Trip #2 - Going Home to see My Girl

[jb]

Mac,

I think you got bad info, don't buy clothes in Moscow,

[Gator]

Fabric made in Russia?  Burlap maybe or military. 

I have seen one tailor shop for wedding gowns.  If Moscow tailors are "very good", it is a secret. 

Good clothes, e.g. Hugo Boss, are available in Moscow but at much higher prices than what you would pay in America.   I found everything expensive in Italy, yet the Cossack who knows clothes said that Italian prices were less than in Russia (I am working on my new book, How to see Italy for less than $2,000 per day).

[macman]

Hey man. . .

Okay, well I was going on something my Bro read in Man's Fitness or one of those sort of mag's.  But then again, Bro is in China and thought he could get a suit made.  I told him;  Bro, don't go to Italy for tea. . .

c ya
mm

[ScottinCrimea]

Thor, You forget that I'm from California, where dressing up means wearing our best Grateful Dead t-shirt and Burkenstock sandals instead of flip flops.

I've never been a clothes horse and never needed it to attract women.

[Simoni]

... dressing up means wearing our best Grateful Dead t-shirt and Burkenstock sandals instead of flip flops.
I've never been a clothes horse and never needed it to attract women.

While that may be true for you Scott, let's not mislead newbies about the taste in clothes FSU girls desire for their man.

Yes--they want you to dress nicely....all the time...with the exception of beach time at the Black Sea.

That means nice pants (no shorts), nice shoes (no sneakers), and a nice dress shirt (no grateful dead t-shirts).

And yes, designer clothes cost as much or more in Ukraine than in the US.

Marina was SO excited to find Calvin Klein jeans here on sale for under a hundred bucks... 

Kuna....your thread has a fashion drift to it now....are those shades you bought designer?

[Jazzyclassy]

Mac,

I think you got bad info, don't buy clothes in Moscow,

Oh yes I confirm , we do not have any proper russian brand here , all are from china or pakistan or india or turkey , maybe only one  brand we might probably have , but  for sure Moscow it is not the city where you can buy some nice outfit, vice versa people are going abroad to  buy clothing there

[ScottinCrimea]

Simoni, Do you know the word "sarcasm"?  I'm married to a RW.  No need to lecture me on the importance of dressing well.  If she should ever catch me trying to leave our apartment in a t-shirt and sandals she would drag me to the bedroom by my hair and forcefully redress me. (Now that I think of it, maybe that's worht a try!)   

[Jazzyclassy]

I would like to comment a little bit about the thing that Kuna's girl was sleepy all the time, personally  I think it is normal , as many people told here already she is working , plus excited about going to places and is having like a super adrenalin and things, it will go away and she will be cheerful after this period ends.

Concerning the ring and all those proposals, I think when you are absolutely ready,when  enough time passed , why then hesitate? or making some conclusions in one's mind about this or that issue, well it is necessary to do when you are still dating, but when your hand was ready to take money from your wallet and bought the ring, then you should already stop thinking silly things , cos if you still thinking about her being  so , you being like that and you are not compatible together in one little thing or something then you should not buy any rings at all , cos you are not ready and it is not the right time:)

Also I was thinking about the Russian proverb that it is so true about rushing the events especially with marriage and love. I  can not find any English equivalent maybe later on will find something similar in English , but the gist is the following : It is so easy to marry but much more harder to be married to somebody and live in marriage

So before taking any final step one should be confident at least in his own feelings towards the partner, of course you will be confident in your man/woman but once again you are not him/her you can not dig into his/her soul and into his/her heart , you gotta trust him/her simply

I think Kuna is doing a right thing that he is spending so so much time with his girl and her family that is very important and that will give him much more understanding of how they live and what is the main key in their lives. To my mind Kuna is the very open , frank person which makes him rather unique , the other guys in his age might lose this feature. And I think one of the greatest thing about  Kuna( only judging according to his posts here) is that he is emotional in this or that way which makes him so sensitive towards the other people's feelings which is so vital to my mind as well. Many men think that they only need to have solid head , brains to earn money and be calm like a wood  and that's it, and a woman will be all in delight:P yeah sure some women maybe.
I consider it to be so nice when a guy is sensitive and emotional in some way , cos then it is much more easier for him to understand his woman:)

