I am sick of writing letters.....

[Sculpto]

Scultpo, I am merely pointing out to you that you can do a few business-related activities while over here and then you can deduct all or part of your trips.

back in the 90s I was semi mass producing some decorative furniture items that a lot of major chains carried.  some of them even made it onto the sets of some popular tv shows.. anyway.. i got my hinges in mexico.. they were really good hinges.. i needed to get hinges three or four times a year and since it cost less to fly to mexico city and bring the hinges back in my suitcase than it did to have them sent by international freight.. it made sense in more than one way...

so, I am merely pointing out that i know what you are talking about. 

Oye amigo, tengo heenjis.. dey bery bery good heenjis.. I sell you heenjis for cheap price.. ok amigo?  I give you free heenjis so you can try dem and eef you like dem heenjis you buy them, ok amigo?

[JR]

your macking skills

Macking skills? I have macking skills? KEWL! I have skills I don't even know about.

I AM DA MAN! ! ! !
Lord its hard to be humble when you're perfect in every way.......

[JR]

jolly, can you communicate over there?

I drool, what more does a woman need to know your interested?

Actually it appears I have an interpreter whether I like it or not. I also have a friend (male, married, but wants to set me up with his 17 yo daughter?) whom I hope to visit while I'm there.

[Bored1]

It is right to be tired of sending letters.  If you wan to meet a RW the best way is to come and get on a Metro or go to a university campus.  Many RW can speak some English, may age and younger for sure.

With all I read persons have said here it seems you do not trust who you write anyway.

The best way is to come and be yourself and talk to RW.  When you go home, that is when to write them.

[Aloe]

so use instant messengers, what's the problem

[KievHarmony]

So, why are you writing letters ?

[CONCRETE RIVER]

It is right to be tired of sending letters.  If you wan to meet a RW the best way is to come and get on a Metro or go to a university campus.  Many RW can speak some English, may age and younger for sure.

With all I read persons have said here it seems you do not trust who you write anyway.

The best way is to come and be yourself and talk to RW.  When you go home, that is when to write them.

^i like this....maybe I could find a 2 week course that would appeal to me & meet a responsible woman* in the process.   thanks!

[Aloe]

^i like this....maybe I could find a 2 week course that would appeal to me & meet a responsible women in the process.   thanks!

call me quirky but i always tried to steer clear of guys who have "women" instead of woman in their profile or letter, i think it's a fruedian slip, the guy wants many women !!!!!!!

[CONCRETE RIVER]

^i like this....maybe I could find a 2 week course that would appeal to me & meet a responsible woman* in the process.   thanks!

fixed and thanks.  sometimes this iphone likes to "guess" what im trying to type and is usually wrong.

its really good at making me appear to be a horrible speller too!  lol.

[Sculpto]

Its a good method CR..

I once researched and seriously considered doing 2-4 week langauge course in Odessa.  I would have either done a home stay or shacked up in a sanatorium.  Either way would have helped the budgest considerably and the sanatorium idea actually seemed pretty cool.  Its not that hard to research it, many have websites. 

Any thoughts on what the best cost alternative is for langauge courses?  They seem to vary a lot in prices from city to city and school to school.

[ECOCKS]

^i like this....maybe I could find a 2 week course that would appeal to me & meet a responsible woman* in the process.   thanks!

Homestay?

I definitely do NOT recommend that method. If you want intensive language study and maximum exposure to Russian they're great. If you want strong language study to take up your daytime hours while your dates or possible wife are working, no way. Babushka takes a dim view of some gal moaning in the next room at 2AM and less still of waking up and finding some stranger in her bathroom brushing her teeth. GET AN APARTMENT!

Even foreign military personnel coming in on intensive Russian language acquisition courses often objected to the limitations on their social time when placed in homestays.

If you want intensive Russian or Ukrainian acquisition in Kyiv, let me know and I'll help you arrange daytime classes with competent people who do this for a real living.

[Sculpto]

Ecocks I see your point, but, I was trying to keep the young man from getting in trouble.  besides, if he is trying to date "good girls" they wont be in his room moaning at any time of the day or night.  Remember, he is looking for the Mother of his children. 

[ECOCKS]

You can be looking for Mrs. Right and still enjoy yourself. A lot of people go on vacations and have expectations of sex without actually being sex tourists.

The babushkas and host families aren't too fond of late night returns home either. What is the pont of a homestay if you are not there to talk with the family in the evening or recovering from the previous night at breakfast.

I have a good friend who has contracts with a couple of government agencies for these type programs. Boys will be boys (and girls will be girls) but everyone still wants to enjoy their trip even if it is an assignment.

[Ronnie]

I am quite well aware of that ecoks.  however, to get any value from such a deduction one must first make a profit.. give me a year, I just started 3 weeks ago..

besides, it might be a good idea if there is a little stability when "A" arrives.. she might not like living under a bridge or eating government issue cheese.

I might add however, government cheese isn't really all that bad.. put cheese in some boiling mild.. add a bit of onion.. even the most gastronimically sophisticated would swear its wisconsin cheddar..

Don't let your FMLN compadres see that!

