Leaving on a Jet Plane..I don't know when I'll be back again

[ecr844]

That evening when I returned to the hotel I saw the agency drivers car outside. I went into the lobby and saw the agency terp and a guy checking in. Off they went to his room and I went to mine. I had a lot on mind and to think about in regards to my trip thus far. I spent some time wondering which signs were which and yet my gut instinct wasn’t quite ‘sure’ that things were going so well. I decided to give her some more time and make a decision after her birthday and see where things stood at that point.

I got a little rest and did the usual morning routine of breakfast then out to get flowers and to be out and about in the city. For damn sure I wasn’t going to sit in my room and do nothing just because the lady I was visiting couldn’t be bothered to get together.

While I was out I found myself in the victory square area and decided to get some lunch. Since the mall we had planned to visit and go shopping for a dress for her was about 500 meters from where I was I decided to send her an SMS changing our meeting location. The location I chose was on the way for her to get there and was readily identifiable. It was a medium sized Ice Cream kiosk Covered in a giant Coca Cola ad, with 2 giant coke a cola umbrellas to sit under. I believed at the time that they were the only ones in the area. I thought that not only would it make sense, but that if things went awry it would also tell me more about her and how she dealt with problems, her temper, etc.. Additionally it was as equidistant for her to get to as meeting at my hotel.

My SMS was fairly detailed in 2 parts about where we would meet. She sent a reply saying ‘ok, no problem’ and confirmed the location. So I took a seat where I intended we would meet and stayed put. (For the resident voyeurs here are some shots of the sights.)











The time for our meeting approached and passed without a call or an SMS. She was no where in sight and I our meet location was on one of her likely avenues of approach. So when I we hit the 15 min mark I sent her an SMS message asking her if she was ok, and where she was at.

About 2 minutes later I get a phone call from her and as soon as I said hello I get a staccato burst of rapid fire Russian in a tone that highlighted apparent her lack of joy at whatever her current situation was. My reply was “What, and I don’t understand.” (The swearing I understood and some of the other stuff I understood but I wanted to hear her say the words in English as I knew she was capable if she wanted to). Her repy was “Where are you? I’m here.” (hmmm..no swearing that time…) I asked her what she could see and her response was to hang up on me.

I waited a few minutes to see if she would call back. She didn’t so I called her again. More swearing and rapid fire Russian followed by a dial tone. Well this isn’t going well and for damn sure it wasn’t a good start to the day. But I was learning something about the way in which she handled stress and solved problems as well as her temperament when things didn’t go 100% as planned.

So I got up from where I was waiting and started to walk around. I didn’t see her so I made another call and tried to talk to her in English and Russian to figure out where in god’s name this chick had gone. I mean I was specific down to the building number on the street.

Again, a response of utter frustration, anger and a dial tone. So I went through one half of the square and then crossed to the second side. Once halfway through the second side of the square I saw her Sitting by one of the fountains. A quick gander around and I saw a second set of ‘coke a cola umbrellas’ and the reason for the mix up became clear. 

I saw her said ‘Hello’ handed her flower and was met with a seriously pissed off woman. She said ‘ I wait you 1 hour and not until now you show up. This is not normal, a series of swearing in Russian and she says ‘We sit here and wait.’
She then went on her tirade and continued her epic freak out about what should have clearly been understood as a simple misunderstanding and not something to get ones panties all wound up in a bunch about.

After 45 minutes of scowling and pouting later I asked if she wanted me to leave or what she wanted to do. She said ‘We should go shopping as planned’. Again, my gut told me…”Here it comes, this one is going to cost you in typical RW payback fashion.”

Some shots of half of Victory Square.












These two teenage girls were making seductive poses involving them together and lollipops. I figured some of the dedushkas chasing their granddaughters in the FSU would enjoy the shot. I made an attempt to capture that act but the shutter on my digital camera click a millisecond too late.



As we walked down the steps into the underground tunnel I found myself doing a bit of quiet thinking about her responses thus far.

