Law's Ukraine Trip Report

[Law]

Hello Everybody! 

I'm trying to shake off the jet lag from my first trip to the Ukraine. So I'll post a detailed TR in a day or two. But let me say my 1st trip to the Ukraine was awesome! Most of my expectations were completely blown away! I never felt the slightest racial prejudice or hostility the whole time I was there. I never felt unsafe or in over my head, and the women were as beautiful as any you could imagine. Also, the AFA events and support staff was extremely helpful. I have no regrets going on with a tour for my first visit.

I was there for a total of 2 weeks. I spent the first week running around on AFA's rather packed tour schedule. And the second week I spent roaming between Odessa, Nikolaev and Kherson meeting people and taking in the sights and culture. This trip was also my very first trip to a foreign country and it has definitely whet my appetite for world travel.

I'll post up some pictures and a more detailed report soon. Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and input.

-L

[ambach123]

AFA tours get a very bad rap on this board. Though most people who pan them have never taken one.

I am surprised that someone has something nice to say about them, but I would be interested in knowing the details.

[William3rd]

Their porno conections and sex tourism are well documented. . . . .if you want to go that way, go ahead.

BTW- the tour director Elena Redburn is beginnng to go public now that she is divorcing her abusive husband. You can go online to the Superior Court there in Phoenix and see a little bit about it. Or- go in and read all the documents filed thus far.

[Law]

Their porno conections and sex tourism are well documented. . . . .if you want to go that way, go ahead.

Thanks, I will. 

I have no attachments to AFA one way or the other. And I've got nothing to gain or lose by speaking well or ill of them. So far as my trip was concerned I never encountered anything that resembled 'sex tourism'. And they're 'connections' didn't affect me one way or another, since I wasn't there for that. Their staff did an awesome job of guiding me through town, providing interpretation and arranging meetings with sincere people. As a result I had a great time.

I'm not doubting anyone's facts. But it's funny how quick people are to point out that same ol' stuff about AFA. Okay, OKAY I get it. AFA is really a front for a huge porn and sex trafficking industry. Uh, thanks for the tip. I guess I should get my money back, since I didn't get in on a piece of that action. But seriously, I'm interested in making another trip and I'll definitely seek out recommendations about any other agencies people like.

Again, I'm not here to dispute what are apparently 'well documented' facts. Nor do I dare try to improve whatever opinion people have of AFA. I'm just here to report I had a great trip and AFA staff was really helpful. Are there more helpful agencies? Probably, but as shocking and unlikely as it seems, I actually had a good clean time on an AFA tour.

More details to come.

-L

[Law]

Hello again Everyone!
I began composing my trip report and it's turning out to be quite a thesis. I'm going to post it in parts. Here's the first!

2008 TRIP REPORT
Nothing I've ever done or attempted to do has attracted so much interest and attention. Whenever I told people that I was traveling to the Ukraine to meet a girl I had been writing to, I would invariably hear, “Let me know how it goes!” with an enthusiasm that matched or surpassed my own! Well, here's my effort to keep my word and fill you all in. Welcome to the trip report of my strange and wonderful adventure in December 2008.

My ideal preparations for traveling to a foreign country are to be able to speak the language, at least a little, know something about the people, culture and geography and have some admiration for its contribution to the world as a better and more interesting place. I've never had the experience of truly being a 'foreigner' anywhere, but at home. My trip to the Ukraine would be my first time outside of the United States, and according to my own travel ideals, I couldn't have been less prepared.



WHY UKRAINE??
I always thought world travel would begin with Japan, Europe, South America or Asia. I would have never thought I'd spend the time and money I did to wander a country that I knew nothing about. But by the end of Summer 2008 my experience with local online dating sites left me so frustrated and desperate I was willing to 'jump off of any bridge' if it meant finding someone special to love. As I expanded my search further and further out I thought, “heck, let's see what the international scene will turn up”.

I found “A Foreign Affair” an international dating site that provided an email system that allows communication with ladies who don't speak the English language, and coordinates 'romance tours' in various regions where these fine ladies live. As I browsed the profiles of women from South America, Asia and the Former Soviet Republic I found the beauty of Eastern European women 'mesmerizing'. Not only were the women of Russia and Ukraine the most beautiful I had ever seen they were supposedly open to the idea of romance with a foreign man and relocating thousands of miles from home. After weeks of research and interviews enough of the facts checked out. I HAD to find out for myself just how true this all was. I took the plunge.


