I'm sitting at home hoping that the water will come back on. Water outages are not uncommon here in Russia. It's one of those reminders that while the facade of many things here is of a developed country--Versace, Dolce & Gabana and Nike grace the windows of shops in major Russian cities--the bones are more of a developing nation.
In our old apartment building in Moscow, the djshorna (apartment manager) would post a sign in Russian and English letting you know when the water would be turned off. Usually it was just the hot water that was off, but sometimes both hot and cold. The English version of the sign read, "Due to the prophylactic leading of the pipes, water will not be available from . . . to . . ." I'm not sure what version of babblefish they used to create the sign, it did get the point across. NO WATER (or a very cold shower that morning). This occasional annoyance could be tolerated. It wasn't everyday and water was reliable and generally safe to drink. It's better than Tristan's memories of filling up buckets when the water did come on in Turkmenistan because you didn't know when it would be on again.
I admit, I am getting older. Complaining is still not something I like to do publicly or appreciate when others do it, but I want the water to come back on. I'm tired of camping in my own apartment. The Consulate has done their best by providing drinking water and turning the city hot water back on. Still running water in my apartment would be nice.
I was humbled on my walk home last night from the Consulate after grabbing a shower at the gym. I passed the water spigot by one of the many construction sites around town. There was an immigrant laborer, probably from Tajikistan or Kyrgyzstan, filling up about 4 huge jugs of water for his evening supply. His housing, in a metal box in the middle of a construction site, doesn't have running water and I suspect little adequate heating in the winter. I suppose I shouldn't complain; I should be moved to change his situation if I had the ability . . . frankly I just want water for us both.
Now I hear the thunder of rain outside which means my internet will probably go down, AFN satellite will be interrupted and progress on the water main near my apartment will be further delayed. Ok, I should really quit my public complaining!
Monday, June 30, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Tomsk and Yekat!
Hello Everyone!
It's been a while since I've posted. Our internet is slow here Yekaterinburg and then Utel did an upgrade which threw the whole thing off. I was blaming my problems on Russian internet connections, but thanks to our neighbor and some testing and head scratching, I finally tried replacing the Ethernet cables on the whole system and that seems to have solved a large part of our problems. It's still slow, but soooo much better! It's so frustrating to stare at your screen hoping that the page will load or message will send and it go nowhere. On July 1st, our internet plan gets upgraded and fingers crossed it will be even better! YEAH!!!! My outlook is so much better here with working internet!
Many of you have asked what life is like in Yekaterinburg. It's much smaller than Moscow which is nice and challenging. No pushing and shoving on the Metro, but not so many social options in such a small town. Work keeps me occupied, and we've started to make some good connections. Believe it or not, my friend Marni from High School in Baton Rouge went to college with Emily who is the ACCEL Regional Director in Yekaterinburg and Novosbirsk. (She's in the Shashlik pictures!)
We celebrated summer solstice on Saturday with new friends Stina and George from the Park Inn and visiting colleagues from Moscow. The light is amazing at this time of year--the sky doesn't get fully dark for more than an hour. It sets around 10:30 or close to 11 and starts coming up again around 3:30. Not sure that bodes well for December!
I am just back from several trips. We arrived here on April 21st. Then I headed back to Moscow for the Fulbright Community College Collaboration meeting followed by a trip to St. Petersburg with my friend Karen. Fantastic weekend--loved St. Petes! Once our internet is upgraded, I'll put the pictures up and my recomendations.
Here's a piece from today's NY Times on Tomsk. Tristan visited there and met with students at the American Center. It really is beautiful. We'll try to put those pictures up as well!
Hope you are well!
Carolyn
Tomsk Journal
A Fresh Take on a 19th-Century Gingerbread Village
By CLIFFORD J. LEVY
Published: June 25, 2008
Nikolai Zakotnov vowed to rescue Tomsk and help the city defend an architectural heritage that is as charming as it is unexpected.
It's been a while since I've posted. Our internet is slow here Yekaterinburg and then Utel did an upgrade which threw the whole thing off. I was blaming my problems on Russian internet connections, but thanks to our neighbor and some testing and head scratching, I finally tried replacing the Ethernet cables on the whole system and that seems to have solved a large part of our problems. It's still slow, but soooo much better! It's so frustrating to stare at your screen hoping that the page will load or message will send and it go nowhere. On July 1st, our internet plan gets upgraded and fingers crossed it will be even better! YEAH!!!! My outlook is so much better here with working internet!
Many of you have asked what life is like in Yekaterinburg. It's much smaller than Moscow which is nice and challenging. No pushing and shoving on the Metro, but not so many social options in such a small town. Work keeps me occupied, and we've started to make some good connections. Believe it or not, my friend Marni from High School in Baton Rouge went to college with Emily who is the ACCEL Regional Director in Yekaterinburg and Novosbirsk. (She's in the Shashlik pictures!)
We celebrated summer solstice on Saturday with new friends Stina and George from the Park Inn and visiting colleagues from Moscow. The light is amazing at this time of year--the sky doesn't get fully dark for more than an hour. It sets around 10:30 or close to 11 and starts coming up again around 3:30. Not sure that bodes well for December!
I am just back from several trips. We arrived here on April 21st. Then I headed back to Moscow for the Fulbright Community College Collaboration meeting followed by a trip to St. Petersburg with my friend Karen. Fantastic weekend--loved St. Petes! Once our internet is upgraded, I'll put the pictures up and my recomendations.
Here's a piece from today's NY Times on Tomsk. Tristan visited there and met with students at the American Center. It really is beautiful. We'll try to put those pictures up as well!
Hope you are well!
Carolyn
Tomsk Journal
A Fresh Take on a 19th-Century Gingerbread Village
By CLIFFORD J. LEVY
Published: June 25, 2008
Nikolai Zakotnov vowed to rescue Tomsk and help the city defend an architectural heritage that is as charming as it is unexpected.
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