If the third time is the charm, will my ninth trip be exponentially better?

[stoichman]

If the third time is the charm, will my ninth trip be exponentially better?

 

I am getting ready for trip number nine.  I will begin in Zaporozhye for 10 days and then I will go the nomad route.  I leave June 6 and will stay in Ukraine until July 17. 

 

What got me to nine trips?  Here is the condensed version.

Trip One.  July 2001.

I went with AFA to Yalta with the first tour there ever. I made the mistake of dating
only one lady, Anna, for the entire trip. However Anna was my pre-trip number one choice and a "page one" girl for AFA.  A "page one" girl is one of the ladies that they have a little photo of in the border of the webpage, where if you click on it you are taken directly to the girls' profile page.  Many of the agency websites have this feature.  So I felt lucky. I decided to do a return trip ASAP to see if I wanted to do a visa for her.  She spoke very little English so her sister did the interpreting.  Trip length 12 days, and the cost $4000.

Trip Two.  August 2001.

I went back to see only Anna.  Stayed in Sevastopol and used the Hotel Yard, only one there with AC.  Anna's Mom had me over for dinner to their flat and I also met Grandma on this trip.  Mom never asked me for anything and paid for all of Anna's paperwork.  The most surprising part of this trip was Mom dropping us off at the hotel and leaving without her daughter.  Freaked me out at the time.  Trip length 2 weeks. Cost $2000.

I did a K1 visa for Anna.  I was with her in Warsaw when she got the visa in March 2002.  She never used it, even though I had her plane ticket in my hand and she had her bags packed ready to go. Anna was supposed to leave with me on the plane back to America.  She got cold feet. Cried on the phone to Mom.  I explained to her the plane ticket would go to waste and it was expensive.  Her response, "but you are American, you are rich."  Anna went back to Ukraine from Warsaw, but did not return directly home.  I guess her Mom was a little upset with her.  She went to stay with Grandma.  Anna is no longer looking for a husband outside of Ukraine.  She is not on any agency site.  Lesson learned = girl should speak some English, take your time, date more than one girl.

Trip Three.  July 2002.

Did the Yalta tour again, with AFA. Dated 3 ladies. The trip was to be only 12 days.  I stayed 5 weeks. I recruited ladies for AFA off the beaches of Yalta, not a bad summer job. I met Lena and decided to see her again in October. One again I felt very lucky to be with Lena since she was another "page one" girl for AFA.  Lena was also my pre-trip number one choice this time around.  I saw Anna's sister on this trip.  She dated one of my American friends that I kept in contact with from trip one.  She would not tell me why Anna decided to stay in Ukraine.  Family secrets are very strong in Ukraine.  Cost $5000

Trip Four.  October 2002. Went back to see Lena and did paperwork for visa. I stayed in Sevastopol again. Stayed 10 days.  Cost $2000.

Lena came to America, stayed 2 months. This was in January of 2003.  She was homesick and afraid of the war with Iraq. She also stated she did not want to stay the whole 3 months so that I would not think she was using me.  When she asked to go home, I did not fight it.  I went the next day to buy her a ticket, and she was gone the following day.  Lena hated American food, people, discos, and she really hated staying home all day.  I got her English lessons that she could go to all day, but she hated those too.  The only things she seemed to like were the Florida beach, weather, and me.  At the time I was a little confused as to why she was intimate right up to the hour she left for the airport.  When she left America she over-nighted in Warsaw, called me on the phone and asked, "Why did you not ask/tell me to stay??"  I guess this is what they call the "packed bags test."  Well Lena decided to stay in Ukraine.  She is not to be found on any agency site now.  I stayed in contact with her until I told her I was planning another trip to Ukraine, but it was to Odessa.  I did not hear from her after that.  Lesson learned= Make sure you have free time for the lady when she arrives in America.

Trip Five.  July 2003.

Decided to go non-tour and non-social. Went to Odessa for one month. Stayed with an agency called Adam and Eva in their flat. Used Adam and Eva, Athena, and Ukrainebride.net for meetings with ladies. I met 10 girls. Dated four of them more than once. No visa this time. But I love Odessa. My number one choice pre-trip lady had a mother that did not approve of my previous marriages (both to the same lady) and previous K1visas. She listened to Mom on all matters, so she was not to be serious with me.  I spent a week with her, and then the rest of the trip was no so productive, but fun.  The girl I spent the last two weeks with on this trip, later moved to Moscow.  We continued to write after the trip.  I asked her if she joined an agency there.  She said, "No, there is no need since I now have a great job.  Food for thought.  Cost $3750.

Trip Six.  April 2004.

I did 10 days in Kherson. I used Khersongirls for the flat. I used Khersongirls, Athena, and Eleo agencies for meetings with ladies. I meet 12 girls. Dated four ladies more than once. I thought I would see all 4 of these girls again in the summer of 2004.  I was wrong.  Cost $2500.

Trip Seven.  Summer 2004

I did a trip report for this one, here it is.

http://russianwomendiscussion.com/view_topic.php?id=442&forum_id=6

40 days in Odessa and Kherson. Some of you might have read it already.

Trip Eight. December 2004

Not worth a trip report. I spent 12 days in Kherson over New Years Eve 2005. It all went downhill from the moment Luftstansa lost my bag. I had no clothes and had to buy new ones there. I now have a full collection of Russian sweaters I will most likely never wear again.  I spent most of my time with I2 from trip seven, but I decided not to do a visa for her. I met a few new girls but nothing developed. I received a "lecture" on the finer points of love and dating from the office manager since I was not willing to commit to I2 and she was ready to do so. Basically the staff wanted me to be with her, really liked her, and I was ?#@$%? for not marrying her. Also one of the new girls I met on this trip asked me for money straight out even though she spoke like zero English. Some how she magically knew how to do that. She used a phrase book and electronic translator for the tuff words, but she sure knew the word for money in English.  Long story short, not going back to Kherson again.

Now we are in present time so this is trip nine. I got into it really late in the game for me. Actually I am surprised I am even going back. I finally decided in April to go back again. I will be there for about 40 days again. I decided I needed to do something new.

So what is new this time for me? Well first of all the cities. I am going to Dnepropetrovsk and Zaporozhye. I will start out in Zaporozhye for ten days. Then the plan is to go to Dnepropetrovsk for 10 days to meet up with some other American guys from some of my previous trips. Both of these cities are new for me.

Secondly, I have never tired the nomad way.  So I will not feel "stuck" in a city and unable to leave.  I have paid for the flat in Zaporozhye, but for the flat in Dnepropetrovsk I have only paid for the deposit in case I decide to stay in Zaporozhye, or go somewhere else. So only the first ten days are planned. The remaining 30 days are up in the air. 

I am thinking about going back to Crimea since I have not been there since 2002, and I may look up Lena (visa #2) while I am there.  Also Odessa is never out of the question.  Especially if the trip goes sour, Odessa is the place to go to liven things up.