[ecr844]

Once across the Street we made our way into the “Belarus Mall” and started browsing through stores 2-3 quick browsing sessions later in various small stores she spotted an upscale one. We went inside and there were $2,000.00 prada purses on the wall and other ‘goodies’.

So I braced for what I knew was inevitably coming. 10 dress changes and an hour later she finally choose a dress. The lady in the shop asked if she needed shoes and my lady said yes but couldn’t find anything there that she liked. I was directed to the register to pay, and once the transaction was complete a smile appeared. The cost was about $130.00.
Leaving the store I asked if we were going to get shoes now and she said with a smile no we’ll do that tomorrow.

Then it was off to grab a quick bite to eat and then she said she needed to go home. I got a peck for a kiss an "I like" and a see you tomorrow get some rest.”

I decided to go out again that night and wandered the streets had some street food. Then it was off to get a beer and then to bed for the night.

The next day we met at 12 and met the terp Olga to go back to Lukashenko’s favorite resort. It was a nice day and when we got there we had lunch in the restaurant and then it was off to rent rollerblades. Lunch ran about 30,000BYR and renting the rollerblades was 18,000BYR.

After some rollerblading at which I terribly (I hadn’t been skating or rollerblading about 15 years) we decided to go out on the lake in a paddle boat. The paddle boat ran about 25,000BYR for an hour. After a day consisting of about a paragraphs worth of talking between us I was starting to get the feeling this may not work.

Once I finished paddling my lady around the lake while she relaxed in the sun. She decided she wanted to go. She needed shoes after all and the mall would close in a few hours.

On the way back some conversation ensued between my lady and the terp. After a few minutes it was mentioned that she would like to take me to the circus and was I interested in going?

The reader should note that in some instances in the FSU when a lady says ‘she’ll take you’ it means that you’ll have the pleasure of paying and she’ll have the pleasure of showing up.

I said sure, ‘why not’ and so on the way back we stopped by the circus tent and bout tickets for the next evening.
After that she asked the terp to come to the mall and help her find some shoes. 3 floors full of stores at the mall and going through each shop 2x seemed to produce no results. Eventually one of the shop owners offered up a pair of heels that was hiding in the back. Those apparently were acceptable and so off to the register I went. $90.00 <about 282,000BYR> later we were leaving with the shoes. Again I got a smile and we all decided to leave. Then my lady said she wanted to get something to eat and some dessert again from Da Vinci. So we went and drinks and dessert came to 80,000BYR or so. While there we made reservations for her birthday and talked about the evening and what we would do the next day. She wanted to meet at 7 and walk around for a bit and then go to the restaurant and eat and listen to music on her birthday <in 2 days>.

After we ate we bid the terp goodbye and my lady decided she’s like to hang around for a bit and have some wine. So I got her some wine. I asked her what she would like since they didn’t have the kind of wine she enjoyed. She said ‘You choose’ so another 40,000BYR/glass and it seems she only likes semi-sweet wines and since they didn’t have any I chose a California Merlot. That glass of wine was half drunk and then left unfinished. Apparently it was sufficiently undrinkable that she could manage half….

After that it was another peck on the cheek and a good night.  We were to meet tomorrow at 1400

[ecr844]

1400 came and she was on time and we met at my hotel. It was off to get some lunch in a café which ran about 28,000BYR and then we decided to go bowling. She’d never been before so it was an adventure. We also thought it would kill some time before the circus. She got her daily rose and gift.

So we went bowling, which was a first for her and we bowled 3 strings. She seemed to have a great time and relax and loosen up a bit. There was more conversation and when we finished it was time to head off to the circus to make the opening act.
I suggested a bus, mashtroshka, or taxi and she said ‘no I like go to foot’ and without another word we were off to the races. It would have been nice if she had bothered to inquire as to why I was asking to do that because I has large blisters on my heels that were rubbed raw. The bowling shoes aggravated that and I noticed when we were changing into street shoes the dressing I’d put over it had slipped, and it had started to bleed a bit not to mention it hurt. But since she didn’t appear to give a flying f :censored: k and couldn’t be bothered to ask why I may have suggested this. We walked the 2 klicks to the circus and I had nothing more to say on the matter.

