Houston, TX, July 2020

A quick round trip from Denver to Houston was a necessity. Otherwise, I would never venture into a COVID-19 hotspot amid the pandemic. The thing is that once a year, I must show up at a Russian consulate to confirm that I am alive.

A notary public could issue a paper certificate in Colorado where I reside. Then, that certificate had to be apostilled and the original mailed to Russia. The office of the Secretary of State that issues apostilles is closed due to the pandemic. They only accept mailed-in requests for an apostille and do not guarantee a prompt service. Even assuming that I managed to get an apostille within a reasonable time, the huge problem was with sending the paper original to St. Petersburg. The postal service in Russia cannot be trusted; they lost my papers before. Nobody travels between the US and Russia to take my certificate and deliver it to St. Petersburg. Russia closed its borders to everyone except for its citizens returning from abroad.

A confirmation that I am alive done at a consulate is electronic and immediate; no need to mail anything.

I called the Houston consulate to make sure that it was open. When the COVID-19 outbreak began, the consulate did not accept visitors for at least 2 months but it could not stay closed for long. People needed new passports and other services, and the consulate reopened when Texas became one of the worst hotspots in the US.

A helpful staff member told me to come between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. The earliest flight from Denver was on Spirit at 6 a.m. arriving in Houston at 9.30 a.m. This left me with about 2 hours for getting from George Bush International airport to the consulate in Uptown Houston. Of course, I could have spent a night at a hotel in Houston. That would have increased the risk of exposure to the virus and I decided to take a different risk – to make it a day trip and possibly not to get to the consulate before noon.

A ticket Denver – Houston cost a laughable amount of money. It was $7 (seven!) plus $10 tax. The return flight was more expensive, the total of $71. The tickets were purchased 4 days before the flights. I never ever bought air tickets on such a short notice but the pandemic changed the way we travel. Flights get cancelled and rescheduled. It is better to buy tickets just before the trip to reduce the chances of flight changes.

After this long introduction, let me describe the trip itself.

I got up at 3 a.m. to catch the 6 a.m.-flight which I expected to be empty. Who in sound mind would want to travel to Houston when the city was breaking the infection rate records daily? Apparently, lots of people because it was a full flight.

The illogical part was the social distancing that passengers were required to follow before boarding and after leaving the plane but not on it where everyone sat shoulder to shoulder. Can someone explain to me how this works please?

There are different ways to get to the consulate – taxi, Uber and public buses. I checked the cost of taking a taxi and it was more than the airfare to Houston. I did not mind to pay for an Uber ride but its application rejected my booking request for no reason. Public buses were free because of the pandemic but reviews said that they are slow and unreliable.

Only one route, Bus 102, connects George Bush International airport to Downtown. I waited 20 nerve-wracking and nail-biting minutes for the bus. When it came, it did not disappoint. A taxi would not be faster. In Downtown, I needed to change to Bus 32 to go to Uptown. This bus showed up in 2 minutes and, unlike Bus 102, made frequent stops. In the end, I was at the consulate at 11.35 a.m. Bus 32 runs every 30 minutes. If I had to wait for it for half an hour I’d not have been there in time.

The Russian consulate occupies one room in a nondescript office building together with other businesses that range from financial consultants to dermatology. There was no security at the entrance or document checks. Anyone is welcome to visit!

I remember the Russian consulate in California to where I used to go. It was an imposing mansion in Pacific Heights, one of the most expensive neighborhoods in San Francisco. In 2017, the US ordered to close this consulate within 24 hours. Naturally, Russia closed the American consulate in St. Petersburg in tit-for-tat retaliation. I understand that it is a political game; however because of it ordinary people, Americans and Russians, are unable to receive the services that they need.

My paperwork was done quickly. I was free until my 8 p.m. return flight with nothing else to do. Walking around the Uptown in 100-degree heat and humidity, with a face mask was impossible to enjoy. Besides, it was all high-rise buildings with a lot of construction works going on.

In Uptown

So I had lunch at a restaurant and headed back to the air-conditioned airport by Bus 20 which takes a different, more pleasant route to Downtown where I switched to Bus 102 again.

The usually crowded Houston airport was quiet. I got into a corner where I watched on my phone Russian TV series “Poor Nastya” until I got sick of someone else’s endless drama. It was the time for my flight anyway.

The flight back to Denver was also full. A thunderstorm was raging right over the airport when we approached it. The plane had to circle around the clouds with flashing lightening waiting for the airport to resume operations. It was midnight when I got home, tired but satisfied with the trip result.