Saturday, March 21, 2009

A winter's day, in a deep and dark....March?

So Moscow's had her second snowfall of the weekend, this time turning the slush to ice all over again. I thought spring was around the corner so on my way home from work yesterday I bought a bunch of hyacinths from a babushka by the metro. That flower always reminds me of springtime and Easter. Dad would always go by Publix around this time and buy hyacinths to make our house smell nice and springy.
The snow here is still beautiful though...it sparkled this evening as I walked with friends to the metro from an "English Cafe" meeting. I had worked all day and decided to "relax" by leading a conversation group for two hours. :) But I did enjoy having a colleague from work join me as well as a guy from Donna's (my roommate) Bible study.
Last night I celebrated my "ML has been in Moscow a month" anniversary by watching an old Soviet movie (Старики-Разбойники) with friends and eating pizza. These past few days I've been reflecting on how blessed I am to have such good friends (old and new) here. God is always providing!
*highlight of the week: one of my colleagues commented that a mutual student of ours told her how "active and positive" I was in class and that she had a smile on her face all the way to the metro after she left my class this week.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

this week...

Top 5 most interesting things to happen this week so far:
1. Being asked to join a rock/blues band...as a vocalist!
2. Finding knock-off Bath and Body Works lotions and gels at a local store (same fragrances, different brand)
3. watching Flight of the Conchords with my sister via skype
4. Being asked at work to teach an "English Through Music" class using Beatles songs
5. Already getting to wear my light-weight coat here...spring is on its way!

Masha and I (and all the ladies in the house) received flowers at church for International Women's Day on Sunday.

Monday, March 02, 2009

Масленица

Maslenitsa is a Russian holiday that marks the beginning of Lent and the official start of spring. You're supposed to eat блины (blini=pancakes), drink медовуха (medovukha=honey drink) and listen/dance to traditional folk music. I celebrated with friends on Red Square and also at a beautiful park in the southern part of Moscow where a recently restored palace is located (called "Czaritsino").
The snow still falls here but is starting to melt...spring is on its way!