40 Days in Russia: Let's Prepare!
Hello again, dear readers!
I'll continue my travel experience story to Russia and now I'll talk about my preparation. It was so... much pressure, if I may say so. To start, let me tell you about the seminar preparation by AIESEC BINUS.
As I said before, my EP Manager's name was Lidya. She told me the AIESECers held a seminar preparation for the EPs on Friday, June 20, 2014. So I came. I met some other EPs there and made friends with some of them... Okay, I forgot about them quickly. *smirk*
I honestly can't remember all about the presentation, but I remember something like we shouldn't need to worry about language barriers as all of the EPs are learning too, and we should be ready to be placed in a bad condition, and we may talk a lot to our EP Managers about the internship, and so on.
Later that day, some guys from STA Travel made a presentation too. They were promoting their travel service that we can book plane tickets and accommodation with special price for students. I think it was good.
Oh about the things I had to bring, I already asked Dmitry (btw have I told you that I really like this name since a long time ago?). He gave me a list of things to bring, including medical certificate, our country's flag, national clothes (so I brought some Batik), presentation about your country (powerpoint, film, song, poem, etc), musical instruments, national games (I brought an ugly looking Congklak made of plastic), sports games, and warm clothes (light jacket).
Then I prepared all of them. The red-white flag, Batik, Congklak, and the presentation. Oh I also brought some indomie (Indonesian instant noodles) and coffee so I could give them to my host family and buddy. I even asked my mom to accompany me to take medical check-up so that I got the certificate, and I also asked my dad who happens to be a doctor to make my certificate of vaccines.
By the way, I had a buddy. It's someone who will help you adapt in Russia and during the internship. I didn't know that not everyone got a buddy. Anyway, my buddy's name was Vladimir. We chatted through Facebook message sometimes. He was kinda nice. My mom told me to give him some souvenirs from Indonesia too.
But maybe you ask, what about my passport and visa? What about the ticket and accommodation?
Well, Dmitry said I don't need to worry about accommodation because, as I said before, I got a host family. So I would stay in their house when I wasn't in the camp. My host family was Denis Pavlov. I also contacted him through Facebook message right after I got his contact from Dmitry. And I got my passport ready since years ago. But about the visa... Well, it took a really long time for the Russian to send me the invitation letter to apply for visa. I was kind of worry and pissed.
After I finally got it, I decided to go to STA Travel and book my plane ticket. I thought, well, maybe I can get a lower price for students. And actually I heard some people said if you want to apply for visa, you need to enclose your plane ticket and travel insurance other than just passport and photo. So I went to STA Travel first. I contacted Mario, a guy who works in STA Travel, and he asked me to come to Allianz Tower in South Jakarta. It's located on the 27th floor.
While I was waiting nervously for the visa, I started to pack my things. My mom insisted that I had to bring her enormous black suitcase. Oh, I hate that suitcase. I'll talk to you soon about it.
I'll continue my travel experience story to Russia and now I'll talk about my preparation. It was so... much pressure, if I may say so. To start, let me tell you about the seminar preparation by AIESEC BINUS.
As I said before, my EP Manager's name was Lidya. She told me the AIESECers held a seminar preparation for the EPs on Friday, June 20, 2014. So I came. I met some other EPs there and made friends with some of them... Okay, I forgot about them quickly. *smirk*
I honestly can't remember all about the presentation, but I remember something like we shouldn't need to worry about language barriers as all of the EPs are learning too, and we should be ready to be placed in a bad condition, and we may talk a lot to our EP Managers about the internship, and so on.
Later that day, some guys from STA Travel made a presentation too. They were promoting their travel service that we can book plane tickets and accommodation with special price for students. I think it was good.
Oh about the things I had to bring, I already asked Dmitry (btw have I told you that I really like this name since a long time ago?). He gave me a list of things to bring, including medical certificate, our country's flag, national clothes (so I brought some Batik), presentation about your country (powerpoint, film, song, poem, etc), musical instruments, national games (I brought an ugly looking Congklak made of plastic), sports games, and warm clothes (light jacket).
Then I prepared all of them. The red-white flag, Batik, Congklak, and the presentation. Oh I also brought some indomie (Indonesian instant noodles) and coffee so I could give them to my host family and buddy. I even asked my mom to accompany me to take medical check-up so that I got the certificate, and I also asked my dad who happens to be a doctor to make my certificate of vaccines.
By the way, I had a buddy. It's someone who will help you adapt in Russia and during the internship. I didn't know that not everyone got a buddy. Anyway, my buddy's name was Vladimir. We chatted through Facebook message sometimes. He was kinda nice. My mom told me to give him some souvenirs from Indonesia too.
But maybe you ask, what about my passport and visa? What about the ticket and accommodation?
Well, Dmitry said I don't need to worry about accommodation because, as I said before, I got a host family. So I would stay in their house when I wasn't in the camp. My host family was Denis Pavlov. I also contacted him through Facebook message right after I got his contact from Dmitry. And I got my passport ready since years ago. But about the visa... Well, it took a really long time for the Russian to send me the invitation letter to apply for visa. I was kind of worry and pissed.
After I finally got it, I decided to go to STA Travel and book my plane ticket. I thought, well, maybe I can get a lower price for students. And actually I heard some people said if you want to apply for visa, you need to enclose your plane ticket and travel insurance other than just passport and photo. So I went to STA Travel first. I contacted Mario, a guy who works in STA Travel, and he asked me to come to Allianz Tower in South Jakarta. It's located on the 27th floor.
I directly asked for the cheapest flight. So the plane was Etihad and I had to transit in Abu Dhabi before flying to Moscow. Fyi, Etihad is the national airline of the United Arab Emirates and it's the second-largest airline of the United Arab Emirates, after Emirates. The price was still kind of expensive but yes, it was the cheapest one. I spent USD $1,100 for return ticket (June 29-August 11) and USD $37.5 for the travel insurance (ACA). Oh I got a free International Student Identity Card (ISIC) too! Mario told me that I could get some lower prices for tickets if I show this card in some places abroad, like museums and other attractions.
Oh anyway, the STA Travel guys were so friendly and nice. They let me book the ticket before actually buying it in case I didn't get the visa. And they also said that I definitely can visit there again if I'm thinking about travelling abroad later on. Thank you, all!
Oh anyway, the STA Travel guys were so friendly and nice. They let me book the ticket before actually buying it in case I didn't get the visa. And they also said that I definitely can visit there again if I'm thinking about travelling abroad later on. Thank you, all!
After that, I went to the Embassy of the Russian Federation. The embassy is in South Jakarta too, so it's near Allianz Tower. But apparently, it was closed at 12 PM so I had to get back the next day.
When I got back, they just asked for my passport, photo, and the invitation letter. I didn't need to give them the detail of plane tickets or travel insurance! OMG -_- Btw, I spent USD $175 for the visa because I need it fast. Like 2 days fast. It was June 24 and I should have left on June 29! Come on, guys!
While I was waiting nervously for the visa, I started to pack my things. My mom insisted that I had to bring her enormous black suitcase. Oh, I hate that suitcase. I'll talk to you soon about it.
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