The past two weeks have been a slight break from cultural activities for me. I've been adjusting still, so the break from constantly being overwhelmed by new things was nice. However, I have been looking forward to the SKA match we were scheduled to go to last night.
I think a general stereotype about Russia is that hockey is a huge sport there. And the stereotype is right! The game we went to see was SKA (Saint Petersburg's KHL team) vs Sochi (Sochi's KHL team). The arena has to be the biggest arena I've watched hockey in, and ALL of the seats were filled. Everyone was decked out in SKA's colors, myself included, and we were all given SKA signs to wave and fold into fans that you pound on your knee.
It wasn't until college that I really became invested in sports, like the Cavs and Indians. Most of my guy friends are also MASSIVE hockey fans, so their excitement for the game has also rubbed off onto me. I think thats why, when I stepped foot into the arena, that I immediately felt like I was home again. It was nice, considering how homesick I've been. Who would've thought that sports are what made some of my anxiety go away.
I had so much fun though! The energy was super high and I realized that I was shouting along with them "давай! давай! давай!" or "только СКА и только победа!". After the game was over, I made the internal decision to go see a SKA game at least once or twice a month before I leave. It made me simultaneously feel Russian and American at the same time, if that makes sense.
I have one more excursion planned before midterms and then V A C A T I O N ! I am so so excited to spend a week and a half in Moscow & Greece! I have always dreamed of going to Greece, so I feel really blessed that I'll be able to go.