I leave for Ukraine on June 6. I am leaving Ukraine on July 17.  Then I will do a 15 day tour of Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungry, and Austria.  I will be gone from America for a total of 55 days. 

The prep was like this.
1) Airline ticket- I bought all one-way tickets.  The Fort Lauderdale- Kiev and Vienna-Fort Lauderdale tickets I purchased on Orbitz for $1147.  The Kiev-Athens ticket I bought at the Aerosvit website for $290. I wanted these ahead of time. The only domestic ticket I bought was a one-way ticket, Kiev-Dnepropetrovsk for $80 on Aerosvit. The rest of the domestic tickets I will buy over there once I know where I am going, plus it will be cheaper.

2) Visa- Did a double entry, cost $170, company Scopetravel. No invitation needed, they do it all. I used them before, highly recommended.

3) Zaporozhye flat- 10 nights cost $600 with Athena.

4) Writing ladies- Normally I do not write any. I feel it is a waste of time. This is only my opinion. I think most of the scamming happens in the letter writing. And only about 10% of the men that write actually make the trip, and the ladies know this.  Getting over here shows you are serious. However, I want to make sure I have some ladies to meet before I get over there. So I am writing 2 ladies in Zaporozhye right now.  Just to make sure I have some meetings ready.

I will use Athena and Cindy Agency while in Zaporozhye.  In Dnepropetrovsk, if I make it there, I will use Cindy Agency.

 

So this will be my 5^th summer in a row in the Ukraine.  I'll keep in touch.

Scott

[BC]

Scott,

If I were single I would envy you

Looks like a lot of good 'lessons learned'. Read a couple of your TR's before so the summary here was nice.

Sounds like an exciting trip ahead.

Forget about the women.. just go and enjoy! (most good things seem to happen when you least expect them)

[Goombah]

Scott -

Too late to do anything about it, but I wondered why you don't have a 5-year multi-entry Visa?  Mine cost $160 and I got it the first time I went...

Kevin

[stoichman]

I thought the multi entry was only for business.  Is this true?

[Goombah]

Nope.  I have a 5 year multi-entry private tourist visa for Ukraine.  Basically followed the Rob Thomas instructions, did it myself, and had the Visa in 13 calendar days.  Believe it was $180 including all postage and express mail envelops.

Kevin

[Donna_Pedro]

May be you need to take a different approach as the one you are using does not seem to work...Ukrain should love you like a son now - you managed to spend  such a sum of money there!  I am supposed to be a spoilt moskvichka, but my husband only spent $2000 for 2 trips to Moscow, which is far more expensive then any city in Ukrain. May be you should try writing.. or even talking on the phone, for a change. It can be fun. And saves a lot of time and money. Meeting ONLY those girls who speak good english can be a good help. Also, not going to places like Zhopa-rozhie :cool:. Another thing - looks like you attracted to a certain type of women - very imature onese - one freaks out not wanting to leave Ukrain at the last minute (what did she think before?)  another one listens to her mother, like she has no  mind of her own... the third one does not know what she needs more - a job or a husband. think about it,

WOW!!! 12 days in Yalta and $5000 spent... boy, why dont you  better donate money for  children-victims of AIDS or something, you apparently you have too much money and free time.

Lena hated American food, people...

--she is not the only one. :cool:

[jb]

Momichka, Donna,,,,

Please be gentle here...

[Donna_Pedro]

OK, [user=291]stoichman[/user], disregard my previous post, let me re-write it...

Lets start from a simple example. If you are cooking a soup and it turns out to be bad every time you use a certain recipe, you can think that may be if you cook it one more time the same way you always did, it will turn out OK, but may be its time to change the recipe? I can see that you are not going to Ukrain simply to have fun, but you are really determined to find a wife (you keep filing the K-1). May be you are rich, and all those thousands of dollars do not hurt your budget, but I doubt you enjoy throwing money away for nothing. You can actually both have fun and complete the purpose of your trip - find yourself a good woman to marry.  Its a natural thing, that men are often stuck on a certain type of women they like. But the way you describe your women, it looks like you are stuck on imature type, on women that do not know what they want.  Considering all the above, you might want to make some changes to your approach. If even you dont like  writing letters and pre-trip communications, may be you can consider them if it increases your chances? I wish you all the best in your trip and if you need help - let me know.

[Bruno]

[user=115]Donna_Pedro[/user] wrote:

Lets start from a simple example. If you are cooking a soup and it turns out to be bad every time you use a certain recipe, you can think that may be if you cook it one more time the same way you always did, it will turn out OK, but may be its time to change the recipe?

Little detail, several time, a recipe is good and used with success by other before... if the cook cannot use these recipe, he need change of recipe like Donna say... of he need learn cooking...

 

[Leslie]

Scott,

I am looking forward to reading your trip report.  Like BC I envy you being single.  The Krym in summer, girls parading down the "ribo" in Odessa :cool:

Donna it is too late to write.  Scott is already on his way. 

You know I think there is a large element of luck in finding someone special.  It is tumbling dice.  However Donna has a point when she says -

"Its a natural thing, that men are often stuck on a certain type of women they like. "

I know I was.  On the trip where I found my wife I did something different.  I did not choose my dates from the agency catalog.  I posted profile at the agency and let the ladies choose to see me!  Mostly this was a waste of time but there was one woman who I would never have chosen to date. Not my type.  Bit too young.  Spoke no English.  Too high class and educated.  She is now my wife!!

If you get to Dnepr give my regards to Anna and Andrei who run Cindy agency.  Several guys I know married Dnepr girls. Any ways Good Luck. 

 

[stoichman]

Donna wrote:

WOW!!! 12 days in Yalta and $5000 spent... boy, why dont you  better donate money for  children-victims of AIDS or something, you apparently you have too much money and free time.

Donna-

My post said:

The trip was to be only 12 days.  I stayed 5 weeks

so that is why it cost $5000.  I agree with much of what you say otherwise.

I am trying to change it up, and all the ladies I will meet on this trip will be a bit older.  I am off to catch a plane.  I will check in later.

Scott[/size][/font]

[stoichman]

June 6

Well I am all packed and on my way to the airport.  I take my friend out for breakfast, since he is doing the friend thing and taking me to the aiport.  I arrive 3 hours before my flight.  The lady checking me in at Continental suggests that since I am so early I should hop on the next flight, which leaves in 30 minutes.  I was surprised at how short the lines are, but I ask her if I will mkae it to the flight.  I still have to make it through all of the security.  She says that she will make sure I do.  I aks her if any emergency exit row seats are avaiulable on it.  She says no.  I aks her if there are any available on the later flight I am supposed to take, and she says yes.  I tell her I will stay on my original flight.  I do not like my knees under my chin for hours.  I say goodbye to my bag, and hope I will see it again.  I made two trips over Christams.  One to Kherson and one to Chicago to see my family.  Both bags were lost and only one of them was ever found.

