Vladivostok - Trip Report

[Ooooops]

I really like your writing style, Muck!   Made me chuckle few times.      

[steviej]

Hey Muck congratulations on everything. What a great story. I think one of the chapters of the version I had must have been left out though. I remember reading in the beginning the discussions and thoughts about ... when would you approach ... ahem ... some intimacy, and your girl made it clear she was Catholic all the way to the bank LOL. Then in the next parts of the story, I'm reading about the 2 children. So, did something happen in the middle I missed .. ?? 

[Jet]

Congratulations to the three of you!!!

Glad to hear all is well and everyone is fine in the Muckraker household 

[felix8787]

Wow, just read your TR and the rest of the thread...Great story and your children are beautiful 
I am glad everything is going great for you Muckraker! Best wishes to you and your family.



felix8787

[groovlstk]

Thought I'd add this link to a NY Times article about the resurgence of Vladivostok and thought Muck's TR was the most appropriate place.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/08/17/travel/17surfacing.html?8dpc

On a slightly related note, before I met my wife I dated a woman who was from Primorsky Kray, which is about 50 miles north of Vladivostok. When we met she bought as a gift a small bottle of locally brewed cognac. It had a drawing of what looked like a Siberian tiger on the label. After we broke up months later I decided to have a drink from it and she had her final revenge on me as it kicked and spewed in the tummy something awful.

[cpd2009]

Hi MuckRaker - I am going to Vlad from Sep 5 -Sep 14 . I am going there to meet Russian girls ...Where do I start --I know the origin club & scanna (how do they charge -just for curiosity) but where else can i find girls ? please help urgently --- how do i send you a direct message --thanks

[Muckraker]

Oxana went to the Naturalization oath ceremony today, and traded in her green card for her Certificate of Naturalization on the spot so now she is a US citizen. She passed her civics and English test a week ago.  She said the ceremony was very nice, there were songs and films about America, speeches about the greatness of being American and how each blue passport is personally touched by God.  The government actually told them that as US citizens they will be treated better at the airport.  Also that they were rushing people to the oath ceremony so they could vote in November.  Anyway, I couldn't go, I had to stay home with the kids and I wish they could have just administered the oath when she passed her exams but they don't do that in Orlando. 

We filed in October 2007, but the application was returned July 2008 with the explanation that she was not eligible.  They also didn't address the return envelope properly so it actually bounced back to them for an additional month. I refiled it right away with a note asking them to please reconsider as anyone with half a brain cell could determine from a ten second review of the application that she was indeed eligible.  But, this is par for the course with CIS.  They were trying to clear the pipeline of pending natz applications because Congress was taking notice of the massive backlogs, so what better way than to erroneously reject applications that were sitting around too long. So, then they apparently decided that they needed to get these people voting so we received everything in record time after refiling in July.  Or, at least record time for the USCIS.  They didn't even wait to send us the Oath letter, they just called us on Saturday to drive down to the CIS office to pick it up in person so she could go to ceremony on Tuesday. 

Now the question arises - do we invite her parents to immigrate here or not?  My wife isn't too keen on the idea right now.  Maybe when the kids are older.  We shall see. 

Regards,

Muck

[Muckraker]

Adam Lauris Muckraker

9 pounds, 7 ounces. Born May 7, 2010

Everyone doing great.

Muck 

[KenC]

Now THAT'S the way to end a trip report!

Congrats Muck & Momma!

KenC

[Gator]

Handsome wee one.

Congratulations!

Don't wait; register Adam with the Republican Party now.

Still one of the greatest T/Rs ever.

[BillyB]

Now THAT'S the way to end a trip report!

Who said it ended? It's been going on for nearly 4 years and Muck continues to be a busy man. There may be more little Mucks running around by the next installment 4 years from now!

Congrats Mr and Mrs. Muck!

[JR]

Congrats Muck, your life is going to change in so many ways.

All the best!

