Travel to Kiev and Day 1 BOTG (Boots On The Ground)

[FredC]

Dnied,

I think that your post has been both eloquent and articulate. Anyone that writes about their experiences with such heart and soul, can do no less.IMO

[AugustD]

I really enjoyed your trip report Dale.  Thank you.  I will be interested to read if either of these women evolve into anything more for you.  Also I wonder if your upcoming correspondence with them will compel you to return if you will return to meet more people.  Thanks again.

[2tallbill]

Dnied,

Great Trip Report Dude.

The main thing about writing is being yourself. If you tried to be more elequant or different than yourself it would have showed in your posts.

As a result of being yourself, you have made a much better trip report. The report was about you, your impressions, experiences
and things that interested you. This is what made the trip report more interesting.

If I could only recommend one thing (for T/Rs) is to put paragraphs or spaces in your posts even when they would not qualify from a grammar or thought point of view. It helps making the posts easier to read. An empty line every 4 or 5 lines even when you are continuing a thought make it easier to read.

Again, I want to say Good job!!!

Bill

[Gator]

Dale,

Add me to the list of people who enjoyed your T/R. 

I suggest that you discuss each of the three UW with someone who has dated several UW and is now married to one.   

My guess is that none of the three is worth pursuing.  You are lukewarm to two of them.  We say “You will know when a RW likes you.”  It is also true that “You will know when you like a RW.”  Frequently there are too many that a man likes and he has trouble deciding among them.

Based on what you wrote, the only woman who is a possibility is Lady O.  Big problem – she does not speak English.  Little problem - you only spent a few hours with her, and you are smitten.

Yes, she is demonstrative.  I have been there with a real thoroughbred, having true ethereal beauty and the personality of a gameshow emcee.  Time with them is fascinating, and “stunning” as you say, especially when they are screaming streams of Russian in the throes of passion.  Nevertheless, recognize that you will not have a serious conversation in the next year or two.   You seem too cerebral for this to work. 

If you are keen on Lady O, I have one suggestion.  Send her some money for English lessons.  You give the money, she does the hard work.  If her English progresses rapidly, you have a fighting chance.  Not only does it show that she has the ability to learn a language, she is so interested that she is making time in her tight schedule typical for UW.

[Mod5]

As Dan stated earlier, we will not allow this trip report to get derailed. For those that wish to continue arguing over points of historical accuracy contained within the opinions expressed in this thread, go here and argue all you like. Next person to bring up those arguments here in this thread will be placed in moderated status.

Consider this a formal warning.

[dneid]

Hey, All,
Forgive the response Mod5... just had to reply to Sebero.... Yes, Sebero, I did read to learn about the history of Ukraine and Russia and the USSR.  I read a tremendous amount in fact.  Now, I do not know if you were being flippant or serious and I will give you the benefit of the doubt for now.  The purges of the Stalin era are now very well documented.  Untold millions died as a result of these purges.  If you want, I will track down my sources and send them to you.  This was a very dark period of time for the people of the USSR.

[Ulysses]

Great read Dale,
     I'm putting the final touches on my 1st trip.....arrive in KIEV May 24th......and as a close neighbor from Tennessee....appreciate your notes very much.   Just would like to contact Pavel and enlist his aid on the upcoming
visit.......Thanks.....U

[dneid]

Hey, All,
Ok, life is right again.  Just finished a great Texas BBQ beef sandwich, and big helping of jalapeno cornbread, and a big bowl of pinto beans.... burp, I can now think clearly.

To all of you who have posted to my TR, thank you for your time and feedback (yeap, even Sebero).  I appreciate all the feedback about everything.  I am already counting the weeks to my next trip.  If work allows, I am hoping to go back to Nikolaev at the end of summer.  Maybe add a detour through Dnepr as well.

One adventure I did not post was the couple of hours of jamming with a couple of guys with guitars in Sovietska Street in Nikolaev (btw, please correct the spelling for me).  One afternoon I was walking along Sovietska just enjoying the walk when I hear someone playing an acoustic guitar.  Well, I did not bring mine with me (I was not going to check a Martin as luggage) and I was kinda of missing just fooling around with my guitar.  So, I walk over and kinda hang back and listen for a while.  This guy was good.  So, the crowd begins to thin and move up and sit on the bench.  After a few minutes we strike up a halting conversation.... finally, I ask if I could play his guitar for a few minutes.  Nikolay says of course.  So, I spend a few minutes just loosening up these old knuckles and I just start fooling around with a very basic blues progression in A (I, IV, V - the musicians here will know what I mean) with a couple of quick change turn arounds I have been fooling around with.

Well, Nikolay gets it through my thick head that is going to run around the corner and get his second guitar.  He returns with his Mexican Strat and a battery powered amp and we just start having a ball fooling around with blues in A.  We passed guitars back and forth and just had so much fun.  I learned some interesting ideas from Nikolay.

He said he learned some from me as well.  He told (at least I think this is what he was saying) that he learned more about blues from me and the timing and bending into a neat turnaround.

