Ash's St. Pete thread

[dogspot]

Contact Irina at http://www.introbyirina.com/flatfiles/2-5.html

She was able to find me a fantastic flat for pretty cheap (the one in the photos in the link I sent)...1 block off Nevsky...I think I paid 70 bucks a night or something and the place was clean, cozy and plenty large for two people. Just tell her your price range and she'll give you some options. I called her after I was already in Piter on my first visit and she hooked me up.

Stay at your lady's place after you get to know each other.

[Faux Pas]

I've rented one of those apartments. Irina is a good contact and very helpful. If you need a transfer to and from the airport ask her. She use to be associated with a driver named Nikita. His English is bad but can communicate and he's a good guy. Goes above and beyond as does Irina and her English is good

[AsH]

Thanks fellas.

[55North]

Deleted as irrelevant.   

[Phil dAmore]

Here's another vote for Irina's services.  Back when I lived in St. Pete she was very helpful in finding apartments - often on short notice- for my clients.

Peterhof in April?  As I recall the season doesn't open until mid- to late May.  What with all the snow in Petersburg this year there is a good chance there will still be some on the ground when you arrive.  Dress accordingly.

Good luck!

[AsH]

Does anyone know about a silver-cafe.net?


Im getting random e-mails from women and i have never seen the site before.

[AsH]

This is a bit off topic but do any of you guys have trouble with your accents when speaking to your RW?


Im Australian and i have a fairly strong accent but by no means incomprehensable one of the girls im talking to has  trouble with my accent although i know not to use slang terms ect and i speak slowly,what about you americans and englishman ect do you blokes have any such trouble?



AsH

[dbneeley]

This is a bit off topic but do any of you guys have trouble with your accents when speaking to your RW?


Im Australian and i have a fairly strong accent but by no means incomprehensable one of the girls im talking to has  trouble with my accent although i know not to use slang terms ect and i speak slowly,what about you americans and englishman ect do you blokes have any such trouble?



AsH

Strong accents of any kind can be difficult at best for someone whose native language is not English--and even for some native speakers. In my experience, either a standard English as spoken by American or British television journalists is the most understandable by the most people. Regional variants of the stronger types are far more difficult.

I have seen linguistic maps of the U.S., to give but once example. The most understandable English spoken in the U.S. seems to be that of the upper midwest--Ohio, Indiana, and Iowa and the like. The understandability level then proceeds in a counter-clockwise direction--next the Northwest, the West, the Southwest, the South the Southeast, the East, winding up with the least understandable being New England. For someone from Maine, to give but one example, there can be trouble being understood should that person travel to the South.

Similar problems exist within Britain. Famously, the Cockney accent seems to be the most troublesome, but there are many more that are difficult to understand even when slang is removed.

It should come as no surprise, then, that the heavier Aussie accents can be difficult to understand. Remember, too, that telephone conversations are the worst since there are no visual cues, and very often webcam discussions may not be all that much better.

As the ladies you communicate with become more accustomed to speaking with you, this should diminish. However, I do suggest that if you are using Skype that you make use of the ability to use the text messaging in addition to the video and/or audio chat. That can often clear up words that seem particularly problematical.

David

[AsH]

yeah its seems sometimes that you spend most of you conversation saying "sorry" or her ď dont understand"  even when i am being very clear,well at least to me it is....................

[SomeGuy]

yeah its seems sometimes that you spend most of you conversation saying "sorry" or her ď dont understand"  even when i am being very clear,well at least to me it is....................

Something to keep in mind is many, perhaps even most FSUW you come across that don't have extensive or significant traveling, very likely learned their English from a non native English speaker.  Additionally, what is generally taught is UK English, along with in many cases, some rather odd vocabulary words now and then.  It gets better as you gain experience and learn to simplify some sentences, depending on her language abilities, and as you build up time talking to a specific person.  

