An American in Moscow

Apartment

After much searching, negotiation, and hand wringing, I've finally found an apartment.  A bit more expensive than I wanted to pay in Moscow, but I am beginning to learn that everything is more expensive here than I assumed.  That seems to be a recurring theme in my blog posts lately.  In any case, I'm set to sign a lease tonight on an apartment in one of Moscow's "Seven Sisters" -- buildings built by and for Stalin after World War II.  My apartment is on the 17th floor of the Kudrinskaya Square apartment block.  You can see a picture of the building here: http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2799595510065714915tZpSgc

I have a great view of downtown Moscow and the apartment is furnished, etc.  I'll post pictures (I've been promising that a lot lately) once I move in.  I've been very busy -- looking for an apartment, meeting with representatives from the U.S. Embassy, meeting local partners in the rule of law business and trying to adjust to Moscow.  I can't wait to get into the apartment, as I am sure I will feel much more settled.  The hotel is already wearing on me.  Lease will be signed tonight and I hope to spend the first night there as well -- I'm still waiting for the landlady to furnish the place with linens, dishes, television, etc.  My landlady is an older Russian woman (babushka) and the apartment has been in her family since the building was built.  She told me through my real estate agent that she never thought she'd be renting the place to an American.  Apparently, I am the first American to rent the place from her.  She even commented that she would have to learn English now that she had an American tenant.  Hopefully, my Russian will also improve.  We have to talk somehow.

Can't believe I've already been here a week!

 

Russian Water

Vodka.  I knew it would play prominently in my social and work environment in Russia, but little did I know how quickly it would thrust itself into my existence.  On Friday night, I went out with two co-workers for drinks at a local English-themed pub.  After a couple of beers, the topic of conversation and drinking turned to Russian water, or vodka.  Needless to say, our choice drink changed quickly.  Russians generally drink shots of vodka followed by a pickle (a sweet gherkin) as a chaser.  The typical sized shot is 50 grams, but you can order larger glasses or even a fifth for the table.  After two beers and three shots of vodka, I could have used a few more sweet gherkins.  I was feeling no pain.  Following a quick dinner, we then went to a local music venue to watch some jazz.  Anton, one of the Russian attorneys who I am working with, had reserved a table and six of his friends were already there.  When we arrived, a fifth of Ukrainian vodka was waiting.  After we finished that, we got another one.  The strangest thing to get accustomed to was drinking the vodka straight.  In the States, I might have one or two vodka tonics.  In Russia, I quickly learned I'll have to get used to drinking vodka neat.

Needless to say, we all got completely bombed.  I was proud of the fact that my new Russian friends complemented my drinking abilities.  They also commented that my Russian seemed to get better the more I drank.  I'm not sure if I attribute that to my Russian skills or their inebriation. 

The next morning, Saturday, I was a bit hung over, but nothing too bad.  We were drinking high quality vodka -- I can't imagine what the day would have been like if the cheap stuff was flowing through me.

On the apartment front, I think I've found a place.  Hopefully will sign the lease on Monday or Tuesday.  I'm still trying to figure out how to post pictures to the blog, but I should have photos up of the apartment soon.

On an unrelated note, I can't think of a better year to be out of the United States than this one for purposes of Michigan football.  I hope I don't run into any Ohio State fans over here.

First Impressions

Things have been crazy here in Moscow. I'm settling into work, looking for an apartment, and trying to get use to the city all at the same time.  The apartment hunt, so far, has been somewhat of a disappointment.  I was warned that Moscow was expensive (rated as the world's most expensive city for expats the last two years running), but I had no idea until I arrived and started looking for a place to live.  The majority of the apartments I've seen have not been particularly nice and were, in my opinion, way overpriced.  I have my eye on one apartment, however, and am in the process of negotiating the price.  Hopefully, things will work out.  I'm already tiring of living out of my hotel room and am looking forward to getting more settled.

Now, without further ado, here are some initial observations of Moscow:

1.  The city is far greener and with more parks than I expected.

2.  The weather has been fantastic.  70's and sunny everyday.  If I could bottle the weather I would.  Absolutely gorgeous.  With typical Russian pessimism, everyone in the office has promised me things will get much colder next week.

3.  Traffic is an complete nightmare and parking more so.  People park anywhere and everywhere.  Sidewalks, curbs, you name it, they'll park there.

4.  I need to learn more Russian. Fast.

5.  Russian women are generally quite beautiful.  Men, not so much so.

6.  Did I mention the city was expensive?

I hope to have some pictures up on the blog soon.  I hope to be in an apartment by next week and will have better access to post to the blog.  Right now, my hotel doesn't have Internet access.  Overall, I think I am going to like living and working here.  The jet-lag is still killing me, but I'm slowly getting over it.

