my introduction

[daddyrose]

Hello I'm new to the site and am planning to meet a nice Belorussian girl in October. Any advice from men dating Minsk girls would be appreciated. Thanks

[TwoBitBandit]

I'm too lazy to write paragraphs and paragraphs...but...

Read the "10 commandments" on this board, great advice
Especially:
1.  Have a back-up plan

2.  Get the agency out of the loop if you're using one as soon as you can; be sure you can contact the girl directly by phone or email if you need to.

3.  Learn some Russian.  There's a course on CD called "Pimsleur Russian."  It comes in 3 units of thirty half-hour lessons each.  You'll need to do easy lesson 3 times to really get it.  So, it's about a 150-hour investment to do all 90 lessons.  If you do this it will make everything much easier for you; a little bit of Russian will go a long way.  Traveling in the FSU isn't like traveling in Western Europe.  This course will give you a spoken vocabulary of about 250 words and you'll understand some grammar.  Also learn to sound out Cyrillic words.  Unlike English, Russian is very phonetic.  If you know how to pronounce all of the letters, you can almost always say the word correctly just by looking at it.


I hate reviving the visit-one vs. visit-many debate that happens over and over again, but I think it's a mistake to do visit-one on your FIRST trip.  This is doubly true if you haven't traveled in the FSU before or are a little lightweight on experience with women in general.

[steviej]

Hello I'm new to the site and am planning to meet a nice Belorussian girl in October. Any advice from men dating Minsk girls would be appreciated. Thanks

Welcome daddyrose ! You sure came to the right place. Lots' to learn hear, as you can already see from the above post. You mentioned you are going in October? That's almost 4 months. How long have you been communicating with this girl? Do you speak regularly by telephone?

There was a thread not so long ago from a guy seeking advice about going to Minsk. You can probably find it using search. I remember he got quite a bit of good info in it.

Good luck!! Keep us posted on your progress

[msmoby_ru]

I'm too lazy to write paragraphs and paragraphs...but...

Read the "10 commandments" on this board, great advice
Especially:
1.  Have a back-up plan

Dear Daddy

Welcome to the board... you'll find those who advice making such a trip should involve you lining up more than one woman and having a "back up plan"..

...and you'll find those that say - follow your instinct...  this is the classic Write many / visit many (WMVM )v Write one/ visit one (WOVO
) debate ! 

Which is right for you depends on how much you feel you know about the lady and you alone.

You should have a contact tel number / email address for an independent Russian speaker - if you feel "lost" / frustrated ..



The ten commandments make sense - but there are a few happily married guys who felt they trusted their ladies enough to break 2,3, 4 of them and are happily married now...

2.  Get the agency out of the loop if you're using one as soon as you can; be sure you can contact the girl directly by phone or email if you need to.

Sound advice, if you are using an agency. You should NOT go at all, if you don't feel sure about the ladies contact details.

3.  Learn some Russian.  There's a course on CD called "Pimsleur Russian."  It comes in 3 units of thirty half-hour lessons each.  You'll need to do easy lesson 3 times to really get it.  So, it's about a 150-hour investment to do all 90 lessons.  If you do this it will make everything much easier for you; a little bit of Russian will go a long way.  Traveling in the FSU isn't like traveling in Western Europe.  This course will give you a spoken vocabulary of about 250 words and you'll understand some grammar.  Also learn to sound out Cyrillic words.  Unlike English, Russian is very phonetic.  If you know how to pronounce all of the letters, you can almost always say the word correctly just by looking at it.

Agreed - learning some Russian will be rewarding .. and help you.   Hopefully your lady speaks some English?!

I hate reviving the visit-one vs. visit-many debate that happens over and over again, but I think it's a mistake to do visit-one on your FIRST trip.  This is doubly true if you haven't traveled in the FSU before or are a little lightweight on experience with women in general.

Hmm, there is real merit in this advice - as you will be learning a lot - there are important some cultural differences- IF this lady is your "cup of tea" and you can communicate, you'll be fine.. If she doesn't speak English well, you are sure to have some misunderstandings. Sitting in a strange hotel room / apartment in a strange country - not knowing the plan for the day - does she like me.. blah blah ..is an incredibly lonely experience..

If this is your first trip, I really hope your lady speaks good English...

Good luck

[Gator]

Welcome daddyrose!

Any relationship to daddy warbucks?

Regarding your question, I took 20+ trips over 6 years to Ukraine and Russia to meet women, yet never to Belarus.  All I can say is that I saw little difference between RW and UW.  So I would not expect for Belarus to be much different.  My wife has a friend from Belarus now living in Milwaukee.  She seems like a prototypical "RW."

There probably is a difference in what to do and see because Minsk is never mentioned in the same league as Moscow, St. Piter and Kiev.  However, if your goal is just to meet a woman, then it matters little.

Politically, there are some differences and you should make yourself aware of them.  Of possible significance, IIRC, Belarus is making it more difficult for women to emigrate from the country.  That rumor could be false, yet something you should try to investigate.

[catzenmouse]

Welcome to RWD daddyrose!

 Lot of info to be gleaned from the FAQ section as well as the many Trip Reports. You'll probably find that most of your basic questions have been answered (some over and over and over..).

 Good Luck!

Any relationship to daddy warbucks?

I thought YOU were Daddy Warbucks Gator!?!

My wife has a friend from Belarus now living in Milwaukee.  She seems like a prototypical "RW."

If you ever get up to visit her friend give me a shout. You'll only be an hour + away.