David and Józefa have some exciting plans for 2009 and have created a new website featuring great new approaches to ensure that training really makes a difference to the business bottom-line.

More plans will feature in future posts, however for now, Józefa writes about her recent business travels to Russia…

“My trip to Russia was so exciting, I went on 11th December for four days and, despite the stories about Aeroflot, found the plane, the airline and the staff so helpful and kind.  Admittedly, I did sleep most of the way, arriving in Moscow at 05.30hrs on a Friday morning.  I was due to start the first day of my two-day masterclass at Moscow State University at 10.00hrs so had plenty of time to spare.

Little did I know of the drama that was to unfold upon my landing.

First, my visa apparently said that I was a man!  So, not going through passport control until they had worked out what to do with me.  Travelling all that way and now I was in fear of not even getting to step onto Russian soil.  I was left sat all alone in the early hours of the morning waiting for someone to talk to me, all I got was ‘niet Angielski’ (which even I could work out meant, ‘I don’t speak English’) -  Scary stuff!

My colleague from the University was waiting for me the other side of customs, so I phoned him to find out if there was anything he could do.

As it turned out, he could do very little until the customs office opened for me to get a new visa.

So I waited and waited.

I was joined by a guy from Taiwan with a different problem with his visa – he couldn’t speak Russian or English but he did decide to pray for me (this was getting stranger and stranger).

Three hours later, with new visa in hand, I met my Russian colleague and proceeded to collect my luggage, but customs had taken luggage label.  Now you don’t mess with a burly Russian customs officer when they say ‘no label, no luggage’.  So back to passport control (it is now 08.30hrs) to find passport officer and the missing luggage label which was eventually found in a dustbin.

Luggage retrieved, we got into University mini bus for the 30 minutes drive to the University, but then…….10 minutes into journey the bus breaks down.

Dimitry and I got out and ventured onto the side of the motorway flagging down anyone for a lift – just as well I had roubles with me.  A lone, run down car kangaroo hopped towards us and in we piled for the rather bumpy journey to the University, arriving at just 10.00hrs.

Five minutes to brush teeth and then onto the classroom and a fantastic session with synchronous interpretation and discussion.

Boy did I sleep well that  night!  That was not the end of the story but rest best left for a longer period and over a glass of Wodka!

The OFQT Team