Women's International Day - March 8th - is considered a big holiday here where people even get the day off work, luckily my cousin Jane was one of those people so I was happy to spend an extra day with her. We started off the morning with long talks and a home made breakfast. Apparently, eggs for breakfast isn't as popular as heavier meals that include pasta, mashed potatoes, chicken, steak, etc. I can't imagine eating that for breakfast.

We got ready and headed into the fully planned day. First stop was the mall to pick up a few things for my cousin. We went to this beautiful mall called Ocean Plaza in the center of Kiev. My cousin warned me not to buy anything because things would be a lot more expensive in Ukraine than back home but I was in disbelief. It didn't take long to prove her statement. After looking at some of the prices, I was left in shock. Brand names - Michael Kors, Adidas, etc - are almost doubled in price than back at home. For example, online and back home a Michael Kors backpack is around $250-300 dollars, in Ocean Plaza it was $500!! How absurd. Average monthly paycheck is between $100-$300 dollars which makes me question how people afford these items when their paychecks are half of that. We got what we needed and headed to our next destination.

We met up with Oksana, Jane's friend, to go to a virtual reality game. Its a very popular attraction around here where you put on these goggles and see virtual reality around you. I was disappointed because it didn't take me long to get nauseous and sick, even though my cousin was playing for hours and felt totally fine. Its a pretty cool concept though. If you ever get the chance to play, do it!

After the game we were pretty hungry, so we headed to a burger restaurant called The Burger. Almost any restaurants or bar you go to in the evening, no matter what day of the week, you need a reservation. Some places even book out days in advance but luckily we got a table for an hour. It's a nice place, although a bit Americanized. We got our fingers dirty but it was worth it because the burgers were delicious leaving us satisfied. Later we ended the night at Par Bar with some drinks and more great conversations.

Walking around on March 8th is really cool. The streets are full of flowers in hand and buckets of flowers waiting to be sold. It was pleasant to hear girls and guys walking by and wish us a Happy Women's Day. I felt appreciated, valued and lucky to be a woman.