Fericite ziua femeilor!

March 2007. I was by myself in Bucharest and headed out to get dinner. I found a nice restaurant and was seated, looking at the menu when suddenly a server brought me a glass of champagne and a bouquet of daffodils. huh? I was very confused because I didn't know anyone in town, and also didn't order them myself. And I certainly didn't want to pay for something I hadn't ordered. I don't even particularly like champagne, and didn't want to carry daffodils back to the hotel room I'd soon be leaving. What was going on?? I learned that day that there is something called International Women's Day that is celebrated in many countries throughout the world, and it is a pretty popular day to celebrate in Eastern European countries.

March 2018. I now live in Moldova, and ziua femeilor is a big deal! The flower vendors this week were stocked with extra flowers, especially single stems of tulips and roses in cellophane. My Romanian language tutor also told me that flowers cost about double the usual price right now. For a few days, I looked at all the beautiful displays and tried to find out the various prices. Last night, I bought a nice plant with red blooms for my host mom, which I was happy to give her this morning. She also gave me a bunch of beautiful white tulips with red stripes in a glass jar. We exchanged our flowers along with a kiss on each cheek. Here in Moldova, Women's Day is also celebrated as Mother's Day, because Moldova doesn't have the kind of Mother's Day that we celebrate in the U.S.

Although Women's Day wasn't a holiday I grew up celebrating and still feels like a foreign holiday to me, I do like the idea of it. So, happy Women's Day to all the amazing women I have been fortunate to know, and let's celebrate the incredible contribution women make to our world every day!

Flowers from my host mom

Flowers I gave to my host mom 

Flowers in the market in town