Hello

I've decided to start my blog a little bit early.  I ship off to DC in two weeks for my ACTR orientation, where I'll meet my fellow participants and learn more about the program itself. I don't know much about what my stay in St. Petersburg is going to be like, but today I at least learned that I'll be staying with Valeria Andreevna Iskanderova, a woman who lived through the siege of Leningrad! I've investigated the area around her apartment to little avail. I've found little so far besides the Volodarsky Bridge, named for a 20th century Russian revolutionary.  I'm pretty sure this is the bridge I will cross over the Neva River to get to the nearest metro station, Lomonosovskaya.  As it turns out, CMC student and former Russian classmate of mine Peter Jebsen stayed with the same host!  Small world.  I'll leave it here, since I still have little to say, but hopefully I will have some more information in the coming days!