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Happy Independence Day Ukraine!!! Nineteen years ago they declared their independence from the USSR and elected their new President and Prime Minister. I don't know what this country was like under the USSR, but I sure do love it now. What a wonderful country - reminds me of the mid-western part of the USA where I grew up, with all the lush farmland and rolling hills. The city of Kiev is vibrant and cosmopolitan, with outdoor cafes and high end shops. People are walking around everywhere you look, or just enjoying the summer day sitting in parks or walking with their kids. Emma has arranged to meet up with her friend Katja again to show us some more sites and to enjoy the holiday with each other.
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So at 10am we meet at the same McDonald's near Independence Square to soak up the energy and excitement that is all around us. The main street is closed down and a large stage is set up with live music planned for the entire day. It feels like a Michigan football Saturday as Maize and Blue is everywhere! Just one more reason for me to love this country - my Alma mater's colors hanging from every window, people dressed in yellow and blue, with every man woman and child waving yellow and blue flags, including me of course!
The three of us find a nice outdoor cafe near the German pub we were at last week. It's bustling with locals and tourists from all over the world. We enjoy a nice breakfast consisting of omelets, pastries and coffee while we discuss our past week and all of the adventures we've experienced since we left Kiev to meet the boys.
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Katja is very excited for us and offers to continue helping Emma with her Ukrainian, as well as English for the boys. We discuss everything about this country, as we want to absorb everything we can while we're here so that we can stay tuned in with the country where our boys were born. She talks about the history and the people and the current state of affairs. She is quite proud of her country, although she is sad about the corruption that is still prevalent in the politics when it comes to spending policies and infrastructure improvements. Our company considered bidding on the Kiev airport improvement program last year, but decided against it for those reasons. But the new government is still young and I believe they will sort things out and become an even greater country in the years to come. Katja is quite smart and has a lot of information in that head of hers!
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After a walk through Independence Square, listening to the live music (including an acapella group from the Crimean Peninsula which blew me away), she mentions to us that she must leave at 2pm for her lessons (working on a holiday!?). So she takes us on a quick tour of a different part of the city, including a great view of the river, a children's park with pony rides, puppet shows and water games. Such a family oriented city - we really have enjoyed visiting this historic city with its fascinating culture and lovely people! I have never once felt unsafe or threatened - next visit we bring our bling! ;^)
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We say goodbye to sweet Katja and she wishes us well - suggesting that we all go to the Opera or the Symphony when we return in October (before we have the kids of course...). As we watch her walk to her Metro station, we continue to walk down the main street which is filled with various exhibitions and competitions. Tae Kwon Do, Tug of War, football, street hockey, weight lifting - you name it, they got it goin on! It's quite hot in the city so we head back to the flat to rest up for the big celebration tonight; complete with a 6pm concert and 10pm fireworks.
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After a quick power nap and a few hours on my blog, we head back to the big celebration at Independence Square to join into the madness. It reminds us of Times Square or Trafalgar Square at New Years Eve! Yellow and Blue is everywhere - I love it! We wander through the crowd, listening to the live music, taking in the local atmosphere, with many people dressed up in their traditional embroidered clothing (or nothing much at all in some cases), dancing to the music or playing with their kids in the fountain.
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Hunger calls, so we walk across the square and walk down one of the side streets to explore the various options for dinner. We stumble on a really cool Crimean restaurant with low tables and long cushions to lay down on. Very Turkish feel to it as the Crimean's still maintain a large cultural influence from their neighbors across the Black Sea. We nibble on a few salads, some chicken and beef kababs with tea and a few local beers. We follow it all up with a little bit of the 'Hubbly-Bubbly' - apple tobacco in a hookah pipe and enjoy the peaceful atmosphere. Isn't it great that smoking these pipes doesn't give you cancer...;^)
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At 9:30 we head back to the main square where things have become considerably more chaotic. The moon is full and the buildings are all lit up in yellow and blue (have I mentioned how cool that is for me?), with a full orchestra on stage playing traditional Ukrainian music. At 10pm sharp, the fireworks start (about 8-10 of them) with the traditional dancers taking the stage. It all ends in one glorious climax and everybody cheers. Quite the celebration actually!
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As the evening comes to an end we head back to our flat - such a convenient location for us, except for that huge climb up the hill! Good exercise for us though...I turn on the television to see if I made it on the local news, 'cuz I was standing right behind somebody famous as they were getting interviewed. You know the guy who stands there waving as he tries to get on TV - that was me...
As we get ready for bed, we talk about how lucky we are to have found these three boys and how ironic it is to be celebrating this nation's independence while we work towards giving these little guys a sort of new independence from their orphanages.
Good night future Americans...
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