Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Russian Parliamentary Elections, 2012	Believe it or not, international observers are reporting "problems" with the election. Oh, I also heard that Putin won. Didn't see that coming. Give Putin credit, at least he has his 'system' running smoothly enough not to need their equivalent of the supreme court to hand him what he has determined is his!	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-03-05 10:58:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	She's Gone? Really? Already?	By the way, I am new here. What do OP, SO, and RUB stand for? OP - Original poster (of a thread) SO - Significant other? RUB - Russia, Ukraine, Belarus	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-03-03 12:02:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	cutting a baby's hair	Our wives being RUB women are full of "wives tales" but we do not have stupid arguments with them because that would be...stupid. My wife will not hand me anything through a doorway without putting her foot through the doorway first, do not ever demonstrate anything by pointing to any part of her body, do not sit on cold objects (ruins a woman's reproductive organs), drafts make you sick, do not give knives for gifts, do not give timepieces (watches) for gifts, cold drinks make you sick, shall I go on? No, I do not argue about this. Just say "Yes dear" and cut the baby's hair. Some things I have come to accept as the charm of being married to a beautiful woman from Ukraine and I find the trade off quite comfortably tolerable. Just like her russian accent, I hope she stays like this. I don't look forward to her becoming 'americanized'!	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-03-07 22:05:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Happy International Women's Day, Ladies!	Don't forget flowers on your way home, guys. Yeah, I thought flowers on the way home would be OK on Valentines day. Wrong!!! She thought I had forgotten and was on my case at noon. When I brought home a bouquet of 11 red roses at 5 PM she was sure it was only because she had complained earlier! Now I know I must call a day or two ahead and order them to be delivered in the AM! Today went much better!	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-03-08 21:01:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	I cant believe...	Congratulations!	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-03-07 21:54:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	I-130	traded a boatload of picks for RG3	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-03-13 12:23:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Biggest surprises	I consider my life to be about 10 clicks more interesting than most people's due to the influence of my foreign wife. Same here!	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-03-14 20:04:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Biggest surprises	Yes, I think when you are looking for someone who doesn't fit the "norm" for your culture, you widen your search. Perhaps there was a woman in America who would have met my standards, but I happened to find mine in Russia. The way this is worded, seems to imply that you were looking only for a gorgeous woman... Terrific AND gorgeous	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-03-14 20:01:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Biggest surprises	I'm sure it's just my luck or my "wimp" generation, but the I'd never in my life dated an American guy who possessed a backbone or wasn't a "mamma's boy". Only one of them knew how to fix a few things around the house. They feared guns. Never touched a gym. I gave up after a while. I think I'm with the most un-Russian Russian around. I built the house I am living in from the ground up, did it all except excavate the hole and stretch the carpets. Did the same for my parents. Before that I rebuilt two old houses, took them down to the studs basically with all new doors, windows, insulation, siding, wiring, plumbing, drywall, etc. Had my 'wings' in the USAF! I know how to shoot but not really into that so much. I don't have time for the gym. Why pay to go to the gym and then also pay someone to do your building, landscaping and maintenance as well. I save money on all of that and then can use it for boating, swimming, sailing, downhill skiing, etc. The reason I am married to a russian is not that I could not find an american woman willing to be married to me. It had to do with setting the bar high, just as I do for myself. And that is not to say that there aren't a lot of terrific, gorgeous american women! But around here they all seemed to be happily married! Edited by james&olya, 11 March 2012 - 07:56 PM.	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-03-11 19:48:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Biggest surprises	I didn't expect my Russian man to be so... manly. I mean he knows how to do, fix, everything, and that's being lost in the USA. Can even cook a bit. I didn't expect him to not drink often, or to be loyal, but he is. The bad? He's not as overtly romantic as other guys I've dated, but he takes care of me and that's what matters. Hey, if it works for you, I'm glad! There may not be enough guys like those of us on this forum to go around so if you found it in Russia instead we understand!	