We Shall Gather Again in Petersburg

We shall gather again in Petersburg,
as though we had buried the sun there
and newly speak the blissful,
meaningless word. In black velvet
soviet night, the velvet of universal
emptiness they sing—the kindred eyes
of blessed blissful matrons.
And deathless flowers bloom.
-Mandelstam

Tonight is my last night home. I’m leaving tomorrow morning, driving to Boston, hopping a plane to DC, then Thursday I’m flying to Petersburg by way of Frankfurt. I’ll be staying in the dorms at the university for the weekend and then move in with my host family. At the moment I have some last minute packing to do, but that’s about it. I’m really not looking forward to the DC orientation part of it, but I’m sure once I’m back in Petersburg everything will be wonderful. The weather there has been unseasonably warm (20’s and 30’s), but that could change. Regardless of the actual temperature, it always feels much colder there because it’s so windy and damp. I’d been checking the weather every week or so throughout the fall and I think I remember seeing only one day when it was “sunny” (although I’m not sure if the sun is high enough in the sky or up long enough even to warrant a “sunny” forecast).

I found this info on a Petersburg website:

“Statistically January and February are the coldest months, and snow as late as April is possible. St. Petersburg Russia is a windy city, and the chill factor caused by prevailing winds from the Baltic Sea in the winter months can be particularly fierce with temperatures plummeting to the -30’s (-22 Fahrenheit).

Subsequently, dry days and dirty streets provide a breeding ground for mini-dust storms.

Parks and gardens remain barren until late May before the new season's foliage starts to appear.”

Anyone want to come visit?


Well, I know where I am going to be staying. Unlike last time, I’m finding out before I get there. It seems I will be staying with a single woman in her late 50’s, who is some kind of an engineer (which can mean a lot of things in Russia). I found out a little bit from the program coordinator’s email and more from a former student my host mother (Alla) has hosted. Alla has two daughters, one who lives in Moscow and one who lives in St Petersburg with her husband and two children. It could be fun to meet them sometime. I’m not too sure what the apartment is like (could be soviet block housing), but I’ll have my own room again. The email I received from the program coordinator informed me that the apartment has a microwave and toaster too! I just hope the heat works, oh, and the plumbing (hot water would be nice in winter). I’m somewhat near Pionerskaya metro stop (see metro map below—it’s on the blue line, 4th down from the top).



It seems really far away, but the former student told me it wasn’t too long a subway ride (15-20 min) and about a 10 min walk from the apartment to the metro. The university at which I’ll be taking classes is near the Nevsky Prospekt stop (same line). So it will actually take me less time to get to class this time around (or so it seems), than this summer (an hour to an hour and 15 min), even though I was in the main part of the city then (my stop was Chernyshevskaya, + a 20min walk). Unfortunately my guidebook doesn’t even have a map of my section. I guess it’s not quite the tourist destination.

Prof Golstein told me it’s a very green area as well—with a park nearby (not like that will necessarily matter a lot in the dead of winter). The student told me there’s a gym not too far away either (Planeta Fitness), which she joined. I’ve never run on a treadmill nor joined a gym (I’ve always just run outside), but I’m not sure if I’m hardcore enough to run around the frozen streets of St Petersburg, Russia in February. I’ll bring my running shoes and see.

So that seems to be it for now. You’ll be hearing from me sometime in the near future, hopefully. Until then, keep warm.