ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusJust got back - The report part 2
:ph34r: Part 3 of this gripping story?? I can hardly wait, good side step by the way on the travel companion. My wife read the story with me and proceeded to explain which part of my facial anatomy would be missing, as in ripped off, if I were caught in the same predicament and offered the same reasoning.....
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2010-01-25 20:22:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusWould it be possible?

/me hides




As well you should, after all you've seen Brad with a key board, imagine him with a gun.....sorry Brad...
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2010-02-28 21:56:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarusnoa 2 @!!!!
Congrats. . . .
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2010-03-08 20:47:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarusupdate
Congrats, one more step out of the way... :D
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2010-03-15 18:48:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarustravelling to from Ukraine
Not to disagree with Gary, but when we went her ticket was in her married name and we simply showed them her passport (old name), her green card (new name), and a photo copy of the marriage license. We never had any questions, by the airline, passport control (going or coming), or immigration. They looked at the documents and never said a word. We are going to do it this way again next month, delaying citizenship application until we return. We have flown in and out of JFK and Toronto this way. My guess is that either way would work as long as you present the supporting documents, just a guess. I know what has worked for us.

As far as changing the name on the passport, good luck. We were going to start that and found out that she has to first change her internal passport and get her name taken off of her paerents apartment and then begin changing her international(external) passport. They won't even consider changing the external one until the other steps have been taken. I asked her dad to offer some cash to make it work and either got one of the few that will not accept the uh "extra income" or it is just that complicated. As well her dad told me that they are changing the look of their passports this year.

Have fun on the trip :thumbs:
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2010-03-15 19:04:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarusrecent trip to ukraine

But mostly only folks like us would read it.





The single guys would be too busy chasing skirt at the bars to read it. . .
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2010-03-03 22:29:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarusrecent trip to ukraine
It seems to me that Ukrainian women, maybe others . . .


Gary,
There are times that your comments leave me scratching my head, but in this case I believe that you hit the proverbial nail on the head. My wife "helped" me gain 30 pounds so that, as she explained it to a friend, "other women won't try to steal him" and she is very much involved in how I present myself (attire, etc.) in public. Since the 30 pounds have set up seemingly permanent residence on my mid-section any hint of jealously by her has been put on a shelf for potential later use.

As far as any questions regarding my opinion of other women's looks, she will ask "What do you think of her?" My response is, and will be, "Who?" Upon her pointing out the other women I respond with a simple "I didn't notice her, but she is too (insert as needed)". This gets me out of any immediate dirty looks and later follow up comments.
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2010-03-01 19:07:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarusrecent trip to ukraine

I dunno about all that.. when we were in Amsterdam and walking through a Red Light district (had to, for a shortcut from our hotel to Museumplein) she was poking me in the side going: LOOK AT THE HOES!!!
I think this is the one and only freebie "look at girls" I get :P but then again, I really don't want to anymore anyway :D


Don't really want to look anyway???? Ok, right, I understand, yeah that's it, me either......wink-wink..... :innocent:
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2010-02-28 21:52:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarusrecent trip to ukraine
Yalta water front, Kiev, or my favorite, Cherkassy, it really doesn't matter the scenery is amazing! Definitely worth the price of admission, or the risk of bodily damage if you are discovered looking. . . . :girlwerewolf2xn:
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2010-02-28 21:10:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusDo you truly love your fiancé???

there is no "membership" requirement to be able to post in any regional forum that i've found in the vj tos.