CORRESPONDENCE AND PREPARATIONS
I had heard that many, many men had visited Russia and Ukraine and successfully found someone even though they didn't write prior to their visit. But the idea of showing up in another country without any contact with someone there beforehand seemed far too foolish and risky to me. Unfortunately, I fell in love with the first lady I wrote to. But I also wrote a dozen or so other ladies who lived in the same geographic area, as a backup plan. Just days before my trip my correspondence with my number #1 girl had become so romantic I begun tapering off my correspondence with other gals. I felt like it was a good time to put as many eggs in that one basket because things were going oh so well. I didn't want to mislead anyone.

The tour package presented at the AFA's website seemed comprehensive enough so I decided to go with it. A loose calculation of how much airfare, hotel lodging, interpretation, local travel and introductions brought my Do-It-Yourself figure to $1,000 below the tour package they offered. I had the money so I figured it'd be better to make one transaction and have the support of full time staff than strike out 'on my own'. Looking back, I don't regret going with a package tour one bit. And I already see many ways to make a return visit far more economical than my costly first venture. But booking AFA's tour was a definite 'winning move'. Before September 2008 I didn't even know what Russian sounded like and of course I couldn't speak a single syllable of it. I wanted all the help I could get and the structure, support and 'training wheels' of an organized tour provided a comfort zone I could never have found on my own in a foreign county for the first time.


GETTIN' ON THE PLANE
One detail that I almost overlooked was the connecting flight to New York I had to book from the West Coast. The airfare that was included in AFA's tour departed from JFK in New York! I knew that I had to get a connecting flight ahead of time, but to be honest, I was too paranoid to try to fly to Odessa and make my way to the hotel on my own. Looking back, I would have saved a couple of hundred dollars and many, many hours of flight time by booking my own flight from LAX to the Ukraine. I found a great round trip fare from LA to NY for $450 so it wasn't a biggie. I made the most of it and my layover in New York allowed me to do some more traveling and visit my boss in Manhattan!



As I got closer to my trip I familiarized myself with the tour schedule and it was packed! Too packed!! There was non-stop sightseeing, 'socials', and travel between local towns for 6 straight days of the 10 days I'd be there! I had heard so many great things about people's trip to Ukraine that I decided to move my departure dates back by 4 days, which gave me an even 2 weeks in the Ukraine. That basically came out to 1 week running around with AFA, and one week to myself (hopefully in the company of a special someone.) So I constructed a plan with 3 well thought out, juicy layers to it;

1) Spend a week riding along with the tour to get a feel for the country, language, customs, etc.
2) Meet up with my long time penpal and spend the second week with her, if possible.
3) In case things didn't work out with the number #1 girl use the second week to circle back and meet up with other ladies I had been writing to beforehand and had met on the tour.

So with plans and plane tickets in hand I'm off to my first great adventure!

WEEK1- THE TOUR

ODESSA
The Airport at Odessa

I began to befriend the group of guys who were on the tour with AFA back at the JFK airport. My ideas of what the typical 'tour client' was like was pretty far from the truth- for the most part. Many of the guys were handsome, successful and generally the kind of people you'd like to hang around. The median age was probably around 45, with the youngest in the group being 33 and the oldest about 65, I'd say. Most of them were, I believe, very sincere with honorable intentions to meet and marry a 'Ms. Right' that they just couldn't seem to find in the U.S. or Europe. But the way some of the men went about it was less-than-honorable, and I'll leave it at that.

So we arrive after a 7 or 8 hour flight from JFK to the Odessa Airport. We're herded through the immigration area and into the airport lobby where we exchange USD to UAH and get to see our first look at the people of Ukraine. Thanks to well meaning folks back in the US, my mind was pretty poisoned about the supposed attitudes of Ukrainian people towards Blacks, Americans, AFA tour clients, and foreigners in general so I was pretty paranoid at the airport. In addition to that, I had been so routinely warned of thieves, scammers, kidnappers, pro-daters, prostitutes, organized criminals, men dressed as women, women dressed as men, and other predators waiting to pounce upon me it took me a minute to loosen up and actually ENJOY my new adventure. So I stayed in the 'center of the center' (whatever that means) and peeked out from behind the 'safety of the pack' to steal a glance here and there and soak in what I could. Fortunately I quickly abandoned the well intended warnings of friends and others and wandered among people on my own. And, boy did I see something about Ukrainian life for myself! I was happy to discover that the Ukraine is full of wonderful people with amazing stories to tell- as well as all that other bad stuff that people talk about way too much.