Entry was predictably chaotic and we went off to the concessions tent to get something to drink. After waiting in line in the heat and humidity for 20 mins we got our overpriced drinks and made our way into the tent. The majority of the experience has been summarized --- >Skolka?<--- -<---there.

After the circus we left and my lady decided it was indeed time that she wanted to take a taxi to the hotel. Off we went and she said she wanted to come inside and sit down for a bit.

Once inside she selected a seat in the lobby and I asked if she wanted anything. She said she wanted wine and chocolate. Since I knew she didn’t like the previous days Merlot I went with an Australian Shiraz. It was about 32,000BYR/glass and some Swiss chocolates <20,000BYR>. She ate the chocolate and decided she didn’t like the wine so she didn’t drink more than a sip. She then said good night gave a hug and I’ll see you tomorrow for my birthday at 1900…..

[ecr844]

С Днем Рождения


I spent the morning as usual and relaxing while getting ready for the anticipated evening. I had decided to give it 100% and do my best to be sure she had a good time. I sent her an SMS and gave her a call to wish her happy birthday. I also asked if she wanted me to pick her up and meet her at her place.

Her response was no I'll meet you at the hotel. So I went out and got 25 roses <220,000BYR=$74.00 or so> and brought them back to the hotel, I got her gift wrapped and got ready. I broke out the 3 piece suit, and waited for the time to come when she would arrive. I kept an eye out for her and I saw her approaching from the end of the street. So I got her stuff ready and met her outside.

I then noticed something was indeed wrong with this picture!

A look around, a stop to pinch myself, I closed my eyes and shook my head quickly....Nope the image was still there.


She had shown up in jeans, shoes with a 1/4" heel, and a zip up sweatshirt. Here I was in an expensive 3 piece suit with nice shoes anticipating a vision of Birthday beauty showing up in high heels and a brand new $130.00 dress with lingerie hiding underneath. especially after all the accompanying drama.


 :censored: :censored: :censored: :censored: :censored: :censored: :censored: UN FU :censored:CKING BELIEVEABLE.....


I kept my composure, and gave no outward sign of the above and she suggested we go inside for a bit as it was far too cold to walk around. We sat down in the lobby and she said she wanted a cappuccino <7,280BYR>. Once she had her coffee and had a moment I decided to give her her birthday gift. I'd brought her a 10" net book and set it up so it was good to go. The key being that it was purposely left in English as she was learning to speak it and I thought it would help her to get used to things. I'd set up an email and skype acct so we could chat online and VOIP and also brought a protective cover and plug adapter.

After she opened her gift her response was completely unexpected................ As was her facial expression. Any guesses as to what happened next?

[ecr844]

That's right boys and girls her response was completely unexpected.....By Me ^*.

What was her response you ask?

Well I'll tell you. You may have guessed what it was but I sure as hell hadn't expected it living it in the moment and over the last almost 2 weeks.

She carefully opened everything with an expressionless look. Her eyes got wide.

I figured here comes a smile, squeal of joy...something nice....

I say С Днем Рождения ........

She finishes opening the package. Takes everything out and turns it on while saying nothing and examining it.

It boots up. She looks at me and with a completely straight faces says the following:

"Where is disk go? I like watch movies. No place for ze DVD?"......


I wait a moment sitting there in freaking stunned silence with a poker face on. What's she come out with next?


Her second response is "Why is it in English it should be in Russian. My English not good!"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. There was no thank you uttered, no look of joy, or appreciation for her gift.

NOTHING


Frankly I was stunned. So I asked her what she thought and she came out with this gem. "Oh, I thought you were going to get me a ring... You know because that's what I got last year"

So I replied, "Excuse me? What did you say?"

She repeated it a second time. So I asked her what she thought of her gift...She replies "It's ok..."

Not only was I now insulted, and she exhibiting her true tendencies. But before i had a chance to think about it further and wonder if this was really happening she announced she wanted to head off to the restaurant.

