Teachers' Day

The first Friday of October is Teacher’s Day in Belarus, and many people celebrate all weekend. I started the festivities on Friday night by having a late dinner with my friend Света and two of her friends, who just happen to be teachers. As we nibbled on our food, we shared a bottle of champagne, and exchanged stories about our lives and cultures. How nice to be invited into someone’s home and to share such great conversation! Around midnight we took a taxi to a local disco, and I got my first taste of Belarusian nightlife. Unfortunately cameras were not allowed, and they even searched our purses. Once we were inside I figured out why…every hour or so there was a striptease act! Now that’s not something you see at the clubs in Texas. The bars stay open until 6am here and they don’t have last call, they serve drinks all night! The music was awesome so we danced into the wee hours, and needless to say I slept until almost 1pm the next day. I managed to make it to my Russian lesson around 4:00pm, and on the way home the skies darkened and it started to pour. I spent the rest of the night relaxing and enjoying the sound of the rain.

The sun was shining Sunday afternoon as I met another group of teachers at the local pizza place called Рзтро (Retro). The pizza is quite good, different, but good. Also, wine is served by the gram here. One way around this is to order a beer, which is what I did. One funny comment made during the meal was that my English was quite good! Everyone started laughing as I am a native speaker! We had been talking about the differences between British and American English, and how some Americans slur their words. Anyway, it was nice to hear that I’m a good articulator. Toward the end of our meal, when I was politely trying to eat my last slice (doggie bags are an American thing), I was informed that it was Zhana’s birthday and we were going to her place to celebrate. I was more than willing to go…one more invitation to visit someone’s home and on such a special day! When we got to her flat, there was another huge spread of food! When the Belarusians start to eat, they don’t mess around. Of course we took a short break of about 1 hour, then we sat down and started eating and drinking once again. The food was delicious, we even had Belarusian-style taco salad! It was close to the real deal except for the missing tortilla chips, which they don’t sell here. Despite being full, I somehow managed to taste everything. Did I mention the desserts? And have you ever heard of this phrase “Two teas to 222”? Like if you were ordering room service? Everyone thought this was the funniest thing. I had to add that I thought the Russian word for “here” (тут) pronounced “toot” was pretty funny too! This is what happens when you mix a bunch of language teachers and few bottles of wine. Anyway, by the time I got home I could barely move…but what a great experience! Teacher’s Day, or weekend, is one holiday I plan to bring home with me.