In Russia, there are two holidays, akin to Mother’s and Father’s Day. March 8th is like Mother’s Day, except that it is for all women… all women. March 8th is International Women’s Day. (I’m looking forward to this holiday) February 25th is the day for men, obviously akin to Father’s Day, although it really could apply to either men or women. February 24th is “Protectors of our Fatherland” Day. Why fatherland and not motherland, I’m not quite sure, but generally men receive some kind of gift and are congratuled. I spent Protectors of our Fatherland Day with an old friend, Nadia Arikova. Last year when I was in Gorno-Altai, my mom and I lived with a wonderful woman named Nadia. She fed us, took care of a visa registration discrepancy for us, and exposed us to
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