I am supposed to fly to Newark, then Warsaw, then Kiev, then Dnep. 

I get my boarding pass and head down to security.  And I hear someone calling my name.  It is the lady that checked me in.  She has just heard that all flights to Newark are beginning to get delayed due to thunderstorms.  She wants to book me on the early flight in hopes that I get out of here.  So I follow her back upstairs and I get another boarding pass.  I now start to worry even more about my bag since it will now have to be retagged, but she promised to take care it herself.  I thank this lady, many times.  She did not have to come all the way to security, find me, and rebook me.

Well sure enough even the early flight is delayed.  Only about an hour.  But then some guy named "Bush" was in Fort Lauderdale today and he does not like anyone else to fly when he does, so we were delayed even more.  But because I was put on the earlier flight, I get to Newark with plenty of time. 

I have to check in again here.  I go to the Lot Polish check in and I discover that my next flight is delayed.  The plane is late coming from Poland and is supposed to turn around and go back.  I explain to her I will miss my next flight to Kiev.  She says no problem, they have already rebooked me but I will have to check in there.  OK.  So now I have like 5 hours to kill in the Newark airport.  I worry about my bag again.  It has to be retagged for the second time.

I walk by a guy talking on a pay phone.  He states. "I fly all over the world, and they manage to lose my bag on an 2 day trip.  This has never happen..."  Oh boy, I already have a winter collection of Russian clothes due to one lost bag, I do not want a summer series too.

I now think about my Kiev-Dnep ticket.  I will most likely miss that flight too.  I find a pay phone and call the New York phone number for Aerosvit.  The guy there tells me that there is a flight at 7:30pm which is the last one for the day.  I will not have to pay to change tickets, but I will have to go to the ticket counter. 

If I get on the flight the Lot Polish check in girl told me about I will get to Kiev at 6pm.  Which gives me 1.5 hours to get my bag, clear customs, change my ticket at the Aerosvit counter, and run to the domestic Terminal A, which requires you to walk outside.  And this means you have to avoid the local taxi union which is very strongly represented at the Kiev airport.  Visions of OJ Simpson in the Hertz rental car commercial from my youth spring into my mind.

Now I realize that I have Athena agency meeting me at the Dnep. airport for the wrong flight.  There are no Internet cafes in this airport.  I guess it is due to the 9-11 incident.  So I go to the pay phone again.  I have a friend back home send an email to Athena telling them I will be on the later flight.

I kill the time in the aiport watching DVDs on my portable player.  The best Christmas present I got ever.

So my Newark-Warsaw flight was to be 1.5 hours late, and they pushed it back even more.  And once we were in the plane it was delayed more due to some electronic problems.  Even the safety video would cut in and out on the screen.  They had to start it 4 times.  I thought for sure they would make us get off the plane.  But about 2.5 hours after the scheduled departure we were in the air.

I am in one of the tiny rows next to the flight attendants station.  Only two seats.  I was seated next to a little guy, about 8 years old, and he had a button on that said "UM".  I look around and I am surrounded by them.  So this is where Lot Polish sends the single flyers.  To the unaccompanied minor section.

He begins to play with a nice collection of hot wheels.  And we wait for dinner.  He speaks only Polish to the flight attendant.  I am not sure if he speaks English.

After dinner they start to play cartoons, but my little friend can not see them.  He is in the window seat and there is only one screen way up in front.  Now I was going to watch a movie called "The Grudge" but due to my current company I decided to watch Walt Disneys "Beauty and the Beast".  I popped the DVD in and turn the screen his way.  His face lit up, he smilled, and I had a new best buddy.

After the movie he talked a lot in English.  He was fluent in both Polish and English.  We talked about all kinds of man stuff that dudes talk about.  Like how the clouds look like cotton candy and how it is better to play video games in America than Poland because the Internet is better.  The science teacher in me came out and I tried to explain why clouds look like cotton candy and he did not care too much for this.  He just restated, "Yep, cotton candy.  Look."  And pointed out the window. 

I suggested we try to sleep.  Only two hours left in the flight.  He said that his Mom told him to sleep as much as he could.  He is on his way to stay with Dad for the summer in Poland.  So I close my eyes, try to sleep.................. 

[anono]

Lena hated American food, people...

--she is not the only one. :cool:

thanks donna, real nice... most of the food sucks but not all americans do...but the way you generally treat the men here, we know you hate american men...especially those going to the FSU. your purpose here is only to take out your hatred. one reason i rarely pay any attention to you.

you think you are somehow superior to everyone else, with no basis to think so.

good luck scott, i sent you a PM with my number...

[stoichman]

June 7

I wake up to another meal being served, so I only slept like one hour.  My partner slept throught the meal.  We got to Warsaw with no problem but very late.  I said goodbye to my Polish buddy and told him to have a good summer.

I went straight to International Transfers and heard the dreaded word.  Not "late or delayed" or even the worst of all, "cancelled".  But an adjective they assign to a person, "stand by".  I tried to explain that the lady in Newark told me I was already reassigned to the later flight for Warsaw-Kiev.  But this check in lady said they did not hear of this.  And I was not the only one, there were like 8 of us.  So they gave me a free meal ticket for a cafe around the corner in the terminal and told me to come back 1.5 hours before the flight. 

I went and had the meal.  I also charged my Ukraine cell phone while I ate.  I found an outlet near my table.  I watched another DVD and came back at 2pm like they told me.  She smiled and handed me the boarding pass.  It was a different airline, it was either Ukraine International or Aerosvit.  But I was on my way, that is all I cared about.  But in the back of my mind I was thinking, my bag had to be retagged again. 

Even this flight was late.  Amazing isn't it?  So by the time I got to Kiev I only had one hour to do passport control, get my bag, clear customs, trade in my ticket, walk to Terminal A, and check in.

So I get through passport control, very short lines.  I fill in my customs declarations, and go to look for my bag.  It is there.  I am so happy!!!!!  No more Russian clothes to buy.

Customs is also a breeze, no lines at all.  I walk out of customs and begin saying, "Nyet spasiba, Ya ne hachow taxe."  (No thank you, I do not want a taxi.")  To every taxi driver I see. 

I quickly find the Aerosvit ticket counter and she gives me a standby ticket for the flight I need.  She says it is full.  Great, I may be stuck in Kiev without a room for the night. 

So I pull out my Ukraine cell phone and turn it on and it said.  "Sim not registered"  Well isn't this great?  No room, no cell phone.  I walk by a "sim Sim" place in the terminal, which isn't hard to do.  Sim Sim in Ukraine is like Starbucks in America, they are everywhere. 

I aksed the lady.  "Vu gavarite panglisky?"  (Do you speak English?)She shakes her head.  I show her the phone.  She explains I need a new sim card, I guess they last only one year.  I buy one for like $10 and also some credits for the phone, about $5.  It helps to know some Russian and this was possible since I knew the Russian words for: card, credit, minutes, and a few others.  But the phone language was back in Russian and she did not know how to change it to English.  I would work on this later.