Thank you Charles, most of us here are good about playing with others. . . :energy:
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2010-02-20 23:25:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusRussian (RUB) Mother in laws
Ok, first off I share a birthday with my MIL, can you say bonus points. She thinks that I am wonderful and that her daughter is so lucky. . . See you can fool them. She has a thing about putting her hand over an area that "hurts" to check it and has a home grown recipe for any thing that ails me. If I here one more time about the grass that I need to eat to get healthy. . . Seriously, she is a fantastic person.
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2010-11-10 22:06:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarusfiled today
We are using a driving school since I do not have the patience to teach. I tried but too much "Curb! Curb! Watch the curb". . .
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2010-11-03 16:17:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusFlorida Driver's Manual in Russian
After reading some of the rules, I sent Mila to a driving school so that she could pass. If I had taught her she would have failed for sure. :bonk: She passed both the written and driving tests first time. The best money that I ever spent, as far as my stress level is concerned. :blush:
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2011-01-06 10:26:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusHappy New Year!!
Happy New Year to all of the RUB community and here's to a speedy journey no matter when you are in it. . .
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2010-12-31 17:11:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusUSCIS is at it again!
FYI, Texas sucks at N-400 petitions as well, Arizona is moving at a like the hare to Texas' tortoise. . .We filed at Texas in October and December Arizona petitions are getting interviews. . .
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2011-01-24 12:18:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusWelcome to the USA
Congrats . . .
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2011-01-27 08:47:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus1st Anniversary
Congrats, we have our 4 year later this month. It is amazing how quick it goes by :clock: . . .

Edited by nyhazmat, 02 February 2011 - 09:52 AM.

nyhazmatMaleUkraine2011-02-02 09:52:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusGuns, No Pie

One can never have enough guns. Luckily, I have three sons who all hunt and shoot. I'm forever buying something for them. Also, my Veka wants a handgun for her at home. All of mine are for men. She likes my sister's .32 and my ex's 9mm. I still have to post the pictures of Veka at the range with all of the "black guns." She told me that she was now "Spetsnaz." I had to explain to the others what spetsnaz was. They got a kick out of it. I might just start Veka out with a .22. She has shot my Victor .22 but she said it was too heavy for her.

What guns do other wives here like?



My wife likes my Glock Model 17 (9mm), and the Colt 22 revolver, both light and easy on her.
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2011-01-27 14:35:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusIgnore

I'll bet she was American. And can you imagine they tell us to be careful of these foreign women scammers? :whistle:



Yes she was. . .
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2011-01-27 18:44:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusIgnore

I fit all the criterion except "rich." Don't tell my wife...I'm still pretending that I'm a rich American. :whistle:



My ex :girlwerewolf2xn: eliminated any possibility of that, at least for the next few years :ranting:
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2011-01-27 14:48:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusIgnore
And I am not FAT! :lol:




Hmmm, I am, and bald, and, oh well nevermind :wacko:
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2011-01-26 18:15:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusIgnore
Ignore what???
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2011-01-25 17:41:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusFlower Power

Clean water is not a normal thing in the FSU. It is recommended (strongly)not to drink the water without boiling first. I wouldn't even drink it then. It had a nasty, oily looking slime on it after boiling. I used bottled water. More than a few RUB husbands have reported here the amazement their wives have at them drinking water from the faucet! Alla made me drink a glass in front of her and then looked at me like she expected me to fall over dead immediately. :lol: She finally has accepted it and likes the convenience (and low price) but still will not use ice in drinks.


My wife finally will drink the filtered water from the refrigerator, she watches the filter status light like a hawk though, it lasts about 3 months. Ice??? No way, I still get funny looks for using it(and still have the leaving refrigerated things out on the counter battle). As far as cooking, she finally gave in to tap water, even for coffee and tea.
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2011-02-02 10:00:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusFlower Power

The way I look at it, it's just like anything else...when the local market ceases to be competitive, you outsource.

