So, our sea shipment made an unscheduled stop in Hamburg, Germany and will now arrive in St. Petersburg port on August 5th. The bad news is that we will now be in the hotel for at least another two weeks. After almost 60 days I can honestly say that I've had enough of the hotel. While I do enjoy the fact that we don't have much space to keep clean, I'm looking forward to saying to Olga 'could you pick something up?'. The good news is that we are scheduled to receive our air shipment on Saturday! Highly critical, as this contains the remainder of or clothes.
They tell us that the air shipment will be delivered around 9:30AM. We are hoping that they actually show up on Saturday...anytime on Saturday. This is important, as we have been wearing the same clothes for the past two months and to be honest we're both quite tired of the stuff we brought with us (yes, they have been laundered several times!). Also, really hoping that our clothes are in good shape (remember, they were packed almost 60 days ago!).
We're also looking forward to being able to prepare our own meals or better yet, having Olga's mom come over to visit and cook 'with' us! I typically enjoy dining out, but this is ridiculous. Not to mention that we eat so late anymore. Since the day starts later here we also finish later, with dinner coming around 9PM. That would be a significant issue for my waist-line if it weren't for the fact that I visit the gym here on most days.
Fingers crossed that our stuff shows up!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
Moscow - is it expensive?
Well folks, Forbes has confirmed it. Moscow is once again the most expensive city in the world. I would like to personally thank Gavin and Brian for taking time out of their busy schedules to remind me of this (see link below).
I do feel as though I should make some editorial comments to the information that has been provided. The first is to the comment that Brian sent. I did a personal price check at Starbucks today and it was only 200 Rubles ($9 and some change) for a grande mocha, which is just shy of the $10 that you had quoted (but thanks for playing 'Guess the Price in Moscow'). We won't add in the personal time that it took me to actually get to the Starbucks, as there are only one or two here at the moment, neither of which is within 20 minutes of the hotel. The second correction is to a quote in the linked article. It states somewhere that a two-bedroom, luxery apartment in Tokyo is $5,100, which is about $600 more than in Moscow. That's just not true and trust me on this one, I've done A LOT of research. Olga and I were looking at a two-bedroom apartment that was renting for $4,500 per month. It was nice, but not what we would consider 'luxery'. The lease came due in June and the apartment was re-listed at $8,000 per month. We were told that it was rented by someone for $7,100 per month (remember, everything is negotiable!).
So, is Moscow expensive? I believe the answer to that is a resounding Ýes'. Is it worth it? Again, a resounding Ýes'. This is an amazing place and we sincerely hope that many of our family and friends take the unique opportunity to come visit us while we are here.
http://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/105443/World's-Most-Expensive-Cities
I do feel as though I should make some editorial comments to the information that has been provided. The first is to the comment that Brian sent. I did a personal price check at Starbucks today and it was only 200 Rubles ($9 and some change) for a grande mocha, which is just shy of the $10 that you had quoted (but thanks for playing 'Guess the Price in Moscow'). We won't add in the personal time that it took me to actually get to the Starbucks, as there are only one or two here at the moment, neither of which is within 20 minutes of the hotel. The second correction is to a quote in the linked article. It states somewhere that a two-bedroom, luxery apartment in Tokyo is $5,100, which is about $600 more than in Moscow. That's just not true and trust me on this one, I've done A LOT of research. Olga and I were looking at a two-bedroom apartment that was renting for $4,500 per month. It was nice, but not what we would consider 'luxery'. The lease came due in June and the apartment was re-listed at $8,000 per month. We were told that it was rented by someone for $7,100 per month (remember, everything is negotiable!).
So, is Moscow expensive? I believe the answer to that is a resounding Ýes'. Is it worth it? Again, a resounding Ýes'. This is an amazing place and we sincerely hope that many of our family and friends take the unique opportunity to come visit us while we are here.
http://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/105443/World's-Most-Expensive-Cities
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
The American Medical Clinic
Or is it the American Medical Center? That was a very interesting dilemma that Olga and I faced last Friday when we were at the Clinic, but really should have been at the Center. They are on the same street, they are not related at all and it was not overtly clear on our medical card as to which one we should go to.
