Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Learning English	I'm fully trained. When I walk into anyone's house the first thing I do is start taking my shoes off. "What are you doing, bro?" "uhhhhhh... force of habit?" My wife just smiles and says, "uh huh. That's right. Who's my b!tch?" Ugly.... just ugly But funny.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2010-11-13 09:41:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Learning English	I wouldn't go too far with that line of logic. Telling your wife that you don't mind it a little dirty would just lead to an unproducitve discussion with a very predictable result. I tend to go with the "of course you are right sweetie" response to those statements	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2010-11-12 06:53:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Learning English	We have carpets, wear shoes inside, and I go barefoot sometimes. Vika wears slippers, but I never get a word of protest or scolding (on that issue)	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2010-11-11 11:52:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Valentines Day	Being a bit defensive here, aren't we? Not a bit VV, but thanks for making my point (again)	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-03-02 01:24:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Valentines Day	and of course, i didn't meet him on the internet. Don't bother with that Amber. No one will believe you anyway (well, a few of us will) Gary and I have been telling how we met our wives in person first for years, and some members regularly call us out over it.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-02-26 09:29:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Happy Women's Day!	Final warning here. Some members are definitely posting provocative statements in an attempt to get others to commit TOS violations. Their targets are playing right into it of course. Both sides will be banned from threads, forums, and possibly vj if it continues. Understand that I do not intend to lock threads, I will remove the members from them - both those baiting, and those attacking. Please post the "Captain Ewok save us from the evil mods" threads over in Site Discussion.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-03-09 07:35:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Well... she did it.	I've had family tell me; and I'm certain I've read the same thing here: I should have made her go cold turkey and 'quit Russian' altogether. No Russian TV in the house, just American. I haven't done that, and won't do it; simply a personal decision on my part. But, because I haven't done it, Katya's English hasn't grown the way our son's has. Granted, a child is a sponge and learns quicker than an adult. But still, he's been thrown into the shark pit that is kindergarten without his consent; and he's better for it already. We play those godforsaken Lego games and I can ask him questions filled with English slang; and he'll answer me in English just fine. With all that said, Katya has realized that she may need to tone down the Russian language shows and start watching more English language shows. I haven't yet asked her why the change; but if she's wanting to do more American stuff; I've got Netflix ready for her. Personally, I think that you made a good decision. Vika started out watching Russian programs on the computer, and really didn't spend much time with English language programs or music of any kind. After she started ESL classes and made some American friends that started to change by itself. Now she is watching American TV, but music is still tough. The point is that had I pushed, she may have come away feeling forced to immerse in English, and as a result resisted. Yeah. Katya's friends are all Russian. They all speak English well enough to talk to any of the husbands without hesitation, Katya included. But that's in a relaxed environment. Get her in a different environment, her comfort level goes down; and her understanding still fades. We see the same thing here. Again, the ESL, and now American History etc. help quite a bit. She says her comprehension at normal normal conversational speed had to improve to grasp the lectures. She was pretty fluent before, and even better now. I imagine work would have the same effect on language skill.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-03-04 23:21:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Well... she did it.	Nice	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-02-26 09:32:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Best, Worst, Most unexpected thing about FSU	Also regarding insurance, if you're going to a city that has a fair amount of expats--St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kiev--the expensive Western-style clinics will probably take your insurance. I have blue cross/blue shield, and it's accepted at those fancy places. That is great news! I suppose before one visits SP or Moscow, it would be a good idea to search for those places on the web Edited by Brad and Vika, 11 March 2011 - 08:57 PM.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-03-11 15:20:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Best, Worst, Most unexpected thing about FSU	Well, explaining how healthcare works in Russia can take quite a while... You can have a look at wikipedia http://en.wikipedia....hcare_in_Russia or some other links http://www.allianzwo...hcare-in-russia Russian people are not concerned about paying for somebody else's healthcare for reasons like - different mentality - very low taxes Still, I don't think there's a way a tourist can use a state clinic in Russia (unless he bribes somebody, but then... well, it's not for tax payers expense), and state insurance is pretty much for Russian citizens, a foreigner will have to go to a private clinic. A lot of Russian people would go to private clinics too to get better treatment. Thanks for the links ONA, I have been wondering about this for some time (purely as an exercise, as I have no plans to visit Russia soon). Let me ask a follow up question here. If a foreigner were to get hurt while on a valid visa in Russia (say, break a limb), and had no money to go to a private clinic, what happens if they cannot visit a free clinic or use foreign insurance to pay?	