The first two days

This is our bathroom

This is our kitchen

The girls had fun at the park

Kostya has been so good to our girls!

Well, I agree with Matt. Kiev is really beautiful. It is very green, hilly, and full of incredible architecture. Our apartment is very close to Independence Square, the site of the Orange Revolution, and the center of the city. It is a very cosmopolitan city, full of life, and hustle and bustle. The people here are beautiful, although they are a bit more “decorated” than we are at home. From the hair color and make-up, to the stiletto heels and embroidered and rhinestone studded jeans, I admit I feel a bit plain walking down the street. Even the men wear the “fancy” jeans. Our translator, Kostya, has been wonderful. I hope I won’t offend him by saying that he looks and sounds like he could be from “Anytown”, USA. He took the girls to a playground in the beautiful park yesterday, and they had a great time there. Last night after he left our apartment, they asked, “When is Kostya coming back?” He has been so wonderful to us and to the girls, and we feel really blessed to have him with us. Our apartment is really wonderful. We tried to prepare the girls for “roughing it”, but that definitely hasn’t happened so far. It has 12 foot ceilings, a large modern bathroom, and a beautiful balcony with lush, green trees outside our window. On Sunday we went to church in a small church where the service was in Russian. It was really moving to hear all of my old favorite hymns sung in Russian, and even though we couldn’t understand a word of the sermon (well, actually, I think I recognized about five or six words), I’m so glad we went. The girls went into the children’s class (which I think was for kids of all ages), and when we picked them up, they asked if they could go back next week.
We have been to a Ukrainian cafeteria style restaurant a couple of times, and we have liked everything that we have tried so far. The food is very good, but much richer than I am used to, and it doesn’t take much to fill me up. The girls are slowly finding foods that they like too, and even though we have passed a McDonalds several times, they haven’t asked to go there yet (although I am sure that is coming soon).