Sometimes, when you travel to a place with a different environment, you experience a shock to your system. If you've just spent a week in sunny Miami, and then return home to cold and wet New York for Christmas, you might feel a climate shock. The sudden change of weather--stepping out of the airport and into the parking lot to see the ice envelop the cars--it can take a bit of time to adjust too. I didn't feel any immediate climate shock when I stepped off the train to St. Petersburg; despite the four-hour distance, both Moscow and St. Petersburg are somewhat similar climate-wise, although St. Petersburg certainly has bodies of water. It wasn't until a few days had passed that I began to feel a different kind of climate shock. In Moscow, we juked past masses of tourists and natives alike to navigate a Byzantine metro system, we walked marathons across the capital, and we woke up early and scrambled to meet as many speakers as possible. It was a lot of work--to the point where it even affected my health--but I am still grateful for the experience, even if it was hectic. But you simply can't continue at that kind of pace for more than five days; at some point, the team will crash. And so, I was pleased to see a far less hectic schedule for St. Petersburg. It's been great to mellow out more and also enjoy the city. After just a week in Russia, I can see why they say, "You come to Moscow to find work, you come to St. Petersburg to find love."
