freaking out a little about moving...

[GoodOlBoy]

im really hating having to wipe dishes dry after every wash! if i dont they get ugly white stains, why cant they make water like in Russia, thats safe to leave dishes to air dry
also i tried a raw inside steak for the first time, that was horrible, but everyone was saying its really good, it tasted horrible and i did not feel good for hours afterwards! how do people eat that !
and our internet keeps going down, its been down like 7 times in 1 month; and when it goes down, so does our phone and part of tv; so i cant use the phone if internet is down and its down all the time! so lame and so expensive and such tiny traffic limit its awful ! in Moscow i had unlimited traffic 4 mbps up and down internet for 13 euro a month, here it is 50 euro for 12 mbps down and 0.35 mbps up with 30 gb a month limit, thats just laughable upload and even more laughable limit for a ridiculous sum, even tho it has tv and phone included, still horrible horrible deal, considering im used to downloading movies 4-8 gb each, just awful
i feel like complaining today !

Aloe.....I hope your man isn't like "Muddy".  :evil:

You are 100% correct
I had a relationship with a Ukrainian girl and you wont believe some of the things she was writing her friends not about me but about the US and how life is here .....
If you really want to know them install a keylogger on your computer and see who/what they writing.
Very cold and very stupid, thank god I sent her back to Ukraine.

GOB

[ECOCKS]

My wife doesn't eat meat but is continually shocked at the availability, variety and marbling of our cuts.

I was asked several times about how Americans eat "bloody" meat. Gets tiring explaining juice versus blood. Helminths huh? Have to look that one up, good to know some detail above just generally unsafe conditions.

She (wife) continues to give rave reviews on the fish. We've progressed from salmon to haddock and cod. I'm hoping she will overcome her Russian impressions of catfish but she remains skeptical that cats can be "clean" to her standards. Still, even if I screw up, I think the fish may be my ace-in-the-hole to keep her here for the rest of her life.

[kievstar]

Hi Aloe, I think your ready to try eating horse.  In Belgium that is a favorite dish.  I actually like it but not worth paying more than cow. I may eat horse and mussels tonight.  You have been lucky the weather in Belgium is very nice this past week.  Rare for it to last this long. 

[Sculpto]

Aloe.. glad to see you are having "fun".    Sandro's advice is spot on.. where I grew up we had the same problem with the water.. it came from the limestone bedrock.  You might also want to see about getting a filter that you can put on the faucet.. it will make the water taste better too.. I can't stand that cal taste.

I just realized I am going to be drying dishes at some point in the not too distant future... all my dishes have those white spots.. never even thought about it before.

[kievstar]

If you have a dishwasher you can buy some stuff to add and dishes / glasses come clean.  Costco has it.  I forget the name as I eat at restaurants or in Ukraine 99% of the time past year.  Never at home.

[SANDRO43]

I just realized I am going to be drying dishes at some point in the not too distant future... all my dishes have those white spots.. never even thought about it before.

An efficient way to dispose of hardened limestone deposits is to use a stronger acid, e.g. the hypochlorous acid (HClO) developed by sodium hypochlorite (NaClO), commonly known as chlorine bleach.

In lower concentrations, it's also used as a disinfectant under various brand names, for home use and in swimming pools, giving out its typical chlorine smell. Whenever I brought home seashells from a vacation, I used to boil them in bleach for a few minutes to remove the smelly remnants of their former inhabitants .

Its effectiveness can be gauged by observing the development of small bubbles of CO₂ resulting from the decomposition of CaCO₃ (calcium carbonate). Of course, a good rinse in fresh water is advisable afterwards.

Even more efficient is sulphuric acid (H₂SO₄): I was able to remove decades-old, thick encrustations from my bathtub with it, and a jolly froth it made in the process. But I wouldn't recommend it to amateurs, after all I was trained as an industrial chemist and still remember how to handle it safely .