I offered a cab, she declined and said no we'll walk :drunk:


We made it to the restaurant and early and were seated promptly. She wanted a bottle of wine (Georgian red semi-sweet) and a salad to 'start'. She selected the wine she wanted we ordered and she seemed to relax some. I had a glass and a 1/4 out of the bottle she drank the rest.

As she started to get inebriated she seemed to come out of her shell a bit, relax, talk and have fun. It took her about an hour to get through it. About this time another couple appeared . His date was a stunning brunette which I recognized from the agency. They sat down a few tables away and begun to talk in a mixture of Russian and English. The lady was even more beautiful than her pictures and was wearing a nice outfit and 6-8" stilletto heels. My guesstimate is she weighed about 125lbs and with the heels was taller than the guy she was with. She also was in her 30's.

They got settled and he proceeded to talk to her. I can say that he appeared to be easily in his mid 60's and weighed about 250-280. He then continued to speak loud enough for the entire restaurant to hear the entire time they were there and  probably a few people outside too. He has a stereotypical Italian Basso profundo timbre so it was probably unintentional. But in a restaurant where most people barely speak above a whisper it was noticed.

My lady laughed at him and made some comments while asking if he was 'American'. I told her I didn't know for sure and then the waiter came She decided she wanted more wine and to order dinner. We ordered and ate and she drank most of the secon bottle of wine I had about a glass.

Then the band came in and started to play instrumental jazz riffs. They were ok but nothing to write home about. We finished and then my lady announced she was ready for champagne and chocolate. Which she ordered.

While we were drinking that the other couple left. We finished and the bill came. It came out to about $250.00. I paid and we left. I asked what my lady would like to do and she said "walk abit'. So we walked down by the Slavinsky Bazzar area and she announced the following.

" I want go home and sleep now I'm tired. I had fun. I got an end of night good bye a peck on the lips and "I'll see you tomorrow, get some rest. I must sleep so we can be together tomorrow."

I offered to escort her home as she was fairly inebriated and she declined. An offer of a taxi also declined. I tried to insist and she more forcefully declined. She ended the evening with a peck and climbed on the bus and left...

I went back to my hotel less than thrilled with the outcome of the evening..............








*More commentary on this later.

[ecr844]

Here's a bit of a diversion from the story and some subjective observation. Which I'll add for those considering Vitebsk.

For the MEE practitioners, and proponents. Things appear on the whole to be going well here. Most folks are doing well, there is a growing population of drivers, lots of disposable income, personal and home electronics, etc.. So don't come here expecting desperation and or 'poverty'. While it does exist for some it seems there is a booming middle and upper class here that are living and enjoying life to the fullest.

So as you mount your perceived white steed to ride to the rescue. Be aware you should pursuing things in a normal, romantic, relationship basis rather than expecting your money will buy anything other than admission, goods and services, and time with the lady doing activities together. This places a bit of a greater possibility for you to shine on your merits more than what you can 'buy'. 

[ecr844]

We had previously made plans to meet with the terp and go out and o some fun things off the beaten path. As a result of how things went on the ladies birthday I wanted to switch things up a bit. I was unhappy, insulted, and pretty much done.

I woke up in the morning and ran through the usual routine. After breakfast I saw the Itie running around again and I was off to change some money and run some errands. I figured that I would at least enjoy the morning before the afternoon storm. I approached the hotel and found the terp and a blond lady standing outside. The blond went inside as I approached and I said hello to the interpreter. Since we weren't scheduled to meet till later in the afternoon I asked her if she had a minute.

I explained what went on and that I didn't think we'd be going anywhere. I did however want her to show up as I wanted to be sure that my lady clearly understood what was being said.

We parted ways and a minute or two later the blond came out and we said hello to one another had a short talk and then I was off to do some work.

I did what work I needed to and time flew. My lady showed up on time (I give her credit for being punctual at least consistently) and we waited a short time later the terp came. We went inside the hotel lobby and there's a private area where you can have business meetings there. I closed the door and we began to talk. We had a very long talk w and I learned even more than I expected and a lot about what I needed to know about her. I give her credit. At least she was honest enough to come out and say it aloud.

