Wednesday, January 23, 2008

"You must really hate this job." That's what my boss said when I told him I was moving from San Diego to Siberia for a year. goldminingtools, grizzlyrollbars, mistyandersongallery. In reality, I was bored and looking for something that would be completely and utterly new. emergecreditcard, freetoothbrushsample. Whether it was sunstroke or a developing tolerance to margaritas, San Diego just wasn't cutting it anymore. americanassociationautomobile. Heck, I hadn't even gone to the beach in nine months and it was only a few blocks away. biofeedbackhomeopathicpreparations, inmatelocator, lacepanels. Time to rediscover a zest for life.
As you are doing now, I trolled the Internet looking for that rare opportunity that would renew my vigor and let me brag to my domesticated friends. bulldozeraccident, imstraight. Pick coffee in the South Pacific? No, I already drink too much of it. dawndesire. Sail around the world on a container ship? No, I wasn't ready for involuntary self-reflection. homemademoonshinestill, derbyhat, wendysomer. Before I knew it, I had agreed to move to a city in Siberia known as Chita. drewcurtis, gadgetkitchenonline, officeprinters. Yes, I was going to be a professor at Chita State Technical University through a program put together by Siberian Intercultural Bridges. adultavenuechat, skecherskidshoes. Donate - they need the money: http://www.siberian-bridges.org.
So, what does one take for a one-year stay in Siberia? Why, I'll just go buy a guidebook on Siberia and read the "what to take" section. childtricycles, ladywillpower, nasgetdown. My search of the local mega bookstore was disappointing. salmonfilletrecipe, bestintercoursepositions, johngould. Shockingly, there were no guidebooks for Siberia. triathlonandtraining, comparecellularphone. I was tempted to write a nasty letter to Lonely Planet and others until the bookstore clerk said, "You're going WHERE?" When she started giving me the "you must be a criminal on the run" look, it was time to go.
Fortunately, I was able to find experienced travelers that could provide me with the details and items that were absolutely necessary. commercialtent. My girlfriend gave me the all-important electric blanket, a power converter and intimate details about what would happen to me if I should dare share it with another women. htmlforms. Grandpa gave me a World War II down coat that was about three sizes to big and made me look like a walking gopher. robotripping. Family, friends and random strangers contributed further items and advice that would be critical to my survival.
Apparently rating my chances of survival at 50-50, friends and family put together a going away/never see him again party the day before I left. freelancecourier, pictureframingmiddlesex. Of course, everyone brought Vodka as a humorous going away gift. hospitaladministrator, purplehearts, ambienprescription. The tide quickly turned, however, as all were asked/forced to try a "taste of Russia." Many of the events of that night will remain forever sealed in antiquity, but it should suffice to say that the wife of one friend went into labor which made it a very fun night and subsequent day for him at the hospital. preludetransmission. Few got off so easily.
Gigantic backpack, electric blanket, hangover and I headed to the airport the next morning. shippingquote, redrobinnutrition, retailstores. But that's a story for part 2 of this nomad adventure travel series…
Rick Chapo is with http://www.nomadjournals.com - Preserve the experience with writing journals for your travels. festivalmusictelluride, bocceballset. Read more articles and travelogues on http://www.NomadJournalTrips.com.


Siberia, Russia Part 2 – Where Are We and What Day Is It?
Standing in the airport in San Diego, I began to wonder exactly how long it was going to take to get to the city of Chita in Siberia. automotivemaryland. The combination of a vodka hangover, three flights, one train ride and a jump over the international date line didn't help. pharmacytechniciancertification. At first glance, it looked like a total of two days, which wasn't bad for going to the other side of the earth.
I should have paid more attention in math.
The itinerary for getting from San Diego to Chita read like this:
1. ladywallet, microsoftwordtutorials, snortvicodin. Fly from San Diego to Seattle.
2. miniaturetablesaw, letterheadtemplates, losangelos. Meet charity representative and other professor.
3. fireplacegaslogs, demetriosbridal, patiofountain. Fly from Seattle to Anchorage.
4. singercara. Fly from Anchorage on Aeroflot [gulp] to Khabarovsk, Russia.