I walk outside and avoid more taxi drivers.  I walk to the other terminal.  Once I get there I see that it is updated.  Different than it was in January.  It has a few more stores inside and it is much more open with more space.  I walk up to the check in and give her my ticket.  And I got on, cool.  I check in my one bag and off I go to the gate.

Waiting for the flight I get out my electronic translator and look up "language" and look through the menus on my cell phone and manage to find the word.  I change the phone to English. 

I find the phone number for Athena and call Irinia (office girl) since she gave me her cell phone number.  It took a few tries but she answerred and said she got my email and would meet me at Dnep. airport.

My seat, not the best.  I was in the middle between two Ukrainian guys that were huge.  The domestic seats here are so small and the trays are metal.  So my knees were crammed into metal bars the whole way.

I get to Dnep. after about 55 minutes.  The airport is small.  I was on one of their local airlines called "Dneparova" or something like that.  So once again a different flight and airline than the one I bought.

Irina was outside with a driver.  So off we go.  She is sweet and nice.  She asks a lot of questions.  We talk about my schedule and also about Cindy Agecny.  I tell her about the spam mail I got from them.  Irina says that she hears this alot from other men.  I tell her how I need to find a gym.  She says they will try.

We stop to buy me food for the flat.  Irina is laughing how I give my list in Russian, "Molokom, vada, yablaka...." (milk, water, apple...)  And then we go to my flat.

I have been in a number of flats.  In Sevastopol, Yalta, Kherson, Odessa, and still I saw something new this time.  It appears this person rents this flat out and if it is rented they move out.  All of the drawers and closets were taped shut.  I had access to the kitchen stuff and like one closet.  I never saw this one before.  In all the other flats it appeared they were rented out, and it not rented out they were empty.  So this person lives here, but moves out if rented.  There were baby photos on the walls and lots of personal items.  It looked like they took the computer out too.  There is an empty desk.  $60 a night but it is huge with 4 rooms.  Supply and demand is at work here.  I could only find 2 rooms for rent in Zap. and both belonged to Athena.  But no AC, I thought there was on the Internet ad, maybe I am wrong.

So lets recap Scott's travel.  I only flew on one of the four flights booked.  Two of four were reassignned to different airlines.  Only one of four was on time.  I was put on standby for two of four flights.  My bag was retagged 5 times and had a total of six tags on it.

So now it is like 11:30pm on June 7 and I left my house at 9am on June 6.  Minus the 7 hour difference and that makes....well who cares I am tired.  "Spakone noche"  (good night)         

 

[stoichman]

June 8

I wake up several times before I actually yank my but out of bed.  I peeked at the clock at 6am, 8:20am, around 10am.  But it is the sight of high noon that gets me up. 

I eat breakfast and call Athena Agency.  They tell me that someone will come to my flat and and show me the things I need.  Internet cafe, gym, and such.

I decide to get ready for a meeting, since I am to meet the girl from Cindy Agecny that I wrote and actually got real letters from.  She said we would meet tonight.  I need to check my email to see where and what time.

So I get ready to take a shower.  I have not unpacked anything yet.  I soon discover the one item (I hope) that I forgot to pack, shaving cream.  Well we can't shave without it.  So I am off to discover a bit of Zaporozhye on my own. 

I get outside and it is nice enough.  First time I see it in daylight.  But what I read in the "Lonely Planet" guide about Zaporozhye is true.  The air is really bad.  There are so many factories here that the sky is almost always hazy and smoggy.  Kinda depressing.

I find a store and look for the shaving cream.  I see some for about $2, but then I spot the "sensitive face" kind and just grab it.  To my surprise it is close to $5.  OK, I will deal with it.  I can't remember it costing that much back home.

I run back to my flat and get right to the shaving.  But my $5 can of shaving cream is not cooperating.  Nothing is coming out.  Then I hear a snapping noise come from the can.  Yep, it broke.

The part you press broke off.  HHmmm... what to do?  I snap off the whole top and run to the kitchen.  I grab a fork.  Back to the bathroom I go.  The pointy end of the fork got shoved into the empty can nozzle hole.  Take that you over priced broken can.  Blue gel of the "sensitive face" shaving kind soon appeared.

I finished shaving and looked at the shower.  I kinda thought it looked weird last night when I saw it.  Where are the walls?  No shower curtain either?  What will stop the water from going everywhere?  I conquered the shaving cream, surely I can do this. 

I climb in slowly and find a nice shiny silver shower head attached to an equally shiny metal flexible cord.  OK.  I grab it and pull it up to my head.  But it is too short.  I know my head must be cleaned, and I do not trust my aim with this unfamiliar device.  So I do the only thing possible.  I take a shower sitting in the tub with well aimed streams of water coming from a shiny silver shower head attached to an equally shiny metal flexible cord.  It is never too late to experience new things.

I get dressed and wait outside for the office girl from Athena.  She is late, go figure.  Almost an hour.  When she arrives she introduces herself as Svetlana.  Her and Irina are the only two girls that work in this office. 

First she shows me where the internet office is.  It is on the main street called Lenin.  An original name here it appears.  My flat is one block off of this main strip.  There is an Irish Pub here too.  I saw them in Kherson and Odessa for sure.  Sevastopol may have had one too.

The internet cafe is like all others here.  Hot and full of dudes playing video games.  I discover this one is open 24-7.  Cool, no need to plan ahead. 

I check my email and get some bad news.  The girl from Cindy Agency will not meet me tonight as she said.  Tonight she is going to the beauty shop and is also busy tomorrow.  She wants to meet me June 10 at 6:30pm. 

OK, well so much for the great letters leading up to a meeting that takes place right away.  At least I only wasted one month writing.  I always say it is a waste, just skip the letter writing and get over here.  She says she is excited to see if we have chemistry.  Well my students call me the "chem daddy".  I got plenty of chemistry. 
:cool:

I explain the Cindy Agency dilema to Svetlana.  She says this is OK because the girl I wrote from her agecny, Athena, wants to meet tonight since she may go on a trip to the sea.  Awesome.  I write only two girls, one backs out on our scheduled meeting and the other may leave town while I am here.  Perfect!

Well I know where the internet is, where is the gym?  Svetlana has no idea.  She suggets we go back to the office and she will make some calls and I can find some other ladies to meet. 

OK, so we get a taxi.  The Athena office is far from my flat.  It is like a 15 minute drive.  Which is far the way these taxi drivers go.  We pull up to the office and Svetlana points across the street at a very scary building and laughs as she says, "Prison".  Location, location, location.......

The office is nice.  Two rooms.  Two computers.  Irina is there with a guy from Australia.  He went to Simferopol, is here for one more day, and is then off to Sevastopol.

Svetlana makes a few calls to find a gym and to confirm with the lady I have been writing to.  It turns out she wants to meet tomorrow instead.  She has no idea when she is leaving for the sea either.  No meetings today?????

