The Challenges of Expat Life

Updated December 7th, 2018

If you ever get bored of your day to day routines I recommend moving to a foreign country where you don’t speak the language. Routines no longer become routines anymore. Here are three everyday activities that are proving to be not so mundane as an expat in Moscow, Russia!

1.Finding your apartment

Moscow Mall — One of the three corner malls.

For someone with a really good sense of direction that has given Native New Yorkers directions and lead the way through numerous unknown cities and countries, I wasn’t expecting the disorientation I have been feeling here. Today after school I got off at the correct bus stop at a large four way intersection with a mall on every corner but one. I knew I lived in the direction of mall, but which mall that was I wasn’t sure. All the malls look the same to me. Surrounded by the malls in all directions are white apartment buildings that all look the same as well. Luckily my school is prepared for these situations and provided us with a little card with our address on it. I kind of laughed in my head at the thought of carrying around my address in case I forgot where I lived. Apparently they were smart to hand out those cards. In the end my Russian teaching assistant was kind of enough to lead me to my apartment.

2. Grocery Shopping

Even grocery shopping becomes an adventure. I was feeling very confident about the fruits and vegetables I picked up. They look exactly the same, so what could go wrong? Boxed goods were a tad more intimately. What really is in this box? I wasn’t up for the challenge of ordering anything at the deli. That will be an adventure for another day. I went for the unknown meat looking substance in the deli cooler. Turns out it was chicken, or at least it tasted like chicken.

Anyways on to checking out at the store. I thought I was asked if I had a bag so I shook my head no. The non English speaking check out person did a little up and down motion with my oranges. I shrug. She shakes her head and puts my oranges to the side. I’m guessing I needed to weigh the oranges ahead of time or something like that. No oranges for me I guess.

At this point I realize I am bagging my own groceries and don’t have a bag. I attempt to do some charades to let her know that I do need a bag afterall. She violently shakes her head at me because she thinks I am trying to get my oranges back. After a few more charades I get my bag. Unfortunately one bag doesn’t quite do the job. I realize I have to pay for the bags after I am all wrung up. The lady is not too happy about needing to ring up another bag for me. But I did it!

I bought 1 box of Kleenex (different brand of course), 1 roll of paper towels (they didn’t sell in anything more than a roll), 4 rolls of toilet paper, a few Tupperware type containers, a box of cereal, a package of crackers (I think), this deli meat, deli potatoes, two bottles of water, 4 kiwis, a container of raspberries, a bag of lettuce, a bag of carrots. In what would convert to dollars I only spent $23. Everyone says it is so expensive here, but unless I am converting something wrong it seems so cheap!

3. Opening Doors

Moscow Apartment Entrance — Level 1: My apartment building’s front door.

moscow apartment door — Level 2: Door to my apartment’s floor

Moscow Apartment Doors — Level 3:My two apartment doors.

For the last two nights I have not been able to open my apartment doors. This morning I didn’t think I was going to get out of my apartment either. There is the front door into the building. That has a little magnetic key that is luckily easy to operate. Then on my floor after getting off the elevator there is a door to get to my hallway. This door progresses to medium difficulty. It needs to be unlocked from the outside and locked again from the inside. As long as I give it a bit of a wiggle and use the correct key……and turn it around and take it out and put it back in, it seems to work!

Then there is my personal apartment door, or doors I should say. There are two doors back to back. Both nights I have stood in a panic outside my apartment door taking deep breaths and trying to remain calm. Oddly or I guess luckily enough the woman next door happened to come home slightly after me both nights. Tonight she couldn’t even get my door open and had to get her husband. In stilted English he explained to me how my door works. My first impression of Russians is very favorable!

Curious what happened next? Read my first Moscow Expat Life Update.

What has been difficult for you as an expat?