8/30/09 - Day One

Well, I made it to Russia! Right now I am in Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport waiting to board the lime green Siberian Airlines plane to Tyumen.  I have been travelling for almost 30 hours now with minimal sleep. It was a 7 hour drive to/wait in the airport, 10 hour flight, 13 hour layover and I have no sense of time as there is an 8 hour time difference between NJ and Moscow and it is soon to be a 10 hour time change.  I can’t wait to board, so that maybe, hopefully, I can sleep on the flight.

So far everything is going well.  I was a little nervous, but my first flight was pretty uneventful.  Almost everyone was Russian, and I watched The Proposal twice.  The layover has been ok.  It took about an hour to get through customs, and after a brief encounter with an irate Siberian Airlines employee, I was able to check in for my flight to Tyumen pretty quickly.  I stored my large carry-on, and managed to buy a cell phone.  I thought about going into Moscow, but I have been extremely exhausted so I tried to take naps instead.  I am getting by with my Russian, but barely.  The language wires in my brain are crossing and when speaking with someone, I keep mixing up Russian, Spanish, and English. Oops.  Let's hope this doesn't happen too much longer.  

I have some idea of what I can anticipate when I get to Tyumen thanks to Katherine, the ETA who was here last year.  I am moving into her furnished apartment in a dorm for teachers. It is only a 5-10 minute walk to campus and I think it will be nice.  I am really happy to have my housing situation totally settled as it is one less thing I need to worry about.  She sent me pictures of the apartment and answered all of my questions in detail, which was an incredible help and relief.  I also have a vague idea about my schedule and who and what I will be teaching, but my host Svetlana and I will meet before I start class to discuss the groups I will teach and my lessons.   

Although I am more than halfway to Tyumen at this point, the fact that I am actually going has barely started to set in. I began the application process for the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) one year ago and thought about applying over two years ago.  So, after quite some time, and a whirlwind year, it is hard to believe that I am finally on my way and about to hit the ground running.  I could be teaching by the end of this week…and I’m arriving on a Tuesday so that doesn’t leave much time to get situated. 

It is a strange feeling this whole putting life on hold to pick up and move across the world for nearly a year where I will be completely on my own for the first time.  I know this is an incredible opportunity, one that I am really looking forward to.  Although, at the same time I know this is going to be a year of challenges.  I’m looking forward to most of them –  dealing with the language barrier, teaching for the first time, adapting to the way of life here, my side project, and being independent, but I’m a little freaked out about being alone and being the only foreigner at the University and the cold.  I am sure I will make friends, but I think the beginning will probably be a bit lonely.  I wonder what this year will have in store for me. Whatever happens, I am sure it will be an adventure!