To Minsk (Минск) and Beyond!

A Week of Getting Acclimated

We are now to Friday (very early AM as it were) and it has been a very good week here in Minsk. 

On Monday was the U.S. Embassy and the move to our new apartment.  After an normal morning, I was picked up by a U.S. Embassy car for my in-country security briefing and orientation.  I had already basically heard everything they told me back at the Fulbright Orientation in Washington D.C. last July, but it was nice to see all of them and to visit the embassy.  

After that, I was dropped back off at our temporary apartment and then had about an hour to finish preparations for the move.  We were then picked up by the U.S. Embassy bus to haul the family and all of our stuff to the new permanent apartment.  A few extra embassy workers came and helped with the bags, and the senior couple and the male young volunteers also met us at our new place to take stuff up to the new apartment.  The entire move took less than an hour!  We then spent the next couple hours trying to get settled in an unpacked.

  

I also took a trip to the Korona (the largest supermarket in Minsk, which is only a 5 minute walk from our new place) to get some of the apartment essentials (including a laundry drying rack!).  I got back right as we were supposed to meet the senior couple downstairs for a dinner appointment.  I had hauled all of the stuff back from Korona and was a few minutes late, but it all worked out fine.  We walked with them back to their place and then had a very nice evening with them there.  We had a yummy dinner and dessert and also enjoyed talking with them and getting to know them better.  Around 8:30 we all walked back home (maybe 10 minutes) and got the kids to bed. 

I normally do all of the laundry back home, so I thought it would be no big deal to do it here too... the washing machine is tiny, and without any dryer this will be much more of a daily ordeal...! I think we may need a second drying rack, as we have a bunch of washed clothes waiting their turn to dry...

Tuesday was a pretty laid back day.  We didn’t have anything on the schedule; the only thing we needed to do was a lot of shopping to get more household essentials and stock up on food.  Monday night was not the best night’s sleep in the world for anyone, so we had a little bit of a lethargic morning.  I was up way too early with David, and then with Lia and Kaylie.  We watched a movie and got a little rest on the couch, and then it was actually time to get up and get some breakfast.  

We hadn’t gone shopping for a few days, so our selection was fairly limited and the girls complained a bit, but soon breakfast was done and cleaned up and kids were dressed and working on projects.  Jacque got up around 9 and got the school stuff ready for the girls, while I went out looking for electric fans for all of the bedrooms (we use them for white noise to help everyone sleep).  Basically I struck out because nothing was open before 10 am.  

I came back and lay down on the couch to rest, and next thing I knew, Jacque was waking me up at 11:30 because it was time for her to go and meet the female young volunteers to go shopping.  I got up and got the girls lunch and down for naps/rest time and Jacque arrived back with tons of food soon thereafter.  I took off again looking for fans and was successful.  Language is a bit of a barrier in transactions like that, but with some hand gestures/pantomiming, I was able to communicate with them and get things taking care of.  

When I got back the girls were finishing up their rest time, so I took them down to check out the play areas around the apartment complex (and there are many).  They had fun going from one to the next and testing them all out.  We also explored the large complex a bit more and discovered a small grocery store that is just a stone’s throw away from our place, which may come in handing if we just need something really quick.  And behind the grocery store is the nicest play area we found; there were lots of fun things to play on, with lots of people there with their kids.  I would imagine that is where we will end up spending most of our playing time. 

After playing, we came back up and did a little unpacking and got dinner ready (Jacque made homemade pizza)!  After dinner/dessert, we cleaned up and got the kids ready for bed, read scriptures and did the nighttime routine.  I think this was the earliest we got them all down since we got here (7:30).  Jacque was not feeling well, so she followed them soon after and was zonked out almost immediately.  I had a student back at UVU who was doing a thesis defense, so I spent the next hour trying to video chat with them so I could be part of the defense (didn’t work too well, mostly because our internet is not the fastest here).  

