They're home!

[Jet]

Lil and Kolya have finally made it home from their summer excursion back to the motherland  So you'll probably see a lot less of me (for a while anyway).
Momma brought back lots of goodies too 

I have quite a few pictures to get scanned in but I thought I'd share one now.
The short man and his devuska, Aleonka:

If he can do this well at 7, I shudder to think of the trail of broken hearts he's gonna leave by the time he's driving age!

[catzenmouse]

Jet!
 
 You survived!!! Now, go take care of that family, we'll still be here next week when you get a chance to catch your breath!

Ken

[Vaughn]

Graet photos, Jet. Yeah, he's a fox in the henhouse! And I see Lil
was perceptive enough to bring back at least ONE bottle
of Vinogradov (with lemon no less) - one of my personal
favorites. Enjoy your reunion!

[Bruno]

Momma brought back lots of goodies too 

Whowww... so much sigarette... when i think that in Europa, we are limited to 200 sigarette... lucky for you, she have not take "prima" sigarette... when i have try these, i have almost stop smoke... the "prima" was wonderfull for kill mosquitto when i was trying to fish in FSU...

And so much alcohol... i understand that we will not see you so much for a while 

[PeeWee]

Lil and Kolya have finally made it home from their summer excursion back to the motherland  So you'll probably see a lot less of me (for a while anyway).
Momma brought back lots of goodies too 

I have quite a few pictures to get scanned in but I thought I'd share one now.
The short man and his devuska, Aleonka:

If he can do this well at 7, I shudder to think of the trail of broken hearts he's gonna leave by the time he's driving age!

Seeing that stack of cigarettes reminded me of the time my friend Oleg was visiting from Moscow. He was in town on Super Bowl weekend so we went to the local casino to watch the game. His first American football game so I had to explain the rules. He picked up on that pretty quick but like many Russian men he does smoke. I do not and I do not know what a pack of cigarettes costs. I had asked him earlier in the day what a pack costs in Moscow. He told me about 80 cents. About halftime he ran out so I offered to buy him a pack thinking maybe a couple of dollars, that based on the 80 cents. I was suprised to learn that the pack cost $7.00. Now wonder she brought back that many cigarettes. The savings in that sack alone is huge.

Peewee

[Turboguy]

If the cigarettes were bought in Russia the savings would cover about 1/3 of an airfare, maybe not in peak season.  Legally I though you could only bring in 200 cigarettes though. (one carton)

[Wild Orchid*]

Whowww... so much sigarette... when i think that in Europa, we are limited to 200 sigarette... lucky for you, she have not take "prima" sigarette... when i have try these, i have almost stop smoke... the "prima" was wonderfull for kill mosquitto when i was trying to fish in FSU...

And so much alcohol... i understand that we will not see you so much for a while 

At least they are light in weight. I was looking at the bottles.  We can take on board only 20 kg of luggage.

[Jet]

The stack of smokes represents about a $180.00 savings over buying cartons here (or @ $290.00 if bought by the pack here - in NYC double those numbers). Since she was travelling w/ Kolya, they were able to bring 4 bags at 23kg each back and all items were distributed amongst the bags evenly  . Apparently Miami Customs has a don't ask/don't tell policy concerning gifts for family, and we're fine with that  About half the chocolate & alcohol is intended as gifts for friends and coworkers so don't get too nervous! We'll hold on to the Vinogradov, 1 Russki Standardt, 1 Valtz Bostone (my personal favorite) and 1 Kagor. These will last until next year's trip...

For the big homecoming dinner, they chose........McDonld's and the little guy never even made it through his cheeseburger before he was fast asleep.

[jb]

Great photos, Jet.

My wife recently returned from her trip home to Moscow.  He luggage was similarly loaded with everything shown there with the exception of the smokes, in their place were several cans of caviar.

I'm sure you had exactly the same thoughts as I did when they finally walked through the doors out of the International Arrivals area; "Thanks God, they're home and safe~!"  We know when we get married to these women that they will be making these periodic trips back to see the family, it just goes with the territiory, but if you're like me, you worry until they are safely back home.

And BTW, I think the little guy has excellent taste in women.   