The Bus Ride
The bus ride from the airport through town afforded me the first raw view into the day-to-day life of the Ukrainian people, architecture and society at large. Honestly, it was generally bleak and dreary. Some parts of the town and metropolitan areas really let you see into the hopelessness of people striving to make their way through a system that they just can't win in. I knew I had it good in the U.S., but my understanding of that has been remarkably enhanced. It's not my intention to cry up how great America is and say 'See! Look at how poor and backwards the 'Have-nots' in other countries are, because that's just not the case. But knowing what I know of the social issues, corruption and organized crime behind the scenes made the look into everyday life very sad and sobering. Especially where you see the patches in society that clearly have a long way to go to come up to the standards we enjoy in the U.S.


The Hotel
Hotel Odessa was the first and best hotel in the Ukraine that I stayed at. It had all of the comforts that you would expect out of a typical hotel in the U.S. One one hand it was very, very nice. On the other hand, I was hoping to stay at a place that let me know how far I am from the United States, and I got my wish a few days later in Nikolaev.




Interpreter's Meeting
The orientation flung my mind back to what I made the trip for- a radical but honorable quest for love & marriage to a beautiful, foreign woman. The meeting was held in a seminar room that was disappointingly similar to so many I had been in back home. And there was a media crew there! UGH!! But, at the end of the orientation phase of the meeting we got a chance to meet the interpreters! My first encounter with the interpreters forced a drastic change of plans upon my whole approach to dating and courtship- for the better.

About 20 interpreters were paraded out and lined up in the front of the seminar room. All of them were beautiful, bilingual, 20-something year old ladies from the Odessa area. I was immobilized. Whatever my plan was for dating Ukrainian women had to GO! Here stood before me the best you could hope for from a foreign bride. These were ladies who possessed the majority of the qualities I was hoping to find! Using these interpreters to help me would feel like asking my girlfriend or sister to help me find a girlfriend! And, sure enough, that was exactly what it felt like!

This unusual dating dynamic forced me to be a gentleman at all times, not that I had any other intention. Plus, I knew the possibility wooing and winning an interpreter was not only entirely possible, but wholly desirable. Because of that I made double sure that my intentions were completely honorable. On top of that, I knew that I would begin meeting many, many ladies who I would like and admire on a basic friendship level. So, even though I wasn't there to 'make friends', I retargeted my goals to keep all of my relations completely platonic, until I knew that I wanted to become more than friends. The only way I could stomach the process of approaching woman after woman before God and everyone was to have my mind completely made up. Even though I wanted to find my second half more than anything in life, I didn't want to waste the chance to meet and befriend as many people as I could. If I didn't see my date as a potential soulmate, I pleaded for her to stay in touch with me for the sake of the mutual benefit of having a friend in another country. This modified dating approach proved to be another huge 'winning move' that not only animated me during the most difficult social situations, but buoyed me up through some really tough times.

That's all for now. Next up will be thoughts about the AFA Socials, my first night out with the ladies from Odessa, and tons more!



-Law

[ambach123]

Thanks for a very well written TR.

How many men were there in the group with you?

[Law]

Thanks, I'm glad you like it so far.

There were about 15 or 20 guys. Some made their own arrangements and dropped in during the trip. It was a good group. Being able to share notes and swap stories was a real treat. As you can imagine the trip was a little different for everyone.

[groovlstk]

Great TR Law, glad you had a good experience.

I recognize the subway train in your NYC photo as a #1 local. How did you manage to find an empty car? In my experience a car on the #1 is empty for only two reasons: it's really, really late at night or some bum who stinks to high heaven happened to sack out on one of the benches and his BO is so pervasive that he clears the entire car. (Hard to believe but it does happen!)

Do you feel comfortable enough now after two trips to go it alone?

[Misha]

I am really enjoying this trip report. It is really nice to see a man with such a nice sense of decency, respect and honor. I look forward to reading more.

[Diplomacy]

Glad to see you had a good trip so far.  Look forward to the rest.

[mendeleyev]

Wm, I think the reason he didn't see any evidence of a sex tour is that those are kept separate with the structure of the tour company.  Although if a guy exhibits certain tastes while on a trip it's said that he'll be recruited for a next outing to a trip more "adventuresome."

[MaxLap]

Nice to read about your trip and that it was a successful time for you without the predicated disadvantages of using that agency. I generally think that the success of any venture, women-related or otherwise) depends to a large extent on your attitude and it strikes me that you have exactly the right attitude and will always come up smiling! Good luck to you.

