words to the wise

I am here! I’ve actually been here for about 24 hours, but more on that later. For now, I would like to fill you in on the 12 hours prior, aka Katie Travels From Washington To Russia By Herself.
In Dulles, I was all set to sit down in my lonely little gate for a lonely little 7 hours before my flight took off. I had gotten through security very easily (nobody even needed to pat down my hair!), and my luggage was all under the weight limit. I would sit, draw up Russian vocabulary lists, make last minute phone calls, and write cards to a few friends.

But the best laid plans of mice and men are silly when you’re in an airport. I found two of the other girls, Stephanie and Nicole (who were also travelling separately from the group), and we chatted for a while. Meanwhile, I drank like three days’ worth of Vitamin C via a very expensive juice drink. Everything, I have learned, is very expensive in an airport. Their flight left about two hours before mine, at which point I started looking to mail my cards.

Word to the wise: there are no mailboxes in Dulles. Also, thanks to frequent intercom announcements about not accepting packages from strangers, there is nobody willing to take your mail and send it for you. Sigh.

The first flight was the long one. Thanks to the fact that I was travelling alone, and the fact that not many people travel to northern Europe this time of year, I shared a 4-seat row with a very nice Indian lady. She helped me find my boarding pass when I dropped it (oops). I scooted over, we each had two seats, and all was lovely. Including the food. Wow, that meal was good.

Another word to the wise: when Air France tells you they’re going to serve you “fruit compote,” it’s probably just a cup of Mott’s applesauce. Which is great. Also, their mango cake is, as we say, очень вкусно.

I didn’t sleep much, but all was otherwise good until descent, when my ears started hurting really badly. Ouch. The flight was approximately 7pm-2:30am EST. Dinner was at 8:15, breakfast was at 1. Time to begin the jet-lagging of the eating schedule.

Layover was nothing special. I was tired, hungry, and thirsty, but I didn’t have any euros or anyone to watch my stuff while I sleep, so I powered through.

It was during this time that I realized I was wearing/carrying not one… not two… no, five different plaids. I felt really self conscious for the rest of the day. It was not intentional. It just happened that my shirt, scarf, hat, backpack, and carry-on were all mismatched plaids.

Yet another word to the wise: when you see something plaid you want to wear, consider carefully. It does not lend itself to matching things.

4/5 plaids. Интересно, что в русском языке нет слова "plaid," или нет слова в моей словари.

THEN I had THREE SEATS to myself on the flight to St. Petersburg. I slept a little more. The lunch was not as good… some strange potato salad stuff, a piece of chicken that was literally bright orange, and some bread. I felt super sick to my stomach already (nerves and sleeplessness), so I just ate a few pieces of potato and the bread. But still, three seats to myself.

I arrived in St. Petersburg with no problem. Got through customs very easily. Met up with the group not long after. Began speaking Russian, and by that I mean pointing and grunting “Вот, вот,” for whatever it was, because it was 8am EST, and my brain had roughly the consistency and intelligence of that Mott’s applesauce.

Last word to the wise: sleep is important.