UPDATE: July 19, 1998 - Tomorrow I will contact the travel agent for reservations from the USA to Odessa, Ukraine. I will begin to build this site as I gather information.
UPDATE: July 20, 1998 - Today I found that I could get a flight from the USA to Kiev, Ukraine - but could not find one to Odessa. The cost from North Carolina is $1097. It looks like I will only have two days there. I will have to make the most of the time I have. I still am trying to figure out what is needed for a visa. I have heard that I could fly to Istanbul, Turkey and get a visa at the airport. I will call the Embassy of Ukraine tomorrow at 1-202-333-7507 for visa details.
UPDATE: July 22, 1998 - Calling the Ukrainian Embassy proved to be a bit difficult. First of all, the number was not the number for visas so they gave me a different number and I had to call back (This is the number in the previous entry). When I called the other number it was so difficult to understand the person's English - their pronunciation was very difficult to understand. Then they were to fax me visa information. When the fax did not come I called again. They insisted that my fax was not working. The fax phone did not even ring so the call never even got to my machine. I asked them to try again. It still did not even ring. When I called back a few minutes after 3pm there was no answer - apparently they close at 3pm?!? Why are things always as difficult as people can make them? My time is ticking (the visa processing time is 9 days) so I guess I will call again tomorrow and see if they will mail me the information. Tomorrow I must pay for the tickets if I want them. Also, I saw that Kiev - where I would be landing is still a l-o-n-g way from Odessa. Why is it not possible to get a flight to Odessa? This is becoming frustrating - but I will prevail! Check back for the next step in my journey.
UPDATE: July 24, 1998 - It is unbelievable how difficult it is to do a simple thing. Yesterday I found a website where I could get a letter of invitation to accompany my visa application (See Orchid Agency on K-1 Visa Page). They gave me the information for transfering money to their account for the invitation - $100. I took the information to the Western Union and you guessed it - the poor gal there had no clue as to how to transfer funds from here to there. Where do they get these people? I asked her to tell me any information that she needed that was not on the form that I gave here. She did not have a clue. I left, telling her I would take care of it myself. I called the Embassy of Ukraine again and explained to them how to fax something to my computer and I received the fax from them - finally after 3 tries. I then went to the internet and found a better travel package than the travel agent had offered and am waiting on the travel agency to confirm the seats. It will give me 3 1/2 days there instead of the 2 I had previously thought. It cost more, but it is worth it I think. I received my letter of invitation as a .jpg image over the internet (they just trusted me to send the money and went ahead and sent the invitation - that speaks well of Ukraine I think) and think that today I will be able to mail the visa application. Will it actually make it there and back? I will keep you posted.
UPDATE: July 25, 1998 - Today I went to the bank to transfer the money for the payment for the letter of invitation. At the bank they hand no idea how to do it either - even though I had the bank account information. It is unbelievable how difficult it is to do what should be simple. In fact, the woman at the bank said, "So you want to send $100 to this lady?" I said, "To which lady?" She said, "To Odessa." I said, "Odessa is not the name of the person, that is the city!" I was later glad that they did not know how to transfer the money since it would cost $35 to transfer $100. Is that highway robbery or what? I did manage to get my visa application mailed to the embassy yesterday, only to discover today that I had left out the passport picture!?! I rushed to the P.O. and paid another $10.75 to mail it 1-day delivery. Tomorrow I will have to call the embassy again and try to explain to them that the picture is in a separate envelope. This should be interesting. On a brighter note, I went to the travel agency to pay for the ticket this morning, and you guessed it, the Ukrainian airline did not want to honor the price that they had given. The travel agent said she would call and fight with them for me. To my surprise she called back about 6pm and said that the tickets were mine! I am going to Odessa!...if I can now get my visa back in time. Stay tuned...
UPDATE: July 27, 1998 - I have my tickets! I will be leaving August 12 in the afternoon and arriving in Kiev August 13 at 2:50pm. I also called the embassy today and they said that they did not yet have my visa application and that it should come in with the 4pm mail. I tried to explain to them that the application was in one envelope and the passport picture in another one. She seemed to understand and said she would attach the picture to the application. I will call in a day or two to make sure it was done. I also found the most wonderful site with more information about Ukraine than I could have ever hoped to find. It is the second link at the top of the home page. It is beginning to look like it is going to happen!
UPDATE: July 30, 1998 - Ok, Ok, I apologize to the Ukraine Embassy. I called today to find out if they had been able to put my picture with my passport application and guess what they said. They said, "We mailed it back to you yesterday." I few minutes later the mailman knocked on the door and there was my passport with the visa stamped in it! They really did a good and quick job with it. So I now have the visa, the tickets, and now I have only to pack my bags and get to the airport on time. I will be leaving on August 12, 1998. When I return, the appearance of this site will quickly change. I will display my pictures and try to turn this into more than a rambling journal. There is another element of this story that I have not yet even introduced. That is...why I am going to Ukraine. The answer is...well, I will tell you later, but I think you will enjoy the rest of the story.
UPDATE: August 10, 1998 - I am now packing my bag for the trip. I will be leaving Wednesday at 5pm. I am getting excited about it. My flight will arrive at Kiev at 2:50pm on Thursday. At the airport will be a lovely lady waiting to meet me (I hope). Having corresponded with her over the internet and spoken by telephone, we will meet for the first time at Borispol Airport. She has tickets for herself and me to fly to Odessa at 7pm Thursday evening. I will be staying in her home - where she lives with her father and mother. When I do, I will have photos of Odessa and hopefully exciting tales to tell.
UPDATE: August 12, 1998 - It is 10:38am. Today at 5:05pm I leave for Odessa, Ukraine. I received an e-mail this morning and the lovely lady is on a plane at this very moment headed for Kiev to meet me there tomorrow at 2:50pm. This will be the final entry until I return on August 17, 1998.