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!!!!!