Dinner on Thursday was at a wild game restaurant owned by the husband of one of Roksanda's colleagues. This is where we met Alexandra and Risto. Alexandra is Natasha's sister. She goes by Sanja (in English, pronounced Sanya).

Sanja is a thoracic surgeon. I knew this before we met her, so I was expecting someone very bright. And from the pictures that Jillann saw, she said, "Sanja looks very elvish."

Jillann's description is pretty good. Sanja has thin, delicate features, with short, pixie-ish hair. Her hands are also delicate, and I could see how this would help her as a surgeon. The two sisters don't look at all alike.

I was most struck by Sanja's intelligence. She and I chatted quite a bit during our trip, and I was often amazed. I'm used to talking with people who I consider "as intelligent as I am". I'm quite unused to talking with people I'm pretty sure are distinctly smarter. (I console myself knowing I'm older and more experienced.)

She speaks in a soft, careful voice when speaking English, and I don't think she's as used to speaking English as Natasha is. But she seemed to understand everything I said, and I wasn't always as careful with my words and pace as I normally might be when speaking with someone for whom English is not their first language.

Sanja is rather playful and seemed to enjoy quietly teasing me. I told her about how I used to try to teach Nate (my nephew) some phrases when he was just a baby -- things like "Pepperoni Pizza", "Mommy likes diamonds" and "Hot babe!", so Sanja asked, "What is 'Hot babe'?" What impressed me was she could do this with a completely straight face, absolutely no body language to tell me she was teasing.

I am quite very pleased to have gotten the chance to know Sanja, and I'm enjoying having Natasha's sister as a friend in her own right.