Bear Island

There is an organization at the academy that puts together activities for the staff and teachers here. The recently organized a trip to Bear Island to the north of Novosibirsk. Originally it was going to be me, Morgan, and the director (Marina Viktrovna). Well, I guess Marina never said she was going, I just assumed she was because she invited me and signed me up. Morgan had to back out because he has Aisic (no really sure what the acronym is of that organization) stuff to do. So, I went alone and found the mooring spot not too far from the university, about a thirty minute walk. Well, everyone was surprised on Monday that I found it on my own, but they did give an address. Well, as I understood it we would just bring our own food, take a boat ride up the river, walk around on the island for about half an hour then come back. The poster said there would be activities or "konkursy" games, etc. but I did not expect an all day affair!!!!! It was wonderful. On the ride north to the island this old man busts out traditional songs on his accordion, old women start dancing and singing. Ah it was so much fun. One old woman asked me to write something down for her, some numbers. She saw what I was writing and said give it here, you're writing in Arabic or something. Haha, I just wrte numbers differently than Russians. She was so funny.

This is a video of them singing and dancing.

On the trip there I sat with the very sweet and kind Galina Ivanovna, who was the only other person from the Foreign Languages Kafedra.

When we got to the island we broke into groups (foreign languages and law were together that day). We had our first concourse there, the table contest. Oh boy, Russians can decorate their tables:












More to come tomorrow about the crazy bear island

Arrival and first week and a half.

SO much has happened in the short week and a half that I have been in Novosibirsk. My arrival was late at night (well, I guess early, at 2 am I got to the dorm), thereby allowing me to get some rest before starting my day. My host contact is a wonderful woman, Elena Lyuks. She met me at the airport with her husband, Aleksandr (Sasha), who's 27). Elena is barely older than me. Sasha is a mecanic and will work himself to death. He is always busy working, but so is Elena.

I have a small but very comfortable office that I now share with a funny and sweet French guy named Morgan Melie (MeleeAY). He's from Bordeau and the Russians love him for it. One of my new friends, Sergei (he just graduated and works as an Economist for the Academy) asked him for advice in buying wine. Soon there will be a third foreign teacher with us, the former Fulbrighter here, Kevin Brondam. He arrives later this week.

Our office is part of a larger room called the "Upravlenie mezhdunarodnyx svyazei" which is like the Office of International Studies at Beloit. Well, when you walk into the upravlenie m.s. there is an office to the left where the director is, then our office, then another large office where Elena (hence known as Lena) works with Yulya, which leads into Irina Gulyaeva's office. We often take tea breaks and eat sweets together. What I like about this wonderful group is that they are always joking and being god-hearted. I like them very much.

I am not really sure who I am teaching longterm yet because I am waiting for Kevin to come, but it looks like I will have four classes a week, but they have asked me to go to so many extra ones that I have probably averaged 8. I even missed one because I was confused about what was actually mine and what they had just asked me to cover the week before when someone was sick. Oops. They yelled at me a bit for that, but they could see that I had innocently forgotten. I had actually been in the building the entire day, getting ready for my evening class.

All of the students are so friendly except for the class that had to do grammar with me. I thought they were going to kill me by the end. It was after all 6pm on a Saturday. They had six days of class that poor group. Why the Academy gave them grammar from 4:40 to 6pm on a Saturday is beyond me.

I really love my students so far, especially one group in particular. They aren't necessarily the best at English, but they're a great bunch. They're active and aren't too mean to each other when they get something wrong.

pre-departure

So August has been a month plagued with the cruel realities of Russian bureaucracy. Yay! They are just doing their best to reintroduce me to Russia.
For those of you not acquainted with Russia and getting visas, it is a multi-step process that requires the acquisition of an invitation, a document from from your host certified by the local authorities. This document is the key to getting your visa because it serves as a promise that whoever is hosting you promises to be responsible for inviting you to Russia. You then send that document off to the embassy either in person or through a third party company with other supporting documents (HIV test, photo with application, as well as any information required that is specific to the visa you are applying for; note that these rules are constantly changing). One of the new complications is a five day rule. Anyone wishing to enter Russia must wait five days from the issue date of the visa before they can enter the country. The embassy does not specify how to count those days, whether it starts the day the visa is issued or the next day, and whether you can enter on the fifth day after the date it is issued. So for me, it is a matter of guessing.