As a small post-script, I saw from your photo and I don't know if you're aware of this but wearing a ring on your right-hand ring finger in CIS countries indicates that you're married. (I wouldn't want you to give anyone the wrong impression) 

Max

[Law]

I don't know if you're aware of this but wearing a ring on your right-hand ring finger in CIS countries indicates that you're married. (I wouldn't want you to give anyone the wrong impression) 

Max

Oh man, really? I didn't know that. Hmmm. I guess I should wear my rings on my other fingers from now on :|

[Ronnie]

Law,

Does your screen name indicate you are a lawyer?  You seem to quickly recognize the irrelevance and immateriality of (attorney) Bill Livingston's comment about porn, sex-tours and divorce of one of the founders of AFA.  Mr. Livingston might be unwise to encourage too much prying into publically available information found on the internet.

I am one of those who has never done an organized tour.  However, for someone such as yourself, who has never traveled outside his own country, it seems to me a highly advisable option.  No scams, no WOVO disappointment and little wasted time scrambling to implement a Plan B.

Congratulations on your successful trip.  You are a handsome guy and seemingly quite intelligent and successful.  Why would any Ukrainian women hesitate?  It is you who must now be very selective in your wife choice.

[William3rd]

Gee Ronnie- spouting effluvium again, are we?  Take some meds. . .oh wait! you ARE!! that is the problem. . .

[Law]

Gee Ronnie- spouting effluvium again, are we?  Take some meds. . .oh wait! you ARE!! that is the problem. . .

@William 3rd- Can you please use the PM feature for these kind of remarks?
I don't have any bones to pick with anyone here and I'd really like to keep this post on topic.

Please?

Part Two of my trip report will be coming up later tonight!!
(Much later *_*)

[Ronnie]

Sounds like someone is daring me to post a link to a certain USA Today article.  Sorry, I won't take the bait.   The curious can do their own research.  I'm agreeing with Law that AFA's other alleged activities and a messy divorce are irrelevant to his very positive first experience.

[Admin]

@William 3rd- Can you please use the PM feature for these kind of remarks?
I don't have any bones to pick with anyone here and I'd really like to keep this post on topic.

Please?

Part Two of my trip report will be coming up later tonight!!
(Much later *_*)

Law,

Kudos on two counts.

First, your trip report is interesting and a very worthwhile read. Thanks.

Second, your response to the escalating tensions unrelated to your posts was a jewel.

Just wanted to express my appreciation on both points. Thanks!

- Dan

[Louhab]

Hi Law,

I've just read your blog and found it to be completely truthful and accurate ... to the best of my knowledge.
Just an FYI ... I was also a travelerer to the Ukraine on this particular Tour. Law and I connected on our flights to Vienna and onto Odessa. While we dated seperately, we did enjoy one double-date. I can testify to the veracity of his writings. Like Law, all of the guys in our Tour group were sincere and honorable in their search for their potential foreign mates. It was truly an extraordinary experience and one that I intend to repeat in the near future. Any mention of a sex Tour is absurd and not worthy of my time to reply. The ladies were just that ... ladies! Their attitudes to life and living is reminicient of American women from the 1950's (i.e., The Donna Reed Show). Ukrainian women still want to be women and seek a kind, mature and intelligent man that can provide them with safety, children and a comfortable home. AFA did a masterful job in its organization and management of this complex introduction process. For all you "fence-sitters," I urge you to commit to an AFA Tour. And Law, keep writing ... I will look forward to your future entries.
Lou

[kievstar]

maybe louhab you can write your trip report in a different post.  I am sure many people would like to hear how your trip went.  At least I do.

[Mark Davis]

Law:

Thank you for taking the time to write such great material - and include photos. 

It is great to hear your story and I look forward to reading the rest of it when you put it up.

Mark

[groovlstk]

Their attitudes to life and living is reminicient of American women from the 1950's (i.e., The Donna Reed Show). Ukrainian women still want to be women and seek a kind, mature and intelligent man that can provide them with safety, children and a comfortable home.

Man, I really hope you don't believe that agency BS, if you spend enough time in Ukraine or Russia to scratch the surface you'll realize things are much more complex then that.

[Makkin]

Hi,

  Thanks for the nice report and will be looking for the next one. Congrats and hope you really had a wonderful time. Sheesh your a good looking man so no worries M8.

