St.Petersburg!

By:

Alejandro Romero

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So this week by far was one of my best. I had an amazing adventure to one of the worlds most beautiful cities. St.Petersburg. A little history behind this magical place; St.Petersburg was founded by the Russian tsar Peter the Great. Peter was an emperor who was in love with European culture and wanted to reform Russia. He designed St.Pertersburg to look like Cities in western Europe, such as Paris and Rome. He also changed the Capitol from Moscow to St.Petersburg during the 18th century. While St.Petersburg is no longer the Capitol of Russia, it is still home to many of the worlds most amazing buildings including the Hermitage and St.Issacs. It is funny as there is a minor rivalry between citizens of Moscow and citizens of St.Petes. People from St.Petes tend to be more laid back and relaxed, and the Muscovites think they are slow and lazy hehe.The first day in St.Petersburg consisted of a tour around the city and a nap, as we took an overnight train there, and I was unable to get much sleep. (I did manage to make a Russian friend on the train however).Day 2 Consisted of an excursion to the square and the Hermitage. The Hermitage is one of the worlds largest and richest museums, as well as the formal winter palace of the Russian tsars during the 18th century. The exhibits were amazing and breathtaking. After the hermitage I decided to explore a little with some friends, and we had a nice night walking about the city. We found a place that sold these delicious 10 ruble (roughly 33 cent) fried donuts with powdered sugar. they were soo delicious and I made an effort to go everyday I was there to get one. oh I gained so much wait ><)It was one of the most scariest experiences of my life, as it was super dark, foggy, and in the middle of the woods. Hundreds of graves surrounded us. Some accompanied by red candles. Like something straight out of a horror novel. I almost wet myself, but it was an amazing experience none the less. Day 4 was a free day in which I visited many cathedrals, and St.Petersburg anthropology museum. I have heard of this museum before, as it houses something disturbing but fascinating. Once you get past all the wax figures and artifact, you eventually will reach the grotesque room of  some of Peters 18th century scientist. In this room there are Hundreds of exhibits that display REAL malformed human fetuses in Jars. It was soo creepy yet so interesting. Many of the deformed fetuses had two heads, deformed bodies, one eye..etc.   It definitely made me lose my appetite, but I do not regret seeing it. In the evening some friends and I met up with the Russian we met on the Train and had some tea and macaroons. We had fun talking and walked to the trains station right after. It feels good to be back home in Moscow, but my busy schedule will now continue.

Alejandro Romero

My name is Alejandro Romero, but my friends call me Alex. I was born in Hialeah Miami, to a Costa Rican father and Puerto Rican mother. When I was young my parents divorced. I was raised primarily by my mother and my Irish-American step-father in Hollywood, FL. I have two younger siblings, a brother on my mother's side, and sister on my father's side. Growing up, English was my first language and Spanish was my secondary. In middle school, I had the wonderful opportunity of going to Costa Rica with my father. While I always had an interest in foreign languages and cultures ever since I was young, I was amazed with how different daily life was in another country. In high school, I became fascinated with the Japanese language and culture and started teaching myself before having the opportunity to take it as a class. I studied Japanese for 4 years before finally getting the opportunity to participate in a student exchange program in the summer of 2009. To this day, I say that was the greatest experience in my life, and it has allowed me to see the world in a different way. Recently I have fallen in love with the Russian language and culture and wish to pursue the same great experiences I had during my Japanese Studies. My goals in life are to use my skills of languages and cultures to help improve international relations, and change some of the misconceptions people have towards other cultures.