And I just remembered another acid, nitric (HNO₃) that gained me some popularity in my teen years. One day in our school lab I accidentally dropped some of it on my jeans, and it left an indelible yellowish-orangeish stain. I immediately used it to personalise my jeans using a steel nib as writing tool, and was in great demand by friends of all sexes to repeat the process on theirs .

[Aloe]

GOB, of course hes not like muddy, he doesnt like me complain; but who does? thats why i do it here! lol; even when i say: "why couldnt those bastards make an english manual!!!" he takes it as beating on his country, while in fact im mad at the product manufacturers;
I tested water hardness with a stick that came with calgon ad, it said medium hard,
Sandro, you mean i actually have to add something to my laundry; right there with the clothes? What does it look like? if i dont, is it gonna break down within 5 years or more? we got some insurance that will fix the machine even if we break it ourselves, but only for 5 years
Kievstar, i read the dishwasher manual (one of the very few that were in english), it says add some special salt and rinse-aid to avoid calc, but i dont know what those things look like and neither does my husband, so kinda puzzled there

[Sculpto]

Aloe.. which brand of dishwasher is it?  I deal with dishwashers every day for my clients.

[SANDRO43]

Sandro, you mean i actually have to add something to my laundry; right there with the clothes? What does it look like? if i dont, is it gonna break down within 5 years or more? we got some insurance that will fix the machine even if we break it ourselves, but only for 5 years

Yes Aloe, you put one of those tablets (about 20x10x5 mm) into the washing machine basket along with your load of laundry. Time to breakdown due to limescale is of course a variable factor, I'd check your 'insurance' to verify if that kind of damage is covered. I think you're actually referring to the manufacturer's guarantee rather than an 'insurance', and anyway it may not cover damages resulting from users' 'negligence': their operating instructions may include some warning about using hard water, for which they decline responsibility .

Limescale tends to accumulate more heavily on the washing machine water-heating element, making it less efficient and requiring a higher power consumption to produce the desired water temperature, hence higher power bills, too . 

Kievstar, i read the dishwasher manual (one of the very few that were in english), it says add some special salt and rinse-aid to avoid calc, but i dont know what those things look like and neither does my husband, so kinda puzzled there

Your local supermarket probably has a number of those products on the shelves of their aisle for household detergents.

[Aloe]

Yes Aloe, you put one of those tablets (about 20x10x5 mm) into the washing machine basket along with your load of laundry. Time to breakdown due to limescale is of course a variable factor, I'd check your 'insurance' to verify if that kind of damage is covered. I think you're actually referring to the manufacturer's guarantee rather than an 'insurance', and anyway it may not cover damages resulting from users' 'negligence': their operating instructions may include some warning about using hard water, for which they decline responsibility .

Limescale tends to accumulate more heavily on the washing machine water-heating element, making it less efficient and requiring a higher power consumption to produce the desired water temperature, hence higher power bills, too . 
Your local supermarket probably has a number of those products on the shelves of their aisle for household detergents.

what tablets and what basket? by basket you mean right where i put clothes?
i mean exactly insurance, i can drop the machine off the stairs and they are supposed to come fix it (it was very expensive insurance, but my hubby read the article with me that fixing a broken washmachine is almost same price as a new machine so he got the insurance)
for dishwasher i got calgonit finish; it seems to be both rinse aid and salt, at least the glasses look clear, im so happy, i HAAAAAAATE washing dishes

[SANDRO43]

what tablets and what basket? by basket you mean right where i put clothes?

Yes Aloe. Usually one tablet of anti-scale is enough.

i mean exactly insurance, i can drop the machine off the stairs and they are supposed to come fix it (it was very expensive insurance, but my hubby read the article with me that fixing a broken washmachine is almost same price as a new machine so he got the insurance)

I see. Anyway, a new machine should also be covered by its manufacturer's guarantee (1 or more years), so you might have waited until its expiry before stipulating an expensive insurance policy, repairs are usually free-of-charge during that period .

Mine has been working flawlessly for the past 3-4 years, but then I use it only twice a week.