I already asked to meet two other ladies from Athena before I left America via email.  One moved to another country and the other is on vacation. 

I do a search of their ladies in the office.  I pull up a few profiles. So lets see how I do now.  Irina calls a few.
#1 is married
#2 is seeing the Australian guy tonight
#3 is free for only 1 hour tonight

I have to laugh, what else can I do?

Svetlana and I leave to look at a gym she found somehow.  It turns out it is very old, but very cool.  It is an old style Soviet Union Olympic training site.  All the photos on the wall are really old and interesting.  It has an Olympic style banked indoor track, indoor shot put site, and other cool stuff.  Lots of pictures and posters of Arnold on the wall too.  There is a wrestling room next to the weight room too.  The weight room is very old, but it cost less than $5 for 6 days.  Cheaper than my shaving cream almost.

We go back to the office and Irina says that the Athena girl I have been writing will meet me tonight, cool.  I wrote her for a month and she replied to my first letter the very next day.  But then getting letters after that was like pulling teeth. Finally she admitted in her last letter that she does not like "long romance correspondance that leads to nothing at all."  So I must admit I am excited to meet someone that feels the same way I do about letter writing.  We will call her Buffy.

So she shows up about 45 minutes late (surprise!) and she looks just like her picture.  She has on fashion like ripped jeans and a "Mango" shirt.  Her shoes are a bit different, the heels are not so high.  Actually she looks very American.  But I am very attracted.  She speaks great English.

We take a taxi to a restaraunt called "Moshank" and it has a military motiff going and it is all air force stuff.  Planes all over the place from WWII.  The food is Ok.  I have grilled chicken, shashlik is what they call it here, and rice with veggies.  She had a salad and it came to about $20. 

I discover Buffy does not like sweets at all, even ice cream.  First girl here I know does not like it.  Her family is in Italy.  I am still working on figuring that one out, or at least the paperwork end of it.  She wants a career very bad.  Even if she has kids.  I manage to make her laugh quite a bit.  I also found out she did not want to join the agency at first.  She is a college friend of Svetlana and she eventually talked her into it.

She asks if I want to go to her friends house.  She just got back in town from Kiev and she is one of the girls she is going to the sea with.  I worried a bit about this.  Normally going to a girls house or even a friends on a first date is not a good idea.  But it feels OK, and she is a friend of the office worker, so I agree to go to Willows' flat.

We get a taxi and soon Buffy is on the phone with Willow.  She sees Willow pass in a car.  She tells Willow to pull over and we get in the car.  This is only the second girl I have met over here that has her own car and flat.

Willow is just as hot as Buffy and she is very funny.  Willow speaks great English too.  They ask me is I want wine.  I say OK, so she pulls over to a store. 

Buffy grabs for a $3 bottle of wine and Willow puts it back and grabs a $8 bottle, interesting.....

They also pick up some lunch meat and bread.  Willow says her frig is empty since she has been gone a week.  No problem.  So far it has been fun.

The flat is normal.  Two rooms, kitchen and bath.  We have wine and the snacks.  She had some funky cheese that has mold on it.  Very weird taste and even more so after I found out it was mold.  The wine was Georgian and very good.

We talk for like 3 hours and they showed me photo albums of their whole group of girl friends.  All very hot girls in these photos, and not a guy in sight.

I find out Willow went to Switzerland for 3 (or 5, can't recall) months to be with a guy she met through the agency.  She came back home unhappy.  She said that he became a different guy over there and left her alone a lot.  It was a tourist visa and not a K1.  Now she says that he writes and calls her often and wants to marry her.  She said it will not happen.

So I know that Buffys' friends mean very much to her.  It is very obvious to see this.

We leave Willow around midnight.  Buffy and I get a taxi.  We exchange phone numbers.  She wants to see me tomorrow.  She does not know what day she will leave for the sea.  I have no idea what the agency has scheduled for me.  I explain this to her, that I may have another meeting.  She asks me to call her when I know.

On the way home I strongly get the idea that meeting Willow tonight was to get the friends' approval.

I drop Buffy off first and get the old kiss on the check goodnight.  I am happy with this frist meeting and I know I want to see her again.  All elements seem to be there.  But there is a lot ot find out still too.       

I am in bed around 1am.
           

 

          

[anono]

hi scott, lenin street is supposed to be the longest in europe. the electric damn is also the first in europe, i think.

across the river is a cossack museum and a place they had an old fort. looks like a real small ring of dirt.

one night i was in zap and sicker than a dog. opened the window to get some "fresh air" had to shut it before the fumes killed me. on some days, when the wind is right, it is real nice in zap.

there is a small hotel on the other side of the river, just off the banks of the river. neet place to stay if you have a problem finding a flat.

see if one of the ladies with a car will take you to the other side of the river and go downstream. i had shaslik with svetlana and swam in the dneper. she told me there have never been any americans to this area.

you're lucky you had a shiny thing with water coming out, hot even...  some flats have a shower curtain, some don't. i always wondered the same thing but now i just shower and let the water spray where it will...

not sure if you will need A/C.. it isn't that warm lately. nights are nice and cool.  open your windows..wait, you're in zap!

about cindy agency.. they once sent me a "first letter" from a lady i met and had spent an evening with at my hotel room... this was after i met her.

i haven't used their agency the last two times i was in dneper. i do use them for a flat. also, nothing wrong from going to the agency and finding ladies they will call and arrange a meeting with that day or the next.

i have also encountered the same thing.  lady wrote to me, we plan to meet, i arrive in city and she is "in crimea". this same lady was in dominican republic the first time through. makes one wonder if these are not "bait" women and either they do not exist or they do not actually meet the men when they arrive. i may bring this up with the agency she "belongs" to...

this is one reason i do not do long letter writing..  i also write to only those who write to me..as did J, the lady i am with here in kharkov. if it is cindy agency, there is no way to know if the woman wrote or the agency did..hate to say this anna and andrew, but i report the facts, even if i like you.

[stoichman]

June 9

I wake up today around 10am and I decide to first run to the Internet cafe to write you guys.  The building it is in right on Lenin street and it is very much classic Russian style.  You have to go through six rooms and three iron gates just to get to it even though it is on the ground floor.  Everything looks like very nice marble tile and there are doors everywhere in the hallways.  Should be interesting to come here at night.

On the way back I call Athena and discover I will meet one of the ladies I picked yesterday.  I ask them to make it 7:30 pm so I will have time for the gym, since the gym does not open until 4pm today. 

So I call Buffy.  She is happy to hear from me, but not happy that I am busy.  I tell her I am meeting someone tonight.  She asks me to call her when I am done.  I can sense she is upset, but I do not want to make the mistake of not meeting other ladies.  I knew I would like Buffy, but it is too early to stop meeting others.

I get back to my flat and I am tired.  I am sure it is jet lag.  So I lay down and doze off.....