[TeddyBear]

This trip report has simply been the most inspirational love story I have ever read.  What makes it work for me is that Muck dropped his job and went to be with Oxana for a whole summer to romance his lady and that to me changed his relationship to that of a date world to a more of a marriage type deal.  You have to respect a man willing to go the distance.  I was actually puzzled by the meeting with the marriage broker and I think I understand now after researching what exactly happened.  Muck after using Anastasia figured out how to code a message to Oxana.  After getting her email, Muck managed to get her contact info and arranged for a meeting.  The real affiliate seems to Siberia--ladies whose home base is in Vladivostok.  This conincides with the fact that siberia ladies is managed by a mother and son team.  So Muck somehow wrote through a scam company who however was using an honest affiliate.  WOW talk about slicing it thin--its amazing they met and in Vladivostok of all places.

[TeddyBear]

Please Muckraker--5 years from now please post a picture of you and Oxana in sunglass and hats--I just want to see kinda of what you guys look like.  If I ever get married I will type a TR report and do the same.  I think sunglasses or at least very dark ones and big of course will protect your identities enough.

[Muckraker]

It was Originclub, owned by Olga Petrovna and her son, Andrei. They are still around I believe.

There wasn't a coded message, I did buy her phone number (from another site) and started calling her, but I emailed her via A-web for a few months.  Her computer was broken until her dad came back from the sea, so using Originclub was most convenient for her.

I went to live in Vladivostok with nothing but lust in my heart, I didn't really have any other grand purpose. Perhaps some of the photos she sent to me during our initial conversations will be helpful background for my love story (eight years and three kids ago).

Muck

[TeddyBear]

Muckraker, I think I will be flying out to Vladivostok--I must see this this city--especially the seething jealous waitresses at the Hyundai Sky bar.

[TeddyBear]

Hmmmnn . . .  a lot of girls from Vladivostok seem to be proficient in Japanese, Chinese or Korean, not sure what to make of this.   Are these ladies working for Asian companies like Samsung--maybe selling cellphone packages to the locals?

[Muckraker]

Not really, there are a lot of tourists in the town from these places, and since these countries are so close by, the languages are offered in school.  Like we (Americans) study Spanish, but we don't work for Mexican companies based in the US.

Few of these ladies are actually proficient in Japanese, Chinese are Korean.  Some are, those that have actually traveled to these countries usually, but mostly they are talking about what they learned in high school. 

[avatar01]

Thank you Muckraker! I think you and your wife have written your own romance novel.

[Never merry me]

Hello from Vladivostok, a city  of  the envious waitresses.
Muckraker probably is unusual  handsome, if he was the reason for  inappropriate behavior of girls.

Well, if seriously ...  Russians feel uncomfortable and even may seem rude and wild because of the lack of knowledge of English. Fortunately, it's not a truth.
--------
And... This story is so cute!

[Chicagoguy]

Really like your user name:
 
Never Merry Me

[CanadaMan]

Really like your user name:
 
Never Merry Me

Not sure if she's never happy or she never wants to marry.     

[Muckraker]

Update- ten year wedding anniversary today. Seems like just a short time ago I was getting off that plane and meeting my wife for the first time. Kids are all growing and happy. Oxana is homeschooling them (ages 7, 5, 3) and she is doing great.  We built a nice house on the land we bought in 2006, Oxana is loving the space and the country life.  Boris and Natasha are in Vancouver, we rarely speak to them.

Oxana and the kids are spending the summer in Vladivostok this year, it will be the first time that we are apart for so long, but we think it is important for the children and their language skills. She went with our oldest last summer for three weeks and it was a very positive experience for both of them.  I am hopeful that maybe by the following summer I'll be able to swing taking a month or so to go myself as well (job wise).  Need to get the "work from home" days converted over to "work from Russia" month.

Anyway, been reading the forum from time to time, best wishes to everyone!

Muck

[Lily]

Congratulations!     

[fathertime]

Thanks Muckraker for the great story and all the nice pictures. 


Fathertime!