Complications... and then more complications.

I was warned that Russian politics are ... beyond difficult. I'm still in the US, and I've already learned that in America we have no idea what difficult means. Just dealing with the Russian Embassy has been obnoxious. My closest embassy is only available 3 hours a day and never answers the phone. Whether this is due to being overwhelmed by the sheer number of calls during this period or the fact that they just don't care I don't know, and the distinction hardly seems relevant. I was forced to contact the embassy in DC and was treated terribly rudely. I was simply trying to find out whether I needed to schedule an appointment at the embassy to file for my visa, or if it was okay to just go in any time. The answer I was given was "9am to 12pm, Monday to Friday *click*". Thanks, that didn't answer my question at all.

To begin with, it's slightly ridiculous that all paperwork has to be filed in person. Many embassies allow you to mail or fax your papers in and they will send you your visa. But no, not the Russian Federation. I have no clue why Russia requires all paperwork to be filed in person, but it tacked an additional $1,000 on to my expected expenses just to get there because of my having to fly back and forth to Houston twice... Money which I don't have as I was totally unaware of the Russian paperwork filing process. I've never filed for a visa before, so I admit that perhaps I'm a bit naive, but the people I've talked to who have traveled to other countries have never had to deal with jumping through these kinds of hoops.

Regardless, I'm confident that the funds will come together in time to allow my trip to continue on schedule. It does put a bit of a damper on my plans to get a Flip video recorder in time for my departure though. I was really looking forward to recording a good portion of my trip, but it's looking more and more like that's just not in the cards. I'll have the money within a month, but I suspect it will be at least a week or two late for my actual arrival in Moscow. That being said, I still feel tremendously lucky that things have worked out as well as they have, I couldn't have hoped for things to go as well as they have, and I'm more excited than ever about my upcoming trip.

I'll be flying to Houston on Monday the 28th to file for my visa.. and I'm praying that they will mail it to me so I don't have to fly back to pick it up as well, though it wouldn't surprise me at this point. Wish me luck!