[Turboguy]

For those who don't know the prices of cigarettes here and there.   Here in PA a pack of Marlboro lights is $ 4.00 so we would pay a bit more than Jet.   9 cartons in PA would be $ 360 plus sales tax which would run you up to a tad over $ 380.00    In Moscow street price on Marlboro Lights was 25 roubles or just under a buck.  If you don't shop you might pay 30 roubles and if you don't shop in PA you might pay $ 5.00.  You could buy the exact same cigarettes for $ 90.00 on the street in Russia.   The generic brands in Russia go for as low as 25 cents a pack.   The difference in prices here and there, Taxes of course.   I was talking to a guy in the Nickolev or Kharkov airport early in the year that worked with one of the major tobacco companies in their Ukraine operations and even at the lower prices, that is their most profitable division.

[Bruce]

"For the big homecoming dinner, they chose........McDonld's  and the little guy never even made it through his cheeseburger before he was fast asleep."  Now thats cute!

Great gifts too!

[PeeWee]

Great photos, Jet.

My wife recently returned from her trip home to Moscow.  He luggage was similarly loaded with everything shown there with the exception of the smokes, in their place were several cans of caviar.

JB, I have seen the reverse of that. When my friend would arrive in Seattle from Moscow the airline would arrange for a bus to pick up two flight crews each Tuesday at the hotel and then transport them to Costco. One time I was packing her double large suitcase through the hotel lobby. I could barely lift it. I stopped and let go of the case. It hit the floor with a bang. The sound attacted the attention of one of the Aeroflot pilots what was standing nearby. "Is heavy?" he asked. "Yeah. It's Sveta's bag."  "Ah," he smiled and replied, "Only Russian woman can lift this bag."

I later opened the suitcase. It was loaded with katsup and spagetti sause. An entire suitcase full of the stuff? Apparently her daughter loves katsup. I don't know as I am sure that katsup is easy to come by in Moscow but perhaps the price or the quality of the Russian stuff is not the same as the American stuff.

Peewee

[Jet]

it just goes with the territiory, but if you're like me, you worry until they are safely back home.

We had a plan, she used a car charger to juice up her US cellphone, so she could call me when she was on the ground. What we hadn't counted on, was Passport Control forbidding her to use it  . As she STILL has no GC, she waits with all the other visa holders for review of her documents, they processed her in @ 5 minutes, problem was - there was a planeload of Cuban refugees that landed just before her flight  So they had to wait 2 1/2 hrs for their 5 minutes of fame...

The return flights from Russia always remind me of the Appolo missions - that period of "radio silence" upon re-entry. She had barely an hour layover in frankfurt which it tight considering Russian ATC, I was relieved to see the Moscow flight departed almost on-time and there was a 20 minute delay on the Frankfurt Miami leg when I checked it online at 4am. ANyhow, I agree, it's alway a tense time waiting behind the glass wall at MIA for my family to come bouncing through the stainless steel doors at the far end.

PeeWee,
If you ever had the misfortune to taste Russian ketchup, you would surely be more sympathetic!
Take 2 tablespoons of Heinz,
add 1/2 of one small jar of Tabasco,
1/2 table shaker of ground black pepper,
and fill to top of jar with equal portions of vinegar and water
shake well and...
*PRESTO* Russian Ketchup

Russian spagetti sauce is somwhat akin to what we know as Cambell's tomato soup.

One more photo - probably my favorite In-Law, Uncle Anatoly:

[PeeWee]

PeeWee,
If you ever had the misfortune to taste Russian ketchup, you would surely be more sympathetic!
Take 2 tablespoons of Heinz,
add 1/2 of one small jar of Tabasco,
1/2 table shaker of ground black pepper,
and fill to top of jar with equal portions of vinegar and water
shake well and...
*PRESTO* Russian Ketchup

Russian spagetti sauce is somwhat akin to what we know as Cambell's tomato soup.

Great photo. I figured something was up when I spotted those bottles of Heinz and all of those big jars of Preggo. That large suitcase came for Moscow empty with the specific plan in mind to load it with Costco Contraban. Those Russkis really seem to love Costco.

Peewee

[Doug S]

About that pile of poisons shown at the beginning...