I am sure that everything will be how you wish  it to be dear Kuna:)

all the best to you and your girl:)

[Thor]

Oh yes I confirm , we do not have any proper russian brand here , all are from china or pakistan or india or turkey , maybe only one  brand we might probably have , but  for sure Moscow it is not the city where you can buy some nice outfit, vice versa people are going abroad to  buy clothing there

This is so thrue. They go abroad to US, Italy, UK and France to but fashion clothes. The middel class like to dress well and they dont like the bad qaulity of cheap asian clothes. They better use a lot of money on a sweather than buying 5 cheap sweathers...

[Turkey]

Jazzy,

The 'Proposal' is important in the US anyway.   It's part of the ritual of courtship and every guy wants to get it right.  Because if he screws it up, his wife will remind him through the remaining years they are together.  And if they divorce he will be held up as an example of the romantic failures of men by not only the wife but all of her female friends and their female friends till every woman on every continent uses his name as a verb.  As in "Did you hear about Rosy?  Ya, she got Sammed by the guy she was dating.  She doesn't know whether she is going to say yes."   HA!

It is serious though.  AW at any rate (and the guys for that matter), when asked want to be able to say something romantic not "he was watching the game and said he bought a ring and it's on the counter.  And while i'm there would I get him another beer."  LOL

[I/O]

AW at any rate (and the guys for that matter), when asked want to be able to say something romantic not "he was watching the game and said he bought a ring and it's on the counter.  And while i'm there would I get him another beer."  LOL

Nahhhhh  Mine already knew me better than that.  She knew I would prefer a coffee.

I/O

[Kuna]

On the topic of fashion and clothing standards in Ukraine...

I think all luxury items in Ukraine seem to be more expensive in Ukraine than in the west... perhaps it's a tax issue...  Cosmetics and perfumes are a good example of this... Some lesser know (or local brands) are very cheap...  a local nailpolish is about 5 grivina (AUD$1.30)... Estee Lauder nail polish was 120 grivina (AUD$40). At home it would be around AUD$25 I think.  My Girl is VERY MUCH into her cosmetics so she's very excited about shopping in Australia.

On the topic of clothes...

There's a lot of fake designer brands here... not sold in markets... in shops.  D&G is everywhere... no one can tell me everyone sitting on a trolley car or bus is carrying a $2000 handbag.

The thing is.. their fake stuff here is MUCH more expensive than the fakes go for in Hong Kong.. someones making A LOT of money...

As for the real stuff... and the really expensive stuff...  in my opinion it's only the mega rich, Thor and his wife that can afford it...  My BIL seems to be doing very well but I didn't see any "designer labels" stuck on him, his wife or kids.

As for prices generally...  I think the locals know exactly where to shop for which items.  Example.. I was looking for a 2Gb Flash Drive for My Girl... I looked everywhere and was ASTOUNDED at the prices...  almost AUD$150 compared to maybe AUD$80 at home...  I almost bought one until I told my girl I was getting one and she asked "Where Kuna"... I told her and she said NOOOOO... the next day she took me to a very nice shop right near European Square and we got one for $40.

Another example... This shop had good brand plasma and LCD TV's for MUCH less than I could get in Australia.

Russian Standard Vodka in Varus Shopping Centre is about 140 grivna for a 1 litre bottle...  in the little shop next to this internet cafe it's 89 grivna for the same thing...

The locals know where to shop for value.

Oh... when buying clothes my girl takes a painfully long time looking at stitching and fabric quality...  She doesn't care so much for designer brands because she's VERy interested in quality.

Next topic... her expectation of how I dress...

At home and around her apartment.. in the local markets and on the street (when I walk down for water... or to buy something like salad stuff...  or anywhere local... she goes mad at me for wearing jeans or trousers... "It's too hot... be commfort".

When we go to the city she wouldn't want me wearing shorts...  BUT open shoes are OK...  she hates my normal casual shoes (which are incredibly comfortable for walking) because they're enclosed and she's so sure they are too hot.

