My first week was dominated by culture shock -- curl up in bed, shut your eyes and deny everything culture shock. I came to Russia very open and enthusiastic about the new way of life, but when I got here, some sort of latent mental antibodies kicked in and I freaked out. This is the other freaking side of the globe. You can't drink the tap water and the sink is not in the bathroom. Most people don't speak English. There is grandeur, beauty, and squalor all around, right on top of each other without differentiation. There are no burritos. There are buildings older than the country I came from.
As I was just waking up or falling asleep, my belief that I was actually in Russia fell away and I even dreamed vividly that Petersburg was located in San Francisco, just down the street from Cinderella Cafe. When awake, I painfully missed friends and family. But I persisted, not allowing myself to spend too too much time in bed or on Facebook (I quickly bought an internet modem for comfort). It's freaking Russia outside. This country is a big puddle of wonders and I'm a wonder-sponge.
I left my camera home for the first week, wanting to soak in wonder with no other objective at first. It helped me process everything to not also try to document it (the footage in Russia from my video was taken a week after landing).
But now that I am passed the first wave of shock (still going through second, third, and fourth waves), I have begun to explore, enjoy, and take pictures of my fascinating new home.
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