Personal and Cultural Development
After commenting last week about how much I adore water and being at sea, I now feel that I would have to be paid to get on another ferry! That’s not really true, I can’t be kept away from the sea, but the trip to St Petersburg this week certainly tried my patience. We were faced with many mistakes and issues that were given no explanations, so I felt that my patience was personally stretched to the limit. However, it was an experience to remember, shared with good friends. Culturally, I had more of a shock going to Russia than I did coming to Finland. We were the first to take the brand new visa-free ferry crossing from Helsinki to St Petersburg, so we were treated to some celebratory benefits. Of course, these were also attempts to prolong our patience. Hours of waiting was answered with alcohol – a solution that’s commonly shared in many cultures I’ve established. One of the benefits we were given on the ferry was a free buffet dinner – roast beef, pork, chicken wings, ribs, salmon, squid rings, caviar, vodka, wine ... you name it, it was there! We couldn’t believe all of this could possibly be free, so Alex asked twice for us – bon appétit was the answer she was given! Of course, I tried caviar (it was free!!); it tasted like the sea.
St Petersburg itself was an unforgettable experience. I found it baffling sometimes to admire the original and amazing architecture, whilst drowning out and avoiding distraction from the horrendous traffic (worse than in Italy!) At one point, three of us had to be transported by taxi to another hotel where we were to hitch a ride in a limo, but we almost didn’t make it. It was a small, old, beaten taxi that could barely fit the three of us in the back. The champagne in the limo was needed after we made it out of a dodgy situation trapped in the middle of St Petersburg, surrounded by a bus, three cars and a tram, wondering which one would hit us first. I was beginning to think this was definitely the most bizarre city I have ever been in, when this thought was confirmed. We were walking along the street and saw real monkeys with clothes and shoes on, being promoted it seemed by a man that clearly kept them only in a small plastic box. I’m not sure if he was trying to sell the monkeys, the clothes on the monkeys or pictures taken with the monkeys, but I was speechless at this.
Despite all of the asides just mentioned, I’m still in complete disbelief that a couple of days ago I was being guided around the Hermitage Museum, appreciating extravagant rooms in Catherine’s Palace, being entertained at a traditional Russian dinner, and most impressive of all, being mesmerised by a real Russian ballet performance of Swan Lake in the Hermitage Theatre. The talent from the Academy of Russian Ballet was beyond belief. Even seeing the works of Da Vinci and Michelangelo, as well as the largest vase in the world and the first suspended ceiling made of gold and detailed paintings didn’t come close to the feeling of astonishment from the ballet performance. Other highlights of the trip included haggling at a local market (successfully), appreciating the ‘city of religious tolerance’ in the form of intricately detailed cathedrals (especially the Cathedral of the Spilled Blood), and staying in a hotel that was in fact part of a shopping mall, making it too tempting to spend the money I had saved at the market! There was also so much symbolism and references to World War II, that these two ideas seem to sum up Russia for me. As for St Petersburg itself, it’s said to be Russia for beginners, so who knows if I will be back...
Professional Development
This week, the rewarding teaching in TIS continued, but I also had another four hour seminar, a continuation of the previous intimidating but motivating one. I had anticipated that a few people may have decided not to continue with the course because the last seminar had been so demanding, but I did not expect only three of us to turn up – including me! Nevertheless, we continued with the work at hand. This time, we were given exactly the same task, only this time we knew what to do, so the atmosphere was much less tense and everybody worked well. The purpose of this became clear as we were working as a group on self-regulated learning and motivation – all of the concepts we were reading, writing and discussing about we were experiencing through the seminars. As a result, these experiences have significantly enhanced my ability to think critically and reflect on myself and the work of others. If that isn’t professional development, I don’t know what is!
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