Makkin

[Law]

My room at the Hotel Odessa

A Penny for Your Thoughts
I withdrew to my room after the interpreter's meeting and began to collect my thoughts about my trip up to that point. I was actually here, in the Ukraine!!My contact with the interpreters provided some insight into what dating would be like and I was only a few days away from meeting Anna! My head was spinning. This could be it! The love that I had been praying and looking for for so many years could be just down the stairs, or around the next corner. And, yes, the women were as beautiful as I heard, and the BEST was yet to come! I'd be attending my very first social in just a few hours. The chance to meet the amazing ladies I had seen or written to from the dating registry was right about to happen!

The whole excitement of it all dropped me into a depression.

I have little experience with women, and practically NONE with beautiful women. My primary reference point for interacting with women of beauty were rejection, embarrassment, inadequacy and envy for something I wanted, but could never, ever seem to have. I couldn't resist the undertow of depression as I worried about traveling so far and spending so much only to reenact the scenario of being turned down again and again by someone I liked who didn't like me back. How would this ever work out? What the heck am I doing?




View of the Black Sea from my room

Walking tour of Odessa
After a very nice complimentary breakfast at Hotel Odessa the next day we got a guided tour of the beautiful city of Odessa! The tour guide was an AFA staff member and later on we would become really good friends. This guy is awesome. He lives in Odessa, speaks fluent English, and is a history buff! Who could ask for anything more? My first cruise through town allowed me to get a few impressions of city life in a foreign country.

Beautiful women.
Lots of monuments.
Amazing architecture.
Lots of banks and ATM machines.
Contemporary metropolitan scenes.
Some very NICE cars and some not-so-nice-cars
Wealth and ruin hundreds of feet from each other
Non hostile people.
Absence of both smiles and scowls, generally.
Very well cared for stray cats and dogs
A general tolerance for foreign people
An occasional Black or Asian person here and there!

"The women are this way..."


"Wow! There are so many! How will we meet them all?"

After the tour was over the pack headed back to the hotel to get ready for the Odessa social.  Sure, I had read books, seen pictures, participated in call-in programs, and heard all sorts of good, bad and indifferent about the notorious AFA socials. I've heard of guys who met their wives at socials, and guys who claim that socials are just a waste of time. But after all my research I had no idea what to expect. But in just a few moments I'd have an opinion of my very own.


Please Be Gentle. It's My First Social
The social in Odessa was inside of a large banquet hall located upstairs within the port authority building (just a few steps in front of the Hotel Odessa). Large numbers of women already began to assemble outside of the room. There was a coat check near the entrance and down a narrow hall you could see the tables and chairs provided for the guests of this impressive event. I knew ahead of time that the women would out number the men by about 7 to 1, or more. So I was interested in knowing just how much of a 'main attraction' the guys would be at this kind of party.

I put on my best 'social self' and smiled and greeted ladies I walked past. I tried to use my moderately tuned social powers to detect if a lady had any interest in me or not. Hmm. As many of you know, European people don't extend generous smiles and enthusiastic handshakes as their customary greeting. So obviously my effort to engage people in my typical “Hi, I'm being friendly to you. Let's get to know each other” fashion wasn't met with equal passion. But I had fun with it. I wasn't trying to embarrass anyone or put them on the spot. It's the only way I knew to be friendly. What was interesting to me was how the social scene seemed to move in slow motion. I noticed that ladies that I greeted would just barely begin to speak and return my greeting about the same time I was passing them. So what I saw wasn't a lack of interest, but a different expression of interest. Okay, on to the next step.


"Come on baby, SMILE for me!!"
"I am smiling."


It took me a minute to loosen up enough to try to talk to anyone. The 'feelers' I threw out to see how easy it would be to engage the ladies in conversation didn't tell me much. The ladies there don't flirt like North American women. I wanted to know well before I plopped down at a table if I had a fighting chance at impressing, or at least entertaining these lovely creatures. Fortunately, staff people were still setting out (extra) chairs for the tables, so I happily enlisted to help out. This way I could put myself in the mix, check things out up close and personal and retreat to assess what I'm up against. You could probably tell already that I was being much too shy. But I'm really not 'good' in these types of situations.


Where's the Beef?
The social is the 'market 'and the men are the 'meat'. Sounds simple enough. I just need to find someone who's buying what I'm selling, right? It doesn't take many years of life experience to know that something you really want doesn't just come strutting up to you and bite you on the neck (usually). But as a typical American guy with a lack of experience with the ladies, the experience of being stared at, having my buns pinched, and getting breasts rubbed up against me was incredibly flattering. Well wait until the guys hear about this! There was one lady I greeted several times and all she would do was flash me a sly smile. She wouldn't say anything! I didn't know what that was all about. But then, as I was talking to someone I felt this 'presence' and it was her again. In a 'Jaws' like fashion she had encircled me, walked so close that I thought she was going to bump into me. She creeps by, purrs and says, “Aye like you....”. Then, she goes and sits down in the corner, and gives me those 'hungry eyes' me until I eventually walk over. She was a character!

