We just had a little spring break because of International Women's Day (March 8), which is not really a very international holiday but is a really big deal in Russia. On Monday two other teachers and I went to help a friend of our director on his farm not far from Vladimir. This guy clearly has a lot of money and bought 170 acres of land to use as an area to to train hunting dogs (his hobby/business) and to relax. He has a lot of animals out there, including sheep, chickens, geese, and wild boars. The boars are in two giant enclosures and are used to train dogs. He also has a really nice guesthouse and is building a sauna and another guest house. Nice place.

We didn't really do much work--in his words, "Why would I have you guys work--today is a holiday!" We got a tour of his property and even got to go into the enclosure with the wild boars--he told us to climb a tree if they charged at us. He has a guy from Uzbekistan who works as a groundskeeper there, and this Uzbek guy made us some amazing lamb plov over an open fire. It was the best I've ever had. Also we had some awesome grilled sashlyk (kebabs). Of course, going "into nature," as the Russians would say, doesn't happen without vodka, so we had some of that too.

It was great to get out of the city for a little bit, and spring is beginning to spring here, so all the snow is melting and the birds are singing. Here are a few pictures from out day in the forest:

The sign says "Danger! Wild animals. Don't jump the fence"