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Tuesday, October 12, 2004.
Seemed to take forever to get on top of the things that needed doing to even get to a point where I could pack, but finally I was able to find time to through some stuff in my suitcase, plus my study books, and translation books, travel books on Ukraine (it is not politically correct to say “THE Ukraine” as it implies something less that an independent country, which they have been since 1991). Finally headed for the airport, looking forward to a first flight on Lufthansa, expecting German efficiency and comfort. My saving grace, was that, as an experienced oversized passenger, I try to get exit rows as far as possible, and it turned out that the Lufthansa Airbus was small close seats with small entertainment screens (not in the back of the seat in front as per American Airlines). The trip was uneventful, other than I did not sleep and ended up watching the movie “Two Brothers” about two tigers in India (enjoyable), and Harry Potter (again).

Wednesday, October 13, 2004.
In Frankfurt nine hours later (an extremely busy airport) switched to the 2 ½ hour flight to Kiev and had a small sleep en route. By now I was aware that I was in Europe by two things: the pushing and shoving - not respect for lines or waiting your turn - and the smoking! What was interesting was being served a meal on this short flight, contrary to the pretzels served on travel in the USA! Immigration was quick (other than the line jumping) but customs decided I needed to go to the red line after getting to the top of the green line. My research had identified Ukraine as a poor country battling with the change from communism to capitalism since independence in 1991 where corruption was rife, so I wondered if I was going to have to part with some dollars under some pretext, but was allowed through without fuss. I was met by the interpreter Liubor (“Lubeh”) an attractive young lady, and the driver on the other side and we proceeded to his car, a Mercedes around the 1996 era, diesel powered. We headed of at about 3PM for a reported six hour trip to Chernivtsi (“Chernitsky”) in the southwest. En route stopped for a potty break - the toilet was an outhouse next to a gas station with a squat hole in the floor where you could see the large smelly reservoir below! Later we stopped to siphon some diesel when we ran out, then to fill up when we found a gas station with diesel, then for a meal at the one decent restaurant between - which fortunately took a credit card as I had not yet exchanged money - although dollars I found were commonly accepted at a rough 1 dollar to 5 UKH.

The city of Kiev is a busy, bustling city as could be anywhere in the world, the countryside once out is pleasant, farms and small villages dotted along the way, the odd horse drawn carriage, lots of old cars still on the road. One surprising feature - no-one wears seat belts! When we got to Chernivtsi it is a more historic city (596 years old!), population around 250,000, cobbled streets (not good for the cars!) - essentially a university town, where it is a hive of activity when the students are there, but considerably quieter when they go home for the holidays!

We finally arrived at 11PM (8 hours later) at apartment - which appeared quite pleasant (hotels are hard to come by, you have to “know someone” to get anything done in Ukraine!) and awaited the arrival of Lilia. She finally arrived as nervous as anything and looked like a “deer caught in the headlights”. I was surprised to find myself immensely attracted (having wondered if these emotions would ever resurface) - and the photos I had seen do not do her justice, despite being professional studio pictures. We chatted for a bit, I give her the gifts I had brought for her and Tonya, her 10 year old daughter and we agree to meet for lunch the next day. Bear in mind all the prior communication via email was using a translator, and now we are using an interpreter!

Thursday, October 14, 2004.
I awake after 11 solid hours of sleep, Liubor and Lilia arrive, and we go off to eat at a very fancy sidewalk café down the street. The exchange rate makes it very affordable, and the sidewalk café is very pleasant, few cars drive by, there is a music studio across the street where the odd notes of students practicing waft across the street. We spend the time chatting and getting to know each other and agree to meet for dinner. In the afternoon Liubor takes me for a walk through the city, shows me a bit of the city and to the agency to meet Maria (agency owner) and Sveta (the translator) and spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing. In the evening when Liubor and Lilia arrive we head back to the sidewalk café - this time eating inside, where the lack of a non-smoking area is a reminder of the fact that this pleasantry has not reached Europe!

Friday, October 15, 2004.
I wake up early, so I grab my camera and video camera and retrace the previous days walk, taking pictures en route. Liubor arrives followed by Lilia with some gifts for the boys, I show her the video I made of where I live, the house and schools and Graoevine lake - where she is pleased to note that the state of William and Jason's room is similar to Tonya's (proving kids are the same all over the world). We head to another upscale restaurant and then a walk around another part of Chernivtsi, where there is a park, an old church and we look at some upscale houses. Lilia invites me to a disco that evening to meet some of her friends. I return to the apartment and at about 6PM there is a blackout, I think nothing of it, and have a nap only to awake to pitch darkness to get ready by, finally figuring out to use the light on the video camera as a flashlight. The lights eventually come on a few minutes before Lilia arrives and we take a cab to the disco. The disco is pleasant with strict security guard ensuring the patrons safety but it is a predictably smoke filled environment. The music is from all over the world, so every now and then I recognized a tune. I meet Alexi (Sasha) Alina and Mariana. Sasha seems to think I know Mariana but she does not look familiar to me. The interesting part of the evening was that the guide books warned me that the Ukrainians are hospitable and it is hard to refuse them, so I end up drinking vodka and cranberry juice with them and we have a very pleasant evening, finally leaving at 3AM. Lilia agrees to bring Tonya to meet me and we plan to do some shopping and buy some food for a planned picnic in the country on Sunday.