Don't get me wrong, and please don't get the women wrong. The number of ones who flirt overtly are far outnumbered by the ones who would prefer to sit at the table the whole evening and wait for a gentleman to come over and talk to them.

Eventually I got my engine temperature warm enough to be able to walk around and actually try to talk to people. The ritual was a little awkward. I'd walk up to a table and ask the ladies if I could sit down. Then I would try to speak politely to all of them, and make my way to the one I was really interested in. If the ladies didn't speak much or any English I'd have to excuse myself, get an interpretor and head back to the table. It wasn't a big deal, but it added an interesting dynamic to the social 'speed dating'. I did my best to get the interpreters 'on my side'. I asked them how they were doing as we walked to the table together, and included them in my conversation. The effort to befriend an interpretor, even if I only used her once, went a long, long way because it boosted my ability and confidence to make a conversation as enjoyable as possible.

'Conversation'? Did I just say 'conversation'? Wasn't I there to 'find a wife'? Of course. But I realized that after 30 minutes of interaction I was just barely covering the “Hi, how do you do, what do you do...” basics because of the language challenges. And sure, I could hang in there and try to get to the “so what are you looking for in a husband/ family/ life abroad” themes, but that didn't make much sense when there were so many people to meet. I kept the conversation light and fun, and if I liked the girl I'd get her cell phone number and email address (if she had one). Then I'd politely excuse myself and go talk to someone else.


I cannot tell a lie. I did not take a SINGLE PICTURE at the Odessa social and I'll hate myself for the rest of my life for it. These pics are from the Kherson social! Please forgive my subterfuge!

So remember what I mentioned about 'giving up the idea of finding a life partner and just making friends'? That thought was really developed at that first social. Let's say you walk into a room and there are 100 single women there. Let's say you're genuinely, really interested in 20 of them. But the constraints of language, time, and courtesy will only permit you to talk to- let's say 8 of them, what can you possibly get done? So I made every effort to have a simple and light conversation, get her contact info, and call around to set up dates. When I saw her again, THEN I would discuss all of her family preferences and such, because the social just wasn't the environment for that.

That being said the socials were great, but it's what you make of it. You can walk around, talk to many different people, collect numbers and if you do it right, have plenty of 'follow ups' for the whole time you're in the area. I also found that my success with arranging dates was much higher when I had staff people do my call backs. Even if a gal spoke English well, I could barely arrange a 'day 2' on my own. Some people have suggested that AFA and other agencies pays girls to come out for dates. I personally can't confirm that. But I would usually be in the room with the staff person when he made the call to secure my date, so this definitely wasn't true for me. And, judging by the character and manner of the ladies that I met with, they seemed completely sincere about wanting to meet with me.

Were there things about the socials I didn't like? Of course, but I didn't want to let that get in the way of having a good time and helping other people have a good time. But I digress. How did the night end?



Let's Go Somewhere More 'Comfortable'
A guy I befriended on the tour was sitting at a table full of really cute girls so I sat down and joined him. I greeted everyone there, chatted for a minute and left and one of the gals sought me out later and invited me to hang out with them. She was very, let's just say 'friendly'. So I meet them outside afterwards with three other American-skiis for an even 8 people. Aw, how convenient.

The girls want to take a cab to a club and hang out at the beach afterwards. If it had been summer, and if I had been in town a little longer I would have been game. But I JUST got to Odessa, hadn't taken the bus tour (which was early the next day) and was way too unfamiliar with the layout of the land to entrust myself to 4 teenagers for the night. I suggested we do something close by and save our energy for later outings. We had a nice night, took pictures, went to karaoke, and ended up at a Mexican food restaurant. The night ended when we sent the girls home by cab after spending way too much time out and about. But it was my first taste of dating life in Odessa, and it was mild. No one night stands, no propositions, no problems. I think the girls just wanted to feel the attention of some guys who want to take care of them, and for a couple hundred Hryvnia, I didn't have a problem with that.


"Can Law come out to play?"

Next up NIKOLAEV!!!
I meet two of the ladies that I had been writing to during this part of my trip! Below is one of them. Was the 'Real Life' version as good as the profile pics suggested? You decide



More to come!

[Mark Davis]

Well done.  I can't wait for the next installment!