People-watching, Pick pockets

Post-Baltika on Monday, a few of us grabbed some cheap champagne and headed to Mikhailovsky's Palace gardens. We sat and people-watched for awhile. One thing noticeable is that nobody really smiles here. Everyone looks like they're living such a hard life. No one really says thank you. If you hold the door open for someone, they'll just barrel through without even looking you in the eyes. They'll also push you on the metro to get out of their way. The fashion here is insane. Basically anything goes. Girls clothes range from full-length dresses and outfits fit for a club, to just basic jeans. Most of the girls wear high-heels constantly, which must be hard with all the walking they do here. Guys clothing also ranges quite a bit. The time of day doesn't help predict outfits. Some of our tutors come to class decked out in heels, skirts, halter tops, sunglasses, and jewels in their hair. Someone in our group asked about the high heels, the girl responded with- if I don't wear high heels, what will I wear? To them, this is their only option. People travelling in the same group can also vary in their outfits. Our tutors are very awesome though, they're actually friendly and outgoing.

After enjoying a beautiful afternoon in the park with friends, we head back on the metro to go to our dorms. What else could follow such a relaxing day but insanity and drama. Two of the kids in our group get pickpocketed. The unfortunate thing about it is that we know the guy who did it, but there was such a bustle and nobody really cared around us, that we got pushed out when the doors opened and didn't quite know what to do. After that incident, we've been hyper-vigilant on the metro. Two other people have been pick-pocketed since then, and lost their cameras. Once you start paying attention, it is quite obvious what they are doing. The most annoying part of it all to me is just how blatant they are. Now we have our circle of death, where we huddle and keep all our stuff in the middle. The boys have a triangle of death, since there's three of them at a time usually. Whatever it takes to keep our stuff out of their hands.

PS:- the picture is off these 12 years old we saw drinking and smoking