14 August

I'm still catching the blog up to present, but today was such a beautiful day that I wanted to write while it's fresh.

I took the metro from work to the language school where I'm taking a weekly Russian group lesson. Today as I rode up the metro escalator, I noticed that almost everyone was carrying bouquets of dried flowers and also that many arrangements contained poppy flower pods, the part where people make heroin from.

Inspired since I was going to class, I asked the woman riding next to me in Russian if today was a holiday and if so, what kind was it. Strangely, I wasn't annoyed when she replied in English, as I usually am in the language tug' o war. She told me that today is a religious holiday when people bring these flowers to the church to be blessed. She didn't explain why and I didn't think to ask, but she did say that the next week was a day to bring apples to the church to be blessed and that the apples would be best after this day.

I suppose that these holidays are pagan rituals absorbed by the orthodox church, celebrating an end of summer and a bountiful harvest. I'll try to get more info on these holidays.

As we said goodbye at the top of the escalator and I entered the bright summer afternoon, I was overwhelmed by the sight of lines of women selling dried flowers and by the scent, as many of the flowers were herbs gone to seed and flower. There was basil, oregano, mint, wheat, poppy pods, marigolds, zinnia, among hundreds of others. For nearly ten minutes, I walked down the street by these vendors, and compared the different selections and colors and smells.

There are times when this country is so beautiful that I ache from the sight and this afternoon was such a time. The metro stop is also right by one of the botanical gardens and to get to the language school, I walk on a path through it. The whole walk to class was highly pleasurable.

It's just that life here becomes routine, so much so that I begin to forget at times that I've ever lived anywhere else or that the whole world isn't like this. I'm not explaining this well; but sometimes when something so striking as today's flower fantasia happens, I'm jolted out of a mundane acceptance of this life and realize that I'm living in Ukraine! I'm far from home! Excitement and adventure in the world! Woo Hoo!

Right, it's late and time for bed. Goodnight, all.