Woke up. Got dressed. Documents checked. Left all the gadgets at home. 1 phone for the four of us... a local explained the way to the consulate. We had 40 minutes left. Go. We walked briskly so we wouldn't relax. On the way, we enjoyed the beautiful views of Ekater, as the locals call it, discussing who was more scared... Pervomayskaya St... one more street and it's ours... and...
@$#$%@$%$#%@ !!!!!!!!! This isn't Gogol Street!!! It's GORKY STREET!!! HOW !?!?!?!?!.... pause of shock.... it can't be!!!! @$#@&*& !!!!!!!!
We rush to the locals, asking how to get to the consulate. 8 out of 10 don't know how to get there or where it is. 2 out of 10 point in different directions 0_0
Damn it!!! The four of us are running in an unknown direction, blaming ourselves for being clueless, for not taking a taxi, for having a laptop with 2GIS and not checking it... fear in our eyes... a call from the coordinator in Barnaul: "WHERE ARE YOU !?!?". ...what can we say?... we honestly answer that we don't know, that we got lost and are trying to find a way out.... everyone is bewildered.... our legs refuse to run. The body hints that it's not going to work in this mode.... Where is this damn GOGOL street?? Where is that red building with the flag????...
In total, we galloped 4 kilometers... but we finally found the consulate. So, if there's a chance to split 300 rubles for a taxi between 3-4 people, take it. And leave an hour early.
As it turned out later, we could have walked at a leisurely pace, because out of our entire delegation, only 10 people were let in at the appointed time. For the rest, the interview was postponed for 3.5 hours for unknown reasons. Hours of waiting. Nerves... Nerves... NERVES !!!.... out of the first ten, one boy didn't get his visa... we tried to think positively and giggled a bit hysterically at any jokes, just to avoid thinking about the interview. 13:40... time to move back... after filming video messages to ourselves after the interview like "we'll get the visas!! for sure!! pleeease!!", we walk back to the building. The local security guards with their gloomy "Why are you crowding, press against the wall" didn't add a drop of optimism. Our turn came... circling through metal detectors... 4th floor... fingerprints. We are sitting in the waiting room.
Wild laughter. Not just laughter, but real ringing guffawing from the corner where everyone's fate was being decided)) As it turned out, it was the consul laughing at some cute nonsense that another trembling student was trying to convey to him))... it's amazing what nerves do to people... one boy from our group said Safeguard instead of Lifeguard.... everyone was laughing, led by the consul... as it turned out, the interview is a stand-up comedy show )))) A nervous student and a consul.... the latter is an insanely cute and cheerful man with a ringing laugh and wonderful American English. If the interviewee didn't understand something, he would speak in syllables, just so his words would be heard. Everything is positive, with jokes and smiles. Polite, friendly, absolutely not stressful for either side.... The consul, by the way, mangles surnames very funnily, and sometimes, in particularly difficult cases, says something like "Maria Sko@$@$@$%ova... oh... i'm sorry, i can't read this letters. Maria, come here" )))))
