... It's Been a While

So it turns out I don't get wireless in my temporary house (there is someone else in my long term apartment for the next few weeks). So I am in the макдоналдс that is about a ten minute walk from my apartment. Fortunately it is right above my metro stop so I can conveniently stop here either before or after work. 

A RECAP SINCE I LAST POSTED

-I had to move my flight from Friday to Saturday because of an issue with my visa... typical. Therefore I got a bonus night in Glastonbury.

-Got on my flight fine on Saturday, got to my seat and the arm rest was broken a.k.a. my arm was resting on hard metal things. I tried to use it to get upgraded... instead I got a blanket to put over.

- Got a Taxi from the airplane to my long term apartment, so I could get to my temp apartment. It took forever to get there, Moscow drivers are like New York drivers on crack (or more crack, whatever the case may be). Ina is very nice, she gave me tea and we chatted until the taxi got there... two hours later.

- Got to my temporary apartment and met my land lady Irina...she is not nearly as nice as Ina. Not realizing I speak russian, the first thing she said to Ina was "he's kinda fat". Ina and I had a  good laugh at her expense.

-Irina gave me a tour of the house. In the bathroom she made sure I understood the importance of not peeing in the sink. I laughed, she didn't get it.

-SLEPT

- Irina walked me to the local mall the next morning. I tried to get an power adapter for my laptop charger... couldn't. I tried to get a SIM card for my American cell phone... couldn't. Raise your hand if you are starting to see a reoccurring pattern here.

- Irina walked down to the metro with me, seeing as I had no idea where I was going I figured she was coming with. After I got on the train she said "if you can't find them just get on the train going in the other direction and come back". Politely, she waved at me as the train rolled away.

- Through dumb luck I found my way to the stop near my office, even after a number of transfers. Sergei was supposed to be waiting for me there. He was. Unfortunately neither had even seen a picture of each other before, so we walked right past each other. Without a cell phone I had no way to call him. I wandered around for quite some time. I was going to go home, but being stupid and prideful (Irina thinks i'm really stupid) I decided to search until I found it. I found the building the office was in (house numbers in russia often refer to a large number of touching, but not connected buildings) but could not find the entrance. I took it upon my self to wander down a dark, dirty, unlabeled alley. This led me to the entrance, I went to the fourth floor (where I was told the office is) where I found angry russian construction workers... I promptly moved my search to the third floor. I found the office... hooray.

- We ( Sergei, Natasha, Pat, and I) chatted had lunch, and bought me a cell phone. Being exhausted I returned home. It was a great day.

-SLEPT

- Woke up late for work this morning. The time on my cell is wrong. I asked Irina why she didn't wake me if she knew I was two hours late... she shrugged and laughed and reminded me not to pee in the sink.

- I went to work, worked, got my registration (in country necessity if you get stopped by the cops), and went home.

- That brings me to McDonalds , where I am now.

As you can see nothing around here is simple or easy... I guess thats part of the charm of the place? Hopefully I will settle into a good rhythm.

-Поздно...Крейг