Forgiveness and Fun

Sunday was the last day of Maclenitsa, and the last day before Russian Orthodox Lent. Every day of Maclenitsa has a special theme, and Sunday is Forgiveness Sunday. You're supposed to ask all the people you know for forgiveness for anything you might have done to them. When someone asks your forgiveness, you say, "God forgives." It's a good tradition. The girl I sat next to on the trolleybus called almost everyone she knew and I think text-messaged a few more, asking for forgiveness.

A bunch of us went to Suzdal to celebrate there, because they have a huge Maclenitsa celebration. It was much like when we were there on the Day of the City in August -- a big street festival with vendors, performances, and tons of people -- except this time it was freakishly cold. We stayed warm though, by dancing and playing games. One of our Russian friends suggested that we play a children's game, and as she was explaining, we realized that she was talking about Red Rover. This gem of a game hadn't been played by any of us for a long time, but we were eager to play. So we started it up right in the central square, and pretty soon we had strangers joining in, including an old man with a cigarette hanging from his lips. Here I am running from one group to another.

Another Maclenitsa tradition is contests to show how tough you are. My favorite is one where two people sit on a slippery log and hit each other with pillows until one of them falls off. Here Sara and I ditched the pillows and engaged in hand-to-hand log fighting.

And, the fall. I have some bruises.
Unfortunately we left Suzdal before the traditional burning of the scarecrow which represents winter, but I saw it last year so it's ok. Funny, winter didn't go away even after they burned it. It's still winter, but I'm full of blini and forgiven, so things aren't so bad.

Happy Holidays

Sorry about the long time with no posts. Things have been really busy around here. This week is packed with holidays, which makes it hectic, but fun. On Monday the week-long Russian holiday Maclenitsa began. In English it is sometimes called "Pancake Week", so that should tell you right there that it's my favorite Russian holiday. It's a pagan/Christian end-of-winter/pre-Lent celebration and you're supposed to eat lots of blini (Russian pancakes) every day. Last night I was invited to my former host family's apartment for blini, and as I write the Russian staff are making piles of blini for everyone. The holiday lasts until Sunday, which is the main day of the celebration. We're planning on going to Suzdal, a nearby and very quaint town with a big Maclenitsa festival.

Besides stuffing ourselves with blini, we're trying to prepare for the American Home Mardi Gras party on Saturday. Since none of us really know anything about Mardi Gras, it's a little difficult to plan the party. We'd like to have a big parade with floats, but with only a couple basement rooms and limited craft supplies, we decided to go with small paper mache creations instead, which teams of students will paint at the party.

Yesterday was Valentine's Day, of course, a holiday which is growing in popularity in Russia. Many people don't do anything to celebrate it, but kids and young people give each other Valentines and gifts, like in America. We decided to have an "American lunch" at the American Home yesterday to celebrate. All of us teachers cooked lunch for the whole staff -- spaghetti and meatballs, salad, garlic bread, bruschetta, zucchini bread, brownies and cupcakes. Yes, it was delicious and nutritious. The Russian staff made a few comments about the lack of mayonaisse in the salad, but most of the feedback was postive. We taught them the traditional "roses are red" poem and made them come up with their own endings to it (they torture us with similar activities at Russian lunches).

And it's time for me to sign off, because it's almost time for a little celebration of another important holiday this week, which some of you might know about. Happy Valentine's Day/Mardi Gras/Maclenitsa, everyone!