Happy International Women's Day

Today is International Women’s Day, a significant holiday in Ukraine and Russia.  I decided I needed to get out for some exercise and sunshine, so I went downtown.  I was expecting the city to be fairly quiet because of the holiday, but the streets and walks were quite busy, probably because of the holiday.  The flower venders in the streets were doing a lively business, and men and boys busy buying flowers for the ladies and girls in their lives. 



Don't these flowers just brighten and warm up a cold winter day?

I walked around for a while and stepped inside some upscale shopping centers.  Americans would feel right at home in these shopping centers and would hardly know they are in Luhans'k Ukraine.  I still marvel at the existence of these meccas of western capitalistic consumerism in a country where the average worker makes between one hundred to two hundred dollars a month.  How do the stores stay open and who shops in them?  The prices on the merchandise offered in these establishments are comparable to and sometimes higher than similar goods in the U.S. 

At one of the shopping centers in Luhans'k. 
Incidentally, the car behind the Mitsubishi is a Fiat.



Look familar?





This restaurant is also at the mall.  I actually have no desire to eat
here, as I have been having too much fun enjoying the local cuisine.

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This evening I made a traditional Ukrainian carrot salad (Салат из моркови).  Unfortunately, I also grated my finger in the process and in the same place I grated it last week making the оливье (olivier). It really hurts!



Салат из моркови



My home (дом). The wires at the top of the photo are for the
electric trolleybus. I will try to get some photos of a trolley.