Arrival in Moscow

Well, I made it.  I touched down in Moscow on September 4, 2007 at 1:20 p.m. local time.  There was a huge line at passport control, but I was lucky enough to be noticed by a Russian custom official and was wisked through the Russian citizen passport line.  All of my bags arrived (amazingly) and I headed for customs.  Again, I was noticed by a customs official who remarked on my eight suitcases.  He asked for my papers and wisked me through without any problems.  On the way into Moscow from the airport, I was proudly shown a memorial commemorating the spot where the German tanks were stopped about 9 miles outside of Moscow. Pretty amazing stuff, especially for a history major with a buring interest in WWII (or the Great Patriotic War, as it is referred to in Russia).  Anyway, wanted everyone to know that arrived safely.  The apartment hunt begins this week.

Leaving on a jet plane

The packing is done (almost -- I still have a few odds and ends to throw in at the last minute).  That means that barring a last minute post tomorrow, the next post on the blog will be done from Moscow.  I don't think it really has hit me yet, but the six bags sitting on the landing are doing a pretty good job of reminding me that I'm leaving for Russia for a year tomorrow.  The packing actually went pretty well.  I took over the spare bedroom, stockpiled everything I thought I'd need, sorted through it, and packed it away.  I did have to go buy another garment-bag type piece of luggage at Macy's as my suits and such took up the first one quite quickly.  Luckily, Macy's was having a sale.  I think I'll go to mall today and pick up some touristy luggage tags so I can recognized my bags quickly in Moscow -- with new luggage and six items (plus jet-lag) I don't want to be struggling to get all my stuff off the luggage carousel.  I leave tomorrow (Labor Day) at 5:30 from Dulles, arrive in Frankfurt, and then connect to Moscow (arriving at around 1:30 p.m. Moscow time on Tuesday).  Moscow is eight hours ahead of D.C., for those of you thinking of calling me in the future.  Someone from the ABA is picking me up with a van and taking me to my hotel.  I'm meeting my country director for dinner on Tuesday night, and I figure that by the time I clear customs with my bags, drive to the hotel, get checked in, etc., I probably won't have much time to rest before dinner.  Probably a good thing -- if I get on the bed in my hotel room I'm sure I will pass out for a while!  I want to stay up as long as possible to adjust to the time change.

Well, that's it for now.  Hope everyone keeps reading the blog -- next post = Moscow.

P.S. After Michigan's loss to Appalachia State, I can't wait to get out of the country.

Rubles

Money -- how much to take and how to manage it in Russia?  Some people are wondering how I'll be paying my rent, groceries, etc. in Moscow and if it will be difficult to get a Russian bank account.  All of the indications I've gotten from the ABA is that ATM's are all over Moscow, and it's relatively easy to withdraw money (rubles) to handle day-to-day living in the city.  I have a checking account at PNC Bank here in D.C. and, luckily, international ATM withdraws are covered by my checking plan.  I'll also be setting up a bank account at a Russian bank to handle rent payments, etc.  Depending on the bank, it seems to be pretty easy to set up a Russian account.  I've heard Citibank is a nightmare, but some of the local Russian banks are much better.  I'll wait to get a local banking recommendation when I arrive.  There is no checking system in Russia like the United States.  It's still a cash economy.  I just want to be able to go to my Russian bank to withdraw monthly (or quarterly) rent payments instead of going to an ATM and withdrawing $2,000 worth of rubles.  I'll have to wait until I arrive in Moscow to open the account, but once I do, the ABA will be able to wire funds from my U.S. accounts to the Russian account, which will be convenient.  Luckily, as Moscow is essentially now like New York, a lot of my day-to-day expenses can be paid by credit card/debit card, etc.  For markets and smaller mom and pop stores, I'll just withdraw rubles from an ATM, which gives the best exchange rate.  I don't know how much cash I'll carry into Russia, but I don't expect it will be too much -- just a mix of dollars and rubles to get me off and running when I hit the ground at the Moscow airport.  I kind of feel like I'm winging it, but I guess that's part of the adventure.  For those of you that know me, I'm sure that doesn't come as a surprise.

Packing...or lack thereof

As my departure date nears, the need for packing up for the trip increases...exponentially.  I hate packing.  If I am going on a one night trip, I usually wait until about 10:30 p.m. the night before I'm scheduled to leave to start, and then just usually throw some things into a small travel bag.  Russia, for 12 months, obviously has to be a little different in the packing department.  I just can't seem to get myself into the mind set to really dig in and start packing though.  We didn't get much guidance during our ABA orientation as to what to pack for our respective countries.  Everyone told me Russia was cold and to pack accordingly.  What the hell does that mean?  Sure, I could go buy a huge, puffy, North Face jacket, but then I'd just stick out like a sore thumb in Moscow as an obvious American.  Based on my rough calculations, I'll be taking 7 to 8 suitcases with me to Moscow.  Generally, the office is business casual (a good thing), so I'll be bring basic trousers and button downs for the day-to-day grind.  I'll also have to pack suits for meetings, conferences, and seminars.  That will take up one full garment suitcase.  Luckily, the apartment I will be renting in Moscow will be fully furnished, even down to the dishes, so it's mostly clothes only on the packing front.  I've got to get a plan and, more importantly, the motivation, to pack.  The spare bedroom is ground zero for the pack out.  Hopefully, I'll add a few pictures of the packing process soon.  If anyone has ideas, advice, etc. for a move overseas (especially Russia), I'd love to see it.