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-03-11 10:44:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Best, Worst, Most unexpected thing about FSU	I have never been to Russia, but I am curious about the insurance and visa application process. I read or heard somewhere (maybe here), that Russia makes the visa process for Americans as tough as America makes it for Russians. So if America adds ten questions and a second page to the application, Russia will do the same, also claiming security issues, etc. In Ukraine, there is apparently no mechanism at all to bill insurance in most cities. We have met two American expats (in Odessa and Kherson) who required fairly extensive treatment for injuries. The one in Odessa had no way to pay for anything, and payment was never discussed. The other, in Kherson, paid a very low fee as he went through weeks of physical therapy. I wonder if the healthcare system in Russia is also social-esque, and the main concern (as in America), is that tourists do not become hospital patients at Russian taxpayer expense. Thoughts?	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-03-11 08:06:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Best, Worst, Most unexpected thing about FSU	#######!!!!!!!! Sloppy seconds in a trailer park!!!!??? Please don't go there, Please. Too late, the bell cannot be unrung Blech!	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-03-03 21:41:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Best, Worst, Most unexpected thing about FSU	OK...I'm so glad I read that post. The first time I was in Minsk, Kira cut the hair on my armpits while I was sleeping. I was like ####### ? She said it was too long. I didn't say anything other than told her if there's a next time it happens then I'm going to give her a hair cut when she's asleep. Now I know. Weird....	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-02-22 19:24:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Best, Worst, Most unexpected thing about FSU	There may be a point (somewhere above). Vika got most of her education post-Soviet, although she has memories of Soviet grade school. Ukraine changed alot after the breakup, and maybe that is why she adapted so easily.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-02-18 09:54:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Best, Worst, Most unexpected thing about FSU	At the time when I was there, I thought all of the food was extremely cheap. We would order huge meals for like $20. Sounds like that has changed a lot though since then with prices going up all over the place. I was really impressed with the architecture in Lviv. Pretty much every building had something special about it...statues, etc. That reminds me...anyone else seen the travel ads for Ukraine on TV lately? First time I've ever seen them. We spend a fair amount of time in Odessa, and the prices do seem to be catching up, although there are lots of empty tables at peak times now, with the economic troubles. In Kherson though, we can usually have a great meal for $25. We both love the atmosphere in Lviv/Lvov. I remember the pensioners gathered together singing in the central square on Sunday, and hearing that as a backdrop to the scenery. Pretty cool.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-02-15 07:37:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Best, Worst, Most unexpected thing about FSU	The slippers I can get used to. It is warm down here so flip flops or barefoot is the way to go inside. I guess my wife just americanized a little. She is OK with us walking around in shoes or barefoot (on the same floor), although she wears slippers sometimes if her feet are cold. She is also ok (now) with air conditioning, fans, etc. She sometimes uses containers for food, as we compromised and got some glass bowls with lids. There does seem to be a weird relationship between the stinkiness of the food and her leaving it uncovered though. Can't figure it.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-02-13 17:44:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Best, Worst, Most unexpected thing about FSU	i won't. Why, pray tell ONA?	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-02-11 22:56:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Best, Worst, Most unexpected thing about FSU	you guys are to funny but i guess i will be next. Oh yes, my friend. Your time is definitely coming	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-01-17 20:50:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Best, Worst, Most unexpected thing about FSU	Brad, when you have eliminated the little rodents, just tell Veka "they must have moved to a nice farm in the country."LOL. Luckily I do not have the problem regarding death with my Veka. She did however make me move all ducks, geese, swans, deer, boar to my office. She says it was not nice to have dead animals and hides all over the house. "But my queen, this is how we villagers live." I held my ground on that one for about maybe 30 seconds. Y'all would have been proud of me standing my ground on that one.NOT. My Vika is pretty good about the house. She really didn't insist on any major changes when she got here. I have found though, that when she tells me that she does not want something in the house (typically something my mother thought would be cute), or wants to hang an icon or something - it is just better not to fight it. Vika's BFF is married to a buddy of mine. He is a competitive body builder, and had trophies (some shaped like huge swords) all over the house. Ornamental knives, small knick-knacks shaped like sarcophagi, immitation greek sculptures on pedestals, etc. I remember telling him that ANY woman will want that ####### in the basement or back room. He said "no way is my wife-to-be going to change these great decorations". You can guess what happened The trophies are all in the basement now, the statues are out in the yard. There is a special place on the floor of the garage for the three foot stone gargoyle that used to be on his dresser. It scared his wife when she woke up one night, and it was gone before dawn because it was obviously evil In short Kirk, you didn't do any different than the rest of us. You just saved yourself some time.