Kiev, the capital of the Ukraine, is situated in the north-central part of the country on the Dnieper River southwest of Moscow, and is one of the oldest cities in northern Europe. It has a long history: it was a thriving commercial center in the fifth century, and became the center of Kievan Russia (a medieval Slavic state that was the precursor of Modern Russia) in the ninth century.
I am not the first family member to visit Kiev: my niece, Bronwyn (who turns 21 in a couple of weeks) was good enough to represent Australia in an international gymnastic competition here in Kiev in 1996. Bronwyn was just as cute and skinny, IMHO, as the great Nadia Comaneci, the first Olympic gymnast to ever score a perfect 10 (at the 1976 Montreal Olympics).
My sister, Delores (I know she's been just dying to be mentioned in my blog! :) sent me an email saying that Bronwyn remembers it being quite cold in Kiev, and being given lots of caviar (which she did not like) to eat.
At six o' clock we have a small program at our hosts, Ramananda Prabhu and Hemangini Devi Dasi's apartment. Many of the local devotees — Kanu Prabhu, Indra Mohan Prabhu, Vidya Ranjan Prabhu, Janardan Krishna Prabhu, Dayal Nitai Prabhu, Isanuga Devi Dasi, and Lila Mayi Devi Dasi — and and some other devotees and guests attend.
I am pleased to see that Aleksander and his wife Oksana, two guests who attended the public program yesterday evening at the Chay Niy Klub, show up again tonight. Like last night, they ask many questions about Krishna consciousness, and I try to answer as best I can.
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