Michelle in Russia

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Odessa, Ukraine

So Friday is a holiday here. Katie and I are going to Odessa, Ukraine on the Black Sea. A two hour, direct flight from Moscow, a beach - Why not?

I was doing some research tonight, and came across this website... which offers "Ukraine Travel Tips - Ukraine Guidlines for Foreign Men"

http://www.odessa-guide.com/guidelines.shtml

If you could use a laugh, please read... Also, please note that this was written in January 2008! But sad thing is, this really is serious - it is not a joke.

Some more interesting, sad reading...
http://www.kyivpost.com/nation/42838

I really do think beer is viewed as a soft drink here. I can't tell you how many times I see people drinking, and I have to look to see what time it is.

Well, it is 10:12 pm here, and it is still light outside....but I am going to bed soon.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Clean Apartment!!!

My cleaning person came today! What a wonderful feeling... All these years, I've been very bad at housekeeping, and I never thought about hiring someone to do it! I love it!!!

So, here is my hallway. I took up the carpet runner, because I prefer the tile. Yes, that is a DRYING RACK - we don't have dryers here.... So, my cleaning person brought that, because I have no idea where one might buy that - well, I sort of do, but it is quite inconvenient to travel there and carry home on the metro.

Everyone who knows me, knows I would NEVER make up my bed.... Nice to have it done for me. They also ironed all of my shirts and pants I had over at the ironing board and hung them up for me!

My nice kitchen.... The yellow is actually growing on me.

Nat - my chianik (hot water pot) will beat anything you find in the US. My water is boiling in like 30 seconds!

I love my window!!! I love the little park it overlooks.

A note on curtains... there always seems to be some lacy thing with designs... that doesn't block light at all... Imagine that it doesn't get dark until late - and seriously, it is super bright at 5 am.... So, it is good to have some light blocking curtains.

Last Sunday

This is the view in front of my new apt. I am sort of on an island between the river and a canal. This is one of the Stalin Skyscrapers. I think there are 7 in Moscow.

So, this obviously is a bit outside Moscow! Some of us from work went to the beach!

Then to a restaurant on the water! Very nice!

I am not going to post the pictures here, but it was quite entertaining watching the locals sunbathe. No real need for a "swimming costume" here :), but no, they were not naked either. Lots of underwear!

Saturday, May 30, 2009

New Apartment/Random Things

For those of you who don't know - I got kicked out of my apartment.... Quite unbelievable to most of you, I am sure. I was shocked for about 30 minutes when I got the word from my realtor. However, it is quite common here for the landlord to decide they want the apartment back for no real reason....

So, last Sunday with the help of some friends, I moved into my new apartment. I really like it! Much closer to work, a proper bathroom - not soviet style - microwave, radio, good tv and fast internet - and CHEAPER! which means I am getting a cleaning person!! I can see this might be something I get addicted to..

I wanted to share some pics - but really, my place is still a mess - so here are a few of very random things in my apartment - but I'll share more after the cleaner comes :)

I have to unlock 4 doors to get into my apartment.....

I have a nice TV with alot of channels :)
The show below seems to be some gambling something or other... There seem to be alot of things you can do/play/vote for using your cell phone.

A giant lion in my living room! The landlord was quite happy that I would get to have this.

A tray on my stove - filled with dried stuff... I actually quite like it. My kitchen is very cozy, and my window opens to a little park.

Observances

I am really trying to understand the culture here, because things are certainly different that what I know. It is not really that they are "difficult", but things work differently - and actually getting to the bottom of how to accomplish something can be a challenge. Here are some things I have come across:

Generally, everything is someone else's responsibility - no matter who you ask. There are so many layers - and no one wants to bear the responsibility. I'm told there is some famous phrase about - "who to blame?" Like at work, I want to demonstrate how to do something in Excel... but first, we have to figure out if it is in their job description to do this, and then I need to get IT to show it because that is their job.......
Not sharing information........ information is power.... So, there is lots of uncertainty here
When information is shared - it is only the very minimum of what you need. For example, my internet here in my new apartment.... The landlord pays for it - so I did not deal w/the set up - so my realtor just tells me - turn the modem off and back on, and it should work...Uh, don't I need log in and password? So, I get that... Ne rabotat (does not work)...Finally, since everything at work is IT's job, I ask them. Thankfully one guy used to work for my internet company - and knows that I need to call them and give them some information from my computer for it to work..
Licensure/Credentials - seems to be quite often these are purchased rather than earned.
Interesting things learned in Russian language lessons - the phrase "is it possible?" also translates as "would you like to?" No wonder I get so many - "it is not possible"s!. The concept of "efficiency" seems to translate as "working harder/more"

Here are some things I love about Moscow

Everything and nothing are possible in the same moment.
Summer - the breeze, the parks, the flowers, the outdoor cafes
I am starting to like it being late so long...
I love that as a part of my work, I really need to know things about Kazkhstan, Armenia and Tajikistan.
Everything is so fluid - plans change at a moment's notice with a text message, it really makes you re-think strict planning and timelines :)
All the people you get to meet....