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-01-17 10:53:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Best, Worst, Most unexpected thing about FSU	Vika is absolutely against hurting an animal in any way, but has no problem eating one I wanted to trap and release the chipmunks that were digging up her spring flower bulbs and she flipped out, thinking some of the varmints would be killed.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-01-17 07:47:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Best, Worst, Most unexpected thing about FSU	After that I was sworn never to throw away fish again. Interesting this. I found that the swearing, i.e. swear to never again (fill in the blank here) was coming WAY too often to suit me. I understand that a man who breaks his promises is viewed everywhere with the yellow eye. My wife can't remember how the "remoter" for the TV works, but has a mind like a steel trap when it comes to my promises. Mostly now I refuse to swear to anything because I don't want to have to break a promise. Works fine, but the first time she said "swear to me" and I said "hell no" we had a pretty lively discussion.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-01-15 07:47:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Best, Worst, Most unexpected thing about FSU	You stayed at the Hotel Belarus ? You lucky dog you. There's a upscale strip joint upstairs called "Club Versus". Little did I know it was coed. Kira got a table dance there from some dude who looked like he was in the Olympic swim team, and I getting a dance from some chick who looked like she could have been his mom. It must have been a payback for the night before when we went to the strip joint at Hotel Planeta. Been there (I think it was called EuroWorld or something then), and the casino underneath. I got thrown out of the casino for winning - at roulette no less. The game was insanely crooked. Ten Russians with mistresses playing the second 2/3 of the layout, and the dealers were timing the drop. The Russki were losing nine out of ten spins. I just bet the other 1/3. The Russians were watching, so the house had to pay me. After I was up about $400, I looked behind me, and I couple of huge gents (vor zarkonia I presume) were standing right over me. I left in a hurry. The cage refused to cash me out in dollars or explain why, and a Czech guy finally told me to "get the hell out before there was trouble" and "dude, change the money back at the hotel". On my way out, one of the goons tells me "YOU NO COME BACK HERE". Message received My business partners told me that I was lucky - if I were staying anywhere else, the militsia would have fined me for something and removed the winnings. That was my social baptism in Belarus.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-01-14 21:05:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Best, Worst, Most unexpected thing about FSU	Funny stuff my friend Get used to the "I know everything" shtick, by the way. You have to wait for her to get burned when you aren't around to rectify the situation. Of course, that doesn't mean you were ever right . Also, try telling her that eating the fresh catfish (and the garbage they eat) CAUSES the WalMart waistband problem - you will never hear a complaint again. And keep calling her queen.... really.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-01-14 20:55:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Best, Worst, Most unexpected thing about FSU	My wife and I went swimming with the sharks and stingrays in the Dominican Republic. It was one of those guided tours where you basically swim in a pool out in the middle of the ocean but there are live sharks (hand-fed with little bait fish) and stingrays (with the stingers removed) swimming amongst you. They start the tour with a little informational session and let you pet a stingray one of the guys is holding then turn you loose in the shark tank. We were swimming along hand in hand and all the sudden I hear a cry of horror through a snorkel and feel this arm pushing me away and down into the water. Meanwhile I feel a rush of water beside me and only have time to turn my head to see my wife's feet feverishly kicking away as she swam for cover. I looked down, and there was a six-foot shark swimming under my feet. The shark passed by and didn't even give me a second look. He was, after all, accustomed to eating lean cuts of meat and wasn't interested in something with as much marbling as I have. When I was finally reunited with my wife - who'd now climbed out of the water and was up on the dock - I asked why she'd freaked out and acted the way she did. "Because I have natural reaction." "Uh, by natural reaction do you mean shoving me toward the danger and high-tailing it in the other direction?" "Yes, I must save myself." So, needless to say, I now know where I stand in the hierarchy of our family's food chain. We just got back from a cruise, and took one of those snorkling excursions on a faux sailboat. Vika either cannot understand island English, or just totally ignores the guys running the boat - swimming on the wrong side of the ship (where the wind blows you towards Panama), and generally providing