapest has everything a youngperson might need from efficient public transportation, big shopping malls and restau-rants to cute coffee shops and night club s. International students, many of whom attendthe Central European University and the Budapest campus of McDaniel College, feel at

home in the Budapest. Hungarians are used to having foreign students and touristsaround, so one can get by with English almost everywhere. Knowing a few things in Hun-garian, however, can really help as locals appreciate one’s effort to learn their language.

At first, we had to learn from experience whether a product on the shelf in the super-market was yoghurt or sour cream. A few times when we were in a hurry, we inhaled hot

coffee in the shop because we could not explain that we wantedit “to go.” As we took the regular language class, however, thingsfell more or less into place—we learned how to order food anddrinks and what to buy in the store, even though the neighbor-hood kids still laughed at us as we made silly mistakes trying tospeak Hungarian.

In school, classes were taught entirely in English. Most pro-fessors came from the Budapest Technical University and RenyiInstitute for Mathematics with experience teaching in the U.S.Thus, the classroom experience wasn’t much different from whatwe knew. What made it exciting, though, was our group of math

majors who held in-depth discussions and solved challenging assignments. Budapest captured me with its low living expenses, historical heritage and vibrant

social life. I will be sure to visit again.

The many ways Budapest captivated me

Saying hello in France,depending on the size of thetwo parties meeting, cantake up to fifteen minutes.All over France there aredifferent rulesthat apply toeach regionthat dictatehow many kissesone should give orreceive when sayinghello. Here, in Montpel-lier, the magic numberis three.

When I arrived inMontpellier, ignorantof bothFrench slangand ratherunhygienicgreeting habits, noone informed me that Iwould be receiving this con-stant wave of affection. Meet-ing my host mother was myfirst true experience with “lesbisous.” She entered the foyer of thehotel I had been staying in with a rushof color, a certain smell of Chanel andoddly, Starbucks (I later discovered thatthis was because she took a weekly bathin the coffee grinds accumulatedthroughout the week, and then wouldperfume herself with Coco’s NumberNine). I recognized her from the photoshe had sent when she offered a largesmile as she approached me. There wasno time to witness any expression onher face as she quickly grabbed me bythe shoulders, yanked me to her like apoliceman about to conduct a stripsearch and leaned in towards my facewith lips puckered like the pinched endof an apple. Shocked and scared, yet stillwanting to be polite and cultivated (twothings which I later learned, are not pos-sible for Americans), I leaned in to pres-ent the left side of my face, just as she

went to plant one on myright cheek. Our lipsmet. Surprised, shepulled away quickly and

examined me head to toe.Disaster warnings were run-

ning through my headlike the tickers at thebottom of news pro-grams. One catastropheafter the other, mystock with French soci-

ety plunging lower than thedollar. I could see myself try-ing to explain the situation tomy family later: my mother try-

ing to convince me thatit happened allthe time, thatFrench people infact liked havingintimate contactwith peoplethey’ve never met,my Dad ignoringthe situation en-tirely and askingme if she smelled

like cigarettes or ifher house looked like

the Moulin Rouge and my brother re-peating over and over “I can’t believeyou made out with your host mom!”

She continued to examine me.When I had finished my apologetic andcertainly incoherent rant she smiled,pulled me to her again and said, in bro-ken English, “Zees is ow vee do eet eenFrance.” She took my head in her handsand proceeded to kiss me, one kiss foreach cheek, done three times, turningmy head slowly, making sure I under-stood.

Now, six months later, saying helloin France still eludes me occasionally,but I am better at predicting now who tokiss first, whether or not to kiss a girland whether it is appropriate to holdsomeone’s hand while kissing. Needlessto say, a simple handshake seems like athing of the past.

BY SILVIYA VALEVA ’11CONTRIBUTING WRITER

BY SIOBHAN ANDERSON ’11STAFF WRITER

At the Chain Bridge (Széchenyi lánchíd) overlooking the Danube River Buda Castle Photos by Silviya Valeva

I made out with my hostmom

As we found ourselves in a for-eign country with a different cul-ture and language, it was easyand fast to build friendships.

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