Happy International Women's Day

March 8th is International Women’s Day here in Russia. On Women’s Day men traditionally shower the women in their lives (mothers, wives, etc.) with flowers. It is similar to Mother’s Day, which they do not celebrate as a separate holiday here, but lucky for us ladies more than just mothers are honored. Many employees have Women’s Day off work and it is seen as a day to relax and be with family, which I certainly did. And in case you were wondering, no, Jeff did not shower me with flowers, but I’ll cut him some slack since there aren’t any flower stores around here. He did however figure out that you can order French Fries in the café at the hotel, so I was as happy as can be!

Men, don’t feel left out, there is also a men’s day of sorts celebrated on February 23rd, which just so happens to be the day we arrived in Russia. Unfortunately for Jeff, he didn’t get showered with my praises since we didn’t know the holiday existed! Its called Protector of the Motherland (or Fatherland depending on the source) Day, and from what I can gather it is similar to a Veteran's Day combined with Father's Day.