entertainment for all. At the end, they have everybody swing out and jump in the water from some kind of rope rig. I went once, with a big fat guy splash. Vika stood on the platform screaming for so long, that the guy literally pushed her off - and she slid right off the rope into the drink. Then she did it three or four more times - off the platform and immediately off the rope and into the water almost striking the side of the ship (the crowd let out one of those ominous OOOHHHs every time). She maintins that the rope wasn't set right and the guides weren't helpful. I am just happy she didn't think it was all my fault	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-01-14 08:17:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Best, Worst, Most unexpected thing about FSU	Funny thing about that meal there. When we got the food and walked outside I noticed Kira staring at me...like ####### should I do now ? So I took a "ghaaamboorger" and showed her how we eat it with our hands...no knife and fork ####### like they eat their pizza over there. She caught right on. But to this day she swears she has eaten at Micky D's before and knew to eat "ghaaamboorgers" with the hands and not utensils. I know she's lying, but I'l never call her on it. After I wolfed down a couple of beeeg mocks, she said I "eat like a PEEEEG" ! btw they don't put ice in the pop's...you have to ask for it...same with the ketchup and napkins. When they noticed I was American they couldn't give us enough service...they handed us a sh*t load of napkins. And the chicks working there...OMG..I'm telling ya ..HOT HOT AND REALLY HOT. I love Belarus...well not to live there....but it does have it's "up side". Nice one I remember the first time I visited Minsk, staying at the Hotel Belarus. I went to the restaurant up top for the breakfast buffet and couldn't identify most of the food. Seriously, cole slaw and fish salad for breakfast? After some exploration I found the draniki and some kind of cutlet, and some canned fruit mix. Happy I toughed it out.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-01-14 08:07:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Best, Worst, Most unexpected thing about FSU	Thank god for McDonalds. It was a site for sore eyes when I discovered the golden arches in Minsk. The first time I went there with the wife I asked her what she wanted, and she said; I'l have a Beeg Mock, and a Mock Cheeken"...lol In fact I still have a few pics from our first meal together at one of the Micky D's in downtown Minsk...#######...we read where the INS wants a lot of pics, so we took pics of just about everything... Exactly why the locals call Mickey D's the American Embassy in Minsk! Each to their own, but no way am I going that far from home to eat a Big Mac.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-01-13 20:07:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Need an authentic but "eater friendly" RUB recipe!	Degrading posts removed. Adminisrastive action taken. Further TOS violations will result in thread bans or othrer admin action. Edited by Brad and Vika, 17 March 2011 - 08:17 PM.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-03-17 20:12:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Putin proposes scrapping visas between Russia, US	I don't know much about the politics in Belarus, but it seems to me the problems lie more with the people in Belarus than the Russian influence. Neighboring countries like Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia seem to have gotten away from excessive Russian influence. Ukraine to a lessor degree. Several Middle Eastern countries such as Egypt, Tunisia, and possibly Libya are overthrowing a repressive dictatorship. Time for people in Belarus to take a stand. Like Georgia?	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-03-20 09:59:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Putin proposes scrapping visas between Russia, US	it was a hit in Russia and Ukraine for a while My wife must have watched that video a hundred times. Funny stuff	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-03-19 17:52:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Putin proposes scrapping visas between Russia, US	Voting him out certainly isn't going to work when the elections are rigged I was actually in Belarus during an election once. Teachers at universities rolled through the dorms, turning out their students to vote, with the admonishment "remember who gave you the opportunity to study here". I think the polls closed at twelve, and within an hour or so the state TV was declaring a landslide victory for Lukashenko. Odd, as the ballots (and tallies) were on paper, and entered into the system by hand - there were many tv "shots" of the process. Monitors from places like Denmark had their laptops, cell phones, etc. confiscated, and they were detained. Friends there said that the results had nothing to do with the ballots, but the big bonfire outside the city that night probably did Funny: this thread is supposed to be about visa's between Russia and the US but there is more talk about Belarus here than either of those two countries. Why doesn't someone go start a thread about Belarus and have a mod move all this junk over there? For the record, when there are a number of (not on topic) posts running through a topic, but not necessarily next to each other, it is nearly impossible to break them into a new topic. When we split a topic, the post number and all the posts after it get sent to the new topic - so we would have to split, resplit, and merge the new topics - potentially dozens of times.