NYE.......

Urii, Sasha, Lada & I met at Sasha's place where the presented me with a Christmas present. It is a real Russian hat with fold down ear muffs and Russian crest. On the last day of work, Maryna presented me with Lucy, a soft toy cat to keep Charlie and Skip company.And then on the 2nd, Inna, Anya and Marcia turned up at my aprattment to help me with a little problem I had and presented me with another beautiful ceramic cat........ I am so lucky that I have such good mates in Ukraine!

We have some Champers to get the ball rolling. Then take off to Chateau on the square. It took us a while to get there as it was extremely slippery.

The Elka with Lights

The square looked lovely but it was freezing cold, so we went inside very quickly. A few nibbles and a couple of drinks.

Now you have to remember that Lada and Urii dont speak english but we always manage to have fun.

After listening to the Russian presidents speech, we toasted midnight and then rushed out to the square to see the fireworks. They were good but breif and certainly no Sydney (which I saw a bit of on the TV).

Out of the crowd emerged Dima ! We knew he was coming but it was so nice to see another friends face to bring in the NY. So folks, Yes I survived NYE in Ukraine, with only one small problem which I will post in the next blog. It has been a fun three months, but as I write this, I am half packing to board a plane (well, about 4 I think), to come home. It is a beautiful day today, about -10 to -12, but the sun is shinng and we have fresh snow. Slight problem at the moment. It seems half of Kharkiv has no water, and I'm one of those with nothing! I desperately hope they get it back on today as i really need to have a shower in the morning, the last one I will have for 2 days! If I get stuck, at least I know I can have one in KL.

See all my friends and family in Melbourne soon.

xm