By the time my student's defense was done, David was awake, so I got him a bottle and we were up for the next couple hours.  I put him down and went in my room to lie down, but Lia and Kaylie were having trouble sleeping, so I was then up helping them for another while.  Finally I decided to just go rest with them in there room, but Kaylie just wouldn’t go to sleep.  At some point (probably around 12:30 or so) I fell asleep on the girls’ bed and then Kaylie made her way to sleep with Jacque.  You can see that sleep has been a challenge for us since arriving, mostly because of the girls having trouble adjusting and our colds.  

Wednesday was my first day at BSU.  I was able to meet all of the key players at the BSU SBMT (who up to that point I had only communicated with via email).  They were all very warm and welcoming and it was a pleasure to meet them and I was excited to hear of all they have planned for me while I am here.  

My load will not be overly burdensome by any means (and they will be very accommodating to my extra-curricular traveling), but there are many ways they see me getting involved beyond the one MBA HR class.  It is good to know I am wanted/needed at the university during my stay.  It even seems like they will have ways for Jacque to get involved too!  So I will also be helping with a series of faculty development retreats and workshops (including team building, teaching pedagogy, and research sessions), I will assist with school strategic planning and accreditation efforts, I will help with some SBMT PR/advertising stuff, I will work on collaborative research projects with my BSU colleagues, and I will do some work with the BSU undergraduate business students (a short block elective course for 4 weeks, a series of other one-time seminars, and some visits to the language institute).  I think it sounds like a great plan!   I also got my MBA teaching schedule ironed out, so I was able to adjust and finalize my syllabus!  Now I feel very prepared!  

After everything was done at BSU, I caught the metro back to our apartment (super easy, so no problems there) and then I met with the realtor and apartment owners to get a few things finished up around here and to sign the contract and get all of the necessary paperwork submitted to the authorities.  It ended up taking way longer than I expected (but I almost expected that!).  Anyway, by dinner time, it was all taken care of and we are now official in our new apartment!  

Jacque made homemade pizza for dinner (quite ambitious, I know!) and of course it was great and well received.  We then went through the evening routine with the girls and got them to bed by 7:30 and we soon followed by around 8:30 or 9:00.  The best part is that everyone slept through the night!  That means that Jacque and I also got a much-needed night of solid sleep (I personally got 9 straight hours, by far the most I have gotten in the last couple of weeks, and it felt great!). 

Thursday was also a good, busy day.  With a great night’s sleep, I got up with the girls and got them breakfast and ready for the day.  I then had to get back over to BSU for more meetings and to get my immigration paperwork filled out and submitted.  I met with several people in the BSU SBMT program again and we even talked about projects and my role at the university in greater detail.  Again, it is very encouraging that they are excited to have me here and that they plan to have me involved!  We had some interesting discussions about the higher education conditions/context in Belarus, along with some of the policies and hurdles that BSU and other universities face here.  It will be interesting to continue to learn more about all of this and see how I can help (if at all).  

After those meetings, we had to get down to paperwork, and there is a lot of it.  Basically, the next couple of hours were dedicated to it, and in the end we weren’t able to get it submitted to the immigration office because it closed early yesterday (not sure why).  So I will be meeting with Alexander at BSU again this morning (Friday) to get that finished.  Hopefully it will not take too long!  After paperwork stuff, Alexander helped me get cheap cell phones for Jacque and me.  That also took much longer than I expected (but I almost expected that!).  

By 4 pm I was home with cell phones in hand and still enough time to take the 4 girls down to the store and to the playground for a while.  We met a nice girl and her mom and I chatted with the mom (great English) while the girls played with her daughter (no English, but that was OK)!   

We came back up and got cleaned up for a delicious spaghetti dinner, after which the girls went through their normal evening routine and got to bed, after which Jacque and I soon followed.  Unfortunately, sleep was not quite as good (as it is 3 am and I am up with David now), but it is still better than a few days ago, so I am not complaining!  Thursday was another good day!

So that is our week to this point.  Probably more detail than you care to know, but it is your fault for reading the blog!  Until next time!