Here are some of the things that further and irreparably sealed her fate. Among them:

I wanted to test her and see how she'd handle economic adversity and see what she'd say. So I let her know we'd exceeded my budget significantly for the trip (we had exceeded the budget but it wasn't really an issue as I'd planned for it and brought alot of 'extra'. Really I just wanted to see how she would handle an unexpected down turn or tight times. I also wanted to see what her solution would be and how she would respond). Also at this point I'd pretty much written her off so anything more was a bonus.

So with the terp's help I asked her how she would like to spend a few days together living economically and relaxing, and maybe have a picnic lunch or two. I told her the dress shoes and a few other things killed the allotted capital 'we' had.

Her response; "That's not a big deal just get more money or use a credit card. Besides that's not really my problem, it's yours. It shouldn't be a problem at all..."


That sparked up her tongue and got the conversation moving on all sorts of topics. Here are some highlights.

Living in the US

"I want you to move to Florida. I like it hot and and hate the snow. I just can't see me living anywhere there maybe snow I have that here. Once you do that life will be great."

You'll note no mention of how she wants to be with me just how geography is a factor.

The other goodies  were:

" You should make fiancee visa for me so then I can go to America and see what I think of it. All men who come here do it in just a week. So you know you will to. I will then go to America and try it out. I'm not sure I'll like it or if I'll like your family or friends, or if we should live near them though in case I don't like them. I probably won't like where you live. Besides you'll need to make the move to FL. But  anyway we already talked about that so it should be good."

In regards to affection and normal relationship progression:

"You can't have everything at once it takes time." So I asked what the nexus was for her between time spent and genuine attraction and feelings. Her reply; "Once I get to America and see how life is with you then maybe things will move forward physically and emotionally we have 90 days to marry and so at some time I may find feelings and we have an attraction,or decide to show them to you. But not now."

These were just a few of the gems she came out with. I didn't need to be a MENSA member to get the message being sent here.

So I kept at her from different angles and over a variety of subjects. When she reverted to silence or answering questions with questions I turned them right back around on her or changed tactics which she didn't expect. She ended up revealing even more of her true feelings which were just as ugly as the above. But hey, I wanted to hear what she had to say, and where her head was at. After about 3 hours she said she couldn't take it any more and had to go. I told her to take care and she never even said goodbye... She just went off on her way.

So that was done.......

I talked to the terp a bit asked questions, and got some stuff done and told her I was all set. I called the local agency that I was using for support and told them to get started on back ups and other intros. They said they would work on it and to call them in a few days and it would be all set up.


Now WTF was I going to do..... I had almost 2 weeks left and the primary plan came to nothing?

[ecr844]

The day before her birthday I got in touch with the agency to set in motion and get them started on seeing what they could drum up in regards to back up plans. It should be noted this was done on my dime as they couldn't seem to be bothered to get in touch with me via email, or telephone after I requested it. They had no less than a local phone number, my US number my personal and work email addresses, them phone number to my room, etc.. So in mind there was no reason other than laziness or being cheap they couldn't get in touch with me.

I spoke to them and they said to give them a few days they'd work on it and call them back. I set up a time to get back in touch with them and went on with things. The day after the first ladies birthday I was back on the phone with the agency and they said they weren't able to get much done as something had come up but to give them a few more days and they would work on it. I was less than thrilled with this response as I had taken the time to talk to them multiple times before I left and i was assured back up meetings and getting in touch with other ladies while I was there wouldn't be a problem. They had always delivered as promised previously so I had no reason to doubt the veracity of that statement.

Although I was unhappy with the outcome of that converstaion I decided to take a day or two to get my head straight and just enjoy myself. I was going to make the transition from 'building a relationship while on a trip' to one where I was going to relax and enjoy things. I needed a bit of down time to get my head straight and ready to embark upon whatever was coming next. I also needed to reset and make sure I was managing my expectations appropriately. 

So a I took some time to roam the far reaches of the city, explore and look for new places and adventures and it shaped up to be a lot more fun than I'd had the previous last 12 days with the first lady. It also set the tone for the rest of the trip.

