Out in the open

So, apparently my blog is now out in the open (спасибо mama) so I suppose I'd better write something on it that I'm not just emailing to friends and relations.
At the moment I'm busy working on getting my visa extended for when I come back in January. Seems to be a relatively straightforward process in that the school is doing everything for me and are getting me a multientry visa instead of the single entry one I've been on this time which is nice (not that I have any money to leave the country). All I've needed to do is go get another HIV test (Russian immigration authorities seem convinced that all foreigners are disease ridden and responsible for Russia's massive AIDS problem rather than looking closer to home for the source of the problem) and some more passport photos.

Getting the blood test proved only mildly traumatic in the end. Various people gave me the names of a Russian clinic, an American clinic and a European clinic to go to, and not being massively overwhelmed with Russian medical hygiene I was going to opt for the European clinic. Thomas the australian persuaded me out of this though and said that he'd been to the Russian clinic a week before and it had been fine... So off we went to this clinic, which was on the 3rd floor up one of the more disgusting stairwells I've seen since I've been here, with a tin can full of cigarette butts outside the door of the clinic. On getting inside though it was fine and I was forced to don another pair of plastic booties of the variety I last wore in the erotic museum in St Petersburg which prompted a small giggle.

Then came the challenge of explaining that I needed a blood test for HIV with a certificate with a stamp on it for the visa application in Russian to the receptionist. This took a while and a little help from a random guy in the waiting room who spoke a bit of german (have I mentioned how I'm constantly plagued by not being able to speak a word of german when required, but as soon as I need the russian word for something the german one is always to hand?).

Having concentrated on procuring what I needed, I hadn't really had a chance to get nervous about the impending needle in my arm part, but started to now, especially having heard stories from other friends about Russian clinics boiling old needles rather than using a new one every time. Thankfully this wasn't the case here, although I was pretty taken aback to walk into the nurse's room and find two other people in there lying on beds hooked up to drips while I sat there and had my blood removed.

All in all, it wasn't too bad, and at 450 rubles was a bargain as well. I'm sure, had I gone to one of the international clinics, it would've been at least 5 times that, for the privilege of having someone speak in english. Making baby steps towards living like a Russian rather than an expat. Stay tuned for phase 2: renting an apartment.