Tuesday, 09 March 2010 21:12
Chances are, you didn't know that yesterday was International Women's Day: if so, don't feel alone. I never heard of it either until I came to Russia. It always falls on the same date, so the Russians euphemistically refer to this holiday as "The 8th of March," much like we call our Independence Day "The 4th of July," or Mexicans call theirs "Cinqo de Mayo: The 5th of May."
Women's Day is so much more than just another event Hallmark invented to sell cards: it's one of the most important holidays in Russia. It's a day to celebrate women of all ages, and all social positions. As well, it's a day off from work (which makes for great traffic, if you have to travel) and it also means that if you were considering opening a bank account or applying for a loan, don't even think about it until tomorrow. As in the last 3 years, our neighbor Vladimir arrived early with flowers, candy, gifts and a speech of formal well-wishes for both Sarah and me. (He arrived while Tim was out buying flowers for Nina and Galya, if you want to know the truth.) Sarah votes that the U.S. should celebrate this holiday instead of Mother's Day: that way, even 14-year-old girls get gifts!
On Friday, we celebrated a few days early with our friends in Akhtirka, the village an hour and a half's drive from here, where we go on Fridays to help with English classes. I've mentioned this happy, hospitable family before: Papa and Mama and two of their daughters, one son-in-law and four grandchildren all live together in a cozy little house, with Babushka next door, raising chickens and adding to the general merriment. We often go there for dinner after English class, then spend a cheerful couple of hours laughing, singing and telling stories around the table.
On this occasion, Natasha, who works as an OB-GYN in a neighboring town, baked this delicious pie, full of pork and mushrooms. 
If you look carefully, you can see the 8M on top: for The 8th of March, obviously. You might also note that the pie is baked on an oven's roasting pan, so that there is enough food there to feed roughly 3 families of the same size. That's the kind of people they are.
During dinner, the father (Valera) presented me with a gift: flowers and a book of Russian folk songs, testimony to our love of singing around the table together. I insisted on a song, and handed over the book, and he proceeded to sing so long and so enthusiastically--to our high delight--that eventually the book had to be forcibly pried from his hands and returned to me by his daughters.
To the right, you should be able to see a video clip of Natasha (L) and Svyeta (R) singing part of a Russian folk song: Tim and I obliged with a duet of "You Are My Sunshine," and I sang "Hello Dolly" as a solo, since Tim didn't know the words.
Tonight, our university English club students--remembering that Sarah and I are off sweets for Lent--brought us an enormous bag of fruit in honor of the holiday. All in all, the 8th of March is a great day to be a woman!
