If I'd had a daughter...

For four months, Anastasia from Vladivostok was my sidekick. She was on the island to be closer to her fiance from Atlanta. Here we are at a Fat Tuesday party and her costume was anchored by the wreath traditional to Ukraine, where girls wear them when they are ready to be brides.
Nastia, as her brothers shortened her name, is that. Ready to be a bride. Her USA fiance visa has been provisionally approved. She is back in Russia to pick up the rest. But...
While she cleared the interview with the US Embassy in Moscow, an x-ray came back with a spot on it and the US wants her to go to a chest clinic for analysis next week. She is sure it must be only a scar from a pneumonia she had last year. So, we wait.
It took a while for her to settle back in in with an internet connection at her friend's house in St. Petersburg. Now we are in daily communication again! Skype also has enabled her to stay in touch with family in Vladivostok during her time in Mexico.
What a relief! One of the joys of having her here was the language. We could go anywhere and not one other person understood what we said between each other. Just imagine that bond! Her last week here, we did encounter Russians who were staying at Avalon Resort. But still....
We went through the December holidays, a pirate party, Carnaval and so much more together. Her with her glue gun making appropriate costumes and head gear for the events. With her yearning for herring! OK, our yearning for herring. With our love of Asian food!
Vladivostok is Far East Russia. It is tomorrow there right now. It is on the border of a piece of China, where she and her family would go on weekends to shop. Japan is so close that now, in peaceful times, there are sushi restaurants in Vladivostok. So we were regulars at Sushi Island here on Isla Mujeres.
We shopped soup bones together, something her American fiance couldn't comprehend. But a good stock is essential! On her Facebook page, she recently posted a new cover photo of camomile flowers on sale in Chedraui. In a store here. Picked along paths yourself in Russia, used the same ways. Her friends in Russia were astounded.
So, that is where I disappeared to. Part of me went with my roots this winter and immersed into Russia, right here in Mexico. And now, part of me is in Russia with woman many here asked, "Your daughter?"