lings that were in the emails and letters before his arrival were missing in the face to face contact. "There was something peculiar about our first and second meetings. I didn't get the impression that I was talking to the same girl I had been writing to for a half of a year. She said she didn't want to get married so soon and that she was nervous about relocating to the USA," said Curtis. Those two points are the sticklers. Yes, marriage is a big step, and one should be a little nervous about broaching the subject, butThere is nothing more enticing or alluring than the prospect of finding that one true love. Perhaps the only thing better could be true love with a catwalk model. For thousands of forlorn, abandoned, rejected or just fed up with feminism' men in Western Europe, the USA, Canada and Australia, all trails seem to 'lead eastward' as they search for the love of their life. The marriage agency business in Ukraine is booming. It was born shortly the fall of the wall, but received its biggest infusion of life about 7 years ago with the rise in popularity of the Internet.

Ukraine is second after Russia in numbers of women using the Internet superhighway to find love and romance and, perhaps, a better life. But how many of these women are for real? How many wants love, marriage and a little one in a baby carriage? Surprisingly enough after talking with a cross-section of men recently arrived in Kyiv from Western Europe, the USA and Canada on marriage tours, not as many as you would think are interested in pursuing marriage. These men, who had been corresponding with the woman of 'their dreams' for many months, were dismayed to find that once on the ground in Ukraine, a different story was on the verge of ruining their fairytale quest for a Slavic princess. There were three com?plaints this reporter heard from all but two of the men. Number one:

I. The girl said she had second thoughts and didn't want to get married so soon.

2. The girl said she had no plans to leave Ukraine.

3. The girl 'appeared' interested only in going out and having a good time.

"It was just a bit strange to me," says Curtis, a computer programmer from San Jose California. Curtis had been corresponding with a girl named Svetlana in Kyiv for about 6 months before deciding to take the plunge. "Everything appears o.k. on the surface, but when I want to talk about specifics, plans for the future, she backs off. I mean I am only here for 7 days, I don't have a long time to put things together, it was really kind of frustrating," he says. Curtis also says the passion and heartfelt feelings that were in the emails and letters before his arrival were missing in the face to face contact. "There was something peculiar about our first and second meetings. I didn't get the impression that I was talking to the same girl I had been writing to for a half of a year. She said she didn't want to get married so soon and that she was nervous about relocating to the USA," said Curtis. Those two points are the sticklers. Yes, marriage is a big step, and one should be a little nervous about broaching the subject, but

ith the rise in popularity of the Internet.

Ukraine is second after Russia in numbers of women using the Internet superhighway to find love and romance and, perhaps, a better life. But how many of these women are for real? How many wants love, marriage and a little one in a baby carriage? Surprisingly enough after talking with a cross-section of men recently arrived in Kyiv from Western Europe, the USA and Canada on marriage tours, not as many as you would think are interested in pursuing marriage. These men, who had been corresponding with the woman of 'their dreams' for many months, were dismayed to find that once on the ground in Ukraine, a different story was on the verge of ruining their fairytale quest for a Slavic princess. There were three com?plaints this reporter heard from all but two of the men. Number one:

I. The girl said she had second thoughts and didn't want to get married so soon.

2. The girl said she had no plans to leave Ukraine.

3. The girl 'appeared' interested only in going out and having a good time.

"It was just a bit strange to me," says Curtis, a computer programmer from San Jose California. Curtis had been corresponding with a girl named Svetlana in Kyiv for about 6 months before deciding to take the plunge. "Everything appears o.k. on the surface, but when I want to talk about specifics, plans for the future, she backs off. I mean I am only here for 7 days, I don't have a long time to put things together, it was really kind of frustrating," he says. Curtis also says the passion and heartfelt feelings that were in the emails and letters before his arrival were missing in the face to face contact. "There was something peculiar about our first and second meetings. I didn't get the impression that I was talking to the same girl I had been writing to for a half of a year. She said she didn't want to get married so soon and that she was nervous about relocating to the USA," said Curtis. Those two points are the sticklers. Yes, marriage is a big step, and one should be a little nervous about broaching the subject, but

ad been corresponding with the woman of 'their dreams' for many months, were dismayed to find that once on the ground in Ukraine, a different story was on the verge of ruining their fairytale quest for a Slavic princess. There were three com?plaints this reporter heard from all but two of the men. Number one:

