The ever-changing nature of things has been extremely visible over the past week. Monday ushered in a new era of our time in Russia. While Brazil has Carnaval, Russia has Maslenitsa, a week long celebration of the beginning of spring. Replacing the King Cake of Mardi Gras is an abundant supply of pancake-like deliciousness, блины. Originally a pagan holiday, Maslenitsa celebrated the coming of spring and was adopted by the church and widely observed up until it was more-or-less banned during Soviet times. Luckily for me, there was revival following Perestroika and I have the opportunity to celebrate the beginning of warmer days with a delicious stack of super thin blini.

Monday also brought with it a change in the weather. The sun was out, and temperatures reached over 20º F. While that may not seem remarkable to most of my friends and family back home in Virginia, take my word that this is a big change for Moscow. With temperatures dipping below -15º F two weeks ago and remaining in the negatives for the following weeks, our much warmer current conditions make us want to break out the shorts.

I recently read an article about the iconic Russian souvenirs, Matryoshka dolls. In the early twentieth century, the production of Matryoshka dolls was standardized at what most would view as the traditional look. However, today artists are able to paint the dolls anyway they so choose, leading to a wide variety of designs. Lining the walkways of Izmalovsky market are numerous stalls selling everything from sports teams, to movie characters, to world leader dolls. One seller may have an Obama set next to AC Milan's starting line left of  Osama Bin Laden who is beside Homer Simpson. And on Homer's right is the cast of Avatar followed by the succession of Russian leaders, Medvedev to a miniature Peter the Great. 


I am sure that nearly everyone is familiar with Winston Churchill's iconic view of Russia.                                   "A Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery Inside an Enigma".              In the time that has passed since Churchill said this, the Iron Curtain has fallen and the internet has revolutionized the spread of information, and yet Russia still remains elusive and undefinable. The world has changed and Russia has changed with it. The Soviet system has been altered, aspects of the West have been adapted and adopted, old traditions have resurfaced and buildings have been rebuilt.

Nothing is stagnant forever.

My time in Russia has reinforced what I learned in Ghana. Anything is possible. All you have to do is step beyond the borders of the organized world into something a little more chaotic and a lot more inexplicable.