Mars man looking for Venus woman

[Mars]

Hello Members.  My first post here.
I am 46 year old man with two children finishing college.
I have been widowed for 2 years now and am venturing out finally.
Last year I went on two missions to do volunteer work at orphanages in Russia.
I am not a religious do gooder.  I am just a do gooder.
I noted the beauty of the RW, but was not wanting to pursue a relationship at that time out of respect for my wife.

Now, I think it is OK to think again about a woman.  So why not meet some who are easy to look at.

I have been a lurker on this site and others, and have learned much.  So thanks to previous posters.

I know not to send money before a meeting; to not fall in love with a picture, etc.

Because of the hassles with visa to Russia, I am going to focus my energies for a first trip on Ukraine.

[GoodOlBoy]

Welcome to the forum MARS.

If I may ask, what Russian cities were the orphanages in?

[BC]

Welcome Mars,

I would suggest doing what you do best and continue the efforts you started in RU and apply them to Ukraine.

You have an 'in' and that's all you need.

Good Luck!.. and admire anyone that does volunteer work there.

[Mars]

If I may ask, what Russian cities were the orphanages in?

Suburbs of Saint Petersburg.  That's only city I have been to in Russia.

[Mars]

I should probably also tell that I am in banking.  But no, my bank is not in trouble.
Bankers are careful people.
We are trained to keep confidentiality's.
Not only trained, but live under the threat of instant dismissal for loose lips.

So forgive me if I am not as forthcoming as you might like about the details of my life, my work, where I have been, and so on.

It is my nature by training .

[Gator]

Mars,

You obviously have a good heart.  Not all RW have a good heart, so be careful.  In fact some are treacherous.

If you really enjoy kids, I suggest that you pursue women with young children.  Even with this set of RW, not all would be suitable.  Choose the subset of single moms who are truthfully looking for a man to be a father as well as husband.  Some just want a provider who will not get involved with their child.

I assume that you are religious because most of the orphanage missions are done through American religious groups.  Make sure your beliefs are compatible with Orthodox beliefs.

[Faux Pas]

Welcome to the forum Mars!

On either of those trips to St Pete, did you do any visiting of the city itself, taking in some sights or were you consumed with the orphanage work? I ask because you were (IMHO) already in one of the best places for meeting women on earth and such a spectacular city. If I were starting over and thankfully I am not, St. Pete would definitely be my starting point.

The Russian visas aren't to difficult once you get the hang of it. The tourist visas aren't anyway.

[BillyB]

Because of the hassles with visa to Russia, I am going to focus my energies for a first trip on Ukraine.

That's the same idea other fisherman have. Guess what happens when too many fisherman fish in the same pond? I'd say write a bunch of ladies, call the ones often that shows genuine interest through letters and visit the one/s that enjoys talking to you on the phone and then have lots of back up the city/country you're visiting.

[Mars]

On either of those trips to St Pete, did you do any visiting of the city itself, taking in some sights or were you consumed with the orphanage work?

The Russian visas aren't to difficult once you get the hang of it. The tourist visas aren't anyway.

Only got to spend one day at Hermitage on one trip and day at Peterhof on another trip.

But you may have read that Russian government is passing new laws defining treason very broadly that endanger NGOs and those that work with them.  They have been giving NGOs trouble for the past few years and ratcheting it up each year.  They basically want to deny help groups the opportunity to come into Russia because they think it makes their country look bad that they can't take care of their own.  But it's not that they can't, at least before the fall of oil prices, it's that they refuse to do so.

And in the final straw, we brought in over $200,000 of medical supplies to donate for free.  But the Russian authorities forced us to pay import duties on these supplies.  They said that no one was stupid enough to give away that much money, so we must be planning to resale.  It is a real strange situation which I guess reflects the attitude of the Russian people.  The children bear the brunt of it all.

Although neither my group nor myself was even close to any political activity, our names were all recorded and we were told we wouldn't get visas for any return visit.

[groovlstk]

They have been giving NGOs trouble for the past few years and ratcheting it up each year.  They basically want to deny help groups the opportunity to come into Russia because they think it makes their country look bad that they can't take care of their own.

NGOs played a big role behind the scenes in the Orange Revolution, Putin saw that and snip snip.

Welcome to the board, Mars.