Oh... another thing... she wants me to wear thin socks all the time because they're "cooler"...  Doesn't seem to matter how many times I tell her my normal socks are comfortable for my feet and the thin socks are no good for walking long distances.

Maybe Dnipr is less formal than other places... but there are certainly people here well dress and in very casual clothes...  there's another group that are wearing better quality clothes but at times they may still have open shoes or sandals...

The key seems to be tidiness.. and looking like you're not on your last kopeck.

Ummm.. I guess I should get to the TR huh?

[groovlstk]

And yes, designer clothes cost as much or more in Ukraine than in the US.

Marina was SO excited to find Calvin Klein jeans here on sale for under a hundred bucks... 

We have a Calvin Klein factory outlet in Secaucus, NJ, not far from our home. When I took my wife there she couldn't believe the prices in comparison w/Moscow. I had to stand on my head to convince her they weren't cheap knock-offs from Taiwan

Sorry Kuna, please proceed with your excellent TR.

[SANDRO43]

I think all luxury items in Ukraine seem to be more expensive in Ukraine than in the west... perhaps it's a tax issue...

Import duties, maybe ?

[Pike]

BUT open shoes are OK...  she hates my normal casual shoes (which are incredibly comfortable for walking) because they're enclosed and she's so sure they are too hot.

Oh... another thing... she wants me to wear thin socks all the time because they're "cooler"...  Doesn't seem to matter how many times I tell her my normal socks are comfortable for my feet and the thin socks are no good for walking long distances.

Yes, I went through this exact same thing with the FSU women  I was with on my trip.  I mostly wore super light weight, all leather Hush Puppies.  I also wore 100% cotton socks of medium weight with extra cushioning  on bottoms (no not white ones).  This combination was great for walking the long distances that we traveled.  The Hush Puppies were nice looking and highly polished.  The gals didn't complain about the looks, but they all thought my combination 'must be much too hot and uncomfortable.'

Truth was, I was much more comfortable than they were in their medium to high heels, even when they were in open toe high heels.  I never got blisters, cuts, etc., like they did.  Sensible over silly every time for me.

[Zhena]

This is so thrue. They go abroad to US, Italy, UK and France to but fashion clothes. The middel class like to dress well and they dont like the bad qaulity of cheap asian clothes. They better use a lot of money on a sweather than buying 5 cheap sweathers...

And guess where the most of clothes you can find in US made?...

[catzenmouse]

That is one thing that Elena hates here. Everything is made in China. She was ecstatic to find something make in Canada as a gift for her family. Even stuff made in India or Bangladesh is better to them than something from China. I can understand it after seeing all the cheap knock off garbage that they sell in the markets there.

Ken

[Simoni]

The MOB agencies overhype the "traditional woman" angle.

However, Marina makes many of her own clothes, and I swear she could be a fashion designer.  Lots of other wives here at RWD are also great at making clothes, such as GregfromGeorgia's wife.  And our AM/RW friends here?  She sews, too.

And we read earlier that Kuna's girl knits for him.

So the answer may not be big bucks for designer clothes; rather, the beautiful clothes our girls make for themselves, and us guys.

[RK]

Good point and well said, Simoni. I dated a girl in Kharkov last year who designed her own clothes, as that was what her interests and education was, and they looked phenomenal on her. With regards to current fashion, I am a shorts, polo shirt, and flip-flops kind of guy...always have been, proabably always will be due to being born and raised in California, right Scott?  Before I left for Kharkov to visit my fiancee a week ago, I asked a good friend of mine in Kharkov whether shorts and sandals was a normal thing or not, as I had heard years ago you never saw that. His response was that it is very normal, not to worry, and wear them as I would here. So I brought them with me as my main dress code during the day and I assure you, I did not stand out. Many local men wearing shorts and flip flops/sandals/athletic shoes (no, not with the knee high black socks and fanny packs  ). In fact, the first day I met my fiancee this past Saturday in long pants, she asked if I had brought shorts to wear as it was very warm to be wearing long pants. I just smiled and said: "Thank you!" The only clothing she had a problem with me wearing was my very orange polo shirt, which she said was not a popular color of apparel to wear and as I looked about in the park and square following day at the hundreds of people, I'd have to agree that I was probably the only one wearing that color of shirt anywhere I looked all day.

