Exchange // The City Apartment Life

Living in an apartment right in the middle of St Petersburg is different from what you'd expect. Or at least it was for me.

Back at home, living with my family in a large house in the suburbs of a small capital city isn't what you'd call cosmopolitan or city living. A sizeable chunk of time is spent sitting at home, not doing much, or walking to the bus stop and riding to the city for 30 mins (I mean, I've simplified it but that's the most basic level what my days consist of).

I mean, relative to what we have to go through here, 10-minute walk to the metro, 40-minute metro ride, 60 to 80-minute bus ride all the way to campus, living at home is definitely a walk in the park. Most of our days in the apartment consist of lounging around until 10 or 11am, me having breakfast, either lounging around some more or getting to class, and then going out to eat somewhere (90% of the time at Gallereia, the gigantic shopping centre close by).

With this kind of schedule, it's annoyingly difficult to find the motivation to go out for a walk or sightsee. Especially when one class takes up more than half of your day, and the sun is out for a total of 6 hours a day. Even going to the gym is a hassle. My gym is on the other side of the city, a 30-minute bus ride away, and then a 15-minute walk in the cold wind. By the time you debate about what to wear to the gym to then get dressed there, then whether to take the bus or metro and how cold it is, what time you'll get home, your motivation reservoir is almost empty.

After a while, you end up getting used to living in a new city, and it becomes less of a vacation and more of a daily routine, as it is with life. You gotta adapt and survive somehow. But you also have to find ways of entertaining yourself and your roommate to keep this albeit temporary way of life, interesting.

So yeah, some days it's almost impossible to get out of bed.

In this cramped, soviet-era apartment with zero sunlight shining through the windows, it's pretty easy to feel cooped up very quickly. Surrounded by so many other lives in this massive apartment block, going on with their own days, worries and tasks, you begin to feel invisible and small which is even more unhelpful.

In spite of all these claustrophobic thoughts and doubts, there was a ray of hope.

Every time I'd see even a hint of blue sky and a tiny ray of sunlight, I'd sprint outside to snap a billion pictures and most importantly, bask in the sunlight.

I really lack a good dose of vitamin d these cloudy, rainy days, and feeling the heat and warmth of the sun on my skin is pure bliss.

So, in those rare moments when you overpower your thoughts and fire up what little motivation you have left and just take one step out the door, you're instantly hit with oxygen and reminded of what a historical and beautiful city you're living in.

I attempted to find such motivation more than once, which resulted in me visiting museums, walking along the beautiful river and all around the more dodgy parts of the city. Sometimes getting lost is a way of finding yourself again *cheesy grin*.

These were the times that I stumbled upon historic gems or stunning sunsets and was again recharged with awe and filled with gratefulness.

I only had one less enjoyable time outside, and that was when it was quite warm during a cold, snowy week, and that day the snow on the roads and paths began to melt. So I headed outside, aiming to see the Russian Museum on my walk down Nevsky Prospect, and it was a disaster from the first step out onto the road.

The road was covered in sludge, dirt and puddles. And I had my suede boots on so by the time I gave up my walk and was back in the apartment, my socks were soaked and you could collect a pool of water with the amount I poured out of my boots. Not a pleasant experience.

But that was it. The rest were stunning long solitary walks, that opened up my imagination, and reminded me of my freedom in this big, complex and dirty city, with unimaginably beautiful palace buildings and myriad historic bridges that truly make this city the Venice of the North.

As much as I complain about my 'horrible' transit time and lack of motivation, in comparison to so many people, I just have to reflect on how grateful and blessed I am to be living such a life. How many people can say they're just casually on exchange, living in the middle of one of the biggest, most historical cities in Russia, and have the freedom to do literally anything they want?

I guess it's me. And there is absolutely nothing more to complain about.

Wrap around a scarf, put on your boots and head out the door.