How can I visit Saint Petersburg, Russia from California?

Question by kid at heart: How can I visit Saint Petersburg, Russia or Moldova from California?
When I get older I want to visit these two countries. I want to go to Moldova because of a close friend. However, my heart remains in St.Petersburg. Right now, I’m 17 and when I grow up I want to visit these places. Also, I’m from San Jose, when we went to San Francisco I did not see these places on the flight. I only see them in Asia.

Answers and Views:

Answer by Samuel (James)
You could do volunteering work there, or try and find a job. Or, if you have the financial means, you could take a long holiday.
There are really lots of ways you could do it, take a look here for further information – http://www.russianembassy.org/
I’m not sure how reputable this website is having never used it but it may be worth looking at – http://www.goabroad.com/volunteer-abroad/search/russia/volunteer-abroad-1
And a tip for you would be, seeing as you seem to have plenty of time, to try and learn some Russian, at least to a basic conversational level – this way you’ll find it less problematic to perform basic tasks such as finding what you want in a shop or buying train tickets.
Try this website for learning the language – http://www.russianlessons.net/ (Investing in a book that you can read when you want to may also be a good idea, such as this – http://www.amazon.co.uk/Basic-Russian-Workbook-Routledge-Grammars/dp/0415183189 )

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