Do you and your Russian wife really ingest all of that stuff, or are they "gifts" for others?

(Looks like Uncle Anatoly did the whole pile in one snort.)

And I see there is a child involved. Forgive me for not staying up to date on your situation, Jet, but did your Russian wife come with a Russian kid?

If yeas to most of the above, I'm curious about the health & nutrition situation in your house. Do both you and your wife smoke? Drink hard alcohol? With the child around?

Please don't misunderstand me. I'm not trying to be judgemental. I've been known to down a couple of Coors lights with full half-pound bag of M&Ms and a hooter myself (why smoke something that doesn't get you high?). I'm asking because I know the smoking and drinking issue is one of the first compatibility hoops on the marriage agency profiles, and in letters of introduction to each other.

And I know Russians generally have much poorer health habits than we Americans do. Although the younger Russian women usually don't smoke or drink; but may tolerate a husband who does because it is in their culture and also because beggars can't be choosers. (They will; however, read you the riot act on Mary Juana. I think the Soviets had their own, even sterner "reefer Madness" anti-drug propaganda piece).

Doug

[Jet]

Do you and your Russian wife really ingest all of that stuff, or are they "gifts" for others?

Virtually all the chocolate, and half the alcohol will be given as gifts to friends and colleagues.

And I see there is a child involved. Forgive me for not staying up to date on your situation, Jet, but did your Russian wife come with a Russian kid?

If yeas to most of the above, I'm curious about the health & nutrition situation in your house. Do both you and your wife smoke? Drink hard alcohol? With the child around?

Yes, my Russian wife came with a Russian kid. Niko was 3 when Lil and I met; he's 7 1/2 now. Health and nutrition wise, I think were OK. A lot of chicken, fish, & salads, not much beef, starches, sour cream, mayo, etc. Absolutely zero health problems for the three of us so far (other than the odd 'cold' once every few years). We drink in the Russian way (with the meal), but generally not more than 2 or 3 shots a few times a week (2/3). Funny you should bring that up because we both had prior long term relationships with high/mid functioning alcoholics, and both families have a high predisposition to alcoholism, so we are both acutely aware of the dangers of abuse and tend to monitor our intake much closer than the average person would. Lil does not smoke, and I never smoked inside the home. I should probably quit, but I've not yet been able to convince myself I don't like it *shrugs* (my mom finally quit at age 67 so there's still hope  ) As far as beggars and choosers, I think the word might be "expect it" rather than "tolerate it".

[Doug S]

Jet,

O.K. Thanks for the clarification. That big pile of stuff had me worried for a minute there.

I'm pretty sure my first, American wife was a functioning alcoholic, but I can't prove it. I lived in bubble as a kid. Military brat grew up overseas on military bases. Neither parent was a drinker. As a result, I had no clue about alcoholism or alcoholics. After being blind-sided with what seemed like a completely senseless and irrational break-up by my American ex, I found I needed an explanation for what happened.

Her mother (my American ex's), embarrassed about what her daughter had done, finally said to me "I guess you didn't know she has been an alcoholic since she was about 14 years old, at least that's what the school counselors told me." This MIL lived in a trailer park in the Southeast. My ex's father abandoned them when she (my ex) was a little girl. The rest is history. If only I had done the kind of due diligence on that fiancé/wife that I did on Olga. But then again, I would not have done the due diligence I did on Olga had it not been for that experience. Plus, if I had done the due diligence on the first wife, there might not be any Olga, and I'd really be missing out.

Anyway, the comment by the ex MIL caused me to educate myself on the "A" word. I was shocked at what I learned. Red flags had been popping up everywhere, beating me on the head even. She was a mess and I didn't even know it because she was "functioning." Really astonishing and also helped me learn some useful things about myself with regards to relationships.

Not being allowed to smoke in the house is telling. It may be that you eventually quit because you want to live longer to be there for them. The wife, the kid. They need as much of you as you can give, because although they may be "assimilated," they are at a disadvantage here in the West and always will be. You (and maybe your family) are all they've got here. You certainly don't want that little guy thinking its cool or even O.K. to do. You can always give those cartons away as "gifts," too. I know, it’s hard and the patches are bullshit. I've heard and seen.

Doug