Unfortunately, I assumed (my first and gravest of mistakes: I assumed) I would get my invitation well before the entry date recommended by the Academy where I'll be teaching. That date has come and passed. The irony is that I got it on that date, the 24th of August. Well, I had booked a flight for the 31st from D.C. with the intention of going a few days early to send with my friend, Anna, before we would both fly together on the same flight to Moscow. She had a great price for the flight, so I bought prematurely (second mistake). It is really my fault. I should never have purchased my ticket without my invitation in hand. It took the migration office in Novosibirsk longer than expected to send my invitation back to the university. Oh well. I have sent it off to the embassy in D.C. and am still awaiting the return of my passport with the visa in it. What makes me more nervous, I do not know what the entry date will be printed on the visa. My third major mistake was that I didn't contact the office in Moscow about this problem sooner. They contacted Novosibirsk, and by the next day their office had apparently pressured the migration services to get to processing my invitation.

I hope to be in Novosibirsk by the 7th of September, which would be a week after the Fulbright program wants me to be there.

So lessons learned:
1. Do not assume
2. Do not pay prematurely for something that is expensive to fix.
3. Be pushy, politely, but forcefully (for anyone who knows me, they are probably aware that I do not like to be pushy, but to just let things run their course in due time. This is a no no in Russia. I must be assertive. I must.

Well, the positive note in this nerve-racking mess, a boon to me, is that now I have a little bit more time to pack and box all my stuff up.

Summer 2010

Sometime during the spring I found out that I was lucky enough to return to Russia on a Teaching Assistantship Fulbright. It wasn't but a few weeks ago that I finally found out that I am being sent to NOVOSIBIRSK. For those of you who may not speak Russian, that basically means "New Siberia."

The city is Russia's third largest, but isn't very well known because it is tucked far away in southern Siberia on the other side of the Urals. Despite the fact that the average high from November through March is below freezing, I am looking forward to the exciting experiences that will surely come my way so far from my home in Columbus, OH. In fact, Novosibirsk is practically on the exact opposite side of the planet from Ohio, except that it is higher in latitude than Columbus. This change in winter weather may only be difficult because of its extreme duration. I plan to go with a carefree heart, not being pessimistic about the frigid weather. Besides, Russians tend to keep their buildings so well heated that I doubt it will be a problem.

As of right now I am mostly concerned with housing and whether it will come out of my stipend. There are three options that I am faced with at the moment: I am assigned university housing. This may be the cheapest, but probably the most inconvenient. I would prefer to have my own refrigerator and bathroom, or to share them at the very least with a limited number of people. The next option is that I would rent out an apartment with another student. This option would be great, except that I would almost surely be paying for it from my stipend. The third option is that I am either placed with or aided in finding a household from whom I would rent out a room. This option would certainly be welcomed and nice, though I would be concerned about how they would be payed. Would they prepare dinner? How would that affect the rent? Would I be allowed to cook sometimes? I do not worry that we wouldn't get along, so long as they aren't unkind to me.

In July I will attend an orientation session about the Fulbright as well as about my responsibilities as a T.A. which will probably be different at each school anyway. I do hope that I will be given a certain amount of freedom in leading a class or two. Anyway, I think most of my questions will be answered as soon as the kafedra (like the office of a department) that is hosting me decides to get in touch, which may not even be until their current student leaves (assuming they have someone).

I am still unsure about my departure date, which I will not have any concrete idea about until the university in Novosibirsk gets in contact with me. The university where I am going looks to be in the center of the city. It is called "The Siberian Academy of State Service" (Сибирская академия государственной службы), which in other words probably means: How to become a good bureaucrat. Hahaha. I am glad I will make good contacts with these people!

I am really looking forward to the trip abroad. I do not care that it is far away from Moscow. I will have so much fun there despite the cold! I am very excited!!!!!