Happy Pig Year!
On Tuesday and Thursday mornings I have a 20-minute walk to school from the Babushkinskaya metro station. I like it because it requires me to go along the path of local vendors in a quiet residential area. There are butchers, liquor merchants, produce kiosks, flowers, gifts, home-canned veggies, linens, etc. It seems to be a pleasant, tight-knit community. What has intrigued me the most are the tables full of toy pigs. The Russians can be somewhat crude with their marketing so you can imagine how some of those stuffed pigs are displayed. Seeing the little Babushkas sitting on their stools, showcasing their 'pig' merchandise always gives me a chuckle.
The same 'pig' displays are at every commercial area so I had been wondering about the pig fascination for a while. Low and behold I received one as a gift from our school administrator who explained that 2007 is the Chinese year of the pig and it's a New Year's tradition to give them as gifts. I received a few more last week and I'm thankful that I wasn't here for the start of 2006 - the 'year of the rat'.
For New Year's eve, I had some friends over for dinner. We planned on meeting some other teachers to see a big fireworks display in a park; but, after drinking a few bottles of wine (including Asian wine from Bulgaria??) and a few samples of another student's gift, vodka, we decided to keep sampling. One of my guests, a local Russian girl, put us all to shame. This girl can really knock 'em back.
We didn't want to lose our buzz on during the comute and, besides, we had our very own fireworks display right out the window. Actually, a little closer than comfortable.
I had been hearing the loud cracks since I got here in November. At first I thought it was gun fire so was relieved to discover that the Russians just love celebrating with firecrackers. The closer to New Year's, the more frequent the cracks. In fact, the last few days, I've found myself ducking for cover. Last night there was a constant stream outside of my apartment building and beyond. Spectacular display!
After a midnight toast and taste of champagne we went outside to set off our sparklers and got caught, literally, in the line of fire. We cowered together, low to the ground, and watched the guys, standing a mere 10 feet away, set them off over our heads. I've never been so close to all the action. We laughed hysterically and then watched and listened, from 'inside', to them for the rest of the night. In fact, its now the wee hours of January 2nd and I can still hear some going off.
Of course, it was all fun and games until someone's apartment burned down. A student, sending a New Year's congratulations text message, said she was without electricity since the neighbors building went up in flames due to fireworks. Shocking!
Wishing you all a happy and fire-free 2007! Moscow for New Year's... Ilsa recommends!
posted by Ilsa @ Tuesday, January 02, 2007
3 Comments:
Sounds like your New Year is off to a "blazing" start at the "hog" line(or something like that anyway!!! Much more exciting than the start to our 2007 for which I am truly grateful! My prayers for your SAFETY continue.
Mom
Thanks mom - remember to have a little faith in them prayers!
Happy belated New years 2007 I was away in Bahrain for a week of partying, drank too much tequila! Anyways glad to read your new posts...it is funny you mentioned the year of the Pig as I just bought a chinese horoscope 2007 book at the airport in Bahrain to help pass the time as my plane back to Riyadh was delayed 6 hours...for a friggin 1 hour flight! Well carry on writing; the photos are excellent too!
cheers carl
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