Ahh, music is an international language.  Next time, I just may pack my cheaper 12 string Martin and take it with me.  Who knows maybe Nikolay and I can earn a few more UAH playing on Sovietska Street.

Nikolays' friend was just starting to learn and he sat back and watched us and followed along.  He kept apologizing for interrupting to ask questions, but that was no problem.  That half the reason to sit with better players than you.

All in all, it was fun time and man, my hands missed the neck.  I definitely need to bring either a cheap strat or my 12 string next time.

(Hey, Bill, is the kinda what you meant with the line breaks?)

[2tallbill]

Yes Exactly 

[SANDRO43]

a very basic blues progression in A (I, IV, V - the musicians here will know what I mean)

A-D-E ?

[dneid]

Hey, Sandro,
I figured you would chime with the musician's feedback.  And yes, it was A, D, and E.  I am fooling around with a quick change using F#minor and a couple of fills.  I like throwing in a trill using A7 and finger picking using the high E string whilst strumming an A7.  Sometimes I stay with all 7th chords (A7, D7, and E7 in open fingering as that sounds so good on an acoustic).   I threw in a Gsus4 once that sounded right, I just can not remember where in the progression I threw it in.  Any ideas on your part?

Once Nikolay figured out what I was doing and the timing (simple 12 bar blues with the quickchange and fills worked in), we traded guitars and I started fooling around with some solo stuff using the old CAGED system of scales and connecting different "keys" together.  Took me awhile to get in the groove (not you, groovlstck), but I finally got these old fingers working and we were able to lay down some fun stuff. Nikolay and I took turns throwing solos back and forth and we began to really get in sync.  His friend finally got the basic rythm going and then we began to really have fun.  I think I made a blues fan out of a couple guys there.

Lord, how I love it when things just come together with a couple of guitarists.  We wound up attracting a nice little crowd to listen and they actually threw a few UAH in the case.  Afterwards, Nikolay insisted on us using the UAH to get a couple of pivas.  It was a lot of fun.

I do this quite a bit here in Austin at the local Starbucks.  In the spring and summer anywhere from 3 to 10 guys will hang out on the porch on Friday night  and just throws ideas around.  There are nights when we all get in the same groove and just play our brains out.  We usually attract a crowd of regulars who enjoy listening to is torture a song.

[SANDRO43]

Sometimes I stay with all 7th chords (A7, D7, and E7 in open fingering as that sounds so good on an acoustic). I threw in a Gsus4 once that sounded right, I just can not remember where in the progression I threw it in.  Any ideas on your part?

I'd say A7-D7-Gsus4-E7, but I'm not a blues specialist .

[START2]

Dale,
   I was worried for awhile but you seem to have figured a few things out . Well maybe. I imagine there's alot of reflection happening right now. You did find the flavor of Ukr. It offers more when you take the time  taste it. It's nice to see that you are not a desperate man and feel the need to get hitched just because you were there. You now have a connection that never strays to far from your thoughts.
   Knowing that, do you feel that you'd want an FSU woman to fit into your lifestyle?
   Did you ever get on the Metro?    Welcome home.

[dneid]

Hey, Darryl,
Yes, quite a bit a reflection is going on now.  I so enjoyed the trip and the experiences I had.  The people are wonderful.

You asked, now that I am back and have experienced the women if I am still interested in a lady from the FSU.  Well, my answer to that is absolutely.  I found the women to be charming, feminine, strong willed, intelligent, and they seem to be devoted to their families much more so than a typical AW.  Now, the question remains is how to I go about finding her?

I purposely put my heart in neutral while I was there.  I tried to let my head (the big one) do most of the driving.  I looked at this trip as a learning experience.  A chance to get a feel for everything about going there.  All the logistics of travel, getting a flat, the train, everything.  I now have a level of comfort in going back.  These things will not be new and will become fairly routine.  I wanted to learn about the "dance" of those first meetings.  To learn to let myself be myself.  I wanted to learn the "mechanics" of these meetings.  As I suspected, they were quite comfortable and easy.  I found that I could let myself be myself and the ladies I did meet seemed to like me being me.  Yes, I used humor to make people feel comfortable (you should have seen Lady A's terp trying to explain the longhorn mating story.... that was priceless).

I have met two very charming ladies and I will follow up with them via e-mails and skype chats.  Lady O in Nikolaev is so much fun to talk with.  She does not speak very good English, but she writes it ok.  She has a great sense of humor and she is already asking when she can expect to see me again.  I think I will head back in late summer of early fall for a week to 10 days.

Metro?  yes, finally made it into one.  However, I tried to take a picture and the policia got a little excited and told to turn my camera off.  Too bad as they are amazing.  I do need to post a few of my pictures soon.  Need to finish running them through Apples's Aperture and I need to learn Aperture.

So, Darryl, this was a much longer answer than it needed to be.  Do I want an FSU women in my life?  YEAP!!!!!  You can keep these AW..... I'll PM you with a couple of stories about some women here since I have been back.