Change of Plans #2

Dear Sam, (I hope you appreciate that)

Yesterday I received a very ominous email from the Moscow Fulbright office. After reading lines like these, I fell into a state of stressful disrepair:

"The situation has turned in an unexpected direction and we have had to change the plan."

"...sorry for the delay and the frustration you must be feeling--this has been a unique and unfortunate situation."

I spent the day fretting while waiting for a phone call from Moscow. My thoughts were scattered, but the gist was, "What if I've been denied entry and they are taking the grant away from me...what in the world am I going to do?"

The phone finally rang just before 2pm, and I got the following details right off the bat:

-my host university in Kamchatka failed to submit the proper request form to the head institute in Moscow

-the rector in Moscow therefore said that the paperwork cannot be processed

-I am no longer going to Kamchatka

What?!?! (*mini-heart attack*)

Then,

-We (the Moscow Fulbright office) have been searching for an alternate post for you

And...? (*a small breath of hope*)

-This has never happened before...

-This is very unique...

-We have found an institution in Moscow that will take you.

WHAAAAAAAAAAT?!?!?! (*trying not to jump around my dining room*)

And so it is.

I only have the bare-bone details right now, and should be receiving more info in the next week, but here is the current update:

-I am being posted to one of the top-15 universities in Russia

-It is an agrarian institute, and one of great repute attended by Russians and foreigners alike hoping to learn the latest in agricultural production

-It is located in the suburbs of Moscow, giving the campus plenty of room to have its own gardens (I am told it approximates an American university campus, and I can't help thinking of some of the nice little gardens at W&M around Blow Hall, the Sundial, and outside the Reves Center)

-It does not really have an English department, but they hope to build one so that Russian and foreign students can take their classes in English together

-And this is where I come in.

While Fulbright and the institute are still working out the details of my responsibilities, it seems like my main duty will be to help establish their English department and improve the qualifications of their professors and students in the English language.

Phew.

So, how am I feeling about this?

Well, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit disappointed. I mean, I had really geared myself up for a crazy Arctic experience in Kamchatka. And all the work I've done so far preparing for my law classes is for naught.

BUT, I am going to be outside Moscow--a major metropolitan area featuring plenty of amusements not only within the city, but also with easy transportation opportunities to visit dozens of places both inside and outside of Russia. And I have to say, I am interested in seeing if I can't listen in on a few courses on agriculture while I'm there.

So, unfortunately all the jokes about getting mauled by bears and smothered by magma (Clay...) no longer phase me. Now, however, I have to contend with the Moscow Mafia. I guess Russia is like one big game of 'Pick Your Poison".

So, this blog will likely have a very different look soon. 'Volcanic Ice' doesn't make a whole lot of sense anymore.

Also, I'm adopting the Russian tradition of superstition (суеверие, "s00-ye-VER-iye"), and I definitely don't want to count my chickens before they hatch. While I've been told that my paperwork should now be completed in about two-weeks time and I should be able to arrive in-country around October 1, I have been disappointed by the Russian bureaucratic system before. After already being delayed for three weeks, I'm remaining skeptical until I have my visa in-hand. I'll be sure to let you know when that happens.

I'll fill you in with more info about my new institute once I receive it.

And meanwhile, if people want to visit me in Moscow, I would love to have you, so save some money and make some travel plans. Moscow is a helluva lot more accessible than Kamchatka, so don't let me down!