I agree completely. . .
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2010-12-29 12:19:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusI'm an alien I'm a legal alien... :whistle:
Soon after arriving here my wife and I had dinner with one of my co-workers. He made a very rude and uncalled for comment to her trying to be funny. We it wasn't funny to my wife or I and I let him know that. There was a quick appology and no further comments of that type from him. We have had other comments made that could be taken as rude, but we prefer to take them as jealous comments. . . We really don't let other peoples problems become our problems. If someone who is supposed to be a friend has such a small mind as to say such ####### then how good of a friend are they really? For the most part Americans will be interested in talking with you to learn of your experiences and what things were really like in Russia, as opposed to what the media has put out. You will enjoy it and make some good friends, just don't let the idiots get to you, they are everywhere, in every country. Have a great journey.
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2011-02-15 12:38:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusBest, Worst, Most unexpected thing about FSU
The good - Ladies that "act" and dress like ladies, at least like the ladies we all want. :devil: I really like the fact that you can go to the beach, Dnipro River, and have an open pit bar-b-que. We had a large family gathering and cooked shashlyk, and when it was done, suprise-suprise, everyone just started cleaning up, no trash left anywhere.:thumbs: The scenery at the beach was great also, head on a swivel kind of stuff.:whistle:

The bad: My wife doesn't want me to venture out by myself, I don't speak Russian, and she is afraid of the types of people that I will encounter and what may happen. Safety is an issue in Cherkassy. We have way to save on taxi fares, if there is a meter that the driver uses, no changes, I can talk like usual. If there is no meter or if the meter doesn't get used, I play the part of the drunk uncle and don't speak at all. It really saves on cab fares. Clothing is expensive, and the styles, while my wife would like to see me in some of it, well, let's just say that it is not my style. B-)

Having spent my younger days in So. Cal. on the freeways, I believe that I could drive there but the cost of rentals is just not worth it. We have a driver for the longer trips that works well with us and we can just sit back and relax.

All-in-all, I could live there, but Mila is not interested.
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2011-01-06 11:24:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus5th anniversary
Congrats on the 5 years and the little one, we hit 5 years this Friday. . .No little ones planned :whistle: . We are just starting the MIL saga. . .
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2012-02-20 09:28:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusWho DIDN'T meet online??
We are also in the offline group. We were introduced by mutual friends that thought that we both needed someone in our lives. :D
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2012-09-24 16:25:00
Europe & Eurasia (except the UK and Russia)Passport question
Thanks for the info, yes there is an Embassy in NY City. I will have her call them and see if they can issue a new one in her married name. Thanks again.
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2008-02-06 14:54:00
Europe & Eurasia (except the UK and Russia)Passport question
We are going to Ukraine this summer for 2 weeks. This is my wife's first trip to see her family since we got married. My question is, her passport is still in her mainden name. What issues is this going to cause in Kiev? Do we get the plane ticket in her married name or the name on her passport? Has anyone gotten a Ukrainian passport replaced with one with her married name while in the US? If so, how? Thanks in advance for the help.
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2008-02-05 23:34:00
Europe & Eurasia (except the UK and Russia)Big Bang Theory Test
I read the same story, oh well if it's time then it's time. I'm a little more concerned about the Russian's testing the international communities resolve.
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2008-09-10 09:37:00
Europe & Eurasia (except the UK and Russia)taxi in kiev
The only money that we have right now is getting ready to move as a down payment on a house... Though taking some retirement funds and playing might not be a bad deal.
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2008-09-10 20:08:00
Europe & Eurasia (except the UK and Russia)taxi in kiev
I was also there last month, 4.53 was the best that I got. Of course it starts a recovery right after we leave...
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2008-09-10 09:32:00
Europe & Eurasia (except the UK and Russia)taxi in kiev
QUOTE (1HappyGuy @ Sep 8 2008, 07:07 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
If you can find a private party that can drive, you will generally do much better. They are happy for the opportunity to make pretty good money and you get usually good service. If you can, have your SO call a friend in Ukraine that can either recommend someone or arrange for someone to pick you up. The taxi's are getting more expensive each time we go back, darn inflation! Last I checked the dollar only bought 4.83 hrivna, by far the lowest I've seen.

You are right about talking, especially in the negotiation period. If they find out you are American, expect a 20% increase right off the bat. I always have my wife call the cabs and negotiate. But then, there seems to be a difference even in the hotels. They have their "international" rates and the "domestic" rates.

