Staying in Odessa

I cannot recommend Odessa Executive Apartments highly enough, especially if you are adopting and need a home base in Odessa for several weeks. http://www.theodessagroup.net/

The owner Scott is an American who has built first class facilities in the center of the city activities. The rooms are excellent, the rates very reasonable, you feel safe, and you have included a washer, nice shower, satellite TV, high speed Internet, kitchenette w/microwave, stove and refrigerator. He is expanding the facilities to include more rooms and a cafe. You are a 1 minute walk from McDonalds (they open at 8am , and their coffee with steamed/frothed milk is a poor mans Starbucks :-) one note, they only serve hamburgers and fries for breakfast, so no Egg McMuffins!), several major shopping malls, restaurants (many with English menu's or English speaking staff), supermarkets, and nightlife. The world famous and magnificently renovated opera house here is 5 minutes walk away. The staff @ OEA speaks fluent English and make you feel at home. After our stay in Kiev, this sanctuary is a very pleasant surprise and is one less thing to worry about when you are in the midst of the stressful adoption process...

Odessa is charming one minute, and depressing the next. Face lifts are occuring on many buildings that are very old. There are many new shopping centers. There is apparently low crime, and an emerging middle class to spend money on technology and many things we take for granted. Infrastructure is a challenge, the govt. bureaucracy here is established and I will not complain again for waiting for 3o minutes for a drivers license in the states. Most of the streets here were built when only 1 in 100 had a car. Now they are clogged with congestion that the roads were never built for. It can resemble Manhattan like traffic during the Odessa rush hour. But the people are very nice once you get to know them. We like Odessa, and our facilitator Natalya / Natasha is very professional and knowledgeable. We have been very pleased with our progress to date given some of the challenges we have faced and she seems to handle each challenge with skill and determination. Today was a good day. Vladik, our new son to be, is warming up to us and I have taught him a cool handshake that Joshua (my son) taught me. Vladik seemed to lighten up when I showed it to him. Thanks Josh!... And speaking of my kids, I really miss Joshua and Lauren. I know what a sacrifice they are making for this to happen and am looking forward to Skyping with them on our web cam. And I am very thankful for the many friends back home who are caring for them..... Our best to to you all.

Charles