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Early
Summer Tours 2004 - Odessa May 13 - 22
My
name is Anna and I am a member of AnastasiaWeb staff. This May I went
to Odessa to work as a senior assistant during Odessa Spring Tour. It
was my first tour in Odessa and I was very excited and scared at the
same time. New city; new colleagues… I was to learn a lot. I was
very happy about the opportunity to visit Odessa, a wonderful city
on the shore of the Black Sea. Since it was May I took a lot of nice
summer clothes with me and was planning to spend my free time on the
beach. Well, the weather was a little disappointing. It was almost
as cold as in Moscow and I felt sorry for the guys from Southern
States. Although, as it turned out later, the weather was the least
important thing on this trip for our clients.
The
group arrived on May 13 and we got to the airport in advance to meet
the guys. We stood near the gate with “Anastasia” sign and I was
worried because I was afraid that the guys would not notice the sign
and would get lost. I was mistaken: for some reason we could tell
our guys from other passengers at once.
There
were ladies at the airport who came there to meet the guys they had
been in correspondence with. They met like old friends and it was
surprising for me because I would expect people to feel awkward at
the first meeting. Nothing of the kind! Their excitement was so
great that they forgot about being shy: they thrust into each others’
arms and became inseparable for the rest of the trip. I noticed that
some guys who did not have a lady waiting at the airport looked at
these happy couples with some envy and I did not hesitate to assure
them that their lucky chance was ahead of them.
Usually
one or two clients get their luggage lost and this gives the
assistants a real headache! This tour was no exception. Three
lost-luggage cases! One was really bad: the guy got his luggage back
only in 4 days! I imagine how disappointed he was: his suite for the
social was in the lost case. Well, that is why we insist that the
clients should put the most important staff into carry-on!
I
took the guys who were through the customs procedure to the bus, so
that they could sit down and relax while we were waiting for the
rest of the group. When everybody got through the customs, which
turned out to be not so black as it is usually painted, we set off
to the hotel, which is in just 20 minutes’ ride from the airport.
The guys did not have much opportunity to enjoy Odessa’s
picturesque beauty on the way.
Check
in at the Black Sea hotel went smooth. We had visited the hotel in
the morning before the arrival of our group and the personnel of the
hotel were prepared for our arrival. My very efficient assistants
Irina and Karina gave out the keys to the rooms and reminded the
guys about the briefing, which was scheduled for 6 p.m.
At
briefing I did my best to cover all the items on the agenda. I told
the guys about the surroundings of the hotel, about the best
restaurants and clubs, the best places to go for a date, about the
socials and etc. The guys were very attentive and asked tons of
questions. We spoke about the things which had been planned but
there were a lot of unexpected questions. I had to use all my
knowledge to be able to answer them. I must say that our American
representative Allan also gave a very nice speech and demonstrated
the good relationship he had already established with the group. I
understood at once that he would be a great help for us. I was right:
during the tour Allan gave the guys advice. When one of the guys had
some problems with health he helped to arrange for a doctor and for
an interpreter. Allan was very proactive throughout the tour.
The
briefing did not last too long (a little over one hour) but it
exhausted most of us, so the clients gladly accepted my invitation
to the optional dinner. We went to Steak House restaurant not far
from the hotel. It is an American style restaurant and they guys
felt very much at home there. The atmosphere was friendly and
relaxed and the guys enjoyed this first evening together.
The
group was rather large (36 people) but most of the guys managed to
make friends at once. There was a group of four clients from New
Orleans who were friends. Their optimism and inspiration were
contagious. They talked some guy into going to disco the same day -
the fatigue of the trip did not affect them at all. The others did
not consider dancing a good idea and decided to take a rest in order
to look theirs best at the social, planned for the next day.
On
the day of the first social all the guys were very excited. They
came to the hospitality room as soon as it was opened. They asked us
to call the ladies to make sure that they were coming, to advise
what to wear, how to behave, etc. On our recommendation most of the
guys wore suit and tie and looked very respectable.
The
two socials in Odessa were held at the nightclub Vechernyaya Odessa
(Odessa at Night), which is one of the best in the city. Over 300
beauties attended the socials each day. I saw that some of the guys
felt pricks of conscience because most of the ladies were to leave
the socials without a date and they were really sorry to let such
beautiful women go home alone but it was impossible to take all of
them out. I was surprised to hear from one of the guys: “There are
too many beautiful women, I feel bad!” Well, life is life. You
need to wait for your lucky day…
The
2nd city social took place at the club Monarch in
Nikolaev, which is also very nice although it is smaller. This
social was the best to my mind. I saw that the guys had got used to
the idea that the ladies outnumbered them greatly and they already
knew how to behave. They passed from one lady to another, took phone
numbers, arranged for dates. There were some guys who already had
made their choice and stayed with just one lady. One man met his
dream at the third social in Nikolaev and spent the rest of the time
with her. They were such a cute couple, the happiness overwhelmed
them and you could see them walking around and holding hands all the
time.
Many
guys decided to stay in Nikolaev after the social and the bus went
to Odessa half empty. Now, you see why it is so important to go to
all the three socials and to stay till the very end?
The
next three days we were busy with the cultural program. We went on a
city tour, visited Odessa Catacombs and looked at the temples of
Odessa. Most of the guys were very interested in learning about the
unique culture and Odessa history. They asked our guide Danara a lot
of questions and she was really very knowledgeable and efficient.
Although she had already worked as a guide for 25 years she was very
enthusiastic and energetic. She told us not only the well known
historical and cultural facts: she also told the group about the
life of common Odessa inhabitants and this touched the guys the most.
They could not believe that there is central heating and hot water
only during the winter months and the size of the average salary in
Odessa simply shocked them. It was difficult for them to understand
how Odessa women managed to buy such elegant clothes with such
salaries. “Well, women are women and they always find a way to
look their best” was Danara’s answer.
I
enjoyed working the group and made friends with most of the guys.
They came to our hospitality room all the time to just have a chat
with us, assistants. They asked us where to go shopping, shared
their experience with us, asked for a personal advice. They brought
us flowers all the time. There was always a bunch of fresh roses in
the hospitality room. So, we could see that the tour was a success.
I
can not say that the tour was absolutely smooth: some of the guys
were not happy about the hotel. The rooms seemed too small and most
people needed a king size bed. J Well, I must say that I totally agree with one of our
customers, John, who reacted to such complaint with the following
words: “When you come to a foreign country you should expect
things to be different. It would have been disappointing if
everything was just the same as back home.” The hotel industry in
the Ukraine is now at the beginning of its development and it is
nonsense to try to compare a Ukrainian and an American hotel. I wish
the guys could have seen the hotels in Ukraine ten years ago, that
way the progress would have been obvious to them…The hotel was
actually the only ruff point of our stay. Generally the trip was
wonderful and we spent unforgettable ten days and took hundreds of
pictures.
It
was a pity to say good bye. I did not go to the airport with the
group as I had to catch my train back to Moscow. Irina and Karina
went to see the group off at the airport. When I got on the bus
before the departure to thank the group for the wonderful time we
had had together I could not help crying.
Everybody
kept silent on the way to the airport. Many of the clients promised
to come back Some of the customers were with their fiancées
who came to say good-bye. It was so sweet and yet rather sad to
watch them part. There were tears in the eyes of all the ladies and
most of the guys had to collect their strength in order not to burst
into tears.
I
hope that this tour was as pleasant for the group as it was for me
and I really hope that it worked out between them and the ladies
they met during this tour.
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