1/27/2006
Back in Kiev
When I wrote the other day that Melitopol was experiencing the coldest weather in 15 years, I was mistaken. I heard wrong. It's the coldest it's been in 50 years.
But now we are back in Kiev, and the sun is shining, and I may be mistaken, but it feels almost balmy, especially when I am wearing about 6 layers of clothing.
The editors of the newspaper took me to a health club the other night for a swim and a few trips in and out of the sauna. We ate dried fish and drank a little beer, and I had a massage administered by a young woman who was every bit as strong as she was beautiful.
Feeling rather healthy, I and Heidi Price were whisked off to a place called the XXX Club, where the youth group at the newspaper was hosting a dance party. Honestly, there was nothing XXX about it - just some really loud techno music and the usual dance atmosphere. It was the most fun I've had in years, and we complained bitterly when our guide, Sveta, dragged us out of there. But with an intense day of training that followed, I'm deeply grateful now that she was there to wreck our fun.
We're about to take in the sights of Kiev. It's about 1,800 years older then Washington, Pa., having been destroyed and rebuilt many times. From my hotel window I can see St. Sophia's (built in the 11th century), the frozen Dniper River, and some protesters camped out in the park across the street from the parliament, displaying signs reading "Uschenko is an idiot." Almost feels like home.