My cell phone rings.  It is Buffy.  She starts asking many questions.  All about my meeting tonight.  "Do you want to meet her?  Does she speak English?  Don't you want to see me?".  I lost count at about 5 questions and I had no idea which one to answer first.

So I remind her that the only reason I agreed to meet other girls is because she was so indecisive about when we would meet and so unsure about her trip to the sea.  I also told her it is too early to stop meeting girls, but I really want to see her again.

Buffy said she was sorry for acting silly and asked me to call her tonight when I am done.

I decide to call Cindy Agency since I am up, and I confirm my meeting for tomorrow.  It is still a go. 

So I try to nap again, but it is no use I get up and dress for the gym.  The walk to the gym took about 15 minutes and it is a bit overcast again.  While I am working out I check out the wrestling room again, which is next door.  There is no wall but iron gates, serving as walls, separating the two rooms.  And on the other side of the wrestling room is a basketball court.  Nothing but hard sharp iron gates between the rooms.

Now I find this a bit funny.  I was a wrestler in high school and coached on the high school level for 5 years.  In America we have mats on the walls in case the wrestlers run into them while competing.  There are too many lawyers in America that would love to hear about someones little boy wrestling at a certain government facility and they run into a bare hard concrete wall.  But in Ukraine they are not such wimps.  If they run into the wall here while wrestling they will run into a hard sharp iron gate that will cut you and remind you to stay in the middle of the mat where you will defeat your opponent.

I get home and get ready for my meeting.  When I am ready I call Athena and they order my taxi.  My taxi is late of course.  And he has no idea where the office is and the driver pulls out a map.  I show him the business card for Athena and still it is no help.  I felt like getting out my pocket translator and looking up the word for "prison" but I thought that would be inappropriate.

He figures it out and we are on our way.  The lady I am meeting is already there and we will call her Tara.

She speaks no English so Irina is going with us to interpret.  We go down to the river and eat at a cafe there.  It is a nice little set up and the sun is still out so I can see there are several cafes and beaches below them on the river.  The river side is very green and a nice sight to see.  But somehow the sky does not seem to match it since it is so hazy.  The cafe we ate at is called Sante Fe and the food was good.  I had pork baked with mushrooms and potatoes and Tara had a few drinks and a salad, Irina had only a drink.  It cost around $20 again.

I discover I am the first man she has met through the agency.  She works in a hospital with orphan kids that are sick.  She asks many questions of me.  Even about my divorce and such.  She is nice but no sparks here.  I am sure I will not see her again.  The date lasts about 3 hours.  Tara and Irina take a taxi home and I get my own.

Buffy asked me to call her after this meeting so I call her in the taxi.  It is a very bad connection and she trys to give me a different number to call her at.  I am in a taxi with no pen and trying to call anyone in Ukraine is a chore.

You see there are different ways to call.  You dial x numbers of digits if you are calling from a land line to a cell phone, but if you are calling from a cell phone to another cell phone it is y digits for the same number.  And then it is z digits for cell phone to land line.  Oh, yes, but don't forget about the city codes, especially if going to a different city and you want to call the last one.  And somehow a plus sign (+) figures in all of this somehow too.  But some land lines will not allow you to call cell phones either.

So no good here.  I lose the connection and decide to wait to call her back.  I get back to my flat and try several times.  No good, I lose her every time.  It is like after 11pm and I realize that I am not tired, and I am to full to go to bed.  Jet lag again.

So I go for a walk.  Lots of people out here.  I see a lot of cars and many are fixed up.  Like "Fast and the Furious"cars.  But somehow a "Lada" (a common car here) looks kinda funny with 17 inch rims and a racing spoiler on the back.

About 30 minutes later Buffy calls and she is on a different line.  I hear all of her friends in the background.  She explains that her phone is recharging and that is why I could not reach her before.  I was actually a little worried, because I assumed the worst and thought maybe she was hanging up on me.  She says tonight is too late and she is with her friends and will be going home soon.

I continue to walk around and I decide to go to the internet cafe to write you guys again.  Somehow I manage to stay there until 2am.  Funny thing is, it is still packed even at this hour.

I crawl into bed around 3am.  I know I will hate myself tomorrow for this. :?

[stoichman]

June 10

I wake up late again, but it is no problem.  I really have nothing to do until I go to the gym which is open 8:30am until 9pm today, and I have my meeting with the girl I have been writing from Cindy Agency at 6:30pm.

I eat breakfast and walk to the gym.  I work out and start to walk home around noon.  I call Buffy since she asked me to do so today.  I see an incredible girl that looks like that Christina Agulara chick walking by, and she is dressed in very little, which leaves little to the imagination.

So I talk to Buffy on the phone and once again she asks me to call her when I am done with my meeting tonight.  I somehow find myself following the Christina Agulara look alike, but don't realize this. 

I get off the phone with Buffy and the Athena office calls.  You get such one on one service when you are the only guy in town.  I asked them about this.  No other client is coming to this town until August.  So they call me every day to check on me. 

I walk up to a huge plane monument and realize I am lost.  Talking on the phone and following Christina has left me somehwere I am not familiar with.  I decide to double back to the gym so I can find my way home.  No more following pretty ladies.  It can truly cause trouble over here.

I take a quick shower and decide to find the Cindy Agency office so I know where I am going tonight, and maybe a trip to the Internet cafe.  I find the building the office is in, but finding the office is another story.  I know it is on the third floor, but not all of the rooms on each floor are connected by a common hallway in this building.  You have to take the correct set of stairs to the correct part of the third floor. 

On my third try I find the right set of stairs and it is in the back of the building.  The building is right across the main street called Lenin which is right in front of my flat by one block.  There is a main walking park here too called Alya Slava, where people are sitting all day and it is packed at night.

I find the office and it is only one room, maybe 10 X 10.  One desk and one worker.  She tells me I still have my meeting tonight and I will have an interpreter.  It is really hot in here so I leave right away.

I cut through the park on my way to the Internet cafe.  There is a tiny outdoor tent cafe and behind it a huge empty lot with a dirt path back to Lenin, it looks like a short cut so I take it.  Big mistake.

You see this empty lot belongs to "Big Bird".  As soon as I hit the dirt path this huge, and I mean, huge, bird starts diving at my head.  This birds body was twice the size of my head and the wing span made it look even bigger.

Now I have experience in this.  I run for exercise outside at home in Florida and I already know that birds hate me.  I had to change my running route at my previous home because in this one yard the birds always attacked me.  Once at a golf course I ran next to a bird was so vicious with me a car actually stopped in the middle of traffic to watch, help, or maybe they were just laughing. 

When a bird attacks it will not come at you from the front.  It does not like the eyes.  That is what the spots on the wings of butterflies are for, to look like eyes.  So it is really scary to hear nothing and then, suddenly, to hear the swoop and squawk of a bird less than a foot from your head.  It does not help that I am a Hitchcock fan either.