Olga's teeth were still bothering her, even after the removal of the right-side wisdom teeth, so we took her to the doctor to see if they could find anything. We figured that since we were already going to be at the Clinic we would also have them draw my blood for tests so that I can eventually work here. So the girl at the front desk asked for my passport. Didn't bring it...oh boy. The girl informs Olga that they would not do the test without my passport. Let the games begin. After about 5 or 10 minutes of, we'll just call it 'discussion', Olga won out and they agreed to do the test based on my NY driver's license. Great. I fill out some paperwork, take it back to the same girl and she informs me that they will not do the test because it is 'a very serious test'. I protest, but know that this is going nowhere and so I go back to find Olga.
We speak to her doctor about this and he says 'f*&^$&# beauracracy here is unbelievable'. Oh yeah, did I mention that this doctor is Russian (remember where we are at) AND he was over an hour late seeing Olga. Did I also mention that she was his first appointment of the day? In the end, they draw my blood and run a battery of tests on Olga. All is good.
But wait, remember the opening? As we are preparing to leave a lady informs Olga that she has a bill from her previous visit. That comes as a bit of a surprise, as there is no deductible on our insurance (that's right folks, NO deductible). Well now, this is getting interesting. Turns out we really should be at the American Medical Center because our insurance is not valid at the Clinic. They want a not insignificant amount of money for the last bill and I'm sure that the prior one is nothing compared to the one that was run up on the current visit. More 'discussions' and the director of billing agrees to let us leave and discuss the situation with the insurance company. The lady from billing was not going to let us go anywhere until we paid in full (no joke, she was standing between Olga and the door).
In the end all worked out, although many people have had a good laugh over this. The insurance company agreed to pay the bill, which was quite nice since this really was our mistake. We now know to go to the Center (it looks much nicer and is closer to the Metro stop anyway). My bloodwork is all taken care of. And most importantly, Olga's teeth no longer hurt! The doctor didn't help her tooth ache, but the root canal she had on Sunday at the American Dental Center did.
I would blame all of this on Olga, but we all know that is not a good idea.
Olga's teeth were still bothering her, even after the removal of the right-side wisdom teeth, so we took her to the doctor to see if they could find anything. We figured that since we were already going to be at the Clinic we would also have them draw my blood for tests so that I can eventually work here. So the girl at the front desk asked for my passport. Didn't bring it...oh boy. The girl informs Olga that they would not do the test without my passport. Let the games begin. After about 5 or 10 minutes of, we'll just call it 'discussion', Olga won out and they agreed to do the test based on my NY driver's license. Great. I fill out some paperwork, take it back to the same girl and she informs me that they will not do the test because it is 'a very serious test'. I protest, but know that this is going nowhere and so I go back to find Olga.
We speak to her doctor about this and he says 'f*&^$&# beauracracy here is unbelievable'. Oh yeah, did I mention that this doctor is Russian (remember where we are at) AND he was over an hour late seeing Olga. Did I also mention that she was his first appointment of the day? In the end, they draw my blood and run a battery of tests on Olga. All is good.
But wait, remember the opening? As we are preparing to leave a lady informs Olga that she has a bill from her previous visit. That comes as a bit of a surprise, as there is no deductible on our insurance (that's right folks, NO deductible). Well now, this is getting interesting. Turns out we really should be at the American Medical Center because our insurance is not valid at the Clinic. They want a not insignificant amount of money for the last bill and I'm sure that the prior one is nothing compared to the one that was run up on the current visit. More 'discussions' and the director of billing agrees to let us leave and discuss the situation with the insurance company. The lady from billing was not going to let us go anywhere until we paid in full (no joke, she was standing between Olga and the door).
In the end all worked out, although many people have had a good laugh over this. The insurance company agreed to pay the bill, which was quite nice since this really was our mistake. We now know to go to the Center (it looks much nicer and is closer to the Metro stop anyway). My bloodwork is all taken care of. And most importantly, Olga's teeth no longer hurt! The doctor didn't help her tooth ache, but the root canal she had on Sunday at the American Dental Center did.
I would blame all of this on Olga, but we all know that is not a good idea.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Lewis Home in Moscow
Well, we think we finally have a home here in Moscow. It's further from the center than we wanted, but overall we like the space and it has two bedrooms! Everyone can now begin planning their vacations to the great Russian wonderland. A few caveats here. First, 'Hotel Lewis' will not be open until after the first few weeks of September, as one of us will be kicked out of the country in order to go back to the US and get a new visa (you only get one guess as to who that applies to). Second, time of the visit will need to be cleared through the booking office (that would be an email to Jay) just to make sure that we will be here.
