I have begun to realize that preparing for this trip might in fact be as stressful and time-consuming as the trip itself! While the idea of 'volunteering in Russia' seems like a simple enough idea, it's actually quite complicated. Here's a list of the steps I've had to take before I can actually fly off to Russia...

-Select a program with which to participate in - this began in ...oohhh.. sometime in 2009

-Pay program fee - alot of people are very surprised when I tell them that not only do I not receive any compensation for my time but I actually have to pay to volunteer... and a significant sum at that! Actually the majority of the programs I looked at had some sort of program fee associated with it. My fee pays for the full-time in-country staff (which really makes me feel alot better than going to the middle of Russia by myself with no support system), they also employ chefs to make three meals a day (no trips to the grocery store), as well as a security guard at night and a "home base" where all of the volunteers live (most of the other programs placed you in a homestay with a family - because my Russian is non-existant at best - I thought this was the better option), finally they also provide translators which accompany a group to the volunteer placement, to assist in communicating with the children as well as ALL transportation to and from placements and "Excursions" once or twice a week to museums, nearby villages and guest speakers. To say the least I am also paying for the experience. I don't think there'd be another time when I lived in Russia for 2 months with this much support.

-Letter of Invitation & Visa - anyone who travels to Russia must be invited; this is done by a Russian institution, family, school or in my case, volunteer program, submitting paperwork to the Russian govt to "invite" you. The letter takes about 8 weeks to get (and surprise, it's in Russian!) only after you get the invitation can you apply for a Visa. A few hundred dollars and a week later and a Visa you have! Seeing as how this entire process took about 3 months to complete, I imagine it is almost impossible for Moscow to be a "weekend getaway" destination for anyone outside Russia.

-Shots - Since I'm volunteering with "vulnerable populations" the Russian govt requires that all volunteers have a series of blood tests and vaccinations prior to volunteering. These included a TB test, blood test for Measles, Syphilis and HIV, as well as recent immunizations for Measles, Tetanus and Diphtheria. Having everything else within the time frame needed, I ventured to urgent care last night to get my blood test for Measles, Syphilis and the TB test. Keep your fingers crossed I pass :)

-Flight - one of the other benefits of my program is that they pick everyone up at the airport, so there is no worry about how to get to Yaroslavl. Which is good because I don't know how great I would be trying to navigate the Moscow train system or hiring a car after a 11 hour flight! So I need to be at the Moscow airport Sheremetyevo (Международный) (one of 3 airports Moscow has) by 3:00pm on Sunday, June 20. You'd think this would be a simple enough thing to do... but as I have learned, most flights to Moscow arrive after 3pm. Therefore, it took several months of scouring the Internet before I found a suitable flight - one that had good connection times and got me to Moscow in plenty of time.
So now I will be departing O'Hare at 6:45am on Sat, June 19 (Thanks for the ride to the airport k :), arriving at JFK at 10:10, departing JFK at 4:14pm and arriving in Moscow at 10:10am!! After that it's only a 5hr wait in the airport and a 5hr ride to Yaroslavl!

I'm sure I'll be completely cohereant and alert, and not suffering from jet lag or culture shock at all...

Despite of all the hoops I've had to go through to prepare for this trip, I do not have a doubt in my mind that it will be 100% worth it.