Valentine's Day

As with all holidays around here, Valentines Day was a little different than I expected. Alex and I had planned on a lazy day... going out for coffee in the morning and making dinner in the evening. Perhaps with a bit of champagne thrown in there. That wasn't how it happened, though. Roman called us in the morning and said, "Be ready in half an hour to go down to the airport and have shashlik." Alex and I discussed it and negotiated the time and we decided to go for it. I wasn't really looking forward to spending my Valentine's Day watching Alex be the little socialite he is... but it seemed like it might be an interesting experience. Roman picked us up in his sleek white Honda and we headed out of town to the airport where he spends most of his time jumping out of airplanes. Now, instead of just parachuting, he has recently purchased a "jump suit" that makes him look like a bat. I couldn't understand how it worked when he first showed it to us (and demanded he try to jump off his kitchen counter) but apparently you just jump out of a plane wearing this suit and you turn into a bird. And then when you land you pull your parachute. The landing is what I'm unclear on. Check out YouTube for some jumpsuit videos. It's pretty crazy. Anyway, we got the airport and apparently Roman has his own little trailer set up there... with a bed and a kitchen and even a little TV. If it isn't clear, Roman has a little bit of money... which is a sharp contrast to almost everyone else I've met here. When we arrived there was already a couple (okay, I admit it, for the four thousandth time since being abroad, I thought the guy was the girl's father for a good half hour) there with a fire going. I pretended I spoke Russia for a few minutes and then admitted that beyond introductions I'm pretty useless. Fortunately, everyone spoke English. I hate to say this, but it seems as though the more money people have, the better their English. Of course, that doesn't mean they'll talk to you in English. Even Roman, when we first met, pretended he couldn't speak English at all. It was pretty cold there and we started cooking and hanging out around the fire (you should smell our clothes now...). Shashlik, for those who don't know, is basically Russian kabobs or souvlakia or whatever you call it in other countries. Except it tends to be much bigger and they marinate it in a mayonnaise sauce. It isn't bad, though. We cooked potatoes and shashlik and ate and then someone I got convinced to take sots of honeypepper (Joanna's fav) vodka. And not just shots. HUGE shots. I even said "choot choot" meaning "little bit" and this guy poured me enormous shot after enormous shot. Long story short, I was wasted in 15 minutes. We did have a lovely time, though. They tried to convince me to jump out of a plane, I refused. Alex was excited because this spring Roman is giving him a "jump". It was his birthday present. Alex has jumped out of planes a few times before, but not in years. He says it is important in case he's "in a situation where I [he] need[s] to jump out of a plane." I can't think of a situation where I would ever need to know how to parachute, but, okay... if it makes him happy. And is free. When it got dark we headed home. I fell asleep in the car. We spent the rest of the day half-drunk and he gave me flowers and champagne and we ate chocolate for dinner. He also gave me the best gift, ever... he's quitting smoking. So far it has been a day and I'm quite impressed with how good he looks. I sort of expected to see him writhing on the floor coughing up black stuff. Wish him luck, he will need it. Fortunately, though, when Alex decides to do something... he comes through. 

Off to the store now, I'm making burritos. Lucky boy. 

xo