Thursday, June 5, 2008

Living in Kiev...or Kyiv...however you want to spell it

Actually some people take the spelling of the capital of Ukraine quite seriously. The reason the spellings vary depends if you are translating it from Ukrainian or from Russian into English. If you are translating from Russian it is "Kiev" and if you are a true national and speaking Ukrainian you would translate it as "Kyiv." I like the freedom to be able to choose...depending on my mood! To get into the sociology and deep rooted emotions behind the use of the two languages will have to be the subject of another post...there is just way much to say on that topic!
Below are just some fun pictures to show you the beauty of Kiev..or uh Kyiv...and the random things one might see when walking down the main street Khreshatik. These were taken at the beginning of May.




The main street in the center of the city

You just never know when you may come across a man juggling in the center of the road

Believe it or not, you can pay babushkas about 10 cents and they will tell you your weight! Ummm no thank you...I prefer to lie to myself at home!

Hmmm...communism alive and well?

No, this is not traditional Ukrainian costume

My beautiful city at night!
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4 comments:

  1. Cara DenneyJune 5, 2008 at 10:21 PM

    Welcome to the world of blogging! I'm thrilled to be the first to post on your site...and a nice one it is too! You look great in that picture, and KYIV looks great, too. :) Happy blogging! :)

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  2. Steph BradacJune 6, 2008 at 12:02 AM

    Hello my new blog friend! What fun is this!

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  3. UnknownJune 6, 2008 at 8:06 PM

    Karen, great blog and great pictures! I'm curious though; what is the life expectancy of jugglers who juggle in the middle of the street?
    Blessings from all your friends at Northshore.

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  4. AngelaJune 12, 2008 at 5:22 PM

    Karen, your blog looks great! I have one of these, and gee, it's been a while since I posted on it. I love your pics of Khreshatik especially. I've definitely walked by the "Native American" and the juggler and the weight-babushka before. I almost laughed out loud at the juggler because I remember seeing exactly him and thinking how strange it was.

    Hope your trip to the West goes well.

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