Fri-Sat Dnepropetrovsk - I took the bus as the train was full, but it turned out to be a mistake as it set off a domino of unlucky things. As soon as we left at 10.30pm they put on a very very loud idiotic video when I wanted to sleep. The video finished at 12.30pm , but then the road which had been smooth became super bumpy. So I arrived at Friday 6.15am in Dnepropetrovsk with almost no sleep. - I didn't want to wake Hazel up so I dozed in the park until 9am. Cos I was so tired I had to doze some more in the park I met Hazel before lunch so we go shopping at the big market. When we came back her friend said Hazel had to come urgently to look at a new apartment as Hazel is moving out cos her landlord is putting up the rent. - By the time I got to the museum it was 4.40pm and they said it was closed. - Another local CSer and English teacher had a break between classes so we had a meetup in Shevshenka Park ... good conversation. Then I walked through the park to the promenade high above the river.... nice view. - Then I walked through to Lenin Square where Hazel and her student and teacher friends were meeting in a German Bier Keller. I was still absolutely knackered from my bad bus journey and sleeping sickness so I had to go home at 11pm... I was so tired. Sat - resting Saturday- Finally I got some good sleep - actually I slept half the day and the other half of the day was taken up with internet cos I had to do my planning to find a host in Donetesk. Then Hazel made Mexican chicken for dinner . .. We made it out at 7pm to meetup with a couple of Hazels other friends ..this poor Ukranian girl obviously had no money cos she had to come out in her nightdress. - Again I had to play the lightweight and come home and do some internet cos I still hadn't found a Donetsk host Sunday - travel to Donetsk - had to sleep in Internet cafe Sunday - It's Hazel's big workday cos her school is affiliated to the Mormons they don't work on Saturdays so I figured best head off to Donetsk - So I got up and went to the station. No trains until afternoon so I went to the bus station - A fine policeman wanted to inspect my passport., so that was a hassle. I bought a ticket to Donetsk, but it turned out not to be a bus instead it was a Mashruta for 250Km. The journey was pretty slow and uncomfortable and took 4.5 hours so it was 3pm before I got to Donetsk and 4.30pm before I got down to the centre of town in a huge rainstorm. - The domino effect continued : Again if I'd got proper sleep on Thursday night I would have arrived in Donetsk before the art museum closed, but by the rain finished it was closed. - More interent but no host yet. I'd made contact with Temko in Mariupol, but it turned out to be much further from Donetsk than I thought so on Sunday it was too late to get there. In Donetsk all the hotels were expensive, but then I found the internet cafe was 24 hours. Since in Japan Internet cafes are like hotels with big comfy chairs for sleeping all night I thought I'd try it. - Bad Idea, they had a special price of $2 all night, but I didn't get much sleep.

Monday - Explore and moved to Alexi's - I took a tram all the way through the city and came back to the Ethnographic Museum near the big new stadium, but it was closed one sign says they open at 8.30am but actually they open 9-3pm. So I went to a big communist monument which overlooks the whole valley full of mines and spoil heaps. Otherwise Donetsk downtown is quite like Kyev with lots of old prosperous buildings/ parks etc. - Alexi a university office manager and freelance translator texted me with an offer to stay at his place 14 Km out of town... so I had to tell temko I would delay my trip to Mariupol. - Lunchtime I went to the far south of the downtown as this is where the founding Welshman had built the original city. Many old buildings but it hasn't been renovated yet. ..apart from the synagogue now rebuilt ...Now the town has 10,000 jews and they were excited cos Madonna will visit the synagogue in August when she does a gig in Donetsk. Mon- Tue with Alex The family , Alex, Svetlana and their 2 children Daniel-ka 4 and Maria-ka 11months live in a dachau 6Km awayfrom the cokeoven plant. It's not a bad life for the children living there in the countryside. We went to the local shops etc. Tuesday- Again I had to do a lot of internet planning to find hosts in the next place Mariupol. In the afternoon we all went into town to run some errands ...see the photos of our visit to the pear garden. Photos Donetsk pear_garden - Alex had a book to work on but it was in Russian about Sumarian (ancient line writing found on old rocks) so I couldn't really help him andsince I didn't want to distract him I decided to move on on Wednesday. Wed - Mariupol - I had some writing to do so it was after lunch before I made it back to the Ethnographic Museum ..not really great without a translator. - Then 3.30pm I was a mashruta to Mariupol, where Anna an English teacher had offered me a place at her flat whilst she stayed in the dachau. - Didn't get time for internet. Check csrcs.exe Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri 5 Sat Sun 7