I'm originally from the NE US (with a very strong accent at the time), but moved around early and long enough my accent has almost disappeared, so much that my now wife, on our first conversation, thought I might have been a very fluent Russian playing a joke on her - she has traveled and worked with people around the EU and US, but most she had come across did have strong regional (English/US) accents, or embarrassingly, were far less literate than she.

The suggestion about keeping an instant message window open during calls is a good one.  My wife is quite fluent, but there are pronunciation oddities most FSU folks have in English speech (long Os, for example), as well as your own accent or them sometimes expecting a word to be said mis-pronounced but as they have heard before.  With my wife, we wouldn't often fall back to IM, but probably once a day to every few days for a sentence here and there.  Before her, I might have needed to do so every few paragraphs.

[Daveman]

This is a bit off topic but do any of you guys have trouble with your accents when speaking to your RW?


Im Australian and i have a fairly strong accent but by no means incomprehensable one of the girls im talking to has  trouble with my accent although i know not to use slang terms ect and i speak slowly,what about you americans and englishman ect do you blokes have any such trouble?



AsH

What may sound like the weirdest thing in the world, but it works... mimic their Russian accent with your english words.. or talk like Dracula... yes, I actually have done this many, many times and still do it when communication is not easy. Works miracles... of course, if you get serious, better to slowly wean her off that so she'll pick up understanding the language flow of your area... but when you are trying to learn about each other, this is magic.  I have heard so many times "I easy understand you but not other foreigner english, why?"  So, don't be afraid to sound like a nut if that is what it takes to make communication easier to learn about each other. 

Another benefit is that by speaking English with a Russian accent, you will speak Russian far, far more understandably for the locals if you decide to learn because you will already have the sounds in your repertoire. Laugh if you want... it does work.

[AsH]

I'll try that thanks daveman and someguy.

[AsH]

Im starting to wonder about girl "1" who im visiting she just doesnt seem very interested sometimes when we are chatting on skype i think if your interested in someone you would make an effort and want to talk as often as possible dont you think?

Sometimes she will give one word answers and reply every 20 mins or so is this rude behaviour or am i being to rigid? On the other hand girl "2"  is so easy to talk to and makes an effort whenever we are online at the same time  and her manners are impeccable and honestly at the moment i am leaning towards spending more time with her than girl "1". I know there is a lot of potential for misunderstandings on skpye but i feel this is strange behaviour from girl 1 your feedback will be appreciated.



AsH

[Jumper]

is it video skype? (or only text?)


We don't see  the conversation or the normal flow of it ,so cant make great advice?

if its text ,and she's working ,or busy , and you both exchange  blurbs every  so often  over a day  a day or two, it seems normal.
in that scenario , one word answers could mean anything from her english level not being all that good , to her being not that into you.


if its video and she seems distracted ,then she simply is , and you aren't the priority.
but i'd wonder how she became the number  option originally?
was she different now than before?
if so ask her why. be direct.
 


overall, my thought is:
Follow what a person actually does, and how they behave towards you and others,
while words carry import as to their thoughts, it is still secondary to what they DO.
make no excuses to yourself for others actions or inactions.
If something bothers you, ask them.

[AsH]

im just using girl 1 s ect because i dont want to use names ect i dont have permission. Its 95% text at the moment video is proving  difficult because of my/her accents differing english and just because of her work and she is rarely available for video chat after work or even on weekends..it makes me a bit wary but i will ask her if shes still interested and to be honest who knows i might not be her 1st choice anyway.

[Faux Pas]

im just using girl 1 s ect because i dont want to use names ect i dont have permission. Its 95% text at the moment video is proving  difficult because of my/her accents differing english and just because of her work and she is rarely available for video chat after work or even on weekends..it makes me a bit wary but i will ask her if shes still interested and to be honest who knows i might not be her 1st choice anyway.

If she's interested AsH, you'll know it.

edit to add:
I don't know what the conditions are that you are on Skype with her. Is she at an agency or does she have some other job and she is skyping from work? There is a significant difference in her joining you in a Skype session and "joining" you in a Skype session if you get my meaning. If she's acting at all annoyed or anytime uninterested, move on.