For those of you that have not looked into it, getting a visa to come to Russia is the most cumbersome part of the process. I'll look into this and put some links out in a later posting. Flights are pretty easy anymore. For those of you on the east coast, there are direct flights from JFK in NYC (about 9 hours). For those in the midwest, there are now direct flights on Aeroflot from Chicago (I'm guessing the duration will be around 10 or 11 hours from Chicago, as you'll go over the pole). I really like this airline, as the service is very good and there's nothing better than a direct flight. For those on the west coast, I'm guessing you would go through either LAX or SFO and fly west, but I'm not entirely sure.
More to come later on the travel information.
For those of you that have not looked into it, getting a visa to come to Russia is the most cumbersome part of the process. I'll look into this and put some links out in a later posting. Flights are pretty easy anymore. For those of you on the east coast, there are direct flights from JFK in NYC (about 9 hours). For those in the midwest, there are now direct flights on Aeroflot from Chicago (I'm guessing the duration will be around 10 or 11 hours from Chicago, as you'll go over the pole). I really like this airline, as the service is very good and there's nothing better than a direct flight. For those on the west coast, I'm guessing you would go through either LAX or SFO and fly west, but I'm not entirely sure.
More to come later on the travel information.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Quiet Time
It's been pretty quiet lately. Just language lessons and studying. I ventured onto the Metro again the other day in order to do some shopping for Olga's birthday present. This trip was much easier I must say. I'm getting better at reading the signs and getting out of the way of the masses. She liked the present and I won't be subjected to going back to the store to return my gift (I'm sure that the girl that sold it to me will be equally happy that I won't be returning).
The weather has been, well, it's been terrible. Until Saturday I believe it rained almost everyday for over two weeks. Not every day was end-to-end rain, but still it was getting old. I was starting to wonder if we were actually going to get a summer. That is all set to change this week, as I hear the highs are to move into the 30's (that's the 80's for the Americans). Although I'm generally opposed to heat, I'm looking forward to a change in the weather.
We went to dinner for Olga's birthday on Saturday night and were joined by her mother and friend (Valery), aunt Luba, cousin Irene, and childhood friend Tanya. It was a nice, low-key event full of toasts and memories (people took turns translating for the Amerikanitz). It's nice to see Olga be able to spend time with her family and friends, which is one of the key reasons we decided to undertake this adventure.
Still no luck on the search for a home. Saw a few more places last week, but they all had deal-killers (i.e. no air, terrible kitchen, horrible smell in hall, etc.). I have to admit that I'm getting a bit concerned with only a few weeks left to find something. Oh yeah, we also heard that our stuff finally left the NYC port. Now the heat is on to find something. We may have to extend our perimeter in order to meet our needs.
The weather has been, well, it's been terrible. Until Saturday I believe it rained almost everyday for over two weeks. Not every day was end-to-end rain, but still it was getting old. I was starting to wonder if we were actually going to get a summer. That is all set to change this week, as I hear the highs are to move into the 30's (that's the 80's for the Americans). Although I'm generally opposed to heat, I'm looking forward to a change in the weather.
We went to dinner for Olga's birthday on Saturday night and were joined by her mother and friend (Valery), aunt Luba, cousin Irene, and childhood friend Tanya. It was a nice, low-key event full of toasts and memories (people took turns translating for the Amerikanitz). It's nice to see Olga be able to spend time with her family and friends, which is one of the key reasons we decided to undertake this adventure.
Still no luck on the search for a home. Saw a few more places last week, but they all had deal-killers (i.e. no air, terrible kitchen, horrible smell in hall, etc.). I have to admit that I'm getting a bit concerned with only a few weeks left to find something. Oh yeah, we also heard that our stuff finally left the NYC port. Now the heat is on to find something. We may have to extend our perimeter in order to meet our needs.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Dry Cleaning - Part II
But first, a brief message from our sponsor. I decided to take the day off from language lessons in honor of my amazing wife, Olga. For those of you that don't know, today is Olga's birthday, so please be sure to send her happy birthday emails, etc. (she really loves it!). Happy birthday sweetie! я тебя люблю. But seriously, I am quiet a lucky person to have found Olga. She puts up with my feeble attempts at humor (I think she may even like it sometimes), she deals with the mood swings and she doesn't even get offended that I slaughter her native language! Not to mention, I mean honestly folks, how many of your significant others would have let you retire at my age (just kidding honey)?
