Up for round II, anybody?
It's nearing both 6AM and broad daylight, and I'm beginning to think my night's sleep is just about through. A new day awaits with further tasks ahead. Albeit, what I really should do is hole up in here all day until my paper (due a couple days ago officially, but I got an extension) is entirely out of my hands. I'll probably spend most of the time doing as much, save a couple hours' talk & run-through at the GBT office this morning, which is an opportunity I can't really afford to pass up--it's why I came here & all.
Yesterday I finally ventured out of the house and worked my way down to the Central Market to pick up some necessities. The top item on the list (without which I couldn't be writing from my own computer at the moment) was a socket adapter, and for whatever reason it was surprisingly difficult for me to explain to the shopkeepers- they all offered to sell me electricity converters when I mentioned I needed 'from American to European' mode (the latter includes Russia, much of Asia and Africa, too, but I opted for simplicity over utmost accuracy). I suppose the converter would've been good if I didn't already have one on my computer. They also tried selling me USB-drive adapters for the computer, which also seemed a bit unnecessary, and a good 20 times my intended price. Finally, just as I was losing hope, ready to collapse from sleep deprivation and no food, I stumbled upon a little hardware kiosk that had just what I needed for 30 rubles (~$1.05-1.10...the dollar's taken some big hits since I was here last in '09).
High with confidence, I went on in search of my second most important purchase- a sim card. In Moscow, no one has ever refused to sell me a sim card without a Russian citizen co-signing & the like. However, several different vendors in Irkutsk turned me down for that very reason, stating it was legally-binding. At least nobody was especially bitchy about it, and each said I might be able to find someone at a street kiosk who'd sell me one without a Russian passport. I recall when I was here in '05, my classmates at the time complained of similar problems acquiring sim cards while in Irkutsk. Being the Luddite that I am, I didn't bother with a phone at all in those days. I guess I just assumed that the laws had changed since then, and since nobody said it was regionally-based, it seems to me to be a case of selective interpretation of the law that happens all so often here. Can't blame individual vendors, though--those who get reviewed regularly and must account for all sales to an HQ (and who don't have significant funds to pay monitors to overlook 'fuzzy numbers') naturally have to follow laws more closely than those who aren't being held accountable. It's far from fair, but just a fact of business & life out here...and to an extent, probably everywhere else, too.
Needless to say, the lovely lasses at the Megafon kiosk were kind enough to sell me a #. And a new phone. I opted for the cheapest device on the shelf, which clearly disappointed them a bit. I think my old jeans, sneakers and nondescript fleece were good indicators of my disinterest in conspicuous consumption, and they didn't go on for too long in attempts to sell me on the benefits of a few more apps.
After picking up the rest (stationery, pears & Kazakh tan -pretty much all I can stomach right now- and cheap shampoo imported from Japan- it seemed half of the health & beauty products available around here are Japanese; same goes for the high-quality/reduced-price, though distinctly illegal cars that roam the streets here. I suppose having the driver's seat next to the sidewalk makes for a good impromptu game of "Chicken," if motorists are ever so inclined), I strolled back home, eager for a nap. Until I forgot the entrance code and spent an hour waiting outside in the street for someone to open the door. Not my most brilliant moment.