Tour History
Odessa February 10 — 19, 2005
Dear Anastasia,
I’ve just returned home from the Odessa St. Valentine’s Tour 2005 and must tell you it was fantastic. I’d like to thank each and every person from Anastasia personally but considering my typing skills I hope you’ll be kind enough to just circulate this letter.
Even though I was very busy as the American Representative it was great to see the friends I had made on previous tours. I was also able to find a little time to spend with the girl who I had met back in October of 2004. OK, on with the tour.
The trip started early Wednesday morning, the 9th. Since the flight out of JFK had been cancelled we would be flying out of Dullas Airport instead. The flight was scheduled for 5:55 pm but I wanted to get there early to meet some of the men I’d be flying over with. I arrived at the Airport around 1:30 and was surprised to see about 8 men already there. I introduced myself and began answering questions about the tour and the socials. I also got the feeling a lot of men were happy that a representative was there to guide them the rest of the way. We had about an hour till the check in opened so I continued answering questions and greeting more men as they arrived. We finally walked down to the departure terminal and were able to relax and grab a bite to eat before the flight. More men filtered in as we waited to board the plane. The plane left right on time. We were on our way. We made good time getting to Vienna and managed to get through the Airport to the connecting flight without any problems.
We landed in Odessa and cleared customs quickly. If not for one man’s luggage getting lost and papers having to be filled out we would have gotten through the Airport in less then 20 minutes (he received it the following day at the Hotel). As we exited the Airport we were greeted by 5 of the Anastasia Staff Members. It was good to see some familiar faces. They had a bus waiting for us and got us on our way to the Hotel. With only a few blocks left to go the bus tried to make a tight turn. Most buses wouldn’t have had any problem doing this but this bus had no reverse. I thought it was comical but a few of the men got upset. About 5 of us got out and pushed it back and again we were on our way. We arrived at the Hotel in the early afternoon which gave us plenty of time to check in, unpack and relax a little before the orientation meeting that night. At orientation Margarita, from Anastasia, introduced the rest of the staff and our tour guide. She also handed out booklets which listed the schedule for the next nine days, including the socials, local restaurants, dialing codes and even some Russian word’s and phrases. This booklet proved to be extremely helpful for a lot of the men, me included. About an hour after orientation all of us went out for the optional dinner. This gave all of us a chance to get to know each other a little better and get more acquainted with the Anastasia staff. Following the dinner most of us went to bed. It had been a long day and we needed our rest for the Social scheduled the following day.
I met most of the men the next morning, Friday, at Breakfast and prepared them for the social at 1pm. They seemed to doubt me when I told them how beautiful and approachable the women there were but I knew their doubts would soon disappear. We gathered in the lobby at 12:15 then climbed onto the bus. As we pulled up to the Night Club at 1pm I got a kick out of the look on most of the men’s faces. I don’t think they had ever seen so many beautiful women gathered in one place before. Things got off to a bit of a slow start but once the men saw the veterans approaching the women and being received nicely their confidence grew. By the end of the social most of the men had dates lined up and no one doubted any longer what I had told them at breakfast that morning. A few of us met for dinner that evening then called it an early night. Now knowing what they did they wanted to be ready for tomorrows social.
Saturday morning at breakfast seemed like a different group of men. You could feel their excitement as they described the women they had met the previous day. Again all of us met in the lobby at 12:15 then took a bus ride to the social. What a difference. The men didn’t waste any time at this social. Within a half an hour most of them were sitting next to a beautiful lady, smiling, laughing and scheduling time to see them later that day or during the week. After the social I met with a few of the men and their dates for dinner. We enjoyed a good meal then talked and laughed for a couple of hours before I called it a night.
Sunday, the 13th, I went down for breakfast early, around 8am. It was funny not seeing the usual early risers down there. Instead they arrived closer to 9:00 and 9:30 looking sleep deprived but grinning from ear to ear. It was obvious they had been out late and had a good time the night before so I just sat and listened to their stories. We were scheduled to meet in the lobby at 10:15 today for a tour of the city. About 15 or 20 showed up and some had dates with them. It was great to see and hear about some of the Statues and Museums of the city and learn about the events which let up to the Odessa we see today. It’s a shame the weather did not cooperate though. It was very cold and wet. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry to get back on the bus. I would definitely go again to see the sites I missed the first time.
We arrived back at the Hotel around 2:30. Most of the men went out for some lunch then came back early to prepare for the dates they had scheduled for that evening. It ended up being a relatively quiet afternoon for me and I was happy about that. I needed a little rest by now. That night a few of us met for dinner. We went to a Japanese Restaurant. The food was excellent and very reasonably priced so I asked for some business cards to take back to hand out to the men. After dinner we went out to the Club Yo which was only a few blocks from the Hotel. This place was packed and the music was loud but we were able to find seats next to a group of local people. They had a live show during which they asked a young man from the crowd to join them on stage. The female dancer began to strip the man down to his shorts. All the girls in the crowd went crazy. Just when you thought it was over the man raised his hands. That may not have been a good idea since the dancer was standing directly behind him and decided that would be a good time to finish what she had started. As she pulled down his shorts his hands dropped to cover up and the crowd went wild. It was all very tastefully done. We had a great time. We talked and joked with our new friends sitting next to us until about 12 then went back to the Hotel. All of us wanted to get a good nights rest since the social in Kherson was next on the agenda. The next morning, Monday the 14th, St. Valentine’s Day, all of us met in the lobby at 9:15 following breakfast. It was going to be a long bus ride to Kherson but would prove to be well worth the journey. Well over 400 women attended and the men, well by now they all were comfortable approaching the women and within minutes of arriving had done just that. I spent most of my time taking pictures for them and explaining to them the best way to bring the ladies back to Odessa or how they could stay in Kherson for the night. A few of the men stayed and quite a few more had a difficult time saying goodbye when it was time to go. Everyone seemed to enjoy that social very much and was eager to spend their remaining days getting to better know the ladies they had met. We arrived back at the Hotel around 10:30 that evening. A lot of men went to the 19th floor for a drink and some food. At 12:00 I went to bed. Others stayed up there, some with the ladies they had met.
