Bank account and kid's birthday party.

OK, so the boss and I went to the bank This afternoon. It took about 45 minutes to set up the account. This bank wanted a green card, too, but since the boss knows the manager, it got done without it. The cashier checked all my paperwork, filled out all the forms, and then asked me if I wanted to deposit money in the account. Hmmmmm, yes. It seems that you don't open an account here, you order a debit card and then put money in the account. So I gave her my money, and she called her supervisor to approve the account. The supervisor approves it, leaves, then the cashier remembers that the supervisor also had to approved the amount of money I put in the account. So she calls here back in and it gets done. I can pick up my debit card in 5 days. They will not send it to my apartment. I have to pick it up at the bank. So I asked them to send it to the branch nearest my house and they were good with that. It certainly is an interesting system.

The banks main office, where I opened the account, could have been in downtown Manhattan. A gorgeous, modern building with glass elevators and lots of marble. Driving to the bank was interesting because we drove past some of the still-existing wooden houses that used to be all over Kazan. Absolutely beautiful and unique. Many of them are being destroyed to put up multi-storied high rises , so I hope someone will have the sense to preserve some of them. I hope I can find the area again so I can get back there to take pictures. The houses were lovely. I especially like the fancy latticework around the windows.

After the bank, we drove to the post office where I picked up the package my daughter sent me. It was also complicated. You have to sign in at the kiosk, then wait until your number is called. It worked just like the DMV at Suburban Plaza. I had to fill out the back of the notice I received in my mailbox and, of course, had to show my passport again. This all took about 30 minutes. But the wait was worth it. It was another great book in English. (This is why my Russian isn't improving as rapidly as I would like it to. I speak English in the classroom all day, then read English books at night!)

When I got back, the kids were just getting up from their naps. We quickly ate our snack and then the entire class was invited to a birthday party. The school has a room called Party-City for just such occasions. The parents hired 3 clowns for the first hour and then there was a sit down dinner of chicken, rice, salad and compote (a sort of liquified, fruity jello) to drink. Then all the kids got a piece of cake. The parents of the children are all on WhatsApp and communicate as a group. They all chipped in to buy the kid a present. 

Interesting about WhatsApp. I'm expected to communicate with the parents everyday about what the kids are doing and post pictures. My TA answers any individual questions the parents have in Russian. It's very interesting how people are electronically connected here. I've seen people pay at grocery stores with apps on their smartphones.

Tomorrow is hump day. Hooray. It seems everyday starts with a little crying by one or two of the kids. But things are definitely getting better in that department.