Saturday, October 16, 2004.
Liubor, Lilia and Tonya arrive at midday, Lilia had been up all night as Tonya had an earache, but they still made the effort to come. I show Tonya the videotape from home and try to get her to videotape a message back, but she is painfully shy and says little. Liubor is strangely subdued, I have got to know her quite well, she is the strong, independent type, and has an older sister living in New York who won her visa on the green card lottery. Anyway, she leaves and we head off. En route we visit Sasha and Mariana who despite both being teachers, do some part time work at a clothing store. The vodka apparently had en effect, as they both have headaches! In the first photo taken Sasha looks less than her usual lively self, so we have to take a more “in character” photo thereafter. As Tonya has yet to smile, Sasha calls her the “unsmiling princess” - an apt nickname! Sasha had been engaged to an American before but did not follow through when she discovered he was older than he said, but having prepared to emigrate is fluent in English. Mariana (a Marilyn Monroe look-alike) has her son there, a cute little fellow of about 6 years of age. We head off to do some shopping (the idea was for them to buy something nice, but we end up only window shopping). We went to an open-air market and bought some pork and chicken and then had a late lunch where Lilia introduced me to a pomegranate, I cannot recall having seen or tasted one before. Lilia agrees to come later and take me bowling or to play pool. Lilia's English is much better than she let on, it is now apparent… Later in the evening my curiosity gets the better of me and I try to get hold of Liubor to find out what is ailing her, but not having her number call Maria who passes the message on and Liubor calls later. She does not want to say much, other than she had a life changing experience on Friday which changes her carefully thought out plans for the future. Sasha then calls to say that Lilia is too tired to go out and will call me later. Lilia calls, confirms she is too tired but when I ask to perhaps go out with some other friends, I am told to stay home. I obey J and end up watching a South African movie on the TV - filmed in Sun City. Quite a bit of nonsense but just very funny to be in Ukraine watching a South African show! Lilia took the pork to prepare it and I had the chicken so decided to cook it as typically one eats late at a picnic so I wanted something to eat earlier if that was the case!

Sunday, October 17, 2004.
Lilia arrives, we head to join her friends in their bus - Andries and Galena, and Sasha and Tonya. Galena runs a travel agency and Andries has a Mercedes bus that he uses to show tourists around. We head out in to the country, passing a temple up on the hill, I don't remember all the details about it, although they did explain. We stop at another market to pick up some more food, beer and sodas. We stop at a viewpoint along the way, and then find a place to picnic. We end up going into the forest in some nice hills (I would not call them mountains) where it is a very pretty time of the year with the trees changing color. Andries starts the fire and everyone either prepares food or goes for a walk in the forest or there is a dirt road leading up next to clear flowing stream. There is also a pipe with clear, cool spring water flowing out. I sense Tonya's interest in the camera and video camera and so I show her how to work the video camera and she films the group around the picnic table. She pans from Andries at the fire (who pulls up his collar to hide himself) past me to Lilia, Galena and Sasha washing some food. When you pan, you cannot see what is coming, so when she gets to the group of ladies, Sasha is bending down with her back to the camera, so Tonya starts to laugh. The camera shakes and the unsmiling princess finally becomes the smiling princess with peals of girlish laughter. In all it is a great day at a very pleasant venue, with very pleasant company - and yes, Lilia has me drinking beer along with the rest of them. We head home listening to a CD of love songs that Andries had with him, one of them being the theme to “Love Story” which I remember seeing as a “big tough teenager not allowed to show emotions in public” so although I cried my eyes out, when I walked outside of course the movie had to be suitably “Played down” so as to not appear soft.

