In March last year, I attended one of the most popular celebrations in Russia, which is called Maslenitsa – Pancake Day. At first, I had no idea what that was. What I knew was in that day, people ate too much pancake along with the side dish : vareniya a.k.a jam made from fruits. I didn't even know the history behind it until finally, I tried to read it in my book, which later I regretted as it was a really bad decision (my Russian that day was not as so ...... as today - now I don't even know how to describe about my Russian level). So, based…

This is my third time celebrating New Year in Russia and every year has its own story. The first year I lived here, I was kind of surprised by how Russians celebrate one of the most important dates in their calendar. As I am used to living in Indonesia, where you are given the freedom to choose whether you will celebrate New Year’s Eve or not (normally I take option two: not celebrating, as I always fell asleep before midnight), in Russia I experienced something which is known as culture shock. I had no choice but to celebrate it, because they do! From the second week of…