Here's something that I've come to realize and believe as a result of my FSU experiences. If you're not a self-starter, if you lack self-confidence, initiative; and  you need your hand held the whole time then when problems inevitably occur and or things don't go well. Things will get miserable quick, and you'll start looking for the nearest exit.

There was an  Italian gentleman who I saw on this trip and mentioned previously. He wrote about his experiences on another forum and is an example of what I'm talking about. Rather than take an undesirable situation and turn it into something else or work to turn it around. He freaked, turned tale and ran. he had not planned for the agency to be unhelpful or had a way to get out on his own if they abandoned him.

On the other hand before I left for my trip I made contingency plans for pretty much every situation I could think of and a couple of half plans that would leave me the freedom to adapt them as necessary to the current situation. I took those plans and tucked them away. I had contact information, train, plane schedules, and all sorts of other ancillary stuff. On the romance front I had information on local meeting spots, what was going on, as well as alt agencies and 'free sites'.

Now as we all hear "Ed," groan and sigh in the background about my taking a couple of days and snickering an "I told you so."
But alas those few days had a purpose. I knew it would take a little bit of time to get some response from my back 'benched ladies' as I hadn't really seriously kept them on the hook.

So I reached out. I started sending messages like mad and meeting requests. I had a few meets in these days and a few more no shows. Normal dating type stuff. No matter what I made sure I set the place to meet somewhere I wouldn't mind hanging out if the chick flaked out or was a no show. Not much came out of those and I basically just relaxed. I tried a few new street food places, a local night club and found somethings I didn't expect.

Again a call back to the states to only find I was talking to an answering machine. Seems the agency people couldn't be bothered to answer the phone today. I got a few messages from some dating sites and traded info and responses. That night they had a fireworks display out in Victory Square to celebrate who knows what. It was a beautiful night surrounded by beautiful ladies, a cold beer in hand and just relaxing to some live music. I made my way back to my room about 0100 and fell immediately back to sleep.

The morning came and I had a bunch of work to do in my in-box. I logged on here did some posting and reading and then moved on to the free sites. Some of the ladies started to give more responses and a few traded numbers with me. I set up a meeting with a hot little blond number who had some desirable attributes including a good education so we set a meet for later in the day. She didn't speak English, so I started making calls

I got in touch with an interpreter I'd met at the hotel while she was interpreting for some other business clients. I got her info and her meet me and get in touch with this lady to confirm the meet. We all met in a local park and then it was off for some coffee and dessert. She was stunning, and as advertised. We had some great conversation but there didn't seem to be any chemistry. We parted ways and wished each other well. I sent the interpreter off and went back to see if any other leads had popped up. Interestingly enough I had a message waiting form someone I had sent a brief message to. Her profile said she she spoke some English and her message said that she had seen me out with another girl at one of the cafes and that she would like to meet. She gave me her number and I called her setting a meeting for the next morning.

As they say, when it rains it pours. Thankfully I hadn't set a meeting or had plans for the evening as a wicked thundershower with some decent wind gusts blew through.. I wondered if this was a sign of things to come. I grabbed a beer from the hotel bar and started on the rough outlines for my TR. I went to sleep wondering what was coming next....?

[ecr844]

More to follow as the next installment is coming soon....

[ecr844]

Images should be fixed now.

[Jumper]

Thanks for the TR
I remember the other gentlemen, posting about his encounter at Da Vinci..
 

And sorry it did not work out, you certainly seem to have went "all in"
and must have had some decent prior correspondence to be that patient.

It doesn't appear from the first few minutes she ever showed any real interest..
missed the ride to the airport as scheduled,din't ask how your trip was,
not making any effort to WANT to meet you at other times ,or call you or text you after dates.. or
in the mornings..just tosee how you are..,
like dating was on some schedule. , etc

 That in particular  all seems odd ,with the prior communication ,but then in one month she also gave some hints ,since she did not want to meet..then.
also seems odd to take you to meet the family, with the overall attitude of not that interested..
and expectations of a fiancee visa from "where" you guys were at in a relationship.
(none existed by my definition)
just curious with this mentality,, How old was she?

