Happy Pi Day! (and Belated International Women's Day!)

It feels slightly odd to be celebrating this academic holiday - one I remember from middle and high school that is marked by memorization and recitation of that famous variable, pi, as well as delicious feasting on a wide assortment of pies brought in by classmates. Unfortunately there is little Pi day festivities here at the Embassy, but maybe not that surprising considering that last weekend was filled with flowers and chocolates honoring women all over the world - International Women's Day was March 8th. The marketing and saturation of advertising billboards in not just Moscow, but St. Petersburg - reminding everyone of this important holiday - reminded me of the sugary infiltration of Valentine's Day into daily life beginning on January 2nd of each year. There was no escaping the flowery posters or ignoring the intricately arranged bouquets of flowers being carried around by men and women. Since this day also usually marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring, the stubbornly lingering "snow" (that is, the pollution-blackened remains) contrasted with the colorful flowers - fake and real - decorating the streets of the city. If only winter would get the hint....

Last week I was kept busy by the arrival of my sister, Julia, who wanted to visit me in Moscow during her University's Spring Break. In addition to taking her to the Kremlin and Ismaylova and the Maslenitsa Festival, we decided to take a mini-trip to St. Petersburg this past weekend before her return flight on Sunday. We spent a short day-and-a-half sightseeing in the city and a combined 16 hours on the train rides there and back. But we had fun, learned a lot about the city of the tsars, and made many many memories (not to mention, photos!). But all in good time - I've been recuperating from a week's worth of frenzied sightseeing and kilometers of "frugal" walking (instead of taking taxies or gypsy cabs) across two very large cities. Photos of St. Petersburg and a video of St. Petersburg's main square should be popping up shortly in the sidebar of the site.

До Свидания!