Do's and Don'ts

[Gef]

 Just one problem:  I would like to present her with roses, and they don't exactly sell them on the plane.  Would it be OK if I got the roses perhaps later on that evening?

In that case, consider what I am planning to do and have done.  Pre-arrange airport transportation, via an acquaintance in my case, or the Internet in yours, - St. Petersburg should be no problem. Instruct the driver to pick her up at home and bring her to the airport. Also, arrange for the driver to have flowers already purchased, & hidden in the trunk and ready for you to present to both your sweetie and her mother when you arrive back at their apartment. This initiative and resourcefulness will accomplish for you 3 things, a ride to her apartment , your romantic attitude, and your clever independence of having made such arrangements yourself.

[RussianGal]

Just one problem: I would like to present her with roses, and they don't exactly sell them on the plane. ....
...Arrange forthe drivertohave flowers already purchased...
.. This initiative and resourcefulness will accomplish for you 3 things....

I agree, get creative, guys! We like that.

My hubby brought hawaiian leis on his first visit - on the plane hid it in the bag with ice and when we met he took it out and put on my neck..
Wow! What a surprise, what a wonderful smell! Mmm..

[RussianGal]

[user=527]al-c[/user] wrote:

... Just one problem: I would like to present her with roses, and they don't exactly sell them on the plane..

Here is a tip for you:
If presenting her with flowers is so important to you, bring those funny chocolate roses instead and tell her something like 'I wanted to give you real flowers, as soon as I see you, but they are not allowed on the plane, so I brought this..'
I`m sure she`ll be laughing a lot and appreciate it.

[Muj]

[user=527]al-c[/user] wrote:

Let's take these one at a time:

1.  Of course it is important to be a strong man, and part of being a strong man is to not be afraid to ask for help.  I know all that.  But perception is just as important as reality, and if she perceives me to be weak, no amount of strength is going to do me any good with her.

2.  Letting her meet me at the airport is a good point, and yes I am going there for only one woman.  I can't ignore that the opinions here are overwhelming towards doing that.  Thank you all for your advice.  Just one problem:  I would like to present her with roses, and they don't exactly sell them on the plane.  Would it be OK if I got the roses perhaps later on that evening?

3.  Traveling to her flat alone:  I would attempt it if it were Novisibirsk since I have spent time there and know the layout of the city quite well.  But St. Petersburg, even though there is more English spoken there, is a place I have never been to and could get very lost in.  Maybe it would be a better choice to go there with her once, since we are now going to be meeting at the airport, and then I can find it thereafter on my own.  What does everyone think about this choice?

 

al-c,

Try the folowing as far as traveling to her place:

Buy a cell phone in St Pete's or a new chip for Russia if you have a compatible cell phone.  Then ask your girlfriennd to SMS the directions in Russian.  Show the SMS to the taxi driver.  Works great!:)

[ConnerVT]

Huh?

Google is your friend : http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&q=necropost

A "Necropost" is posting on a long dead thread.  In this case, one that hadn't been responded to in over one year.  It sometimes has value, when adding a new experience or updating the subject matter.  Typically, responding to a post of people whom may (or certainly have not) returned to read the forum is in bad taste.

[FreddieK]

Should the woman you are going to visit meet you at the airport?

What did I do to solve this dilema?......  I asked her what she wanted to do !!!!

 

[al-c]

Should the woman you are going to visit meet you at the airport?

What did I do to solve this dilema?......  I asked her what she wanted to do !!!!

 

Isn't a man supposed to have this already figured out?

 

[Albert]

If you are going to meet only one woman, then yes by all means have her meet you at airport.  It is the natural thing to do.

But if you are going to meet more than one woman, don't let any of them meet you at airport, and don't let any of them find an apartment for you.

Reasoning is simple if you think about it logically: The one who meets you and makes arrangements for you has a great deal of control over your entire visit.  They can really screw over you if they become unhappy with you.  In most FSU cities you can find an independent third party to help you out with transportation, apartment needs, etc.  That is the safest way to go.  Such persons can be found by searching the archives of these posting boards or by asking a new question.

[Albert]

al-c says: "Isn't a man supposed to have this already figured out?"

Al-C you are getting a little carried away with this 'strong man' idea.

Yes, it is well known that FSU women like strong men, but this doesn't translate to them expecting the man to know details about cities and places that they have never been before.

A guy could run into a few gals here and there (mostly teeny boopers or 20 somethings) who would be clueless about reality and would expect you to handle everything, even in a place that is strange to you while it is home to them.  But I would cross off such women when those tendencies first appear.

[FreddieK]

al-c says: "Isn't a man supposed to have this already figured out?"


To me its just being polite.  I wanted her opinion as to what she wanted.   As to the logistics of the trip, I have already taken care of it and this had nothing to do with that.  

[al-c]

Well to keep you all informed as to the result, I asked Olga, point blank, if she would like to meet me in the airport, to which she replied "Of course I would".  So it is pretty much settled.

Thank you all for your advice.

 

[Vaughn]

al-c, this Olga is the same woman who locked in those ballet tickets, right?

[Dealmakerjc]

al-c,

Mate let me say if she wants to meet you at the airport, and she is the only one you are going to see, by all means let her. She will appreciate very much the cost, effort that you have taken to come and see her!!:D From her perspective, it will be the least she can do.

If she did not want to come and meet you at the airport, then it would to me suggest that she does not care about the effort that you have made to come and see her!! If that's the case, then I would not bother going!!! It's that simple!!!

 

The fact that she is having a foreigner coming to visit her will in itself be extremely exciting for her, particularly if it is for the purpose of possible courtship.... To tell her NOT to meet you will quite possibly send the WRONG signal to her.....

Also the excitement, and the hustle and bustle of an arrivals lounge (if you can call them that in some FSU airports) will just add to the romanticism, anticipation and excitement of the 1st meeting........ Any RW I know who is worth her salt would not miss that opportunity for all the chay in Russia (or was that tea in China ). Just my opinion, based on my own experience. For me, it was just absolutely brilliant and magical.........

[al-c]

al-c, this Olga is the same woman who locked in those ballet tickets, right?

Yes, which I offered to pay for and she graciously accepted.