Seriously fellas, writing is a waste of time!  I'm starting to think too that going there is a waste of time AND cash.  There seem to be a whole bunch of RWs already in country and many (was it about 50%?) have divorced their original sponsors.  Some of their much older husbands have passed away.  Sculpto, just show up some Sunday at the RO church on on Geary in the Richmond district.  JR, I don't know where you live but you too could check out the local RW.

Look at the advantages:  No scammers, no travel costs and time, no immigration issues or language problems.  Seems like a no brainer to me!

[Ooooops]

Look at the advantages:  No scammers, no travel costs and time, no immigration issues or language problems. 

And lots of other American men to choose from...   

[Misha]

And lots of other American men to choose from...   

LOL! And, as Shakespeare would say, there's the rub 

[Sculpto]

Ronnie are you really that naive?

I spent last summer hanging around a bunch of Ukrainian and Russian girls who arrived here without marriages.

What makes you think they aren't capable of scam?  What makes you think they aren't gold diggers?  What makes you think they have ANY interest in American men?

This is how it went.. the girl I was "dating" would bring me around to her friends when her friends needed something like a ride here or there.. especially to the store late at night. 

If I invited her out she always accepted, but, never paid one cent even after we had been out more than a dozen times.  At the same time she never let me get close enough to actually confirm if we were having a relationship or not.  When I brought the subject up her automatic answer was.. "I don't want talk about it until I have good job and place to live".  I know, she really wasn't into me.  She once asked me for a favor.. to help her find a better job.  So, I made some calls and it turned out that an Irish client who is married to a gorgeous Swedish woman who owns a high end salon needed someone with "V"s skills and was willing to pay a very nice wage.  I called "V" immediately, she didn't answer but i left her a message to call me back right away because I had news about a job.  3 weeks later she finally got around to calling me back.  By then it was too late and I looked bad with my client.  After I told "V" she was so embarressed that she never took another call from me again.  Last I heard she went back to Kiev because she couldn't hang with it here.

Her friends, all of whom came over on work travel visa program had all overstayed their visas.  The "ring leader" used pictures of a fire victim to gain her "white card" from immigration caliming the fire victim was her Mom in Valdikavkaz who had been burned by the Islamist terrorists.  These girls partied like there was no tomorrow.  They had guys all over town, mostly American born Russians with money to throw around.

None of them ever let me get too close.  I was never invited to their house parties.  I was never invited to outings to Russian culture events.  etc. etc. etc.

also a year ago I was using flirt which has the ability to search in SF Bay Area.  There were 6-700 profiles of women between 25 and 40.  I sent probably 100 intro letters, short, sweet in English with a Russian translation.  I did get several replies but not one single IRL meeting.

I suppose if I was still looking I could go to the Russian resturant by SFO which has Russian music every weekend night.  Or I could go to Marakesh downtown which has a Russian DJ and is a hangout for Russians because they have the hookahs.  I could also go to the meetup groups and the different Russian culture events, but, its still a long shot and all the other factors that I listed in another thread remain valid and in play. 

The one untapped variation I could have tried would have been the Jewish Community Center which is pretty much run by the Russians now.  But, for me it is not a very attractive option because I am not in the least bit religious and don't even like being around it all the time.  And, in the case of a lot of the Russians who either kept it in hiding when they were in the SU or had become completely secular there is a tendency for them to be over the top in regards to religion.  Really not for an old hippie like me.  Not much in common there.

Where i am sitting right now, in my studio.. this building is owned by a Russian Jew.  If I told Vera I was looking I am sure she would fix me up.  But then instead of going to art events on Friday nights I would be lighting candles.  I eat what I want and I love bacon.. can not imagine life without bacon, and pork chops, and pork ribs, and lobsters, and oysters etc.. too many compromises.. can't do it. 

[Ooooops]

LOL! And, as Shakespeare would say, there's the rub 

 

[Ronnie]

Most America men have no interest in RW, here or there.  Look at the small handful of us on this forum compared to the population.

We are fairly close to a middle-aged couple.  She (RW) divorced her American husband and met "Jim" at a lounge.  Jim repairs cars and comes home with dirty fingernails.  Not physically attractive either, but he's a good man and they're devoted to each other.  BTW, she's an RN and earns more than he does.

I'm not recommending meeting "visitors" who overstayed their visas.  That's a non-starter.

[JR]

It is right to be tired of sending letters.  If you wan to meet a RW the best way is to come and get on a Metro or go to a university campus.  Many RW can speak some English, may age and younger for sure.

With all I read persons have said here it seems you do not trust who you write anyway.

The best way is to come and be yourself and talk to RW.  When you go home, that is when to write them.

I'm on my way, when can we meet?

[JR]

So, why are you writing letters ?

To let the world know how awesome I am ?

[JR]

so use instant messengers, what's the problem

I am using instant messenger, it's the same as writing. Come to think of it so is posting

[Bored1]

I'm on my way, when can we meet?

I have good job and own apartment.  I have no interest in living in USA. 

[Ade]

I have good job and own apartment.  I have no interest in living in USA. 

You are getting close to shattering a lot of guys delusions here...

[Ooooops]

Most America men have no interest in RW, here or there. 

Agree 100%.   Because they are not mysterious RW anymore - "beautiful and full of family values" at the same, they are just women of Russian origin and not much different from "girls next door".