Monday, October 18, 2004.
In the morning, went for a walk around, sat in the park, watched the cats, dogs and birds who all seem to get along. The strays are not starving, rather they seem to get by, be friendly and tolerated by all! One cat decided to befriend me and ask for his head to be rubbed, cute little ginger fellow. At midday met with Liubor and had lunch at a pizza type place, then said my goodbyes to Maria and Sveta and went out shopping for gifts to bring home. With Liubor's help I bought a painting from a street vendor, a forest scene capturing the nice fall colors and commemorating the picnic in the forest. Also bought some T-shirts for the boys and wooden wind chimes. Later Lilia arrived with the gift of a wall hanging and we went to meet some friends who she had mentioned in her emails. On the walk over (one of the few times we were alone!) Lilia told me the poor salary that she earned as a gynecologist so she had private clients to help make up for her needs but it was very hand to mouth, a tough way to live. Her ex-husband from medical school had left before the birth of his daughter and she received no support from him. Her friends Sergey and his wife have two daughters, the older is a 20 year old daughter who speaks fluent English, having found herself a husband on the Internet, lived overseas for a few years (he was a stock broker of sorts, they lived in Norway and then he ran a business in Sweden as best I recall). Anyway, she decided the marriage was not for her and returned home, she is so gorgeous that my nickname for her was “goddess” and I was concerned with her courting men on the Internet, but I guess she survived thus far and has one father (Sergey), so she does not need another (me)! Had an extremely pleasant evening looking at photos of their trip to the Crimean Sea and eating a scrumptious meal cooked by Boris, their chef friend who was there with his wife, so the 7 of us crammed into a small kitchen. Sergey is a business man so I left a card for him, perhaps he will have an idea to do something that I can help him with my connections down the road. In all it was like one of the evenings described in the guide book, a very small apartment (600 square feet?) where the daughters stay - great food (your plate is never empty), great company (and yes, your glass is seldom empty, either!) They were amused when I tool a picture of the ladies pointed shoes (you take your shoes off upon entering) and I had to explain that it was not fashion in the USA! Sergey has a collection of antique guns and weaponry, including chain mail and the just happened to have a pet rabbit. I took a photo of Sergey with the rabbit by the chain mail but was unable to explain the humor from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" where they are attacked by a rabbit and have to use "ye holy hand grenade of Antioch" to kill it! The evening ended suddenly at 2AM when Lilia received a call that Tonya or a neighbor had some stomach cramps so the taxi dropped me back at the apartment before taking her home. We agreed to keep in touch as despite the language barrier we were enjoying reach others company. I finished my packing and settled down to wait for the driver to take me back to the airport.

Tuesday, October 19, 2004.
Leaving at 4:30AM, the trip back went much better, there was less traffic and the driver had a newer BMW (that did not run out of gas), we stopped for breakfast at the same place and only had traffic issues once we reached Kiev. For customs I was in the red line this time due to the painting that I had to show them, and then they counted all my money for some reason. Other than that it was a quicker process. The plane was late in arriving and boarding, so had to sit in a smoky terminal waiting. The lack of being able to get an exit row made this leg very uncomfortable - especially for my legs L! Upon arriving in Frankfurt (I took some pictures from the plane window leaving Kiev and arriving in Frankfurt), I had booked a hotel in Frankfurt via Priceline.com fro $60 (versus the going rate of $180) and was pleased to find out they had a shuttle, so headed there, had a good meal and went to bed for some much needed sleep! As before it was interesting to see the latest Mercedes as the vehicle of choice for the taxis!

Wednesday, October 20, 2004.
Up in time for the shuttle (barely) and had an uneventful trip back, seated next to a very pleasant guy from Kuwait, Jafar Ali, a computer professor who had done his PhD in Chicago and was joining his family in Plano, which is not too far from me (3 boys 8,6 and 3) where is Hispanic wife was visiting her family. Once more had no sleep, but coming this way that helps one acclimatize to the time difference faster, so it was a good thing. The movies showing were Dodgeball and Stepford Wives, neither very inspiring, but they helped to pass the time! I took some pictures of the lakes coming in and Grapevine Mills from the air and I was pleased to be home, but felt rejuvenated by the trip!

My thoughts:
The way I would describe the country is like Zimbabwe without the third world element. The politics are similar although they are definitely better off without a 'dictator', but the business community has not yet got strong enough to vote in more effective politicians who can take hold of the corruption. The people are by necessity entrepreneurial - they have a way of making things happen and getting by. It is a system all of its own - but it seems to work. In time I believe the system will refine and become more above board, but they are a good twenty years away from that. The roads are in poor shape, so the taxes are not getting to where it is needed, consequently, taxes are avoided as far as possible with cash the medium of doing business wherever possible - and dollars ahead of UKH as preferred payment. Cars can be bought for dollars, but financing will be in UKH usually for the Lada that proliferate (looks like the old Fiat). Just as in Zimbabwe, those who can make it, make it big so there are the very rich and those “just getting by”, with little or no middle class - but no extreme poverty, either. It is a pretty country with wonderful, genuine people. I saw no crime and felt safe walking the streets - although admittedly I did not try doing that at 2AM in the morning! There were no horror stories of break-ins, car hijackings or murder, so in that aspect they are way ahead of Zimbabwe. The exchange rate is more similar to South Africa so economically they are on firmer footing. Once that more businessmen discover Ukraine and the opportunity, I believe it will become economically much stronger. The travel for the residents is restricted to eastern block countries and Egypt for some strange reason. I would hope that this restriction is lifted, I suspect they fear a big exodus, but my feeling is that instead it will allow the people to learn more about capitalism and independence and that they bring that knowledge back into the country. In all it was a great trip, to a great country, where I found great people, great food and that I can still have feelings for someone! To infinity and beyond…