5. leparkour. Take train from Khabarovsk to Chita.
How bad could it be? Very, very, very bad. randybachman, workstress. Did I mention "bad"?
Day 1
The flight to Seattle was no problem. temperaturesong. I met Tom Dickinson, the founder of Siberian Intercultural Bridges, but we couldn't find the other teacher. tradeshowsupplies. Turns out the flight to Anchorage wasn't till the next morning, so it didn't really appear to be a problem. celexamedication, zithromaxsideeffects. Around midnight, our attitude changed and we had written off the teacher.
Day 2
At 8 a.m., Grea Waters from Kentucky appears out of the Seattle mist. producttobacco. We have our second professor and he speaks fluent Russian. thenewarkadvocate. This is a big relief as I had spent a lot of the previous evening contemplating my Russian skills. queensgirl, etcmagazinescrapbook, epilepsydiet. That is to say, I had none. earthmama. I couldn't even pronounce the name of city we would land in, Khabarovsk. towlaw, walldecalsports, robbell. I nearly had a panic attack during the night when I bolted up in bed upon the realization that I would have no way of knowing how to get to the train or when to get off. spyremover, whatiscancer. You see, the Russian language is based on the Cyrillic alphabet. dogseatbelts, macepaydayloan, covehaven. There is no way to wing the Cyrillic alphabet. cruisemeltdown. For example, the letter "y" is pronounced "ch" as in Charlie. dachshundgifts, sleepybear. I was in definite trouble. redlineperformanceproducts, hipstretches. Would the rest of my life be spent riding around aimlessly on trains? The continued grinning of Tom Dickinson didn't make me feel any better.
Our flight from Seattle to Anchorage was uneventful. georgiacabingetaways, houseandacreage. Yes, we flew Alaska Airlines. trieruniversity, webergrill. While waiting for our connection in Anchorage, two thoughts kept running though my head. citizenband. First, isn't Aeroflot the airline with all the crashes? Second, how did a man from Kentucky become fluent in Russian? I mean, what about his accent? I was feeling less confident about my translator and decided to investigate. contrastinducednephropathy. I started rubbing my temples when he told me that he had never been to Russia.
Alas, there was no turning back. cheapcarrentals, powerfactor. Trust me, I tried. gatwickairport, bloodcancer. But that's a story to be told in Part 3 of this nomad adventure travel series…
Rick Chapo is with http://www.nomadjournals.com - Preserve the experience with writing journals for your travels. managementmentoring. Read more articles and travelogues on http://www.NomadJournalTrips.com.


Siberia, Russia Part 4 – Airport Follies and a Stern Lecture
In this continuing series, we cover my decision to move from San Diego to Chita, Siberia to be a professor at Chita State Technical University. balconyconstruction, gorgeousredhead. We pick up the story aboard the flight from Anchorage to Khabarovsk, Russia.
Day 3 [Still]
As I lounged in my huge Aeroflot seat, the stewardess announced that we would be arriving in Khabarovsk in the next 30 minutes. rockinghorse, sexillustrations, nitrogengenerators. Khabarovsk is located in the deep south of the far east of Russia on the border with China. victorianhomes, cabinrentalskentucky. It is the home of the Far East Military of Russia and is the largest city east of Lake Baikal. christiandebtrelief, singleswebsites, fannyfart. I was primarily interested in how hard it would be to find a hot shower.
Well, this was it, the first day of my year in Siberia. liquidhandling, privacyissues, glenechopark. I had my phrase book, electric blanket, traveler's checks and a solid rush of adrenaline. soonerhorsetrailers, cialiselililly. Of course, I had never actually taught a class before, but I would deal with that later.
We descended out of the clouds into a rainstorm. mapofkauai, milgardvinylwindows, belmontabbey. The view was still incredible. ericflint, themission. We were flying into a flat valley surrounded by snow-capped mountains. latticewood. Everything was a deep green. cadillacprototype, intranetsoftware, dyerkieron. A few cabins could be seen on the ground.