[Aloe]

Thanks Sandro i have to be very sure of what im doing here, cant ruin our clothes cuz we cant afford new ones haha. Insurance was his idea, i didnt say anything altho i thought it was a total waste of money, i should not have let him read the article; he is impressionable

[kievstar]

Hi Aloe, in USA companies make a lot of money selling warranties on washer, dryer, dish washer, and TV. Longterm best not to buy the warranty research has proven that.  That being said when I was your husbands age I bought warranty on a 60 inch Mitsubishi TV for 300 usd which still works 12 years later for ex wife with no repairs ever. 

[SANDRO43]

i have to be very sure of what im doing here, cant ruin our clothes cuz we cant afford new ones haha.

Don't worry, I've been using those tablets for years, with no discernible ill effects on my laundry .

Of course I cannot really tell if I saved my washing machines from grevious harm thanks to them, I should have had to run a 2nd machine in parallel without them to establish that scientifically but, as they say, better safe than sorry, and the required investment is very limited.

[Aloe]

From my limited experience so far, it seems that in Belgium male-female interaction is pretty much the same as in Russia. I see tons of girls wearing heels and skirts (well ok, not mini skirts and nothing extreme, but still feminine), one girl i know even wears the "classical" russian stiletto heels with pointy tip shoes, with skirts and plenty of cleavage and etc. And from my talking to my husbands family (girls from 25 to 50's) they dont seem to have any different (feminist?) views. And strange guys hit on you out of the blue, just like in Russia. Also when we were walking with the girls at the gas station, some car honked passing by, im not sure why, the girls said drivers honk at us for fun, it seems just like Russia, i really do not see much difference in women and men between here and there, but i dont have any real belgian friends yet, so i guess we'll see

[Ade]

From my limited experience so far, it seems that in Belgium male-female interaction is pretty much the same as in Russia. I see tons of girls wearing heels and skirts (well ok, not mini skirts and nothing extreme, but still feminine), one girl i know even wears the "classical" russian stiletto heels with pointy tip shoes, with skirts and plenty of cleavage and etc. And from my talking to my husbands family (girls from 25 to 50's) they dont seem to have any different (feminist?) views. And strange guys hit on you out of the blue, just like in Russia. Also when we were walking with the girls at the gas station, some car honked passing by, im not sure why, the girls said drivers honk at us for fun, it seems just like Russia, i really do not see much difference in women and men between here and there, but i dont have any real belgian friends yet, so i guess we'll see

I've yet to see a fundamental difference between women in Western Europe and Western Russia.

[Aloe]

I've yet to see a fundamental difference between women in Western Europe and Western Russia.

ok, its just that all those guys over the net complained about their women and now turns out their complaints were completely groundless

On a side note, i'm a little shocked at how much stuff i didnt know about my husband before we got married, i thought 4 years of online communication and 6 weeks together is enough, but apparently it's not. And it isn't because he hid something, he never did, it's just that we never got in a particular situation before marriage. Now i find out he turns into a huge annoyed meanie if he's hungry, i wonder if that's normal, i know i'm easy to annoy when i'm hungry but i don't turn into a total meanie, just sit there annoyed not touching anyone, why be mean. Not sure how to deal with that. Obviously try to not let him go hungry, but that is not the solution to the real problem. I can't get rid of the feeling that if you truly love someone, you wouldn't get annoyed at them that easily; Really bothers me every time it happens. And he says he tries his best not to do it, but it doesn't seem that way to me

[Ade]

ok, its just that all those guys over the net complained about their women and now turns out their complaints were completely groundless

Um, yes.

