2018 - before it's over

Before the year gets away from me (maybe it already has?), I wanted to write about what I've been up to in 2018.Where I've been, work I've done (what do I even do?), etc.

The main thing, and the one you've probably heard something or other about from me already, is Tyumen! It really deserves its own post to be honest, so I'll try to make that a priority.  For now, I'll summarize it by saying that I was out there once a month to train teachers as part of a professional development program the region started at the beginning of this year. 

Another big trip was Lebanon, where I went in the beginning of May to visit one of my best friends from college who's living in Beirut.  First of all, Lebanese food is officially my all time favorite.  I was in Lebanon for 10 days, and we got a lot done - walked all of Beirut; visited ruins, markets, and a palace in Sidon - one of the most important Phoenician cities; swam in Batroun, which boasts its own Phoenician ruins; camped in the mountains; saw the Old Souks in Tripoli; hiked in the Chouf biosphere; walked around the castle ruins in Byblos; went through the Jeita grotto, and much more! Not to mention driving in a foreign country for the first time, which in Lebanon was a whole experience in and of itself.
The country was buzzing with energy because elections were looming, so there would be parades of cars honking their horns for 10 minutes straight, huge posters everywhere, and fireworks in the middle of the day.  For everyone asking: yes, I was and felt safe, the whole time.  And yes, a lot of people speak English there, though it was definitely helpful having someone who spoke Arabic by my side. In short, I highly recommend a visit and would love to go back myself!

In June I was home for: my best friend's wedding; my mom's birthday; Father's day.  Not the most relaxing trip home, but is it ever? And I got to work on my frolf skills.

Not having gotten nearly enough beach time in Connecticut and facing an unexpected long weekend, I flew off to Sochi. During the World Cup. Which turned out to be the best time for a trip, because there were people everywhere and I made great friends with some Uruguayans in my hostel, who then came and stayed in Moscow! The World Cup as a whole was much better than I'd expected - instead of being crowded, poorly organized, and generally overwhelming, it created a really positive atmosphere - the whole city was like a big party for that month, and people were noticeably happier than usual.  And I got some good Spanish practice in!

Those are the main points from this year so far.  Other than that I've been working on some fun projects, hosting people who've come to visit Moscow (come visit Moscow!), trying to strike a balance between ignoring what's going on in America while still staying informed enough, and thinking of what to do next - whether that's going back to school, or something else.  I know I'm not a consistent blogger (sorry mom and dad), but I'm here! And everything is going pretty well.  Keep an eye out for a post about Tyumen, I promise it'll happen!

10 tips for Moscow

As my friend's Moscow visit gets closer and closer, I've started thinking of things about Russia which I take for granted but would throw newcomers for a loop.  Can I even remember what makes Russia and the US so different now that I've been here for nearly 4 years? Here's what I've come up with so far (note: all of these things have happened to me personally):

 1.  Just because you have an address doesn't mean you even remotely know where it is. 

Russia has this bizarre system of courtyards that you need to struggle your way through to find things sometimes.  For example, you might need to find Ulitsa Pravdy, Dom 20, but on the main road the numbers go from 18 straight to 22, skipping 20 altogether.  (Not so) obviously, this means you need to walk through the parking lot next to you and wander through some courtyards before you maybe find what you need.  
Similarly, there are "korpuses" - so you might need Ulitsa Pravdy, Dom 20, Korpus 3. Korpus 3 may or may not be anywhere near Korpus 1 or 2, and there's a good chance you'll be wandering through more courtyards.  In the US, we tend to just give separate buildings their own numbers.
Another common thing is needing to walk through one store to get to another, because why not. 
Final thing about addresses - sometimes you might be walking down a street which forks, but both sides of the fork have the same street name and even people who work in the area don't know where you are and once you've finally gotten to where you wanted, you can show a picture to the person you were meeting to prove the address you ended up at really does exist.  

 2.  Buying things can be really hard.  

Someone might refuse to sell you something because you don't have exact change.  Or the cashier might see you and choose not to acknowledge your existence for several minutes.  Or, a customer may have (I have no idea how this even happens) put an oranges sticker on his tomatoes when weighing them, so the cashier will have to argue with him about how tomatoes aren't oranges, go look at the tomatoes and oranges on the shelves, get a manager, argue with the manager about how tomatoes aren't oranges, and then finally put the right sticker on the bag and ring them up.  Or you might change your mind about buying something that's been rung up, and then you'll have to wait ten minutes because only one person in the entire store has the authorization to void purchases.  Or there might just straight up not be food on the shelves.  Or you might order from the menu at a restaurant and then get told they don't have that...or that or that.  Or...you can see where I'm going with this.
 

3.   If you come in the summer, there might not be any hot water where you're staying. 

Every summer, everyone gets to experience the fun times of systematically getting their hot water shut off for ten days, regardless of the temperature outside.  And by fun, I mean awful. 

4.   You will likely get shouted at. 

 If you're doing something wrong, you will hear about it; even if you don't understand what you're hearing.  If you're standing/sitting in the wrong place, if you hand over the wrong piece of paper, if you don't have exact change, if you exist - there is a good chance you will get yelled at.  Every time I go back to the US, I'm really surprised by how comparatively polite and not-shouty people are. 
 

