I meet with a woman whom I have met on a previous trip. I met her through my interpreter
and I thought that she is a very nice woman. Our communication ended when she decided
to pursue another relationship. I wished her well. While communicating with my interpreter,
she said that this women asked to meet me when I returned to Kharkov. I had heard that
when a FSUW ends a relationship, that she does not look back. I share this outlook and I
wonder why this time should be any different. I mention this to my interpreter and she
encourages me to see this woman. We meet this woman for a late lunch at the Argentina
Grill on Lenina Street in Kharkov. My interpreter says that this is the best restaurant for
steak in Kharkov. The woman is wearing a dress that I gave her on my previous visit. She
speaks English fairly well. There are quite a few different types of steak on the menu. I am
told that the beef really does come from Argentina. I order the ribeye which is 300 g or
about a 10 oz steak. The steak is very good, but it is not as good as the steak at Ruth's Chris
or other good steak restaurants in the U. S. I enjoy meeting this woman, but I do not know
if she is any more serious now than she was on my previous trip. I will ask my interpreter
about this woman after I return home.
The one downside of staying at the Superior Golf Club and Spa is that it is on the edge of
town and I needed to take a taxi everywhere. I would ask the front desk to call for a taxi
for me. I would always ask them to tell me what the fare should be. On the first occasion,
the woman at the hotel reception desk asked if I wanted her to order the taxi only after she
told me the fare, and I told her she could order the taxi and just let me know the fare. The
fare was generally 70-80 grivna, but occasionally there would be a driver with a nicer car
that would charge 125 grivna. On my trip to the steak house, I did not ask the desk to let
me know the fare and it was 165 grivna. I thought this was excessive, but he had a fairly
new car with working air conditioner. On the other hand, it is hard to get upset about a
taxi fare for less than $10. When I would return home late from the night club, the taxis
would quote a rate of 200 grivna even though it was less than 100 grivna to get there. The
first time, I negotiated to 150 grivna and the second time 180 grivna. I usually do not tip
the taxi when I think that they are trying to take advantage of the situation. The late night
taxis would usually ask if I was looking for a woman for sex or massage. The only time that
I felt that I was cheated by a taxi driver in Ukraine or Russia was in Kiev. I almost always
ask the price of the taxi before I get into the car except in the previous incident. The driver
said the price is by the meter. Of course he drove all over Kiev and pretended to get lost
before arriving at my hotel. The lady at the hotel said that I should have given him the
reasonable fare and just let him call the police if he had any problems. In both Odessa and
St. Petersburg, it was almost double the fare if the hotel called a taxi. The cars would be
nicer, but so far I have not had a taxi breakdown when I was in it. When I asked the hotel
in St. Petersburg to call me a taxi, I was surprised when she told me the fare. The fare was
about half because none of the nicer taxis were available.
I had my last meeting with the very nice woman who was the first that I met on this trip.
When we meet, the interpreter asks her to speak English and I am supposed to speak
Russian with her assistance. Her English is much better than my Russian. We have a
nice late lunch on the patio of the golf club. The weather is perfect. At the next table
is someone speaking English. He notes that I speak English and says hello. He is from
Nova Scotia. I have been to the area where he lives and I tell him that I used to go to
Halifax every September for a number of years. He is having lunch with a Ukrainian
woman and her interpreter as well. When I met this woman the first time, I gave her
some coffee flavored macadamian nut shortbread cookies dipped in white chocolate and
some milk chocolate and caramel dipped macadamian nut shortbread cookies. She told
me that she would try the cookies in 2 weeks as she would be on a diet for 2 weeks.
She tells me that she broke her diet and tried the cookies and enjoyed them very much,
especially the coffee flavored cookies. On this occasion, I gave her a coffee press since
she said that she liked coffee and a fragrance by Trussardi called "Delicate Rose." I
realize that giving a fragrance to a women is fraught with hazards. I did not tell the
woman that the fragrance was the favorite of a previous FSUW that I met in Kharkov,
but I like the fragrance as well. She seemed to like it or pretend to like it. I asked
my interpreter to give this woman my email if she would like to continue our communication.
Since this was my last meeting, I gave my interpreter a "Kiev cake" from the Roshen store.
She told me this was her favorite cake. She also told me that she liked cheesecake and I
told her that I would send her a good recipe for cheesecake. She was not sure whether
graham crackers were available in Ukraine. Philadelphia cream cheese was available in
the grocery store, but it seemed much more expensive in Kharkov. I usually get six 8 oz
blocks of Philadelphia cream cheese for $11 at BJ's. In the grocery store in Kharkov, a
175 g or 6.4 oz container was about $3.50.
I will be taking the bus to Boryspil tomorrow morning and staying at the Korona Hotel the
day before my flight home. The people at the Korona Hotel were very nice on my previous
trip and I do not expect anything eventful on the remainder of this trip. I do remember
that the internet at the hotel was very limited. The price of the hotel included pick up at
the airport and a ride to the airport. I had a very early flight on my last trip and one of the
staff was up at 0400 to make breakfast for me and someone else took me to the airport.
The internet at the Duke Hotel in Odessa and the Superior Golf Club and Spa were generally
good. I have missed CNBC when I have been in Ukraine, but I subscribed to CNBC Pro and
I am able to stream CNBC from the U. S., Europe, and Asia if I have a good internet connection.
This trip turned out to be better than most. I think that I need to bring less clothes. I brought
2 computers, but one was unnecessary since I found that the server that allows me to perform
work would not respond. I wonder if this is increased security and access from foreign sources
are blocked. I brought chargers for my computers, iPhone, iPod, and watch as well as adapters
for European outlets. I finally remembered to bring the Charmin on this trip. The toilet paper
here has the surface similar to paper towels. I have studied Russian using Rosetta Stone,
Pimsleur, and Innovative languages courses. I am reading for the second time, "The New Penguin
Russian Course" by Nicholas J. Brown and I am picking up more the second time through. I was
given compliments for my Russian, but I know that they are being gracious. I think that if you
know more than a few words and speak a few sentences, they try to be encouraging. I think
that Pimsleur is the most efficient for language development. I completed the 3 part Russian
Rosetta Stone and I felt that is was very overrated. I have the 5 part version, but I have not
completed it. I like the Innovative languages course because it has lessons which include Russian
history, writers, artists, composers, movies, and customs. Most of the women that I meet seem
to appreciate that I have made the effort to learn the language and culture of Russia. They are
surprised that I can prepare Ukrainian/Russian dishes even though my shashlik needs work. I
get the impression that life in Ukraine is difficult for most of the people, especially the elderly.
If I find the right woman, I would consider residing in Ukraine at some point, but if we have any
children, I think that it would be best to be born in the U. S. The interpreters tell me that I
could live very well here on my expected retirement. My only concern would be the quality of
healthcare and education for my children. Most of the women that I have met do not seem very
interested in staying in Ukraine.