[Gator]

Kuna,

If you have proposed you have kept it a secret here (unless it was hidden in a fashion report).

If you have not, I have a suggestion for you.  It was what I had planned to do but never did it.  Your woman seems religious although you have never said such.  Does she frequent a church?  If so, why not propose to her inside her church.  She will not get married there because she will marry down under.  If you proposed in what is her center of religious ceremony, your proposal will carry some religious significance.  This would be important only if she subscribes to the "What God has joined together, let no man separate".

Just a thought.  It is late at night.  You have a million things on your mind.

[Kuna]

Quick comment on clothes again...

My girl has a "friend" that makes most of her clothes.  This is a woman who sews from home as a business and My Girl has been using her for about 7 years apparently.  She can sew herself but says she doesn't have time... and she likes getting together with her "friend" to talk fashion and try different things.

Now... how much you might ask.  My Girl supplies the fabric and her "friend" charges 50 grivna per garment... though My Girl says she always gives a little extra.

She's always immaculately dressed and some of her dresses are simply beautiful... figure hugging... but very tasteful.

Anyway... maybe that's the way they can dress so nicely without spending a small fortune.

I always suspect though wearing fashion labels with brands blazened across them are actually wearing rip offs anyway...  For me it's no so much the brand.. but the fit, feel and quality.

Oh, suits... I looked... Expensive and awful fabric - though they weren't made so badly.

Anyway... enough of the fashion update.   

[Kuna]

Gator,

Sorry... I wrote a long post about "the proposal day" but it went to the heavens... like many posts in an Internet cafe...

Now... let me see...   

[Kuna]

The Proposal...  and other things...

So...  My Girl knew about the ring...  and she must have known the proposal was coming tonight because I told her as she was leaving for work that we would be going out for dinner tonight.

One thing about her is she can't stand a secret... Don't get me wrong.. she LOVES surprises but she can't stand the suspense.

She must have only just got to the bus when she called asking where we were going...  and what time we would meet...  and what I had planned...  I didn't want to share anymore though because I wanted SOMETHING at least to be a small surprise.

So... My day begins.  I've been searching everywhere in the city for some flexible tubing for the water outlet on her washing machine but haven't been able to find it anywhere.  Of course she tells me it's simple... just go to the bazaar.   

I've been to the bazaar many times... several bazaars in fact... I could have bought anything I cold ever want but do you think I can find this pipe?

Anyway...  as the day wore on she wore me down.

Phone calls... SMS and even emails asking where we were going.

I simply said that we were going to a nice restaurant for dinner and she wold have to wait.

Well... her true nature kicked in and she immediately leapt into "Nice restaurant... Kuuuuna...  that is expensive... I not want expensive... I just want happiness."

I ignored it for the next few calls but finally she had a concrete reason to change our plans.. she wanted to pick up her discount card for Portofino... a restaurant we'd been to a few times.  She said this was "Our Restaurant" and she wanted to go for dinner there instead.

let me tell you a little about Portofino... Firstly they got the name wrong.  On the sign it says Pormofino and I can only assume someone made a mistake by misreading a cursive Cyrillic "T" for the Latin character M.  So... whoever made the mistake was either too stubborn, cheap or embarrassed to go back and change it.

So...  we (she's) decided... we're off to Pormofino!

I had the ring of course but I wanted to do something a little special.  My Girl has a quick witt and her mind moves like lightening...  Sometimes it takes her English a little while to catch up so when she's in one of "those" moods she throws in random german and Russian words just to confuse me.

Anyway... she knew the ring was coming... but I went back to a jeweller that I'd seen a keyring at that was fun and funky and something totally her style. (Heart shaped with red "stones" and a nice thick chain).

Next stop was the gift shop downstairs at Moct.  I wanted to pick up a nice giftbag and some wrapping paper but like the flexible hose for the washing machine.. I simply couldn't find wrapping paper.

My imagination kicked in and I bought a gift bag about the size of a medium sized handbag and off I go to the flower sellers on the roadside near European Square...

Now...  My Russian is not good, and of course I don't expect the flower sellers to be fluent in English... so please tell me how to explain tot he woman you want red roses that are fully in bloom because you want to pick all the petals off to fill the gift bag.