5.  However, people might also go out of their way to help you.

There have been a couple of times where I was lost and asked for directions, but instead of telling me and sending me on my way, the people just walked me to where I needed.  Sometimes this comes after being shouted at, but sometimes there's no shouting!

 6.  You really do need to carry your passport with you everywhere.

Think of it like carrying your license everywhere.  But contrary to what a lot of travel guides say, I've often found that a signed and stamped official photocopy of my passport/visa weren't good enough, so it's a good idea to have a copy at home and the real thing with you.  
 

7.  Something might stop existing overnight. 

Like those stores outside of metros.  Or like this one time when on my way to work I passed a corner store, and on the way back 4 hours later I passed a pile of rubble.  Or a store might get replaced by a totally different store, also pretty much overnight.  The possibilities are endless. 
 

 8.  There is free Wi-Fi pretty much everywhere. 

And I mean everywhere.  In cafes/restaurants.  On the metro.  Even in a lot of the parks now.  Enjoy!
 

9.  If you get invited to a Russian's house, you'd better be hungry.

Somewhere between taking your shoes off and walking to the kitchen, an empty table will suddenly groan under the weight of all the snacks and drinks your host has pulled out of nowhere.  Cookies, cakes, candy, fruit, sandwiches, meat, cheese, vegetables, tea, etc.  It's rude to refuse, as well as futile.  My host mother once cried because I tried to resist eating dinner at home before going out to dinner.  

 

10.   People might come up and talk to you when they hear you speaking English. 

It's usually in a friendly way, to ask where you're from and what you're doing here, or to offer help.  I've gotten offered jobs after people heard me speaking English.  There were unfortunately a couple of times when people reacted really aggressively, but that's not the norm.  

So I guess that makes this my Top 10 of things to expect when in Moscow! I highly recommend visiting, but I might be a little biased. 
 

A (postponed) year in review

A review of 2015? Of my 25th year? In either case, it's about time I got on with it before I forget everything.  I brought in 2015 from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.  A few months later I rang in my 25th birthday back in Moscow.  There was a good amount of mid-year exploring - to Manchester, up and down the east coast of the US, and a brief stint in Romania (they don't have good cheese, but their schnitzel makes up for it).

I started taking Russian lessons again for the first time since college.  I successfully hosted my first Thanksgiving potluck (and without anyone destroying my apartment!) before marching straight into Christmas, which was probably the hardest away from home since I've moved here.  Luckily there were plenty of good friends around to make it easier.

Next up I headed to the land of my people, where Pawel and his family made me feel right at home during the new year's holidays (even without water).  I headed back to Moscow, but not before a side trip to Krakow, where Pawel tried his best to freeze us to death on his self-guided walking tours of the city.  But we lived! And had a great time :)

As for life in Russia? The sanctions are still on, life is still harder, and the ruble is still in a sorry state.  But Russians are really good at handling crises, and I learned about a dozen phrases to express this during my lessons.  In addition to the phrasal verb "to launder money", which became really relevant after the release of the Panama papers.  Spoiler alert, most people here didn't bat an eyelid after their release, and some predictably stamped it as a Western conspiracy.  For some more light reading about the current state of the Russian economy, look here.

Now I'm a ripe old 26, and what do I think I've accomplished? I've traveled a bit; I've become a pretty good teacher; I've worked on translations that were used in an art exhibition.  I've figured some things out, and more importantly, I've figured out some of what I still have to figure out.  So here's to 2016, to 26, and to needing a new passport soon!  

Life on the edge

If you're not already aware (ie if you don't read the news ever), the ruble and the Russian economy are going through tough times - the word "crisis" has accurately been used to describe the situation.  To give a brief summary, the ruble is at its lowest rate against the dollar in its history, inflation is rising in Russia, companies are unable to pay back their foreign debt (held largely in dollars), and it's only getting worse.

Why? Partially because of Western sanctions against Russia for its actions in the Ukraine.  Another significant cause is the huge drop in oil prices - while this seems like a good thing because it results in cheaper gas prices for those of you back in the States, it's terrible for oil exporting countries, most of whom rely on the price of crude oil being somewhere around $100 a barrel (to give a rough average) to break even.  It's now fallen to around $60 a barrel and shows no immediate signs of rising.  

What does this mean in real terms, for people living in Russia? Because of inflation, it means that the prices of everything from food to medicines to clothing and electronics have gone up.  To give a real example, I bought medication today for 766 rubles that only 28 days ago cost 750.  Grocery bills are quietly going up 50, 100, 150 rubles more than you expect based on what you're used to paying.  

Because of sanctions, a lot of food items are simply not available.  The most noticable for me is imported cheese, as I find Russian produced cheeses to be fairly bland and plastic-y, and therefore lived on English cheddar and Italian mozzarella. Other items have gone the same route and will continue to do so as existing stock is sold.  

Because of the combined effects, going on vacation to either the US or Europe is simply no longer an option for many people, as the exchange rate vastly decreases their purchasing power.  When I first arrived in Russia two and a half years ago, the rate was around 30 rubles to the dollar; now it's around 70.  Luckily I planned my New Year's trip to Bishkek, so it won't be as bad.

While people are certainly worried, some are also finding some humor in the current situation. 

Unfortunately, things aren't slated to get better any time soon, but for the time being there's not much else to do besides sit, watch, and hope for the best.