International Women's Day

8.March Today is international women's day, a holiday that doesn't really exist anywhere outside of the former Soviet territories. It's a bit like Valentine's day, in the sense that all of the men give the women chocolate and flowers. However, it's unlike Valentine's day because it is actually a really important holiday. What it means for me is that I have a three day weekend. Right now I'm in Moscow. I was surprised that the hostel has a computer with internet access. It's nice. Of course, there isn't much time to blog when you're exploring Moscow. Even worse, I've been having a lot of trouble writing in English. I suppose using Russian most of the time has worn away some of my English abilities.

Yesterday evening, Laurie, Meagan and I went to a puppet theatre. It was fabulous! We all really enjoyed it. The were showing Gulliver's Travels, but in Russian of course. I like children's theatre because it is incredibly easy to understand. Plus, these puppets were very well constructed, the set was nicely designed and the lighting was exciting. I miss theatre. Sometimes I really wish I still worked in one, or at least volunteered. Maybe I should look into that.

We tried to go to a TexMex restaurant after the puppet show. However, when we arrived at the address, it was nowhere to be found. Meagan asked a man on the street about it and he said it wasn't there anymore. That's Russia for you. Things come and go so quickly here. Nothing is stagnate. You can't rely on anything. It provides for excitement though! While we were standing on the Moscow streets in the snow, we caught sight of a sign for TGI Fridays and decided it was a "sign." We followed the signs and ended up in a place that was actually several restaurants in one. That was strange. I can't imagine being the hostess for several restaurants at once. As expected, America tasted delicious. It's one of those things that is nice to indulge in only every once in a while because it's incredibly expensive, and I also want to eat Russian food to maintain my immersion in the culture. I ordered a delicious smoothie there. It contained banana, vanilla ice cream, cinnamon, and brown sugar! Yum.

Today we are heading to a cemetery, a monastery and a market. Should prove to be interesting as always. I'll try to post about my experience there in a few days when I'm back in the routine in Vlad.