It seems she would have came over on a K1.. regardless how you got along...


Anyway,,

Looking forward to hearing  how the rest of your trip went!! hopefully well!

[kievstar]

Great trip report and thanks for sharing. 

Only advise I can give you is jewelry is best option on birthday.  Not a ring or watch. 

[tim 360]

Excellent very detailed trip report from Belarus.  Great photos.  I do pity any guy going to Belarus to date her and I hope the rest of your trip goes better for you.

[Eduard]

- Click here and press play

 I got in touch with Ed from the forum here and started to pick his brain and see what he would charge to tag along and be my translator. I think Ed is a good guy, so I while we talked I asked him about how much he would charge me to come along and what expected expenses, level of service would be, etc…

     Now good bad or indifferent the jist of the outcome of that conversation was this. Pretty much he said he wasn’t all that interested in going and proceeded to switch to making a sales pitch about 86’ing the BY lady I had been talking to and  paying him to start from scratch. Then we would take a trip together to Siberia or somewhere else where ever we found someone was. Frankly I wasn’t having any of that at this point and told him if things didn’t work out in my current situation I would consider it. Additionally the numbers I was being quoted would have required a significant amount of upfront and short term capital I didn’t have while juggling a variety of women, corresponding, dating, traveling, and living life…. 

Hey Eric, I see you are making me famous all over the place!  Well, as I mentioned before this isn't my recollection of the conversation, but wrong or right, here I am, sitting alone in an apartment, guess where? In Siberia of all places! feeling all lonely...because my client is staying now at his lady's place. Can you believe the nerve??? He dumped me for her! Those selfish love birds won't even call me to have at least one or two sentences translated for them...   In hindsight maybe it wouldn't have been such a bad idea to listen to good old Ed and 86'ing the BY lady? Just a thought...

[ecr844]

Hey Eric, I see you are making me famous all over the place!  Well, as I mentioned before this isn't my recollection of the conversation, but wrong or right, here I am, sitting alone in an apartment, guess where? In Siberia of all places! feeling all lonely...because my client is staying now at his lady's place. Can you believe the nerve??? He dumped me for her! Those selfish love birds won't even call me to have at least one or two sentences translated for them...   In hindsight maybe it wouldn't have been such a bad idea to listen to good old Ed and 86'ing the BY lady? Just a thought...

"Ed,"

I don't think you'd be eager to piss away almost 6 months worth of time effort, correspondence, English lessons, gifts, etc..., based solely on a 45 minute phone conversation which involved my investing 10-15 grand with you and walking away from what I had already in the works. I'm not bashing you I'm just saying what happened. I also have never stated anything other than I think you provide an invaluable service to your clients. I at that time just wasn't willing, or interested in throwing away my significant investment based on our talk. Which you may remember had nothing to do with your 'warning me off' about the lady and more to do with using your method and starting from scratch.

Additionally on the off chance you'd be happy to part with 10 grand of your hard earned money based upon a 45 minute phone conversation, let me know. I'll call you right now and I'll send you the relevant information so you can get the cash to me.

[ecr844]

Thanks for the TR
I remember the other gentlemen, posting about his encounter at Da Vinci..
 

And sorry it did not work out, you certainly seem to have went "all in"
and must have had some decent prior correspondence to be that patient.

It doesn't appear from the first few minutes she ever showed any real interest..
missed the ride to the airport as scheduled,din't ask how your trip was,
not making any effort to WANT to meet you at other times ,or call you or text you after dates.. or
in the mornings..just tosee how you are..,
like dating was on some schedule. , etc

 That in particular  all seems odd ,with the prior communication ,but then in one month she also gave some hints ,since she did not want to meet..then.
also seems odd to take you to meet the family, with the overall attitude of not that interested..
and expectations of a fiancee visa from "where" you guys were at in a relationship.
(none existed by my definition)
just curious with this mentality,, How old was she?

It seems she would have came over on a K1.. regardless how you got along...


Anyway,,

Looking forward to hearing  how the rest of your trip went!! hopefully well!

