Escape from the Iron Curtain

Ok, so maybe Moscow wasn't the best idea I've ever had.

To make a long story (that I really don't feel like re-hashing from the beginning) short, they sucked!!! Here's the point-form version of what happened:

• They put me up in a hotel an hour and a half away from school and expected me to take the metro across three metro lines all marked in Russian, by myself, on my second day there.
• This hotel was not only far from school, but far from everything else as well - and that includes food. The best dinner available within walking distance from the hotel was a hot dog... and not even a delicious one. 
• I was told repeatedly to arrive in Moscow before the 10th of August, so I did. Apparently, I was the only one who received these instructions... everyone else will be arriving starting tomorrow and into next week. They even asked me why I was here so early... I was speechless.
• Because of my distance from everything, I was often forced to sit in my hotel room alone, waiting for further instructions, which generally didn't come until late afternoon. Probably not the best use of my time.
• When I did receive calls from them, it was either to show me apartments in scary buildings, bully me into picking an apartment in one of the scary buildings (and make the choice for two other people, by the way), or to haul me into school for five-minute meetings. Sometimes, I didn't get any calls, so I just waited around like an idiot.

All in all, it was crappy - I was alone, hungry, and completely uninformed about anything that was going on. It was a terrible feeling. I had multiple meltdowns and was thisclose to booking a flight home. 

But then I had a brilliant idea. I e-mailed the guy who had interviewed me while ago for a job in the Czech Republic. I asked him if, by some miracle, he had any last minute jobs that needed filling. Somehow, he did. Soooo... I booked a flight out of Moscow for the very next day. 

And now, here I am, in Helsinki, waiting to board a flight to the Czech Republic, where I will be teaching/coordinating Kindergarten (3-5 yrs old... a bit young, but not in Russia!) in Ostrava. Hopefully, this decision works out better than my last decision.

I'll keep you posted!

Stephka :)

P.S. Thanks to Johanne for the title of this blog... I'm not entirely sure what it means, but I trust her.