And now, back to our regularly scheduled program. Ahh, the day has finally arrived where we get to find out if the dry cleaning mission was a success or a failure. I wandered over to the dry cleaning place late this afternoon only to find my favorite person working at the counter. Yep, you guessed it, it was the lady from last week. Oh boy. When she finally decided to end her phone call (I'm sure it wasn't personal, given that it was on a cell phone and all) I thought she was going to have a coronary when she saw the person standing there was no other than the annoying person that doesn't speak Russian.
Well, she gathered herself and started speaking very quickly about....well, about something (she was speaking Russian, of course). I caught the word telephone in there and figured she was telling me that she wanted a telephone number. Hmm, this sounds familiar. I believe we've had this conversation already. So I again informed her that I don't know the number (in Russian) and she kept on talking. Oh well.
She pulled the clothes from the rack. That's a relief, at least she is going to get something. Just hope it's actually our clothes. She showed me the items. Yep, looks like our stuff. Nice, mission accomplished!. It just goes to show you that even if two people don't speak the same language things can be accomplished.
And now, back to our regularly scheduled program. Ahh, the day has finally arrived where we get to find out if the dry cleaning mission was a success or a failure. I wandered over to the dry cleaning place late this afternoon only to find my favorite person working at the counter. Yep, you guessed it, it was the lady from last week. Oh boy. When she finally decided to end her phone call (I'm sure it wasn't personal, given that it was on a cell phone and all) I thought she was going to have a coronary when she saw the person standing there was no other than the annoying person that doesn't speak Russian.
Well, she gathered herself and started speaking very quickly about....well, about something (she was speaking Russian, of course). I caught the word telephone in there and figured she was telling me that she wanted a telephone number. Hmm, this sounds familiar. I believe we've had this conversation already. So I again informed her that I don't know the number (in Russian) and she kept on talking. Oh well.
She pulled the clothes from the rack. That's a relief, at least she is going to get something. Just hope it's actually our clothes. She showed me the items. Yep, looks like our stuff. Nice, mission accomplished!. It just goes to show you that even if two people don't speak the same language things can be accomplished.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
One Month In
Well, we've now been here in Moscow for just over 30 days. I know I've said this a few times, but it still feels like a vacation since our accommodations continue to be the Sheraton Palace. I believe the hunt for a Moscow residence will heat up this week, as we now have a new agent that is sending us information on apartments that are much more to our liking.
We heard about a 4th of July party put on by the American Chamber of Commerce, so we thought we would get out of the center of Moscow to see what that was all about. We were expecting a smallish get together with mainly American ex-pats, as who else would celebrate our Independence Day. That thought in mind, we were a bit perplexed by the comment on the flyer that stated 'tickets available until 6PM or until sold out'. How many US ex-pats can there be in Moscow???
When we arrived it all made sense. The location was a huge park that was over-run with Russians, who apparently will pay 400 Rubles each to anything they see has live music and beer. At one point the singer of the band even yelled out 'Happy Independence Day'....IN RUSSIAN. Olga and I were in a line for food and she started laughing as she translated this for me. At that point we both knew it was time to go. Needless to say, it was a shame we didn't see the fireworks, but it is what it is.
We heard about a 4th of July party put on by the American Chamber of Commerce, so we thought we would get out of the center of Moscow to see what that was all about. We were expecting a smallish get together with mainly American ex-pats, as who else would celebrate our Independence Day. That thought in mind, we were a bit perplexed by the comment on the flyer that stated 'tickets available until 6PM or until sold out'. How many US ex-pats can there be in Moscow???
When we arrived it all made sense. The location was a huge park that was over-run with Russians, who apparently will pay 400 Rubles each to anything they see has live music and beer. At one point the singer of the band even yelled out 'Happy Independence Day'....IN RUSSIAN. Olga and I were in a line for food and she started laughing as she translated this for me. At that point we both knew it was time to go. Needless to say, it was a shame we didn't see the fireworks, but it is what it is.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
A New Test
Well, things had gone along pretty quietly over the past few weeks so we decided to add some adventure. I had a task on Tuesday, take in the dry cleaning. Olga and I had visited the place about a week earlier and decided to give it a try. I finished my language lesson in the morning and figured I'd get my chore done early, so I stopped by the hotel and grabbed our things for the dry cleaner.
