My biggest problem at the moment is the Russian Language. At the moment, I am in Group 7 (out of 9), and every single class I feel like I'm drowning in a sea of unintelligible words. My conversation class is particularly bad, because my Russian vocabulary is extremely limited, and I just feel completely out of my depth...at this point, I'm seriously considering dropping down a level, because in my current class, I'm not absorbing anything that they're teaching me (the entire class is in Russian, and I understand maybe 5 words out of every 10 the teacher says).
Outside of class, the language barrier isn't quite as bad; Marina and I have worked out a reasonable system of communication (approximately 80% Russian and 20% charades), and even grocery stores aren't quite so difficult anymore...still, in the classroom, all that progress falls by the wayside, and I'm entirely convinced the teacher thinks I'm a complete idiot.
My other major concern is where to go for travel week (November 8 - 15)...obviously, cost is a factor, and the two cheapest options are (oddly enough) located at opposite ends of Europe. I could go West, to merry old England, where I've got 3 or 4 friends living at the moment, and just couch-crash for the entire week without paying for a hotel (I'd also be able to speak the language, which is a HUGE plus). My other option is to ride the Trans-Siberian Railway eastward, towards Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan and possibly even Yekaterinburg (located in the Urals, where European Russia meets Siberia)...this would probably be a little cheaper, but so far, only one, possibly two of the other American students is showing interest in coming along, so I need to figure out what's what by the end of this weekend if at all possible.
Anyway, here's some more pictures, this time from my visit to the Hermitage:
The Winter Palace
Arch of the General Staff Building
Ionic Colonnade in the Classical Art Wing
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