100 years of female appreciation

Today is International Women's Day. I hope you already knew that but just in case you didn't, now you have no excuses. Now - particularly if you are a man - before you do anything else, at least send a quick text message to the most important women in your life. I know just as with Valentine's Day and lovers and friends, women should be appreciated every day of the year, but on the occasion it's still nice to hear you are special.

In the past 100 years women, and many men alongside them, have campaigned for womens' right to education, work and maybe most importantly for the right to vote. Maybe you are thinking "oh no.. please don't start spilling your feminist ideas now". Rest assured, I have no intention of doing that. I will however say that I am grateful I was born to a culture where I have had every opportunity to study, learn, work, even pack up my things and go chasing after my dreams in other countries, despite the wonderful men in my family probably occasionally nearly losing sleep over this. I am also proud that I grew up in a country which was at the forefront of not only giving women the right to vote, but to having women elected into the parliament. Not everyone is so lucky.

This is what I want to say to you women: you are important. The world would not, and will not, function without our gender. Know your value as women, not only as human beings. Embrace your feminine quirks, they are what make you so special. Those hormones and emotions that make us act as mild cases of sawdust-in-the-brain at times, are also what give us the gift of the need to take care of others, the gift of empathy, and the gift of being completely over the moon when good things happen. When the men in your life want to open the door for you, be thankful. When they want to offer to pay for that drink or help you do that little DIY job at home which you know you could do yourself, accept their help with a smile. In their own way they are trying to take care of you and show you they appreciate you.

Being a woman is a privilege but as with all privileges, it comes with a huge responsibility. Take care of the men in your life. Sometimes it may feel like they don't deserve to be treated nicely on their birthdays as they have forgotten yours three years in a row, nor do they deserve that special cup of tea or soup when they are struck by a severe case of man-flu, but they do. They deserve our love. They might be utterly rubbish at remembering special dates, but they will be there for us when we truly need them. They might be bad at expressing their feelings but I bet you if you were stuck in a sticky situation, it would be your brothers, your dad or your male friends who would rush to help you if you would call them.

Even more importantly, ladies, we are the women in these men's lives. We have the power to show them what a good woman is like. We have the power to be the models of good women to our sons, so that they will grow up to respect and love the women in their lives. We have the power to make our husband grateful for what a wonderful woman he has married, and yes, we have the power also to be good girlfriends who, even if things go sour, do not leave behind men who are shattered and full of resentment towards women.

Men, love the women in your life. Your wife, your mother, sisters, friends and your special little daughters. They need you to in order to become the kind of women that I just described. Don't leave behind women that are broken and scared to love. Tell the women in your life they are beautiful because it is a self-fulfilling prophesy! A woman needs to hear she is beautiful in order to become truly beautiful inside and out. Love them when they have a crying fit because you bought the wrong things in the supermarket, and most of all, do not scorn them on being girls! 

Fathers: you are extremely important. You need to tell your daughters they are beautiful, smart and wonderful. Do not leave your daughter with insecurities, because you are too worried to tell her she is beautiful and wonderful, in case she might become superficial. Take your daughter on father-daughter days, hold her, hug her and show her you love her.

What authority do I have to say this? I am a woman, albeit not a perfect one. I am a daughter, a sister, an aunt and a friend. This women's day I want to tell all my beautiful girl friends: you are wonderful, valued and deserving of good things. And for you guys: I feel so lucky having many wonderful male friends in my life. I promise I will try my best to be (and to become) a good woman for you. To my brothers and to my father: I love you to the moon and back. You are the men who have made me who I am. And last but not least to my little nephew: I will always be here for you. You are the bright ray of sun in my life and you are the most perfect little boy there ever was.

Happy International Women's Day!


Image: dan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Carnevale di Venezia 2011

What a nice weekend this has been! Full of ice cream, pizza, frittelle and other delicious things to eat, sunshine, friends and nice surprises.

For once I wasn't working on Saturday so we headed to Venice already around lunch time. It was a nice sunny day, not exactly warm but certainly not cold either. I reopened the ballerina season after having had to go back to my winter boots last week when it was snowing. As soon as we arrived some of us had our faces painted (I want glitter, please!) to get in the carnival mood while the more serious members of the group waited patiently. Despite the horror stories of insane crowds meeting you as soon as you step out of the train it actually wasn't too bad. Yes, there were a lot of people but most of the time we were able to move forward without huge difficulties. One or two bridges were somewhat congested and a couple of times we had to backtrack and try another route but considering how narrow some of the streets are and how many people must have been there I really think getting around was surprisingly smooth.

I think it is safe to say that about 80% of people were wearing some sort of a costume or at the very least a mask or some face paint. It's fantastic that at least once a year grown ups get to dress up in silly (or cool, depends on your level of commitment) costumes, get their faces painted and in general just forget about what is appropriate. I think the general consensus in the group was that those of us who will still be here next year will definitely then invest on some costumes of our own. It's too good an opportunity to miss!

Some of the costumes we saw were indeed pretty cool and what is even better: the people were more than happy to be photographed! The only problem of course was that everyone wanted to take photos so getting them to stop at the right moment or to look in the right direction was an altogether different story. Not to mention not having someone elses arm, hand and camera stuck right in front of your camera just as you press that button.. Then of course there is the eternal story of the camera running out of batteries at the worst possible moment.. Excuses aside, here are some photos from this weekend anyway. They may not be perfect but then I am hardly a professional so what did you expect! Enjoy!. (Click on the photo to see a bigger version)

Is there a visible Russian influence or is it just the strange fur hat? Or is it just me?

The Ghostbusters were there too. Naturally.

Some pretty cool masks, which made the American girls behind us start squealing 'Oh my gaawwd, Oh my gaaaawwwd!'

Looking from Rialto bridge. It really was a nice day!

Frittelle (con crema in this case) are some of the best the carnival season has to offer! This one happens to be half eaten already, of course only just so you can see what is inside.. 

This little bunny was one of the cutest participants, spotted here today.

And here, just to make you drool with jealousy, is my second gelato of today! This one is Crema di Grom with Cioccolato fondente. (The first one was Cioccolato fondente with yoghurt.) 

Watch out Venice, here we come!

This weekend is the last weekend of the Carnevale di Venezia and we are invited! That is to say I am heading there with some friends and you can expect some sort of a report on the shenanigans afterwards, complete with some pictures.

Thank you to all of you who have taken the time to check out this blog thingy of mine and thank you for your encouraging messages too. I am lucky to have lovely friends all over the world who continue to be interested in my life. You are the best!

Image: m_bartosch / FreeDigitalPhotos.net