A Pleasant Surprise

Every time I go to Europe, without fail, I will not plan for the fact that markets are closed on Sundays, wake up one Sunday morning, realize I have no food, and starve. Last night I wasn't feeling well, and I finished off my supply of bottled water, and you can't drink the tap water here. I guzzled about eight cups of tea in the morning (not exaggerating), and was still parched. When my host sister finally wanders out of her room, I ask her if she knows of any grocery stores open on Sunday. I was hoping very much that I wouldn't need to go to one of the more touristy areas to find a street vendor just to get some water- it takes a good 40 minutes to get to the center from my part of town. She frowns as if I'm asking a trick question, and then asks me why they wouldn't be open on Sundays? Hallelujah. It seems mildly inappropriate to be thanking the health gods that I'm living in a country that had its religious identity stolen from it during the Soviet era and thus doesn't shut down on Sundays... But I'm too excited for this development to feel guilty.