From Russia, With Love

Currently sitting in the Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport, waiting for my flight to Irkutsk. Local time - 10:37 PM. About to cross 5 time zones in a matter of hours - will arrive in Irkutsk at 11:10 am and go straight to teaching a class.

I just had my first Aeroflot experience from Heathrow to Moscow - it was a bit rough around the edges but not as bad as I expected! I heard some terrible stories about botched Aeroflot flights before I left Canada...but my airport taxi driver put my uneasy feelings to rest when he mentioned that Aeroflot recently revamped their fleet. They used to use refurbished military planes from commie days, but fortunately the ones they have now seem like the old school Canadian Airlines planes...except they have royal blue mismatched seats with harsh orange accents. Quite a utilitarian experience though - no luxury personal TV's, no peanuts or snacks, and no safety sheet in the front pocket. Not that I ever READ the safety sheet, but its presence gives you some sort of psychological comfort that there IS a backup plan. For some reason, the absence of the safety sheet made me really make sure my seatbelt was buckled tight! The takeoff was shakey, and the passenger beside me turned to me and said "Don't be afraid...be terrified!!". I didn't know how to respond so I just let out some nervous laughter, as he imitated the pilot hammering back vodka shots. "Why is the plane taking off an hour late?", I asked...."Eees Russia!" he proclaimed. Ah, the answer to everything..."It's Russia".

We became fast friends from there. His name was Maxim and he was with his girlfriend Dasha -- a sweet young couple, about 24. They taught me some words that I need in my vocabulary, including a few choice curse words, "just in case", they said. When I told them I was going to Siberia, Maxim was appalled! He proceeded to tell me all the bad things about Siberia, warning me that some people might consider me too "exotic" and thus may not answer me when I ask them questions (???). He said they would probably just shake their heads and walk away, but he assured me it wasn't racism...just the unknown. He also mentioned that because it is so cold in Siberia, the people are "cold" and like to stay silent!!! His beautiful wide eyed girlfriend kept elbowing him in the ribs and reassuring me that things would be just fine. Kind of like the two sides of me - one telling myself that I'm crazy and the other telling myself that I will be just fine! I bid them farewell after promising that I would sign up for a bootleg Russian Facebook (vkontakte.ru) as they boarded their flight to St. Petersburg.

My faith in the order of the universe was restored when my luggage was magically sitting on the carousel in Moscow - I have NO IDEA how it got here seeing as how when I was in Heathrow just hours before, they could not locate my luggage. Needless to say, I am ecstatic, especially after hearing that fashionable clothing is hard to come by in Irkutsk. Now off to Aeroflot Experience #2...Siberia!

[I think this is my flight....but its in Russian!]