Tuesday, the 15th, we were scheduled to see the Catacombs. We met in the lobby at 10:15 then got on the bus for a short ride there, about 30 minutes. I had already seen the Catacombs last year but was again fascinated by the amount of work that went into building them. Also hearing how the people had survived down there and the things they had to do when venturing out was overwhelming at times. Since they were underground so much and had no exposure to sun light it was necessary for them to rub dirt onto their skin so their enemy could not recognize them by how white their skin had gotten from living underground. Even the local women who had accompanied some of the men on this tour were amazed by what they were seeing. It was a good tour and I would definitely recommend it for anyone who has never seen it before. We got back to the Hotel around 2pm. All of the men were either headed to their rooms for a nap or leaving to go out on dates. Tonight was bowling night so I wanted to rest up for that. About ten of us met in the lobby around 7:45, some with dates, then we took taxi’s over to the Bowling lanes which was a few blocks away from the Hotel. The Anastasia staff was already there. We all got our shoes and walked over to the lanes. After the first game the excuses started flying. One man complained of a bad back and one of the women broke three nails. We all laughed and had a great time. We ended up bowling about 5 or 6 games. I was determined to beat Sasha at least one game. After all my last name is Brunswick, but tonight was not going to be my night. OK, I confess, I was the one complaining of the bad back and my finger is still swollen from that night. Hopefully I’ll do better next time. After bowling most of the men went back to the Hotel. I met with the Anastasia staff briefly then headed back myself.
Wednesday the 15th I got up and went down for breakfast around 8:30. Most of the men showed up shortly after me. We all sat and discussed the events of the last few days. I was surprised to hear that a few of the men were already thinking about getting engaged to the women they had met. The day was pretty uneventful since most of the men were out dating and others were in the hospitality room lining up dates for the next couple of days. I took advantage of this time and caught up on some rest. Later that day, around 7pm, I met with the girls from the Anastasia staff. I had promised to take them all to dinner and since the men were all busy this was a good opportunity to do that. They wanted Sushi. I took them to the Japanese restaurant I had been to a few nights earlier. This gave us a chance to talk and compare notes on the events ahead and the men’s attitude towards the trip so far. Except for being asked to try the Sushi I had a great time and a lot of fun. Only kidding, the Sushi wasn’t that bad and I was happy to be able to share this time with them.
Thursday the 16th, after breakfast I went to the hospitality room. The Anastasia girls were trying to get the evaluation forms handed out to all the men and plan a Farewell dinner for the following night. I then had the task of finding out if they would attend the Farewell dinner since reservations had to be made. The rest of the day went smoothly since most of the men were either on dates or resting up for one.
Friday started out the same as most others with breakfast and talking to the men on the tour. Following breakfast I went up to the hospitality room to find that two of the men had gotten engaged already and two more were going to propose that night. I was very happy to hear their stories and hope to hear their outcome. I also had a few more men asking about the Fiance Visa’s and what was necessary to expedite them. It was very obvious the men were now realizing their time in Odessa was coming to an end and they didn’t want to leave the women they had met behind. I think there will be more engagements resulting from this tour in the near future. The afternoon went as expected, answering questions and giving advice and information on future tours. Also how to stay in contact with the women the men had met till they were able to return. Late that afternoon I went to my room so I could prepare for the farewell dinner scheduled for that evening. I wanted to look good and be well rested since I knew this would be a long night. Most of the men had already made plans for that evening, which was to be expected since this was our last night in town. Others met in the lobby around 8 then started out to the night club.
When we arrived we were seated at the tables we had reserved earlier and ordered dinner and drinks. The girls from Anastasia were with us. It was great to see them outside of their working environment having fun, laughing and dancing. There was a live band which played mostly American music. These guys were excellent. They had it all, including a horn section. This turned out to be another one of those nights I didn’t want to see end. We all left some time after 2am.
Saturday morning all of us met for an early breakfast since the bus would be leaving for the Airport around 12 and a lot of the men had to finish packing and checking out. Most of the men met in the lobby at 11:15 and a few others made arrangements to stay in Odessa and spend more time with the ladies they had met. Margarita met us at the bus to say goodbye since she lives in Moscow and would be taking a train home in a couple of hours. Irina and Karina came with us to the Airport to see us off. We got through customs with only one problem, which was resolved quickly, then started on our way. We landed in Vienna a couple of hours later then navigated our way through the airport and received transportation, from the Airline, to the hotel where we stayed for our one night lay over. Most of us were exhausted and decided to stay in and catch up on much needed sleep. Others started out for a ten minute walk down the street to a nice Italian restaurant for dinner. All of us took cabs back to the Airport the next morning. The flight got off only a couple of minutes late and took a little longer then expected, I guess due to head winds, but we were all happy to be on or close to the final leg of our trip home. The traveling was taking its toll on us. Once we arrived at JFK Airport we all cleared customs and went for our baggage. I tried to find most of the men to say goodbye but most of them had gone in different directions in anticipation of getting home. I left the Airport and arrived home a few hours later.
All in all I think the vast majority of men had a great time and would love to go back some time in the future. I want to thank of you again for giving me this opportunity to work with you. I had a great time working with the men and the Staff from Anastasia and hope I will be invited to work with you again.
Author: Todd Brunswick
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