On a side note, i'm a little shocked at how much stuff i didnt know about my husband before we got married, i thought 4 years of online communication and 6 weeks together is enough, but apparently it's not. And it isn't because he hid something, he never did, it's just that we never got in a particular situation before marriage. Now i find out he turns into a huge annoyed meanie if he's hungry, i wonder if that's normal, i know i'm easy to annoy when i'm hungry but i don't turn into a total meanie, just sit there annoyed not touching anyone, why be mean. Not sure how to deal with that. Obviously try to not let him go hungry, but that is not the solution to the real problem. I can't get rid of the feeling that if you truly love someone, you wouldn't get annoyed at them that easily; Really bothers me every time it happens. And he says he tries his best not to do it, but it doesn't seem that way to me

He's young. I could be a right arsehole towards my ex when I was younger too for the most trivial of reasons. Try to be patient but remind him that he's being an arse without being too pissy. Hopefully he will try to be as understanding when you have bad moments too. As we age, we guys usually become a little less like spoiled brats.

[JR]

On a side note, i'm a little shocked at how much stuff i didnt know about my husband before we got married, i thought 4 years of online communication and 6 weeks together is enough, but apparently it's not. And it isn't because he hid something, he never did, it's just that we never got in a particular situation before marriage. Now i find out he turns into a huge annoyed meanie if he's hungry, i wonder if that's normal, i know i'm easy to annoy when i'm hungry but i don't turn into a total meanie, just sit there annoyed not touching anyone, why be mean. Not sure how to deal with that. Obviously try to not let him go hungry, but that is not the solution to the real problem. I can't get rid of the feeling that if you truly love someone, you wouldn't get annoyed at them that easily; Really bothers me every time it happens. And he says he tries his best not to do it, but it doesn't seem that way to me

In two years you're going to tell us you are still "just learning" about your husband. I get short too when I'm hungry. But I don't get mean. That is not excuseable. He needs to change his behavior but only he can do that. When it happens remind him that he is the one who changed, you've done nothing wrong and you are not going to put up that kind of shit. Also, it might be a good idea to carry a few candy or granola bars in your purse

[kryten41]

also i tried a raw inside steak for the first time, that was horrible, but everyone was saying its really good, it tasted horrible and i did not feel good for hours afterwards! how do people eat that !

I'm with you Aloe, undercooked meat is more dangerous than cooked meat.  Unless you REALLY like the taste, there is no reason to take the risk, and there is certainly no advantage in trying to acquire the taste.  http://www.helium.com/items/74641-the-dangers-of-eating-undercooked-meat

Google "dangers of undercooked meat" for more info.

[Aloe]

wow i just read my very first post, that sounds so awful, just a bunch of complaints and fears I have to say most of the fears were completely groundless, i have yet to meet a non-friendly belgian, and most people in flemish part speak a little english, so im not totally helpless, it is nowhere near as bad as i feared before the move. And ill start studying flemish and maybe french in middle of september, cant wait to go, meet some new people, cuz so far everyone around me is my husbands family. Its such a nice family, they help us a lot. And of course the fact that im with my honey makes me very happy. He is very nice 99% of the time lol. The 1% of the time he is bitching about my house maintaining skills haha. Was so silly of me to think im doing ok on the housework, apparently his mom vacuums and cleans every day and has a cleaning lady come over weekly, no way i can clean that much! And she used to iron his t-shirts, is that normal to iron t-shirts? I never thought you needed to iron t-shirts, let alone tank tops for house wearing  But aside from that, everything is great lol

[Gator]

The 1% of the time he is bitching about my house maintaining skills haha. Was so silly of me to think im doing ok on the housework, apparently his mom vacuums and cleans every day and has a cleaning lady come over weekly, no way i can clean that much! And she used to iron his t-shirts, is that normal to iron t-shirts?

Tell him that he married you, not his Mama.

[SANDRO43]

And she used to iron his t-shirts, is that normal to iron t-shirts? I never thought you needed to iron t-shirts, let alone tank tops for house wearing

If made of cotton, yes , washing/drying wrinkles them.

[Sculpto]

lol @ ironing t-shirts!  I knew it, Sandro, you iron your socks too don't you? 

Aloe.. what will happen after you get a job?  Will you still be expected to iron t-shirts? 
 

[Misha]

And she used to iron his t-shirts, is that normal to iron t-shirts?

Not necessary if you have a dryer.