Dnipro River

St. Nicholas

November 3, 2005 4 Weeks today!

We have been in Kiev for four weeks today. Nobody seems to know how long you have to be here to be considered a citizen. Yesterday Oleana and Sergey took us to St. Nicholas's Cathedral. It was beautiful. It is relatively young for Kiev. It is soon to be one hundred years old. It was the first building here built from concrete. They were restoring the outside so we didn't get to see much of the outside. The inside is incredible, very high ceilings with lots of gold and a huge organ. There was a man playing the organ, he was preparing for a concert that night. His son was also playing it. He was only nine years old. They were very good. Then we tried to visit the Museum of Microthings but it was closed for lunch. This was the second time we tried to visit, last time it was closed for a "rest day."

Today we went to the square and ate lunch at TGIF's. Right after we ordered Sasha came in with another couple who were going to their 1st NAC appointment today. They have two young children (biological) with them. Sasha said maybe tomorrow we would have our appointment. But he said that yesterday also. Lots of people give up at four weeks but we are stubborn. With the exception of missing our families, friends, and our poor dog we are comfortable. After lunch we went walking around near the Friendship of the Peoples Monument. We then walked down the hill behind the monument and crossed the pedestrian bridge to an island in the River. There are beaches and a large park. It was easy to forget we were in a huge city while we were there. On our way back across the bridge we stood and watched tugboats pushing huge barges full of sand.

CONGRATULATIONS HUSKIES! We can't wait to hear how the next game goes. Good Luck!