First let me describe arrival into Moscow. My flight arrived in Moscow at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday night on January 14, 2007. Everything was great. My flight was on time, and all my checked bags made it to my destination. That was a nice surprise after hearing the horror stories about Heathrow airport, and checked bags disappearing or being rifled through.
The weather was really warm for the time of the year. There was no snow in Moscow for the first week. The temperature stayed around 38 degrees Fahrenheit. It was really nice. It all came to an abrupt end on the beginning of the second week. It snowed for about 3 days straight. Now, there is snow everywhere.
I started training the next day. I was so tired and jet-lagged. The time difference was 9 hours. Looking back I would have arrived in Moscow about 2 days before training. Training was good. There were 9 people in my training class. Peter is from California. Catherine is from Wisconsin. Georgio is from Italy. Esme is from England. Jenn is from Pennsylvania. Laura is from Massachusetts. Lee is from Maryland. Logan is from California. Allyson is from Massachusetts. They are really nice and friendly. Many of them speak really good Russian. (Much better than my Russian)
I have just completed the first two weeks in Moscow, Russia. Today was my last day of the intensive two week intern training program at the school where I will teach at. (This is a program available for people who have no classroom teaching experience.) It's exciting to finish training, but now I am getting nervous about actually beginning to teach. I will be traveling to companies around Moscow and teaching employees at the specific companies.
Things I've learned:
Cars don't slow down for pedestrians crossing the road.
When riding a metro train, stare straight ahead with a blank look on your face.
The mullet seems to be a cool hair style for Russian boys. (That's right...the Tennessee mud-flap is making a come back.)
I also had my first experience with the Russian police at the end of my first week. I was walking home from my training class at about 9:30 at night. I was walking by a van parked next to the street when a guy said, "Hey...stop." (In Russian of course) I looked over, and it was a police man. I thought...maybe he is talking to someone behind me, so I kept walking. Then he walked towards me, so I knew he was definitely talking to me. He asked from my passport. I thought I was in deep crap because my passport was at the central office of the school getting registered. I had a photocopy of my passport and visa which were accurate and valid, but I didn't think it was going to go over well with this guy. I showed him my copies of my documents, and he let me continue walking with no problem. He was an honest police man in Moscow. There are countless stories of foreigner getting stopped by the police in Moscow, and having to pay them money in order to avoid getting taken to jail even their passport and visa are valid. I have to give credit where it is due. This man let me go without any hassle, so that was cool.
Let me describe my apartment. It is a one bedroom apartment, but the living room has been converted into a bedroom. I have a roommate. He is nice and quiet. He has been teaching here in Moscow for about a year now. He is also an American. He kept to himself, so I really don't know much about him. I go to training in the mornings, and he goes to him classes while I am gone. So we really don't see each other. The bedroom is small, but I was expecting that. The kitchen is funny. It's like it is in a time capsule from 1950. There are very little appliances, and the appliances that are there are really old. Everything works, so that all I care about. The bathroom has recently been renovated, so it is actually really nice. It looks great, and everything works well. There is hot water, so that's cool. Oh...the toilet is in a separate little room next to the bathroom. That was interesting to see for the first time. There is a washer machine, but it is terrible. It never finishes a cycle. You can put clothes in there, but you don't know if the wash cycle will finish or if the spin cycle will ever begin. It is French washing/drying combination machine. It is a piece of crap! Kenmore or Frigidaire or someone like this should build a manufacturing plant here in Russia. They would make a fortune. Ohhh..I just thought of another thing in the apartment. All the light switches are located high up on the wall. I am still trying to get use to reaching up for the light switch.
Ok, this is all I can think of for now. I will post another entry next week. My digital camera broke, so I will also post pictures up once I buy a new camera.
