Hogwarts and Helsinki-A Russian Apotheosis

So yes, I am well aware of the great amount of well thought out, eloquent neglect that I have put into this blog.  Nonetheless, I consider my lack of entries a good thing, as it means that I have indeed been busy!  It’s so difficult for me to believe that I’ve been here for over three months already, and that in three weeks I’ll be back home.  Throughout my time here I’ve felt so fragmented—my life, family, and friends seemed so far away and separate from myself that sometimes it seemed as if none of the past actually existed, and that the only thing real, true, and pure, was the trip to the supermarket that I managed to get through each week.  Nonetheless, I have reached an APOTHEOSIS.  Last night I had one of those dreams in which everyone whom you have ever known or have heard of in your life makes and appearance, and in which everyone interact in the weirdest of ways.  Russians and contra dancers and high school and college friends all thrown together into one fantastic, magnificent dream that took place in none other HOGWARTS.  Waking up this morning, after literally dreaming of sitting through an entire Herbology and History of Magic class with everyone I have ever known, I realized that this, more than anything else, is a sign of acclimation, or as close to acclimation as I’m ever going to get.

My friend Laura and I went on a short vacation to Helsinki last weekend—we left on Saturday night and got back on an overnight bus, arriving in St. Petersburg at 6:30 AM.  Finland is absolutely AMAZING, and not only because it is full of clones of my very being (lots of blond, health crazy, socialist democrats who also have a perhaps slightly unhealthy love for Christmas).  Our timing was perfect.  Albeit we arrived at 3:00 AM, at which time Helsinki is full of drunken Finns, in which state they become no less good natured, but slightly louder.  There is only one restaurant open in the city at this time, and it is called SOUTHERN FRIED CHICKEN.  It sells fast food for $9 or $10, and people eat it because they are drunk and hungry, or because they are foreigners who have just spent six hours listening to their sketchy, hilarious and wonderful Russian bus drivers sing along avidly to ridiculous Russian pop music the whole six hours of their overnight bus trip (I remember in particular one song which was playing at about 2:30, which must have been at least 7 minutes and consisted of only one lyric.  “I drink, I drink, Green tea, green tea, I love you, I love you.”  Another travel tune was “I didn’t want to and I didn’t have time.” AM NOT JOKING.)  Anyway, by the time the sun came up we knew the layout of Helsinki, and continued to have a magnificent time smiling in the streets, eating pints of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, ogling over the magnificent selection in supermarkets and at the TIMERS that tell you how long until the trolley comes to your stop!
Despite the thrill of such an efficient, clean, and happy city, it was relieving to get back to St. Petersburg.  Even though most people (particularly those in service jobs) in Helsinki seem to speak several languages (Finnish, Swedish, English, and Russian were the most common) I felt anxious and guilty not knowing any Finnish, and kept switching accidentally into Russian-mode whenever anyone tried to talk to me, which made it even more confusing.  Secondly, the politeness, efficiency, and formality were exhausting and a little uncomfortable.  I don’t consider Russian’s rude at all, rather I think they’ve rejected the ridiculously excessive nature that cordiality take exists in Western culture, particularly in Western service culture, where the customer is king.  The prevalence of politeness makes it not only overbearing, but also hollow and superficial.  When someone smiles at me, thanks me, or says they’re sorry here you know it’s sincere.
I’ve gotten used to going about my business without worry about making sure I say “thank you” for everything or “excuse me” for every little push and shove.  In Helsinki I began to feel that responsibility that comes with knowing that I had no excuse for being late, since the transport came on time and there were clocks everywhere telling me the time and temperature.  Before long we were back on the bus (this time an overpriced Finnish bus, as the Russian buses left too early in the day), so I didn’t have to worry or think about all these things too long.  Helsinki now seems long gone.  I’ve made up for lost time in St. Petersburg, and compensated for my weekend of timeliness and responsibility by promptly skipping all my classes yesterday and not returning my overdue library book.  Particularly reveled in the fact that the woman at the groceries asked “WHAT?,”  when I came in, rather than saying, “Hello, miss, may I help you?” and offering to personally gift wrap all my purchases.  Granted, I don’t think they gift wrap bananas, even in Helsinki.