Job Discussion Forums

galactico · Joined: 17 Oct 2005 Posts: 6 Location: UK

Hello all,

To start with with, I have absolutely nothing to do with teaching. I am a graduate from the UK who recently got employed in the petroleum business.
Upon my decision to work in this sector I was told my first location would be Siberia, Nefteyugansk. A bit of a shock as you all can probably imagine? Would any of you give me any credible info about the town, standards of living, activities present, the nightlife etc... As you can all see, I have found very little on the net and even less elsewhere.

Many thanks...

Kaan

joe-joe · Joined: 15 Oct 2003 Posts: 100 Location: Baku, Azerbaijan

Hi

I lived not far fom there about 4 years ago in a city called Surgut, and during that time drove through Neftyyugansk once. I also had a colleague whose English boyfriend worked there in the oil business. It isn't the most happening or prepossessing of places, as it seemed to look like a Soviet style Legoland in the middle of the Siberian landscape, (which is rather like Scottish moorland and with lots of pine forest. Also it does, not surprisingly, get very cold in the winter (-25 to -40), and winter is very long, being 6 months or so.

When I was there the workers in Neftyyugansk tended to hang around togther and had some kind of social club they used to booze, etc. Most of them got local girlfriends easily enough, (often in addition to the missus back home I might add). If you are on some kind of shift rotation, e.g. 10 weeks in country, then 4 weeks back home, it will probably be bearable. If you are there for 9 long months through autumn, winter and spring, with a single entry visa, you may get cabin fever! Smile

You can also head for Surgut as it's possible to get there relatively easily, and have a better choice of weekend activities, but you'd need to speak some Russian to do this. Also if you want to expand your 'ex-pat' circle of friends, there are English teachers there, as well as in Nizhny Vartovsk, which isn't too far away.

Hope this helps a bit, and feel free to contact me

Joe

galactico · Joined: 17 Oct 2005 Posts: 6 Location: UK

Cheers Joe,

With Nefteyugansk, and of course Surgut, both being oil towns I would have expected that both towns would have prospered slightly, with all the revenue generated from oil sales?

Secondly is it easy access from either town? As they appear relatively close to one another on a map? Oh by the way the way the input on the ladies is very helpful as I am indeed single. You did mention the fact that there are schools in the area are these international based schools?

Many thanks
Kaan[/b]

joe-joe · Joined: 15 Oct 2003 Posts: 100 Location: Baku, Azerbaijan

Hi again,

Surgut is quite a wealthy town, but just not aesthetically pleasing Smile

And this is the same for Neftyugansk. Also don't forget oil revenues either go straight to Moscow, or into thieving toe rags, (calling themselves New Russians/Oligarchs), bank accounts offshore in various locales around the world.

Bear in mind I was there 3 and half to 4 years ago, so they may have developed a bigger, more swinging nightlife scene, but people when I was there, I tend to go to eat other's flats for drinks, meals, etc. And as I said the oil guys in Neftyugansk had their own kind of social club.

You can get a driver to take you to Surgut, even in the depths of winter, and Surgut has an airport which is remarkably well linked to the outside world. The schools which were there, were locally owned and run, but did have foreign English speaking teachers working in them. My advice; if the money's ok, and the shift patterns ok, then just go for it just for the sheer experience. How often are you going to get the opportunity to go to a place like Siberia?

Joe

galactico · Joined: 17 Oct 2005 Posts: 6 Location: UK

Cheers Joe

Thanks a lot, for your posts have been helpful and it's definetly set, that I will be going, as i'm alreay enrolled in the company and was told during my interviews that it was very likely I would be based abroad.

In all honesty i'm very excited about the prospect of working in Nefteyugansk, but as I stated before there was simply no info what so ever about the place, but rather Yukos and thier influence in the area. To be honest it looks like I shall be spending around 2 years in the location, hence, I want to everything about the place.

Money wise though......I know I'll enjoy it!!

Many thanks Mate

Kaan

P-T · Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2005 12:50 pm Post subject:

Hi Kaan!

When are you due to arrive? I'm a Kiwi teaching English in Surgut, so we'll be 'neighbours'!

To my current knowledge there are 3 other native teachers here, 2 from GB, 1 from Ireland, all blokes. There may be more by now, but I don't always get the chance to visit the other schools. There's a woman coming from Aussie in January.

I've only been to Nefteyugansk once, & that was to their ENORMOUS nightclub. Nefteyugansk is about an hour's drive from Surgut.

Surgut has a few nightclubs, lots of cafe's & restaurants. I love the place, & would be happy to stay, just not at the school I'm currently teaching at.

It's a 3-hour drive to Khanty-Mansisk from Surgut, & the trip is definitely worth it!

I can tell you heaps of stuff, seriously..pages & pages, if you want, but nothing much specifically about Nefteyugansk. I'll ask around for you though.

Be prepared to be blown away by the women here; they're gorgeous & VERY chic .. I feel like a country frump next to them!

Good luck with your preparations, GOOD ON YA for being willing to come! I'll be in touch when I have some info for you.

Cheers!

