loooong but great weekend. it was our last full weekend in saint petersburg and i certainly made the best of it. friday was spent at the zenit store and the park where pushkin and dantes dueled and pushkin was fatally wounded. i was accompanied by my friends sam and erin and two of our russian peers, both named alia. it was wonderful to get to spend a lot of quality time with them. friday night was "red sails" which is a HUGE party for the 2008 high school graduates from the city. essentially close to a million people come downtown, all the streets are blocked off, there is a great light show with music to go along, and everyone helps the graduates celebrate in style. it was pretty amazing.
saturday was my favorite day of the trip so far. we went to staraya ladoga, an old fortress that was first built 1200 years ago. we toured that and then had a picnic on the bank of the neva with all the russian students that have served as guides and tutors. we got back just in time to change and head to the local pub for the russia/netherlands match. it was definitely russia's best match of the tournament and most would say the most entertaining match out of any. russia won 3-1 in overtime and the city partied the entire night. sadly we had to say goodbye to alia because she left today for her home, almaty, kazakhstan. everyone misses her already.
today we slept late, visited church on spilled blood and church of kazan, and then i did some relaxing at the public beach at peter and paul fortress.
our last field trips are tomorrow, finals are tuesday, and we leave for moscow wednesday evening. we return sunday morning and then have a few days before we return to the home country tuesday. i think about you all often and am looking forward to sharing my experiences with you when i'm home. mark your calendars, july 1!