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Hooray, I've officially gotten the go ahead on my trip to Georgia from Lena, our program coordinator. She said that other than passport control possibly being rude when they see Georgian stamps in my passport on my way back into Russia, they basically can't do anything. Whew!
Just a few loose ends to wrap up - I have to find out if I need a transit visa to go through Belarus on the train (though we'll probably be asleep as we go pass through) and get a return train ticket. I need to borrow a smaller suitcase from someone; I could probably fill one of my big ones for a three week trip, but I don't want to lug it all over creation by myself. Did that on the way to Middlebury, and it sucked.
Addendum 15/11/2008: So it turns out I need a transit visa to go through Belarus. For a double-entry (there and back), it's $177. Dang it! Still, glad I figured this out now and not a day before leaving; the State Department travel site mentions cases of people getting kicked off the train at the border for not having the proper documents. Cripes!
Oh, yeah, and before I leave, I should probably keep studying, take my finals, and do better on my language tests than I did in August. :)
This is funny:
Odobrenie = approval.
Udobrenie = fertilizer.
Good idea not to get these words confused - it could lead to awkwardness. Ha.
5 months ago
4 comments:
Ha! Interesting how two words in a language that sound so similar can have such completely unique meanings.
Do you expect Passport Control to be rude on your way back from Georgia? Is traveling there frowned upon or something?
Regarding those two words - they share the root "dobr," which means "good." Makes sense, don't you think? You just don't want to ask your boss to put his seal of fertilizer on your project proposal or something, haha.
Regarding Passport Control... don't know how much you've been keeping up on the news in this part of the world, but Georgia and Russia have basically cut all political, diplomatic, and economic ties since the war in August. And since the US has been an outspoken supporter of Georgia, an American passport with Georgian stamps in it will likely result in at least some raised eyebrows, if not outright boorishness and possibly some questions. I am not afraid, though. If they're rude to me, I'll have another exciting clash with authority to blog about. :)
oh man, be sure you get that transit visa. One of my buddies was taking a train through Belarus (to Kiev, in fact), got stopped and kicked off the train, and had two terrible days of bureaucracy with no place to sleep and nobody to help him out.
But on a happier note: yay! Georgia! Suck it, passport kontrol!
Wow...unbelievable that I didn't make that connection. Of course I knew about the Georgia-Russia conflict and the fallout that ensued. Sometimes I wonder whether I'm already suffering from senior moments at my ripe young age. I retract my preceding comment :)
That was pretty embarrassing.
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