New York the foreign and the science of expectations

               

Let's start off an adventure right, with a unexpected week delay in the foreign land of New York. Then throw in some running around the city to get an expedited visa, some seeing many dear old friends, meeting incredible new ones at burlesque caberet, roof top bar college reunions, Thai tacos and long walks of the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges. Sounds just like the trip 

you might have planned right?

Because that's what a true adventure actually looks like, but only if you can get over the concept of lost expectations. True, my first day returning from the airport having not flown to Russia due to missing part of my documentation, was a miserable experience. Also true, my mistake cost me hundreds of dollars. Also also true it did require an extreme amount of self patience and breath. I spent two years planning this dream trip, and it would not start out at the time nor the way I had expected.

That is the funny thing with expectation, it is a tool for how to look at what is coming, but becomes the biggest hang up in our minds with how we handle situations when they actually arise.  I had expected to fly to Russia, and begin this incredible trip, life had other plans.  The visa issues were also entirely my fault, a mix of assumptions and misunderstanding. That is a tough pill to swallow, when you just make a big o'l mistake. I had taken care of every single other tiny detail, except for one of the biggest ones which was checking the paperwork I had, lesson learned.

However I came to bust heads and live the hell out of this experience, and I'll be damned if a little delay will swing me into a Debbie downer. With the help of another dear heart who has dealt with this stuff before, I delayed my flight, and proceeded to traverse the city getting the materials I needed to expedite a visa. It would end up costing me all my reserve funds, but this adventure was meant to happen,  and I was going to fly.

My first attempt at the Russian consulate, the door was locked and me a few other confused Amercian's walked back and forth between two doors until a portly Russian fellow straight from a stereotype sauntered out. He started barking Russian at us, about what you would expect from the a portly security guard of a Russian embassy. Seeing only a few in the cue spoke Russian, he went on to explain the rules in English while smiling a sickly sweet smile, if you did not have an appointment you could only make one online, and it had to be a week in advance.  I said " but please sir I am trying to clown with orphans"  He just stared at me, pointed to a piece of paper posted on the outside of the consulate that said the same thing, and went back inside.

Strike one clown, but I was not deterred. the next was to contact one of the many visa expedite places, and the main one for Russia was ILS, which was way downtown.  I went online and filled out the seven page questionnaire on my phone, yes it was seven pages to enter the country for less than a month. I love when countries leaders fight, and then everyone decides how much fun it would be for everyone else to fill out more paperwork. I found were their office was, and in fear that I did not have the right, 2 photo's, invitation letter, place of stay, entry and departure flight information, and passport sweated profusely the entire subway trip there.  I got to the third floor office, entered a cue, sat down to another very surly Russian woman who proceeded to tell me that I had missed several important areas in my paperwork. I needed the last three years work history with contact information, and every country I had visited in the last year in order with exact dates. She did not seem to care that I had important clowning to do.  I went online on my phone and tried in vane as the page refreshed itself and deleted my work several times to fix the mistakes.

 I had been sitting there for 45 minutes clearly in anguish when my angel appeared in the form of a round, balding, middle aged New York/Russian man. I am going to call him Vlad, because in my panic at the time I could not remember his real name, but he saw me their in all my struggle, and invited me to his desk where he smiled and laughed and asked what I was going to Russia for.  I said to clown with orphans, and prepared myself for the same cold response, and him to say he hated clowns and orphans and I would never make it there.  He instead smiled and said that was a beautiful reason to go to Russia, and told me not to worry, he was going to get me there.  All the tension drained through my feet, and we chatted and laughed and breezed over the problems in my paperwork. He just filled in all the mistakes for me and said they were really not important at all and to come back in three days to get my visa. I told him id have a drink in his name in Russia, to Vlad, my middle aged, balding, New York/Russian Angel. 

This meant I would only missed four days with the kids at camp, done and done.

New York truly turned into an absolute blessing, of wonderful supportive friends, incredible reunions, good food and new people that changed my life perspective.  It actually slowed me down, forced me to breath and prepare in a way I had not truly had time for in crazy business in leaving Vermont. I felt so cared for in a city that's previously felt foreign, difficult and busy. I stayed at four different friends homes, who I am so thankful for taking such sweet care of me. I went to an incredible Burlesque Caberet/Alice in Wonderland themed dance party that a friend got me tickets to, and proceed to party the night away until the sun came up with a slew of old and new friends.  I also drank on no less than four roofs in the wonderful summer city nights.  So here to you, you beautiful bastard New York.