Regarding the difficulty of speaking languages, whoo, where do you start. I know that Americans don't seem to be very accomodating to foreigners. I've told my wife, its as if their ears close up once they hear your accent. I suspect it is because America is really a very isolated country. We have four neighbors: Canada (speak English), Mexico ($peak Engli$h), the Atlantic and Pacific (don't speak at all).

I have noticed that in most countries, if you make an attempt to speak their language, they generally are much more helpful to you. Of course, there are those countries where just being an American can be a problem.




I would agree on all counts. My wife does the negotiating and I somewhat play the part of the the 'sluggish' uncle, i.e. just sit there like a bump on a log. When I do use the Russian that I know they enjoy listening and appreciate the effort. As far as Americans not being accomidating, amen! That is an understatement. I think those are some of the reasons that I enjoy my visits there. That and the different speed of life.
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2008-09-08 19:14:00
Europe & Eurasia (except the UK and Russia)taxi in kiev
Did you get Rosetta Stone? What is it like? We prety much stick to English here because she needs it, though she is geting my sarcastic sense of humor. I found that in stores you can always find someone who speaks English and besides she won't let me stray very far, I am really sociable and will talk to most anyone, she is afraid that I will wander off while talking and get lost. lol
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2008-09-06 23:56:00
Europe & Eurasia (except the UK and Russia)taxi in kiev
MY Russian stinks, but I find that any effort you make is appreciated. They will laugh WITH you when you screw up as opposed to here whare the laugh AT you. I have a few people over there that I yalk to when we are there and it is kind of funny to watch. One is the husband of a friend of my wifes. He speaks/understand almost no English, but yet we 'talk' for hours, him in Russian and me in English. A lot of hand signals with an occasional "Honey come help". A lot of Americans have no patience for it, Ukrainians seem to be very interested in hearing what you have to say.

Just my humble opinion...
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2008-09-06 23:21:00
Europe & Eurasia (except the UK and Russia)taxi in kiev
My point exactly. I went back and read your post about what happened. When it was time to come here my wife started to drag her feet a little. I had already come back and I basically told her to just get to the airport. It was fine. Every now and then she gets 'home sick' and gets the feelings about having to help everyone at 'home'. A trip back cures that for awhile. We will always help her parents, when we can. But the trip last month was an eye opener as far as the rest of her family was concerned. There was some of the expectations of giving that we just didn't have this time. Except her parents the others became a little distant. Her parents would accept very little, they just wanted to see us. Her friends were also great.

If you get the language down, you can have a blast there with or without anyone from here. You already have a head start on the cultural differences.
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2008-09-06 23:02:00
Europe & Eurasia (except the UK and Russia)taxi in kiev
So do it! Just take a vacation over there and enjoy. Take a couple of single friends and see what happens. The women are everywhere, as you know. And as you also know, they are very nice. Most are sincere, just go for it. If nothing else, you will have a great vacation. Go to an area that is different from where you would have gone. Buy Rosetta Stone and get your language skills up where it needs to be and take a vacation.
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2008-09-06 21:28:00
Europe & Eurasia (except the UK and Russia)taxi in kiev
It is amazing how the prices change...Whenever we are there she does the talking. If we get into a cab it depends upon the cab whether I talk or not. No meter = no talking, meter not used = no talking, meter being used = I get to talk. It is the same in the markets, she talks, I listen. My Russian and Ukrainian language skills are in need of serious help.
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2008-09-06 21:05:00
Europe & Eurasia (except the UK and Russia)taxi in kiev
Brent,
Appreciate the info. With the dollar being on it's but and prices going up over there it is getting crazy. We have to travel to Cherkassy when we are there and it is up to 350 hryvnia each time. Do you know if that cab company goes south or just into Kiev?
Thanks,
Scott
nyhazmatMaleUkraine2008-09-06 20:50:00