'Tis the season...to eat blini and be a woman.

The recent busyness in my life has led to a lack of substantial blog posts despite the fact that I have so much to say. So I’m sorry, y’all.  You’re about to endure an explosion of all that I’ve been holding back.  Hopefully it won’t get too messy. 

For the past week I have partaken in what is quite possibly the most wonderful holiday of the year: масленица. Maslenitsa is a weeklong holiday with both religious and pagan roots.  In folk tradition, Maslenitsa is a celebration of the sun and the arrival of spring.  In the Christian tradition, it is the week preceding the start of Orthodox Lent, which started two days ago.  Literally translated it means, “butter week.”  During the Orthodox Lent meat, dairy and eggs are given up, so Maslenitsa is celebrated with the consumption of lots and lots of blini.  For those of you who have yet to experience the wonder that is the blin, blini are, in short, thin Russian pancakes that can be filled with practically anything.  Golden, round and hot like the sun, these tasty delights warm my mouth and my heart almost daily.  It would be an understatement to say that my friends and I have become obsessed with blini during our time in St. Petersburg.  We are in love.  Fortunately/unfortunately, Теремок, the local blini chain, has a stand just around the corner from my school.  Sometimes the temptation is unbearable when I stand waiting for the bus and the scent of buttery goodness makes its way to my nose.  Теремок is relentlessly trying to show me just how little self control I have…and it is succeeding.

Теремок's Maslenitsa advertising.  SO MANY BLINI!!

Since Maslenitsa gave me the opportunity to gorge my face with blini for a week in the name of cultural enrichment, I took full advantage by eating blini multiple times a day, everyday of the week.  And it was GLORIOUS!!  If I had any doubts of what is my favorite holiday, I know now that Maslenitsa is the one.  Early in the week my friends and I celebrated the holiday with a blini potluck.  Each person brought their own favorite ingredients, which included: Nutella, bananas, strawberries, an assortment of jams, sweetened condensed milk, Snickers, sour cream, honey, mushrooms, cream cheese, salmon, and the list goes on and on.  It was a fun night of relaxation and appreciation of Russian culture.  There’s nothing like gathering in a Russian apartment and sharing in a meal.  These are the kinds of moments that I want to hold onto forever…

Blini flipper extraordinaire.

Beginnings of our blini potluck.

We flipped lots and lots of blini.

Meagan and her Snickers blin.  Best idea ever.  

Salmon and cream cheese blini.

The penultimate moment of the Maslenitsa festivities takes place on Sunday, the last day before чистый понедельник (clean Monday).  To begin the day I gathered with my whole host family (mama, sister, sister’s boyfriend, brother, brother’s wife) for our last blini feast until Easter.  This was by far the tastiest blini I’ve eaten in my life.  My host mama pulled out all the stops and provided us with luxurious fillings, such as caviar, homemade apple butter, and homemade cranberry jam.  Unfortunately, I have no pics to document this occasion, because I was so excited about eating that I forgot until we were finished (I’m sure that’s not surprising to anyone that knows me).  After the feast, we headed out to a park where a Maslenitsa festival was in full force with all the traditional shenanigans: singing, dancing, games, and most importantly the burning of the чучело.  This tradition basically entails the burning of a 15-foot doll named Lady Maslenitsa while dancing around her in a circle as a symbol of bringing in the spring season.  Russians really do know how to celebrate, and I love it.  We had lots of fun dancing, hanging out, and making new friends.  I captured a few videos of the merriment, which I hope will give you a little of idea of the fun that was had. 

Me with a mini Lady Maslenitsa

Чучело pre-burning

Burn, baby, burn.

Sorry it's sideways, but here's the чучело burning.

A little too much fun...

Orthodox Lent began on Monday.  After a wonderful fairytale day spent in Pushkin (which I have not the time to expound upon here, but let me just say AWESOME), my friend and I visited an Orthodox church.  Many gathered in the church to pray and ask forgiveness, preparing themselves for the next forty days of sacrifice.  While Orthodox tradition is still very foreign to me, I am beginning to understand it more and more.  As I am walking I often stop into random churches just to think, pray, or light a candle.  Despite my ignorance, I am inspired by the deep spirituality that I see in the men and women practicing the rituals of their faith.  Examining my own faith in light of the faiths of others is helping me to see in a new light.  I have agreed to observe Orthodox Lent with my host family, which means no meat, dairy and eggs until Easter.  We’ll see how that goes.  If you know anything about Russian food, you’ll know that such a diet is almost impossible to imagine. I’m three days in and so far, so good.     

Church that we visited on Clean Monday.  
We think it looks like a cake.  

If there wasn’t already enough celebrating, Tuesday was the 8^th of March, Международий Женский День (International Women’s Day)!  This is a state holiday in Russia, which meant no school Monday or Tuesday (because why would we work one day after the weekend just to have the next day free?  I love Russian logic!).  Women are celebrated on this day with congratulations, flowers, chocolate, presents, etc.  I’m continuing to reap the benefits of this holiday as my apartment is now filled with flowers and lots of tasty treats.  Just when I thought the holiday was over, I arrived at school today to find that the boys of Smolny had organized a cotton candy machine in the café for all the ladies.  Russia (and Smolny) never ceases to amaze me.  I am absolutely in love with the Smolny community!  I am reminded everyday of how lucky I am to have such a unique experience abroad.  If anyone’s on the fence about studying abroad, DO IT!!! And come to St. Petersburg with Smolny.  You won’t be sorry, I promise.

Flowers for March 8.

Cotton candy for the ladies.

So happy to be women!

I’ve got so much more to share, but all this celebrating has worn me out.  I’ve been burning it at both ends, and I think Russia is beginning to catch up with me.  So I think I’ll just try running faster, and maybe I’ll end up ahead of her.  Let’s hope.