[AsH]

Yeah she uses skype from work and i dont expect much indepth convo during her working day but on weekends i think she could make a bit more of an effort you know if your interested in someone you make time dont you.

[Faux Pas]

Yeah she uses skype from work and i dont expect much indepth convo during her working day but on weekends i think she could make a bit more of an effort you know if your interested in someone you make time dont you.

Yes one does. Maybe she just an exhibitionist. If she's not very convincing of her interest I would recommend you move on to a woman who is. It's understandable she might have to actually work while she's there but, IMO if she can't Skype she shouldn't turn it on. But, I think you mentioned she was much the same at home. Time is a wasting

[SomeGuy]

im just using girl 1 s ect because i dont want to use names ect i dont have permission. Its 95% text at the moment video is proving  difficult because of my/her accents differing english and just because of her work and she is rarely available for video chat after work or even on weekends..it makes me a bit wary but i will ask her if shes still interested and to be honest who knows i might not be her 1st choice anyway.

Text meaning skype text, emails, or ? 
I'm assuming she has Internet access from home?
I wouldn't worry too much or even expect much during her workdays, and with time differences it can be tough to coordinate for real time, but unless she is writing long emails on your off hours (such as her mornings when it's quite late for you), and doesn't have Internet access, the above really sounds like you're just not a priority of hers.  That may of course, be due to the timeline - she doesn't know you well yet, or isn't sure that you're 'serious' about visiting...or it could simply mean you're not a priority.  I agree with whomever wrote you'll know if she's interested; I'm a little leery of judging based on the little info that you wrote, but were it me, I'd be doing what I can to get things clarified, and move on if need be. 

[AsH]

Yes i will be determining if she's still interested for sure next time i speak to her because im not wasting this trip.

I may be wrong about her but my gut's telling me she not interested i dont realy want to post the actual convo's on here yet.


The weekends piss me off to be honest who doesnt have a few hours to chat over a whole weekend?


I want to know where i stand with her and i aim to find out.

[JR]

What may sound like the weirdest thing in the world, but it works... mimic their Russian accent with your english words.. or talk like Dracula... yes, I actually have done this many, many times and still do it when communication is not easy. Works miracles...

He "No Shiit" does this and I know first hand of one woman who actually does not understand him when he doesn't!!!

And yes it's funny as HELL!!!!!!

[JR]

Ash, right now I write this I am staying at the flat of my primary (and really my only) reason to be in St. Pete. There are pros and cons on each side of this road. It really comes down to how serious you are what level of interest you have in the person. The lady in question offered to let me stay and at first I thought is was controlling and driven by jealousy. But last night when her girlfriend said she really wanted to feel my butt she said "go right ahead." to which I grabbed her hand, tensed up and slapped it on there. Then when I stated that I had to do the same the girlfriend's eyes got real big and she started shaking her head, however she didn't back away when I reach around and found a handful of her ass...then she kinda smiled (oh BTW, she's your age and looking, let me know if you'd like to meet her;)) The lady I was with wasn't phased at all. She thought is was funny, as she did when I picked her girlfriend up with on hand and she took a photo of us.

What the above really means is that your first impression of an often can be wrong. You are closer to all of this than anyone else, only you can make the decision that is best for you. If the woman is clingy, controlling and jealous you might wind up getting locked into her apartment everyday while she's gone (this HAS happened). On the other hand it can give you a very clear insight into her life. Have a good back up plan and the balls to pull the plug early if it's not working. Print out (in Russian) everthing you'll need to get yourself to a hotel or apartment in advance and carry it with you, ie: you can pack your stuff, walk out the door, hand a preprinted card to a taxi driver and he'll take you where you need to go.

Remember, it's your journey...make sure you're the one driving the bus.

[AsH]

Well ivé just spoken to her asd she insists that she is still interested.

[JR]

Well ivé just spoken to her asd she insists that she is still interested.

If she's inviting you to stay at her flat she's interested.

[AsH]

We have agreed that i stay in another flat then see how it goes