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-03-19 16:40:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Putin proposes scrapping visas between Russia, US	Belarus is beautiful imo...at least the country side and forest. The streets are clean, nice wide clean sidewalks, etc... it's when you get past what I like to call the "Potemkin Villages" that you notice the difference. Dilapidated houses and apt. buildings, most buildings with no working elevators, no air conditioning in malls, stores, restaurants, etc... and I am talking about major hotels in Minsk with no air conditioning. Minsk is like one giant sweat box in the summer months. I rented a place about four blocks from the eternal flame at the center (the big one with guards goose stepping around it). Not too far from Gorky (yep - like Moscow) park. The apartment was a Stalinist three room, with original furniture and fixtures, everything neat as a pin and working. I stayed in August once, and swore never, ever again . No air, no fans, and with the windows open all the time the army of municipal workers cleaning the street at 0-dark-thirty every day was my alarm clock. My partners took pity and loaned me a 1950s era fan from one of their factories - it sounded like a turbo jet taking off In fairness, there are only a few weeks during the year when it gets really hot, and the apartment was retro cool. TZUM with no aircon in August was no fun though.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2011-03-11 17:35:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	I'm an alien I'm a legal alien... :whistle:	Best way it to politely inform them you don't appreciate the offensive remarks and then if they persist you have every right to become rude. In every country there are those who feel that because the language is not your native language or because you dress differently, or even because of your name, that makes you a fair target for jokes or that it means your IQ is a bit on the low side. Some people just make jokes without realizing they are hurting you and some are just truly uneducated. Best to correct the first and ignore the second.	belinda63	Female	Iran	2011-02-15 04:49:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	MIL visa application	I don't know Brad. Alla was twice denied for visitor visas, sponsored by her employer, and she had a job which paid way over the average income in Ukraine, but way under the average income in the USA. Most poensions in Ukraine are so small that I do not think they will be considered a strong tie to Ukraine. Your MILs best bet is that her daughter is an LPR. Other couples I know have had good success with visitor visaes for their parents. A visitor visa is probably what we have in mind (B visa, right?). It says on the web-site that you should still bring proof of reasons to return to Ukraine. MIL has proof of a job (for now), ownership of a flat, and leaving a husband in Ukraine.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2010-02-13 19:12:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	MIL visa application	Russians in America still get their pensions (hence the crazy lines at the consulate in New York, because all of the elderly Russians drive up from New Jersey to get their 100$), so I'm assuming Ukrainians do too. So a pension in Ukraine wouldn't be incentive to return home, especially considering, as Gary said, the miniscule amount of most pensions. I didn't know you could collect your Ukriane pension here. Not sure if I should tell Vika about it or not, or the in-laws will probably retire here	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2010-02-13 19:10:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	MIL visa application	It seems to me that if the MIL has a job to return to, it is stronger on the application than being entitled to a pension. Any one with experience on that?	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2010-02-13 16:54:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Russian out Ukrainian in	I don't even give it that much chance. It was Alla asking me to repeat to her what her SSN is. She was filling out some form for something at school. Actually she s getting better...she said "Is my SSN xxx-xx-xxxx?" She had it right! I get those too.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2010-11-28 22:22:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Russian out Ukrainian in	I was in a meeting a couple weeks ago when she called. I didn't answer, but she didn't leave a message. She called again, then again and again. Obviously an emergency. I would give that one 50/50. Could be an emergency, could be a reminder to buy a loaf of bread.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2010-11-28 10:09:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Russian out Ukrainian in	Alla definitely does not want to be boss of the world. She initially was all over this banking business and paying bills etc. She wanted to learn how it is done here. For several weeks we did all this together and it was maddening. Then she said "OK, I get it. I don't want to do this...you do this" Now she has paid no attention to it for a long time. She seems perfectly content to allow me to do the things I am supposed to do. Basically she is content to allow me to just clear the way for her to live in ignorant bliss. She very rarely even fills her car with gas. It is a machine. Machines are man things, dirty, smelly. Not for women. She is the boss lady of the house and anything outside of it should just be there when she needs it. She cares for the flowers but I mow the lawn and clean the leaves in the fall. It should just be done. And if you can believe it, she has always expected me to handle most everything with the boys. School issues, buying plane tickets (we do the trip planning together, then I make it happen) sports things, etc. We go to parent/teacher conferences together but I handle the calendar of such things, so she has even given over control of the children to me for the most part. And that is something very important to her so I feel pretty good that she trusts me with that. We have had -0- problems regarding children and I am sure she considers all of them "ours" as I do. Nope, I cannot agree that she is "controlling" except in her "castle" where there is no question who is boss. There is always a long list of "assignments" on the refrigerator for Pasha and I, and Sergey when he is here. You have mentioned that Vika gets "nervous" when she thinks you are "not doing anything" and Alla does that also. She thinks we should all work like bees or ants or something 22 hours per day. Sounds familiar - I take care of her car, but I do make her understand where to go and whom to speak with too, in case something happens while I am away on business. For example, last week we spent a day with the car. I took her to get estimates on the dent she put in the hatchback last year (girlfriends mailbox), and made her sit through the process so she could see how long it takes to do the job, and what it costs. I noticed that the sticker I asked her to watch said the car was WAY past due for an oil change. We went to one of those Valvoline quick change places, and talked her through getting the oil changed. I am still convinced that she ignored most of what was going on because it is a man job:lol: We discovered that one of the tires was dangerously low because of a nail in it. She says "oh yeah, I saw this thing in tire two months ago, is it bad?". I don't know sweetie, do you think there might be some relationship between the nail, and the tire going flat? Off to the tire shop to have it patched. It helped to show her that there are men in the garages that will do the dirty work on the car, but you have to take the car to them and tell them that ther is a problem. It also helps to tell your husband that a nail is in the tire, and it keeps going flat	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2010-11-28 08:31:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Russian out Ukrainian in	Brad, do you think Vika is the "boss" in general or just the "boss of the house"? I will also say Alla handles the social calendar also. Fine with me. Alla just has no interest in the fianancial or functional aspects of life. She has no idea what the elctric bill costs, she just turns on the swithc and expects the light to work. If it doesn't, then I didn't do my part. I simply will not argue with a lot of stuff. And if you don't let them have their way with "their things" then you are some kind of strange man that would argue with a woman over things that don't concern men. First, I think that due to the difference in their ages and life experience, Alla probably has a more clear idea of the role she wants to play in your relationship. At least it sounds that way from what you post here and what you have told me. I think Vika would be the boss of the world if the world would allow it We spend a good deal of time sorting through the type of off-center Ukrainian logic that I do think runs pretty deep in her culture. I mean the thinking that allows her to want two diametrically opposed things at the same time without seeing the difficulty. For example, she wants (like Alla) to have me just take care of the bills (that is what good men do after all), but she also wants control of the finances, because in Ukraine that's how people do it (sharing everything). She sees no problem - I see a train wreck about to happen. When I say silly things like "how can I just take care of the electric bill if you write all the checks?" she calmly responds by telling me that I forgot to buy onions at the store yesterday - suddenly deciding that this stupid finance issue isn't worth discussing. So I keep doing it.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2010-11-28 06:10:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Russian out Ukrainian in	I asked my very Russian wife who is the better house cleaner and she agreed, surprisingly, that the Ukraine woman was. My own wife is very clean concerning personal hygiene and clothing but just a so-so house cleaner. And her household organizational skills are bad...very bad. I spend too much time looking for things that she puts in the oddest places. Drives me crazy...and has caused most of our disputes. I live in a 980 sq. ft. 2-bedroom condo...so it's not like she has a big house to deal with. I've had to step in and oversee things in order to restore some order as I let things slide too long. But it's an ongoing struggle. My wife is constantly asking where her keys are? Where her cell phone is? Etc. Etc. My wife also claims that the Ukraine woman is the boss of the marriage. From what Brad and Gary have shared, it sounds like that may be true. Happily, that has not shown up in my relationship. I'm not one who finds bossy women charming. I could have found that here at home without too much searching around. She says, too, that Ukrainian women are more "sneaky" and this is part of their technique to control things around them. Sorry guys...if I have to hear about dirty Russians, you guys can hear about sneaky, controlling Ukrainians. What is the truth? Probably these stereotypes don't mean much beyond casual observations and anecdotes. There is so much diversity in the former Soviet empire, how can we really classify women based on area of residence or heritage of birth? There are too many other variables...including blind luck...in what kind of woman we end of living with. VV - first let me say that I really appreciate the tactful response here I would agree that a Ukrainian woman definitely asserts herself as "boss". It takes a lot of backbone to interrupt that process, and I cannot say that my spine is strong enough (jury is still out - for maybe the next 20 years). I will also agree to sneaky - but in a family strengthening way. Vika says that there is no sense arguing with a man that has a full head of steam on (or a drunk on) for example. I definitely disagree with any post that suggests that I say Russians are dirty, or anything else. I have a boatload of experience with Ukrainians and Belarusians, but zero with Russians.	Brad and Vika	Male	Ukraine	2010-11-27 19:58:00