it's good to be a woman.

march 8 is international women's day. when i lived in russia, every woman i knew (including myself) was showered with gifts, cards, and attention on that one day. so i knew that at this school with a large russian population, for the first time in a long time, i would not be the only person celebrating women's day. it was a festive day for the girls from the former soviet bloc (the kids from other countries were so confused about what was going on) and anna, who manages to turn normal school days into holidays, went all out. i mean, check out all that glitter (and aren't those the prettiest unintentional swastikas you've ever seen?):


ah, but it gets better:



thanks, anya, for making this my favorite women's day ever.

now, i must go. i look for man to make nice family.

с праздником!

it's not halloween, it's carnevale!

i live in a predominantly catholic area of switzerland, where there is a church on every corner and we eat fish for lunch on fridays. so it should be no surprise that around here, we take lent, ash wednesday, and carnevale very seriously. last friday the kids dressed up and we played a bunch of traditional italian games, which was super fun because it meant i didn't have to plan a history lesson. i was going to post a bunch of pictures of the cutest indians and bumblebees you ever saw, but i think this picture pretty much sums up the fun that is carnevale: