Ukraine - Kiev to Odessa - Monday 9 -24, What a day!

Monday was a long day. We had to meet with the SDA in the early afternoon. Oleg met us for our meeting with the SDA after lunch, and our meeting went fine. We were given permission to submit our paperwork to the regional director in Odessa where Vladik attends secondary school. After our meeting we decided to take a hired car with our facilitator Natasha for the 300 mile journey to Odessa. (The overnight train did not leave until 10 pm or so, and we were ready to proceed with the next part of our journey and get to Odessa). The five hour car ride was interesting, as once you leave the city you are stepping back in time 40-50 years. The roads were fairly decent, but the futher you got away from the city the more rural it became, with houses not more than huts in many cases, with many places without electricity, running water, indoor plumbing, etc. Paying 20 grivna to use the "facilities" along the way was interesting to say the least. We were fortunate that Dima had secured a very good driver, with a minivan in excellent condition, for the journey to Odessa. I have been very impressed so far with the professionalism of Oleg's team and their desire to answer our questions and help us in any way possible. Additionally, the people of Ukraine, while reserved and cautious, seem very nice and personable once they get to know you.