"AJ,"

Thanks, for the kind words and I'll expand on some of your points and explain a little in a coming update

[ecr844]

Great trip report and thanks for sharing. 

Only advise I can give you is jewelry is best option on birthday.  Not a ring or watch. 

Those words came from her, so it'd be best for you to take it up from her. She was looking for a mule, not a husband so frankly mostly whatever the gift was unless it was a diamond or a car, probably would not have been acceptable anyway.

[ML]

Man I can't believe the patience (or whatever it should be called) of some guys.

I would have dumped her on second or third day.

But I do thank the OP for telling it like it was.

[kievstar]

My point on the b-day gift is electronics tend to be more men gifts.  Jewelry is a better option but not a ring or watch. I know she wanted a ring and I know she has no interest in you from day 1 but still met you as she felt she should spend time with someone who came to see her.  To compensate her for her time she wanted gifts. 

I am not sure she wanted you as a mule but she was not attracted to you after 1st day.  Another negative of writing and skype.  Best to just meet women face to face and not waste all the time before hand. 

[allenkey]

Hi Eric!

good to see you are getting a more civilised audience for your TR here - go for it !

[Chelseaboy]

Hello Eric,
           A very good TR,and like Kievstar,i wonder if all this pre-trip communication is a waste of time and emotion.We can get on really well with someone in the virtual world,but it all means nothing if the chemistry isn't there in the real world.
I've read so many men say that the actual meeting was a reality check,after warm-hearted correspondence,with the woman not affectionate at all on meeting in the real world.
I don't understand why this is,because these are not blind dates as such,after extensive letters and chat,and presumably truthful photo's being exchanged.I do seriously wonder about the sincerity of the majority of these FSU women,and what their expectations are of the men that come to see them.
Is it any wonder,the majority of men never go there,to meet these women ?

[groovlstk]

I do seriously wonder about the sincerity of the majority of these FSU women,and what their expectations are of the men that come to see them.
Is it any wonder,the majority of men never go there,to meet these women ?

I don't think it has anything to do with sincerity and everything to do with unrealistic expectations, on the part of both men and women. These meetings also fail because the man decides the woman isn't quite what he expected (happened to me more than I'd care to admit) and decides to move on.

[Eduard]

Another negative of writing and skype.  Best to just meet women face to face and not waste all the time before hand. 

Sorry, but it has not been my experience. Time after time I see guys truly connecting with the women BEFORE they meet face to face. There is a level of comfort after communicating daily by email, Skype and phone for a couple of months, that does not exist when they meet without having had such communications.
Since I help different men all the time, and observe what happens in each different situation I can see patterns develop of what works and what doesn't. Obviously there are exceptions and sometimes a couple can have great chemistry and like each other a lot without much communication before meeting, but in my experience that's what it is - an exception, although it does happen on occasion.
Based on my experience working with different men I can see that the pattern is there - the better they connect during the correspondence stage, the more they know about each other, the better chances they have at developing a real life relationship when they meet face to face.
Just my experience/opinion.
Ed

[tim 360]

Sorry, but it has not been my experience. Time after time I see guys truly connecting with the women BEFORE they meet face to face.

Since I help different men all the time, and observe what happens in each different situation I can see patterns develop of what works and what doesn't. Obviously there are exceptions...

Based on my experience working with different men I...

Are you a business?  Maybe you should register as a commercial member to keep things transparent.

[Eduard]

Are you a business?  Maybe you should register as a commercial member to keep things transparent.

Yes Tim, I am. Some people here know very well who I am. getrussianwife.com is my site, in case you wanted to know what it is that I do.
I was banned here a couple of years ago and was only participating on the RUA forum. Since the political climate has changed I am now back here, on RWD as well as on RUA.
If you look at my "signature" you will see that I am in business and am not trying to hide it or confuse any one. I'm not sure why my web site address was edited out in my signature and I also wasn't aware that there was a way to register as a commercial member. I just followed the steps presented to me by the welcome page of the forum.
If the mods want to change that, they will surely do that at their convinience. Hope this helps.
Ed