I found the place again with relative ease. Hah, this is going to be simple! I greeted the lady with my best 'zdratsvootia' (that's the formal 'hello') and she smiled and said hello back to me. Then the conversation took a turn into....well, into a wall quite frankly. She started rattling off sentences and I had no clue what was being said. At this point I'm thinking, 'sh*&, this is going in the same direction as the restaurant and I have no other place to go!'. So I politely asked if she speaks English. 'NYET'. Double sh*&. Now what? Then I hear a word that I recognize 'chetiyet' (read). She's asking me if I can read Russian. Well heck ya I can read it! So she starts writing down all kinds of stuff on the paper in what can only be described as chicken scratch. Uh oh. She asked if I could read it, not comprehend!!!
So I used one of my most frequently stated phrases 'ya nee penimiu' ('I don't understand'). And she grunts. This is not going as I had planned. Then I hear another word I know, 'zaftra' ('tomorrow'). Ok, something is going to happen tomorrow. That's good. Could the clothes be ready tomorrow? Then she says that she is going to work tomorrow. Again, Ok, but I'm not sure how that helps me here. Hmmm. She points to the calendar, to the 8th of July. I realize she is telling me that the clothes will not be ready until the 8th....uh, that's A WEEK. Whatever happened to same-day cleaning???
I wearily agree that I will come back on the 8th after 12PM (I assume this is what she meant when she pointed to the 12 on my watch). She made some gestures with Olga's blouse that I assumed meant wash and iron, so I nodded my head. She made the same gestures again, so I nodded my head again. Getting nowhere fast now. She shook her head in frustration. I'm thinking, 'what, you can only get clothes washed OR ironed, but not both?'. She finally wrote out on a piece of paper what I was leaving with her and stamped it (not sure what this was for). She pointed to the calculator...I owed 1,400 Rubles (about $55 for 4 pairs of jeans, one blouse and one pair of pants). So I paid, took my piece of paper and walked out. Chore complete!
At this point I honestly have no idea if we will ever see these clothes again. And if we do, in what condition will they be in? I'll let you know on July 8th (after 12 PM Moscow Time).
I found the place again with relative ease. Hah, this is going to be simple! I greeted the lady with my best 'zdratsvootia' (that's the formal 'hello') and she smiled and said hello back to me. Then the conversation took a turn into....well, into a wall quite frankly. She started rattling off sentences and I had no clue what was being said. At this point I'm thinking, 'sh*&, this is going in the same direction as the restaurant and I have no other place to go!'. So I politely asked if she speaks English. 'NYET'. Double sh*&. Now what? Then I hear a word that I recognize 'chetiyet' (read). She's asking me if I can read Russian. Well heck ya I can read it! So she starts writing down all kinds of stuff on the paper in what can only be described as chicken scratch. Uh oh. She asked if I could read it, not comprehend!!!
So I used one of my most frequently stated phrases 'ya nee penimiu' ('I don't understand'). And she grunts. This is not going as I had planned. Then I hear another word I know, 'zaftra' ('tomorrow'). Ok, something is going to happen tomorrow. That's good. Could the clothes be ready tomorrow? Then she says that she is going to work tomorrow. Again, Ok, but I'm not sure how that helps me here. Hmmm. She points to the calendar, to the 8th of July. I realize she is telling me that the clothes will not be ready until the 8th....uh, that's A WEEK. Whatever happened to same-day cleaning???
I wearily agree that I will come back on the 8th after 12PM (I assume this is what she meant when she pointed to the 12 on my watch). She made some gestures with Olga's blouse that I assumed meant wash and iron, so I nodded my head. She made the same gestures again, so I nodded my head again. Getting nowhere fast now. She shook her head in frustration. I'm thinking, 'what, you can only get clothes washed OR ironed, but not both?'. She finally wrote out on a piece of paper what I was leaving with her and stamped it (not sure what this was for). She pointed to the calculator...I owed 1,400 Rubles (about $55 for 4 pairs of jeans, one blouse and one pair of pants). So I paid, took my piece of paper and walked out. Chore complete!
At this point I honestly have no idea if we will ever see these clothes again. And if we do, in what condition will they be in? I'll let you know on July 8th (after 12 PM Moscow Time).
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