I thought we were doing OK until I started picking the petals off and the poor woman must have thought I was crazy.  When she realised what I was doing she, her daughter and the woman from the next stall all started joining in.  The four of us were having a fantastic time pulling these flowers apart and layering them in the gift bag.

When the keyring was safely hidden inside the first woman said something to the second...  and out of the blue the second woman said (in perfect English) Where are you from?

I could have fallen over...  I just didn't expect it... 

So we get into a fun conversation and I mention that my grandfather was Ukrainian and they didn't believe me... So I pullout my wallet to show my license but then realise the Latin characters may not mean much... I put my wallet away and pull out my passport to show my Visa.  they're squealing with laughter rabbitting on at a million miles an hour and I let them feeling like this day was probably a little different than they normally experienced.

Before leaving I got their stapler off them and stapled the top of the giftbag, bought more roses (petals in tact) and off I go to meet My Girl.

As soon as she came around the corner and saw me standing on a crowded street with a big bunch of roses she let go of the most beautiful and brilliant smile on could imagine. She gave me an excited kiss and instantly reached for the roses...  kissed me again and said, "Will you give me ring now"?

HAHAHAHA... she's dreadful... she just can't wait!

Anyway... we go up to Pormofino and on the way I realise I need some extra cash.  As I approached the ATM I took out my wallet and OH MY GOD!

My credit card was gone!

The first feeling was utter dispair.. then panic...  the only place I could think of where I would have left it... or lost it... was when I pulled my wallet out at the flower sellers.

I told her I'd lost my card and she could either wait in the restaurant or come back with me... She chose to go and browse in a shop while I ran back to European Square.  When I got there the ladies thought I was back for another chat but soon realised what was wrong.

So... all four of us are back to searching on the ground... in the vases.. on the street... anywhere to find the lost card.

We couldn't find it anywhere...

I had a second card on me but it was an identical card... same number.. same PIN... same account...  So if I cancel the lost card my card that I still had would be disabled too...  I didn't know what to do...

Anyway... after some quick thinking I decided I needed to get to dinner...  not delay anymore... and tomorrow I would go tot he Internet Cafe early and transfer all of the remaining balance from my credit account to my cash account so any attempted transaction would be declined from insufficient funds.

I headed back to My Girl and after explaining what had happened, and what I'd do she simply said, "Oh well, it's not biggest problem".

At that point I felt like it was a pretty big problem so I just had to ask... "What is the biggest problem".

Her answer brought me back to earth...

"Health... if you have good health you have everything.  With good health you can have everything.  Card is lost... it's not problem".

[MaxxumUSA]

Ok Kuna...  I hope you're still typing more.  It's almost 5 am here and I'm waiting to know how you did the proposal. 

[Thor]

Good point and well said, Simoni. I dated a girl in Kharkov last year who designed her own clothes, as that was what her interests and education was, and they looked phenomenal on her. With regards to current fashion, I am a shorts, polo shirt, and flip-flops kind of guy...always have been, proabably always will be due to being born and raised in California, right Scott?  Before I left for Kharkov to visit my fiancee a week ago, I asked a good friend of mine in Kharkov whether shorts and sandals was a normal thing or not, as I had heard years ago you never saw that. His response was that it is very normal, not to worry, and wear them as I would here. So I brought them with me as my main dress code during the day and I assure you, I did not stand out. Many local men wearing shorts and flip flops/sandals/athletic shoes (no, not with the knee high black socks and fanny packs  ). In fact, the first day I met my fiancee this past Saturday in long pants, she asked if I had brought shorts to wear as it was very warm to be wearing long pants. I just smiled and said: "Thank you!" The only clothing she had a problem with me wearing was my very orange polo shirt, which she said was not a popular color of apparel to wear and as I looked about in the park and square following day at the hundreds of people, I'd have to agree that I was probably the only one wearing that color of shirt anywhere I looked all day.

So thrue my friend. On agency sites you can read that local guys in FSU dont wear shorts, sandals and so on. But this is just bullshit...When I walk in the streets of Kharkov most men walks in sport shorts and sandals/sneakers...