I. The girl said she had second thoughts and didn't want to get married so soon.

2. The girl said she had no plans to leave Ukraine.

3. The girl 'appeared' interested only in going out and having a good time.

"It was just a bit strange to me," says Curtis, a computer programmer from San Jose California. Curtis had been corresponding with a girl named Svetlana in Kyiv for about 6 months before deciding to take the plunge. "Everything appears o.k. on the surface, but when I want to talk about specifics, plans for the future, she backs off. I mean I am only here for 7 days, I don't have a long time to put things together, it was really kind of frustrating," he says. Curtis also says the passion and heartfelt feelings that were in the emails and letters before his arrival were missing in the face to face contact. "There was something peculiar about our first and second meetings. I didn't get the impression that I was talking to the same girl I had been writing to for a half of a year. She said she didn't want to get married so soon and that she was nervous about relocating to the USA," said Curtis. Those two points are the sticklers. Yes, marriage is a big step, and one should be a little nervous about broaching the subject, but

good time.

"It was just a bit strange to me," says Curtis, a computer programmer from San Jose California. Curtis had been corresponding with a girl named Svetlana in Kyiv for about 6 months before deciding to take the plunge. "Everything appears o.k. on the surface, but when I want to talk about specifics, plans for the future, she backs off. I mean I am only here for 7 days, I don't have a long time to put things together, it was really kind of frustrating," he says. Curtis also says the passion and heartfelt feelings that were in the emails and letters before his arrival were missing in the face to face contact. "There was something peculiar about our first and second meetings. I didn't get the impression that I was talking to the same girl I had been writing to for a half of a year. She said she didn't want to get married so soon and that she was nervous about relocating to the USA," said Curtis. Those two points are the sticklers. Yes, marriage is a big step, and one should be a little nervous about broaching the subject, but

lings that were in the emails and letters before his arrival were missing in the face to face contact. "There was something peculiar about our first and second meetings. I didn't get the impression that I was talking to the same girl I had been writing to for a half of a year. She said she didn't want to get married so soon and that she was nervous about relocating to the USA," said Curtis. Those two points are the sticklers. Yes, marriage is a big step, and one should be a little nervous about broaching the subject, but shouldn't that be a consideration before a person enlists the services of a marriage agency, not after the guy you have been writing 'sweet nothings' to shows up at Boryspil Airport?

The first two points were put to American businessman and longtime Kyiv resident Mr. Brett Ousley, himself President of Kiev Connections. "I am a single guy, and have used agencies in the past, and some of the problems mentioned are what led me to open up my own agency", he says. Brett says many of the plethora of agencies in Ukraine are in the business to collect and sell as many names and addresses as they can. This 'killing the golden goose' mentality in the marriage agency business is bad for the legitimate operations who genuinely try to match the appropriate people for a solid relationship. "I remember this one time, years ago, I was on a date with a girl from some agency in town," says Ousley, "and after I pick her up we start walking to this cafe in order to get to know each other better. As we are walking, she nonchalantly blurts out that she can not be out late because her husband will be home in a while". Needless to say, Ousley politely ducked out. "She was amazing, she like said I hope this doesn't preclude us going out tonight? I said well, 'what's the point', see ya later," says the disgusted bride hunter.

Ousley says this experience was such a shocker that it has helped form a cornerstone of his operation. Through screening of the applicants, his suspicions were well founded. What some people don't consider as that this is a 'win win' situation for the ladies," says Ousley. "It costs them nothing. The risk is the man's. She waits for the agency to call, or she collects the letters, gifts and dates all for free, while the man uses his one vacation a year, buys a ticket, lodgings in Kyiv and lays his heart on the line, so that is why we make sure our girls are on the level," says Ousley. Ousley says that he periodically reviews a girl's status, and that some are rejected, or removed from his roster if they are found to be just in the game for a good time and not s