Needless to say I will not use that shortcut again.

I go tot he Internet cafe and I get another call from Athena.  Another girl I picked wants to meet me tomorrow night.  It is the girl that was supposed to see the Australian guy a couple nights ago.  Irina said that she wants me to call her.  This is a new one for me.  This girl asked the agency to give me her phone number even before we meet.  I asked the lady working at the internet cafe for pen and paper and took it down.

After using the internet for a while I go home and get ready for my meeting.  I walk to the Cindy Agency office.  But it is so hot in there I ask to wait outside.

Soon the interpreter and the lady meet me outside.  We will call her Amy.  I hate to say it but Amy looks like her photo, but not nearly as good.  There is no instant "WOW" factor at all here.  This is the lady (or one of two) I was most excited to meet.  I wrote this lady the most, for one month, we exchanged like 7 letters a piece.  Which is a lot for me.  So for me this is another reason to not do the "visit one" thing.  But this is just my opinion.

We go to the Irish pub.  I insist on air conditioning since it still hot outside and I already am sweating.  The food was OK, but much more expensive than the other two place I was at.  I was the only one that ate and is was still like $18. 

I showed her all of my photos I brought, which I bring to every first meeting.  I slowly begin to notice that the interpreter is showing interest in me, or maybe it is just my imagination.  But it is OK with me, since the interpreter is really cute.  Often during the meeting the interpreter mentions her own personal information.  Like that she also wants to be a teacher and has a visa to study in America.

The highlight of the conversation may also be the low point.  On every date I get the "Why do you come to Ukraine to find a wife?" question and I always answer it the same way.

I state that American women are selfish and materialistic and love money more than their man. (or at least the good looking ones in south Florida are this way).  I also state that FSU girls are much more feminine than America, and that American women want to be more like men.

Well lately this gets a response that FSU girls also love money, or that many do.  Amy did state this but then she brings up the HBO series "Sex and the City".  I was totally floored.  I never thought of this but if all of the FSU girls see this show it could be the end of the MOB industry all together.

Amy says if American women are like the main characters on this show (Amy owns all of the seasons on DVD) then they are not selfish and materialistic.  I began to wonder if we are talking about the same show.

Now I like the show.  I have rented all season on DVD and got my sister and Mom hooked on the show.  I think it is witty and clever.  It is my opinion that women like it because it shows all the problems, flaws, and short comings that men have which makes us difficult and a pain for them as women. 

But I look at it from another angle.  because American women act like the main characters on "Sex and the City" and because I do not want a girl like this, therefor I am coming to Ukraine to find a lady that is more feminine and acts more like a traditional woman than a man.   

Once again, just my opinion.

The meeting lasted maybe 2.5 hours and we all walk home.  Amy walks away first and then I have to pay the interpreter right then and there.

My cell phone vibrates, it might be Buffy, but I do not answer. 

The interpreter, we will call her Darla, asks me how I like Amy and I tell her straight out I like her more.  She says she is interested too and we exchange email and phone numbers.  She says she does have a boy friend, but it is not important.  Darla also reminds me that she is coming to America for college, since she got a special visa for this.  I tell her that when she comes to America she should visit Florida and I will show her all the things in my photos.  Darla is very excited about this.  We say good night.

I call Buffy on my cell but I get the little recording that says her phone is unavailable.  I check for "last call missed" but there is none recorded.  Buffy could have tried me from a land line or different cell, who knows.

I hang out in the park, Alya Slava, for a while and watch the ladies.  I try Buffy several more times and get the same message.

So two nights in a row I could have been with Buffy, but met someone new instead.  But hindsight is always 20/20.  Speaking of 20/20.......

I go home and get ready for bed.  Then my luck strikes again.  My right contact lens rips in half while cleaning it.  Now this totally sucks.  I am going to be over here for at least 7 more weeks and I hate wearing glasses.  They are uncomfortable and I am not used to wearing them.  I have not ripped a contact lens since I was a teenager, why now?????

I try to sleep, but can not.  I walk to the internet cafe and email my friend and eye doctor.  I will try to have a replacement sent to me.  Not sure how this will work, but I hope it does.

Anyone coming to Ukraine soon want to carry a contact lens for me? 

     

 

 

    

[Bruce]

Scott, bummer on the contact lens.  There has to be some guy on this board going to Ukraine in the near future to help you out getting a new one.

Give Buffy another shot already.  You like how she looks and you can communicate well.  Good start.   Glasses on you should not make one bit of difference.  Keep your self confidence at your highest possible level.  That is one of the key things with all chicks.  You are the man - make sure you act like one.  I just hope you are looking for girls above 21 this year.  Best of luck!

[anono]

working out keeps up the confidence. i'm sure scott will be fine.

if the terp is the one i think he is talking about, she's 20  ;-)

[stoichman]

June 11

I wake up and hear the cell phone ring, it is the Athena office.  They remind me that I have a meeting at 7pm tonight.  Irina also asks me why I have not called the lady yet.  They gave me her phone number yesterday.  We will call her Glory.  I state I will call her today. 

I ask about one more lady I was to meet.  I reminded Irina that I was to meet her tonight.  I ask what happen to this meeting.

She explains that they will reschedule that one.  I got the feeling they really want me to meet Glory, the one whose phone number they gave me.  They cancelled a meeting they already set up to have me meet this new lady.  Maybe this is a good sign if they feel this strongly about Glory.

I get to the gym around 2pm and return to the flat around 4pm.  I call Glory, with the phone number the office girls gave me.  Glory knows who it is right away.

But she explains that she is having problems at work.  She will not be done until around 9pm.  They work long days here.  So I know that means like a 10 or 12 hour day for her.  I ask if maybe we should do it another day.  She says, "maybe, yes."  I tell her that she can call me me when she has time, she has my phone number now since I called her cell phone.  Oh well....

Now remember I had another meeting scheduled.  The office cancelled that one to have me meet Glory.  Now I have no meetings today.  Did I mention I have good luck?

So I call Buffy.  She says she does not know what she is doing today.  Buffy says she will call at 7pm.  OK, no problem. 

I watch some DVDs and around 6:50 the skys part, to an even darker color.  I see flashes of light, and soon hear thunder in the distance, and it is getting closer.

Buffy calls around 7pm and once again, bad connection, and she is not calling from her own cell.  She can not hear me, asks me to speak up, and sounds really pissy.

I think I heard "can not come to see you tonight".  So that was enough for me.  So now I am stuck with a thunder storm and no meeting or date today.  Perfect.

Maybe it was because of the storm or maybe she had other plans.

Well I watch another DVD and soon come to the conclusion that I am not really enjoying myself too much.  I start to have thoughts of cutting this trip short. 

I have not paid for any flats after my ten days in Zaporozhye, I only have a $60 deposit on the flat in Dnepropetrovsk with Cindy Agency.  After that, nothing is paid for.

