Welcome to Moscow. We hope you freeze to death. 121105

Greetings, friends and family!
Yesterday afternoon I arrived in Russia. I amazingly got through passport control with no issues. This is where my luck ended. I waited at the luggage carousel. The carousel stopped and no Amanda luggage. They lost my luggage. It had my coat in it. Yes, I know this was not the best idea! Trust me, right now I fully understand. Luckily, my hat, gloves and scarf were in my computer bag, and I was wearing a wool sweater. Hotel reception told me that they receive two shipments of luggage from the airport each day. No one ever said that Russia is efficient!
And before everyone starts giving me advice to carry on a bag with my coat and another pair of clothes, I have to carry on my laptop. It is company policy not to check them, and it would be a real disaster if they lost my laptop. I would then be unable to work, and I would have lost all work that was completed Sweden. Also, according to all airline policies, you are only allowed one carry on and one personal item. Maybe if I get a smaller bag for my laptop, it could be my personal item?
Yuri, my driver from last time, was thankfully there to pick me up at the airport. On the way home, there was this billboard for a cell phone company. Instead of giving away free cell phones, the billboard advertised a free "Alkosensor" with your cell phone plan. I asked Yuri was an "Alkosensor" was. Yuri informed me that an "Alkosensor" is a device to detect blood alcohol levels. I asked whether this is common and yes, out pulls Yuri his own "Alkosensor." Only in Russia! So, friends and family for Christmas, "Alkosensors" for everyone! Just kidding!
Anyway, as I was waiting to check in at the hotel, I started talking to another American who was planning on going to the city. As I was giving him advice, another American came up. He'd been living in Russia for about 3 months. Doug works for BP is from Houston and has 5 kids with 4 in college. Dave, the guy I first talked to, is from Bountiful, UT is the only non-member in the city works for Intel and has 3 kids. They are super nice and happy to have me as they do not speak any Russian. Doug said that his driver (Yes, no Americans drive in Moscow, even if you live here.) was taking him to the bazaar to buy souvenirs. This is the cheapest place to buy souvenirs. He said that he wasn't planning on staying long but wanted to pick some things up. He invited me and Dave to come along.
So against my better judgment (yes, no coat) I went along. We had a great time. It is true that the souvenirs were much, much cheaper at the bazaar and it is an "experience." However, it is the coldest weather that I have ever experienced in my life (and yes, I just left Sweden). I should have gotten the clue when I saw the Moscow River frozen over. There were people literally walking across the Moscow river. When I say "river", I don't mean river like the Platte. I mean river like the Elk.
By the time that we were done shopping, my hands were frost bitten through my gloves. I couldn't feel my hands, feet or legs. Even though I came home and took a hot bath (which was extremely painful), my hands still burn from the frost bite. I wasn't the only one though. The guys, even with their coats, also were extremely frost bitten. We were outside maybe an hour.
I was supposed to go out to dinner with the other expats, but I fell asleep and missed dinner. The jet lag is crap! I am 11 hours ahead of CA now. I am living on Trident White (yes, the gum!) as I do not want to leave the hotel and am too stubborn to pay the hotel prices. It is a great "diet" though-- a smaller waist and sparkly white teeth (especially as my toothbrush is also in my suitcase)!
So, I'm here in Moscow. I have 1 pair of jeans, 1 T-shirt, 1 sweater, sneakers, my laptop, a stick of deodorant (I luckily threw it in my laptop bag last minute), my hat, gloves and scarf, and some Trident White. We'll see if I can make it a whole week on this. It is Survivor… Russian-style. No make-up, hairbrush, glasses, saline, extra contacts, toothbrush, clean underwear or COAT! Did I forget to say that it is snowing and the wind chills are negative? Oh, and if my contacts fail, I'm blind too!
When I called for my luggage last night, they said they have no clue where my luggage is and to call back this morning. I received an answering machine which said that they don't answer the phone between the hours of 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Oh, well!
I hope all is well with the Christmas craze at home. Here, Christmas isn't until Jan 7, but New Years is much different than at home. There is a holiday craze here as well, but it is a bit different. First, no Santa. Here it is Father Frost, who is much skinnier than Santa. Also, no Merry Christmas signs. They all say "Happy New Years." I haven't seen any Christmas lights (except on the tree in the lobby).
Cheers!
Amanda
P.S. - Let me know if anyone knows Andrew's, Uncle Den's, Aunt Ev's or Paula's e-mail addresses.