The arrival...

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Hi there,
First you find the English version of my diary entries, than the German...

OK.. where to start... The flight to Moscow was ok, the plane was not one of the newest and I had some doubts if I should really get on it for some minutes... but I arrived savely in Moscow and thanks god had some help with filling in the immigration documents and passing the check points, because I met two nice russian girls in the plane who could speak a perfect German... (all Russian documents are only in kyrillan letters - exeptionally friendly for all foreigners...)
At the airport my AIESEC-contact (buddy) Lesha welcomed me and then we went outside... -16 degrees Celsius... brrrrrrrr... but honestly, I expected it to be worse!!! It didn't feel that cold, just when you try to breeze in you can feel the air cutting in your throat... and than there is a slight smell of kerosene in the air...

And suddenly everything had to be done quickly... the parking lot in front of the airport is very expensive, so everybody tries to drive through quickly because then you can get out for free... absolutely chaotic!!!
Stopp the car, get out, grap the suitcases, throw them in the trunk, everybody jumps in and go, go, go... Welcome to Moscow!!!

Afterwards we drove about two hours around the dark city... on the highway circle... to get to the AIESEC conference sight... snow, snow and even more snow... everywhere, several meters high... OK... not on the street, but next to them!

Russians drive like crazy!!! (at least if you take the conditions of the streets in acount!!), they never fasten a seat belt and the breath froze on the inner side of the windows. Therefore you could hardly see anything!!!

Well, these were my first impressions about Moscow... soon you'll hear more!
Greetings,
Antje
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Halloele...

OK, wo soll ich anfangen... Der Flug war gut, die Maschine nicht unbedingt auf dem neusten Stand und kurze Zweifel ob ich wirklich einsteigen soll, moechte ich nicht verschweigen... aber ich bin heil in Moskau gelandet und hatte Gott sei Dank auch Hilfe bei den Kontrollen, da schon im Flieger 2 Russinen neben mir gesessen haben, die perfekt Deutsch konnten und mir gesagt haben, wie ich die Einreisepapiere ausfuellen soll, etc... (Ist naemlich alles NUR in kyrillischer Schrift - masslos Auslaenderfreundlich)
Am Flughafen stand mein AIESEC-Ansprechpartner (Buddy) Lesha (Loescha ausgesprochen) und hat mich begruesst! Und dann raus aus dem Flughafen, in -16 Grad C, brrrr... aber eigentlich habe ich es mir schlimmer vorgestellt... So am Koerper geht es, aber beim Atmen hat man das Gefuehl es schneidet richtig in den Hals... und dazu noch dieser angenehme Kerosingeruch der in der Luft haengt...
Und dann musste es ganz schnell gehen... Der Parkplatz vor dem Flughafen ist so teuer, dass alle versuchen nur schnell durch zu fahren und wieder aus der Schranke raus... absolutes Chaos!! Kurz bremsen, aus dem Auto springen, Kofferaum auf, Koffer hineinwerfen und dann alle ins Auto springen und ab die Post!!
Willkommen in Moskau!

Dann sind wir bestimmt 2 Std durch die dunkle Stadt gefahren... bzw aussen herum... zu der AIESEC Konferenz... Schnee, Schnee, ueberall Schnee!! Meter hoch! naja, auf den Strassen nicht mehr, aber seitlich davon!
Russen fahren wie die Henker (zumindest in anbetracht der Strassenverhaeltnisse), schnallen sich nicht an und besonders vertrauenserweckend ist, dass der Atem sofort von innen an den Scheiben gefriert, man also erst mal nicht wirklich was sieht...

Tja... soviel erst mal zu meinen ersten Erlebnissen hier und mehr gibt es dann in den naechsten Tagen!
Lieben Gruss,
Antje

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Photos

The first glimpse...
Im Landeanflug auf Moskau Domodedovo Airport

At the AIESEC Conference...
Here as well AIESECers dance crazy AIESEC-dances, shout in the plenary and party al night long... thanks god some things are the same everywhere!!!

At the AIESEC Conference (2) ...
... and I met so many cool people there!

Peter, Fuat and I
... and after the conference we went on a study tour through Moscow and I finally got soem impressions about the place I'm going to live at for the next 6 month... And I met Peter, an Austrian trainee who is going to work in the same company and had to say good bye to Fuat, who I got to know at the conference... he was German trainee in Chelyabinsk and helped me with some first-hand tipps about how to get around in Russia
Fuat (German Trainee)

The study tour (1) ....
As always such a tour in a bus through the town is far to quick to gather all the information they tell you... but this is the monastery, Ivan the terrible forced his first wife to join because in these days divorces weren't possible, so he had to find another way to get rid of her... ;o)

The study tour (2) ....
The Moskva-river coverd with ice and snow...

The study tour (3) ...
The Moscow State University... this is an impressive building and not like the ugly grey building of Heilbronn...