Making a choice

As some of you know (mainly my family and a few close friends), I've been struggling with deciding between going to Moscow and a recent offer to do rule of law work in Afghanistan.  The Afghanistan job would have entailed working in the Naghahar province in Jalalabad, near the Afghanistan/Pakistan border.  It intrigued me, as did the massive salary that was dangled in front of my face.  After going back and forth (i.e., being totally lured by the money vs. my longtime interest in Russia) I've made the formal decision to keep on track on go to Moscow.  I'm excited about exploring Russia instead of basically being in a minimum security prison in Afghanistan.  Can't wait to get to Moscow! My departure date is less than 3 weeks away and I have SO much to do, not the least of which is packing and getting all my affairs here in DC in order.  Anyway, thought I'd just formally announce on the blog that I'm 100% committed to Russia.  The reason I know it was the right decision is that after tossing and turning at night struggling with the decision, I've had two straight nights of deep, restful sleep after making the Moscow decision.  That tells me that I made the right call.

The ABA Rule of Law Initiative

I thought I should probably give a brief description of what I will actually be doing in Moscow.  I will be working for the American Bar Association ("ABA") Rule of Law Initiative ("ROLI") in Moscow.  My official title is Criminal Law Legal Adviser (a/k/a Criminal Law Specialist or Liaison).  The ABA has had a presence in Russia since 1990, and works to foster legal reforms in post-Soviet Russia as well as in the former Republics that made up the Soviet Union.  The ABA does work all around the world in the Rule of Law area, including burgeoning programs in the Middle East and China.  Central and Eastern Europe (including Russia) are part of what is known as the Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative within the ABA.  It's the longest running rule of law program at the ABA, and its alumni Liaisons are known at the "CEELI Mafia" and are spread out in international development jobs around the globe, including at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. State Department, and various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and private development companies. A good overview of the ABA ROLI program can be found here:  http://www.abanet.org/rol/europe_and_eurasia/

I've been told that my duties in Moscow will center on legal reform programs focusing on criminal procedure, criminal defense bar training (including jury trial and advocacy skills), indigent defense programs (Russia doesn't really have any pro bono programs for the poor right now), anti-corruption initiatives, and human trafficking.  I'll be working with at least two Russian attorney's who work for the ABA in these areas in Moscow.  Additionally, my Country Director, who runs the office and overseas all the programs (including legal reform programs outside my area) and a Regional Director (who supervises a large regional area, including Russia) also work out of the Moscow office.  Both the Country Director and Regional Director are U.S. lawyers.  I'm also excited because I will be traveling around Russia and will not be limited to just working in Moscow.  I think it will be a great way to see and explore the largest country on earth, while at the same time working to foster meaningful land much needed legal reforms.  I've been told to expect VERY incremental progress on these areas during my year in Russia.  I'll have to get use to that idea -- I'm accustomed to getting results done quickly in the U.S. justice system.  But I can't wait to get started.  Only one month until my departure date!

Skype

As you can imagine, communication with my family and friends while I am in Russia is a paramount concern.  In June 2007, I attended a week long orientation session at ABA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. where we covered the basics of overseas living, as well as tips and recommendations from former ABA CEELI Liaisons on the best way to stay in touch with our loved ones back home.  Almost unanimously, everyone recommended Skype, an online web-based, broadband calling system.  I'd heard of Skype while working in the the Department of Justice, but only because the criminal investigative side of the DOJ didn't have the ability to wiretap calls from one Skype user to another (I have no idea how this plays out on the NSA side of things -- my guess is they can and do wiretap pretty much everything, but that's a topic for another day, if not another blog!)  Anyway, I downloaded Skype from its website www.skype.com.  The program is free and easy to use.  Then, I went to Best Buy and bought a $41 pair of headphones/microphone combo and started making calls to my family and friends regular landlines and cellphones at about .02 cents per minute!  The best part is that Skype to Skype calls are FREE!  Unbelievable and incredibly economical.  I'll end my infomercial for Skype now, but I encourage everyone to download and use Skype.  You can call me in Russia for free!  I predict landline telephones will take the same path as 8-track tapes and will be a thing of the past within the next 5 to 10 years.