November was a cold, but beautiful month. Almost immediatelyupon my return from Turkey it snowed - for about 3 weeks off and on. It was beautiful for a day, and muddy for the the rest of it. I never realised the importance of concrete in our cities, until living in a city without it. Despite the mud, slush and dirt, it was a real winter wonderland for a few weeks, and it definately helped the time pass as we geared up for our christmas holidays.
On one particularly cold night, Jen and I went for a stroll and fell upon a beautiful candle-lit memorial to honour all those who died in the Ukrainian famine (click link) of 1932-1933.
The following week was the international charity bazaar which sold all sorts of artifacts from around the world. Outside was a Ukrainian children's choir singing traditional christmas songs and performing dances! (...and I was one of the 'lucky' bystanders who was asked to come dance in the middle of the circle)
Here is a picture of our grade one's preparing for the parent's assembly. This backdrop went with our festive song about a typical Ukrainian winter!
Here are some random shots of life in the metro systems in Kiev.
Below:"Palats Ukraina" - the metro stop near my house
In just 7 days I head home to North America to celebrate the holidays and ring in the new year. I'll admit it's been a much anticipated trip, and I can already tell it will take some getting used to hearing so much english all around me.