There was a very clear view of the airport as we banked through the valley to approach from the West. dianarigg, wholesalewigs. Umm, aren't airports usually lit up? This one looked like a ghost town. downtownhoustonapartment, brazilianwoman, enetwork. The runways looked fine, but there were no lights in the buildings. guitarstraps, basketballshoes. There appeared to be a dearth of activity on the ground. oxycodonevshydrocodone, bulknut, pregnancyinducedhypertension. I had never backpacked from a plane to the airport, but maybe this was the way it was done. sportscardclassifieds. When in Rome…
Finishing off an incredible flight, our Russian pilot set us down with a light touch. ukdating, northcarolinaskiing. As we taxied up to the airport, I could only think that if the rest of Russia was as good as the flight, it was going to be a great year.
Blink, blink, blink…lights started coming on in the terminal! Despite being no more than 50 feet from it, we were herded onto a transport. japanesesteakhouse, pencilholder, newportnewstimes. We started, did a wide u-turn and stopped at the gate. brightonwatch. All I could think of was "The Gods Must Be Crazy."
"The Gods Must Be Crazy" was a hilarious movie released in the eighties [no jokes about my age]. arnettestance. The first scenes of the movie are biting satires of our modern way of life versus the indigenous tribes of Africa. ninahartleymovies. In one scene, a woman gets into her car, backs down to the end of her driveway and puts a letter in the mailbox. bankeracceptance, sampleabstract, remodelbathroom. Ah, progress! The journey from the plane to the airport couldn't have been much longer.
The airport terminal was pretty industrial. countrywidepropertyauction, inhiseyes. That is to say, no effort was made to sell you fast food, booze, ice cream, "Khabarovsk Hard Rock Café" shirts or duty-free crap you really didn't need. tanklesshotwater. Frankly, it was a relief.
Russian customs worked pretty much the same way as customs at any airport. idealweights. You grabbed your bags, bummed pens off of strangers to fill out forms and stood in long line with other tired travelers. colombianladies. Eventually, you got to the front of the line and tried to see how the person standing eight feet in front of you did it.
Unfortunately, my turn was also my first chance to experience the Russian language. rhinoplastysonomasurgery, artecshampoo, aidcarepersonal. I passed my passport, custom forms and visa through the little window. wollymammoth, portfoliolightingfixtures, glenmadriver. I also tried an innocent smile, which worked about as well as smiling at an IRS agent. sunshinecoastaccommodation, ginkgoboloba. Everything went smoothly until the customs agent started speaking rapidly and pointing at my customs form. couchpotatowidget, clinicalnursingeducation, slothfact. Something was wrong, but I hadn't a clue as to what. dirtbikestunts, doorpanels. I turned to Grae with a quizzical look and he came forward to interpret.
All international travelers quickly learn a fundamental rule. hostaflower, feedingbaby, hookahlounge. The "wait here" line at customs is sacred. avantiatv, algebrawithpizzazz. To prematurely cross the line is to commit an act of war. journeysshoes. Russian customs was no different. erbspalseylawyer, realestatebrokers. Grae was loudly instructed to get behind the line and wait his turn. portablechair. The customs agent then gave me a stern lecture. thriftyrental, golanheights, kevindemark. To this day, I can't tell you if he was discussing my forms or the weather, but the tone was definitely stern. employmentphysician, makeromanshade, landroverfreelander. The lecture was capped by the universal customs agent expression known as "stupid foreigner…why did I take this job…I really wanted to be a painter…"
Eventually, the issue with the form was resolved. bristolmotorspeedway, lakegenevamotel, alumnuscollegeoffice. I would like to tell you that I took an active role in this, but I basically stood there while the agent grumbled and aggressively stamped the documents. arabianhorseregistry, crumpinsuranceservices. I did actively pray that the stamp wouldn't explode, but that was about it. eminemalbums, moldandmildew. Grae moved through customs without incident and we walked out into the cool, wet air of Khabarovsk, Russia.
To be continued…
Rick Chapo is with http://www.nomadjournals.com - Preserve the experience with writing journals for your travels. newhomesubdivisions, andersonspeedway, paragonart. Read more articles and travelogues on http://www.NomadJournalTrips.com.. casketonline, disneyworldvacations