P-T · Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2005 12:53 pm Post subject:

By the way, Joe, I think you've had e-mail contact with one of the teachers here. Maybe even met him?

joe-joe · Joined: 15 Oct 2003 Posts: 100 Location: Baku, Azerbaijan

Hi P-T

I've no idea whether I met the guy or not, (a name would help Razz

)although 1 or 2 people have contacted me for info on Surgut/Siberia before. It sounds like there's more schools and expats there than before, which hopefully will make the social life more varied and interesting. It was a bit limited when I was there. I worked at the Express English school; is that still going, or changed it's name? Hope you are continuing to enjoy it there. I recommend a trip to Tobolsk if you get the time or haven't already done so. Take it easy and don't get frost bite! Very Happy

P-T · Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2005 5:41 pm Post subject:

galactico · Joined: 17 Oct 2005 Posts: 6 Location: UK

To P-T

Your an absolute legend mate... I was seriously beginning to brick it!! No in all honesty I have been looking forward to going and especially experiencing something new. Now knowing that there are a few English speakers definetly helps. As soon as I settle and am confortable with the job we'll definetly hook up for a few bevy's. To say the least, Iam a little worried on my work schedules as i have been told on numerous occasions that it's rather cold!!

Rugby fan I take it ? Were rubbish, Iknow, so none of this posting last results nonsense!!!

If you can get any info on Nefteyugansk please send it to me:[email protected]

Like I said mate as soon as I find my feet we'll definetly meet up for a few. Keep in touch.

Many regards
Kaan

P-T · Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 9:35 am Post subject:

Kaan, when are you actually due to arrive?

I come from a serious rugby family, even an All Black in there years ago; I think my dad was disappointed I was born a girl & not a rugby ball! Still, I did my best to make up for it by joining him every Saturday to watch his club teams play, & drive him home after he'd celebrated or drowned his sorrows! Laughing

I'm not so stupid as to give you or anyone else reading this ammunition; our boys can be awesome one day, show ponies another day, a bunch of girlies the next! Rolling Eyes

Looking forward to the bevy's & some rapid speech!
Cheers, Prue

P-T · Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 10:11 am Post subject:

Kaan, sorry I meant to give you this website in my previous message. You may find it interesting/helpful to track the weather before you arrive.

http://www.weather-forecast.com/locations/Nefteyugansk.1to3.shtml

You said "...rather cold" Laughing

Only if your hide is thinner than the average walrus..-40C is common in December/January. I arrived in early February so it was getting 'mild', the coldest day for me being a mere -37C. Actually, I found it colder & more unpleasant around the -20C mark, cos the snow was melting, which put moisture in the air, now that was nasty!

I think it's in January that the locals have a traditional celebration where they punch a large hole in the ice & take a swim Shocked

Other than that, it's common to sweat it out in a banya, then cool down by rolling in the snow. Sounds evil, it's apparently exhilerating, & should be done.

That's it for now!
Prue

galactico · Joined: 17 Oct 2005 Posts: 6 Location: UK

Hi P-T,

I should be arriving in Moscow on the 21st of November where I shall spend a week there attending an introduction course. So depending on flights I reckon it it will be around the start of December. After a couple of months or so I will have to return to the UK to start, and complete, the training course which should last about 8 weeks. I'll then return, and spend roughly two maybe three years in Siberiam as a 'trained' engineer.

So how long have you been in Russia? In all honesty I'm not a huge rugby fan, and certainly not built for playing it, I'm more of a footie (soccer) man.

Look forward to meeting you, and of course Russia. There is one more query i have, is it difficult picking up the basics in Russian language? Bearing in mind the majority of my time I'll probably be out in that 'cold' drilling and will have little time I suppose to crack open the grammer books.

Take care any many regards
Kaan

P-T · Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2005 8:41 am Post subject:

Soccer's fine with me too, my son's been playing since age 5.

I'm told Russian is the 4th most difficult language to learn..& I believe it! If you can get some lessons before you arrive I STRONGLY recommend it. The more you know, the easier & richer your experience will be.
The language has 'genders'; for example a street may be 'feminine gender', but in a sentence that gender can change to 'male' & so the word changes. I don't get it at all!
There are also sounds & letters in the language that don't exist in English, & there are more letters to their alphabet.
It would be a good idea to try & learn how to read a bit in Russian. I taught myself how to read a bit over summer, & it's helped me heaps.
Even your smallest attempts at speaking will be warmly rewarded!

I've been here since the beginning of February, & I must leave by 31 December because my visa expires then. It remains to be seen whether I return immediately..depends whether I take a new job here or skip off to another country.
We may not get to meet in this case, which will be a shame.

Gotta go now, but I'll e-mail you soon with the information I've been collecting about Nefteyugansk.

Have a great week in the meantime!
Cheers,
Prue

coledavis · Joined: 21 Jun 2003 Posts: 1838

Learn to read first: you can do this quite quickly before you go out there. The key will be in in any introductory textbook or Anglo-Russian dictionary. Given that you'll recognise some words (English or French derivation quite often), you've already made your life easier. To make it easier, only learn the printed script; believe it or not, handwritten script is almost totally different.

If you can do some work on some introductory Russian before you go, so much the better. It depends upon your learning style. If you search on the internet, there's one Russian CD course which concentrates on memorising vocabulary by conjuring up images. Another approach is to go for some functional/communicative work (some colleges use Ruslan, which you can also find on the internet).

Being more of a reading man, the most useful thing for me was to go on Amazon and get an older edition of the Penguin Russian Course. Ok, it does go on a bit about 'no, I don't want to go to the collective farm today' and other cute Soviet references, but it's a well-organised old-fashioned text-book. In each chapter, you memorise 20-30 words, a couple of new grammar rules and - this is really important - a range of exercises. If you do as much as possible before going and then practise as much as possible when socialising and shopping, you could do well.

Basic Russian is easy in some ways. Pronunciation matches spelling (a big improvement on English). There are no articles (and, a, an). The past tense is easy (-il suffix is the core idea). But yes, the respondent who refers to the tenses is absolutely right: Russian shares with French the desire to give genders (including neuter) to inanimate objects and then makes life by altering other suffixes (past and whatever) according to gender. Ugh. I guess that's why I talk pidgin Russian. Enjoy.