Author: Megan Phillips

As my friend Andrew described earlier, beginning our goodbyes to our classmates today was bittersweet. I think we are all excited to go home to our loved ones and the familiar, but it’s still hard to know this experience is almost over. Though many of us will be fortunate enough to continue classes together back in DC, some of our classmates attend different universities and/or live in other cities. Even for those who will be back on GW’s campus soon enough, our time together in the future will never be quite like these past ten days. I’m so grateful to have had this opportunity and to have gotten to know so many lovely people!

We were delighted to see a familiar face, the Washington Capitals’ Alexander Ovechkin, grinning back at us while we rode the metro today in St. Petersburg! I suppose Ovi has better things to do these days than actually ride the metro in person, but it was still a treat to stumble upon his Russian Papa John’s advertisement during our commute.

Despite purchasing a Rosetta Stone subscription, I somehow arrived in Russia with very little of the Russian language or Cyrillic alphabet under my belt. (Apparently this knowledge doesn’t just download into your brain automatically when you subscribe — who knew?!) I came prepared with various translation apps, but I still worried about one key thing: the ease of ordering food in restaurants during my 11 days in the country. It’s been a happy surprise that so many of the restaurants we’ve encountered either list an English description of all items or have a picture-book equivalent of the menu to make ordering easier for tourists. Of course, if all else fails, I can always find a bakery and point to a desired pastry. Coffee and donuts are a universal language!

Our trip to Russia is only my second time ever leaving the United States, so I’ve been especially excited about the unique experiences I’ve gotten to have abroad. Last night we attended St. Petersburg’s Scarlet Sails event, during which approximately 80,000 of the highest-ranked students in Russia travel to St. Petersburg alongside their families and teachers to celebrate their graduation from school. Some of my classmates and I took a boat ride to watch the 10:30 PM sunset and the Scarlet Sails fireworks from the water. We had an incredible view and got to enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Our class consists of both undergraduate and graduate students, and I’ll be the first to admit I was nervous about the potential age difference between my classmates and me. I’m 30, married, and I work full time, so I’m only a part-time student in GW’s Master of Tourism Administration program. The majority of students in my program tend to have started grad school immediately after undergrad, so I’m generally one of the older students in my classes. That isn’t a big deal in daily life, but I worried that any undergraduate students traveling with us in Russia would look at me like I was their grandmother. It’s been such a happy, unexpected surprise that one of my best friends on this trip has turned out to be my 19-year-old classmate, Giuliana. We may be an unlikely friendship, being both the oldest and the youngest women in our class, but of all the great things I will take away from this international experience, this new little sister of mine is one of the best.

Our first full day as a class began at Moscow’s #budhotel, where Budweiser, the official beer of the World Cup, is working to light up both the world and the festivities here in Russia. We learned quite a lot about Budweiser’s various sponsorship activation efforts, including their Man of the Match Award, Red Light Cups which respond to noises such as the cheering of fans in football stadiums, and of course the brand’s takeover of Moscow’s Intercontinental Hotel. During our time at the hotel, our class had the unique opportunity to explore and interact with Bud Studios, the sponsor’s content creation laboratory. No hyperbole here — as you can see, our tour turned my world upside down!