I am supposed to be in Ukraine until July17, but this thought is now not a grand one.  If I leave after my ten days here and find a round trip ticket back to Kiev I can still use my Kiev-Athens ticket to meet up with my 15 day tour of Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungry, and Austria I already paid for.  As long as the ticket is less than $1500 I will come out ahead since I have paid for nothing for the last 30 days of Ukraine.

I will go to the Internet cafe tomorrow and look this up.

I get a call from Athena and they basically apologize for messing up my night that I will now spend alone.  They ask me to call Buffy, and I tell them I already have.  I tell Athena that I do not think Buffy likes me too much anyways, and they say this is not true.  "She calls every day about you."  I am told.  Really??  Well she has me fooled then.

I hang up and prepare for a full day all alone.  It is really pouring outside and I have not eaten lunch or dinner.  I can not walk anywhere.  This means I will enjoy cereal for the second time today for my dinner, same as breakfast.

My mood really turns to "chort". (sh!+)        

[anono]

hi scott, just got off the phone with you, must be in a bad reception area.

if we do not talk again soon, call me if you come to kiev, we'll have to meet and continue our conversation. remarkable how similar we see things...

i have felt the same way before, disappointed meetings, or no meetings at all. i see more and more "westernized" women, making me wonder if most turn out to be only prettier and younger versions of AW. hard to find one that isn't "spoiled" any more...

all this just keeps J looking like the good lady she is.. as her english teacher told me, "you're a lucky man".

keep looking, they may be harder to find, but they're out there somewhere.

[Bruce]

Scott - hang in there.   Everybody has their ups and downs.  I strongly believe every single guy in America only wishes they were in your shoes.   If you really think you want to give Buffy a shot, pursue her.  A girl likes a guy who likes her.  You like a girl who likes you.  Remember, its not you - its the other person.  They have to feel good from their interactions with you.  She is a really pretty girl I assume you are attracted to.  Tell her you are happy to take her to a place of your choosing without her friends, sit her down - tell her you want to spend the rest of your time in Zapro with her and see her response.  If it is favorable after the next date take her to your apartment.  You should get some favorable response.  If you do not dump her and go back to the agency for other girls.

[Bruno]

Scott, very good trip report but ...

The problem is your DVD player... if the agency have no plan or Buffy no time, you stay at apartment and see film... what will be the conclusion of your trip ? "I have see 151 film" ?...

You are hunting, move on... visit cafe, restaurent, disco... go where the woman go, search them... if the women don't go to you, you need to search them...

It is not by staying in your appartment that you will find a woman, they don't know where you are... make local friend, maybe they know woman who are alone...

Until now, all your day are used for nothing in your quest... all your date are only evening... go outside and see how much beautiful women walk in the street... make like when you are home and hunting...

[stoichman]

June 12

I wake with no meetings for today and no second dates either.  I decided I will not call anyone today and head off to the internet cafe.

I look on travelocity but their web site will not work here for some reason.  I try Aerosvit and see that I can get a round trip ticket Kiev-New York for around $1000.  That way I can get back here and use my Kiev-Athens ticket on July 17 to hook up with my tour of Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungry, and Austria. 

I look on Orbitz and see that I can get the New York- Fort Lauderdale ticket round trip for under $200.  I may be able to get them even cheaper using a local travel agent here.

So I would save some money if I skip the last 30 days of my Ukraine trip and go home.  I would spend at least $60 to $100 a day here depending on how many ladies I meet.

The contact lens update is as such.  My house sitter found my old ones and will send them to me.  My new one may be ready on Tuesday if they have it in stock.

I wonder about my flat since it has no air conditioning, and the web site said it did.  I look on the web site and, sure enough, not only is it supposed to have air conditioning, it is not even the right flat.  It is a totally different flat all together, that they gave me.  I call Athena, I think they are open.  I got their cell numbers anyways. 

Irina tells me the one I wanted was booked.  But they lead me to believe I was getting the one on the web site.  They never mentioned getting a replacement.  She claims to not understand me.  Says we should talk about it in the office, whatever.... 

I start to walk home and realize that today will be truly boring since it is Sunday and the gym is not open.  I have no meetings, and not sure that even bothers me right now.

Thoughts I have on the way home:

I have come to the conclusion that the ladies here in the agencies have changed.  I have been coming here for 5 years now.  I have used over 8 different agencies in 5 different cities.  I have spent close to 200 days here in 9 trips.  So I am not talking out of my arse. 

First the really good looking ones are not in the agencies, 5 years ago they were.  Since they have more opportunities in life now, they do not sign up.  And second, in general the girls are becoming more Americanized, which is why many of us came over here in the first place, to avoid this type of woman.

I realize that maybe we should look at the dating over here the same way we look at dating back home.  That does help a bit.  I did not buy into all of the agency hype I read about even when I went on my first trip.  I looked at it as a vacation and the ladies were just a plus.  I had never been out of the country, so it was all new for me.  So if you look at it simply as another method, or vehicle, by which to meet ladies, it may work.

But the one characteristic I thought would never change, perhaps is.  I thought FSU ladies were more feminine than American.  But I also see that changing.  I have seen much less high heels in the last two years.  And this year especially, i am even seeing flats.  I see the ladies dressing up even less. 

I remember when I met an interpreter last summer for a date in Kherson.  I met her in April in person, we exchanged contact information, and decided to meet in the summer.  She came to me looking like she just got off the train or something.  Nothing like the photos she sent me.  The point is she did not even bother to get ready for the date: not very feminine.  Or maybe she did not care very much about me, this may be true too.  But the point I am making, 5 years ago much fewer ladies would ever think of doing this.

Some of you may say, don't use the agencies.  But for a guy like me that will not approach girls in public, this won't work.

So maybe the MOB industry is dying faster than I thought.

I stop to eat and try a cafe next to the government building in front of my flat.  It is right on Lenin Street.  It is called "Polit Buroe"  which I am told tranlates like Political Bureau or Bureau of Politics.  Since I am alone, I first ask, "ou vas yest menu namgleskum yezacare?" or "Do you have a menu in English?".  And they did, so I stayed.  There is a lot of fun decor inside, all retro and I am guessing like late 50s early 60s.  But the music is all American from the same time period, interesting.  The food was great.  I had grilled chicken (shashlik), mashed potatoes, and hot tea, since it was raining outside.  Lots of red inside, and many hammer and sickle symbols.  A fun place.

I get home and about an hour later the cleaning lady comes.  She does my laundry and cleans up the place.  After she leaves I walk into the kitchen and see a little something that makes me feel a bit better.

I always buy fruit.  But being a dude I just leave the fruit in the plastic bag and set it on the counter.  The bag will most likely sit there, maybe even after the last piece of fruit is gone.

This would not do for the cleaning lady.  She took all the fruit out of the bag, and arranged it all on a large platter and put it in the middle of the table.

This is an example of what I find adorable in the FSU lady.  Is it asking too much?

It is the little things, that add up to mean the most.