Searching for a "B" Key

You know you're tired when finding the "B" key on a computer keyboard takes five minutes.

I just spent that five minutes in an internet cafe on Novoslobodskaya Street, the location of my school's central offices as well as the resource center where I will be doing my lesson plans. I arrived in Moscow about 36 hours ago and find myself still in the throes of jet lag. Yesterday, I went to bed at 5:00 in the afternoon (9:00 in the morning in New York, 8:00 in the morning in Kansas), and awoke this morning at about half past one. I remained in bed wool gathering until dawn broke at 5:00, when I decided to set out in search of an internet connection and something to eat.

Jet lag will definitely take some time to conquer, but luckily, I have more than ample time. We are in the midst of the May holidays in Russia, which extend from May 1st (May Day--not called that any more now that Russia has jettisoned communism) to Victory Day (May 9th--the day celebrating Russia's victory over Germany in the Second World War). I will not have to start work until the 13th or 14th, which gives me time to get back to a more normal schedule.

Aside from having a suitcase go missing, my arrival in Moscow was uneventful. I easily found my way through baggage claims, the lost luggage office of Scandinavian Airlines, and customs, after which I was met by a representative of my school and the woman who will be my academic manager. They whisked me away in a Ford minivan of some sort to the apartment that will be my home for the duration of my stay here.

I cannot say much for the apartment. It looks like a typical graduate-student apartment in Washington Heights, which is to say rather ugly and barely furnished. I was disappointed to find that it has no washing machine, which means I will either have to learn to hand-wash in the tub (the usual Russian way of doing laundry, I am told) or make friends with a teacher who has a washer. The apartment has one slight Russian quirk in that the toilet and bathtub are not located in the same room. I find this Russian preference in arrangements quite practical; it means I don't have to worry about needing the bathroom desperately when my roommate is in the shower.

Speaking of my roommate, he is a fellow about my age from South Africa. So far, he has been in Russia about eight months but has plans to leave when his contract expires next month. Who will replace him is anybody's guess. But for the time being, we are getting along reasonably well. He helped me find my way to the supermarket the day I arrived and to the school central office yesterday. I cannot tell one way or the other whether we have much in common, but I have no reason to support we will be unable to live together.

My first full day in Moscow was taken up with administrative chores. The school had me come in to sign my contract, to have photographs taken for a visa extension, and to meet with my director of studies. I will be an in-company teacher, which means that I will be teaching primarily businessmen in their offices. In the short run, this will make my life stressful, since it will mean a lot of finding my way around town on the Moscow Metro. But my meeting with my director of studies made clear that I will have far better academic support and far better resources available to me for teaching than I had in Taiwan. I also obtained a SIM card at a local cell phone store and was given a phone by the school. Then my director took me to lunch at--of all places--TGI Friday's. My first real meal in Russia consisted of American-style chicken fingers!

Today, I meet further with my director of studies to finish up some things we did not get done yesterday when it became obvious to her that my jet lag was getting the better of me and I needed to go home and sleep. I also expect to get onto the Metro for the first time--I hope to do a little shopping, as the suitcase that has gone astray is the one containing all of my underwear. It was fortunate I packed a couple of days' extra underwear in a carry-on bag.

More later. I smell freshly brewed coffee!