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-03-11 02:33:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Biggest surprises	I have to echo something Gary noted, the medical care! We unfortunately wound up in our local ER 36 hours after their arrival. Olya was flabbergasted at how nice and caring the doctors and nurses were! She is certain our daughter would have died if it had been back home in Russia. Since then we have had several more involvements with health care providers in the US and each time she is amazed. She had been adamant before that she did NOT like doctors (some undisclosed irony there! ) or nurses but now is thinking maybe she wants to get her RN degree here. Since discovering how to get russian TV over the internet and how easy it is to find anything you want to buy on the internet she has no complaints about life here. She talks with her family back home on skype several times a week and they want to get together but it is not about Olya going back there, it is always when they can come back here! Her mother has been here twice already and her brother and his wife once. A couple other things. Olya was surprised and thrilled at all the wildlife we see all around us here. Having squirrels, chipmunks, and rabbits in our yard and eating food we put out for them on our porches has been a real treat for her. She was practically shrieking in delight when I took her a few miles from here where the deer 'yard up' due to our deep snow. She was amazed to see hundreds of wild deer so close and to be able to almost hand feed them! We have not yet encountered any bears but it is inevitable. And she still can't get over how cheap the clothes are. Her family returns with much more than they come here with. They especially like the second-hand shops, her brother and his wife spent hours there! Olya has not yet discovered garage sales but when spring arrives here that will probably happen.	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-03-10 21:27:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Email address of Moscow consulate? Did it change?	What’s the correct contact email address of the Moscow embassy? Is it like on the web site (support-russia@ustraveldocs.com) or like on the instructions to the interview (consulmo@state.gov)? In the past years, I used the latter one, but not sure if it is still the case. Thanks The consulmo address worked for me last year.	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-03-20 02:28:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Sergey goes for Rice University!	It is. And if you HAVE kids, as you do now Tbone, it is THE major thing. I see people that for them their kids are "competitors" taking from them what they could have. Pissed off that they do not have a bass boat because they have children to "pay for"! The great thing about kids is they will keep you very busy for a very long time and if you can enjoy that for what it is (and it IS great) then you will be the happiest man in the world. The only thing most of us can ever do to make a difference in this world after we get put in the ground is to produce and raise some good kids. That is more than a cliche. That's where I invest all our money. My portfolio is four great sons. And if you and your wife agree that "this is our job" and you both are willing to make it priority number 1, you are golden!	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-03-19 19:57:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	My Interview Experience	I think Slim may have a point though, the K-1 visa is a non-immigrant visa and in the past the vaccinations were not required for the visa. They ARE required to do AOS though, which is where you sort of go from 'non-immigrant' to 'immigrant' status. But maybe that has changed?	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-03-23 20:23:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	My Interview Experience	I know it's out of topic, but what medical stuff do they ask for? I called the embassy and no luck. I want to get my documents as ready as possible before I start this. At the embassy or at the medical exam itself? The embassy only wants to know that you have passed the medical and have the sealed envelope! At the medical exam they will want all your vaccination records. Everything else will be just questions and the usual cold things, lights, turn and cough, whatever! They WILL be interested to know about all of your mental illnesses and psychiatric hospitalizations! JK You really need not stress about this, it is actually difficult to fail this exam unless you have an active communicable disease like tuberculosis!	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-03-11 19:39:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	My Interview Experience	Well, the cashier was actually very polite - just unable to give me change because their till was empty in the morning, she even checked her own purse to see if she could break my big bill, but no luck, so we had to ask people in line. I'm very certain that they were accepting dollars at the time (saw people pay in 'em), as for the 'Russian dollars', I'm not sure I understand that.. I didn't see anyone having any issue with paying in dollars but then again, don't quote me on that because I wasn't paying too much attention to what was going on around me, too focused on my own thing. The nasty woman who was collecting documents is in no way related to the cashier you go to when paying though, I'm certain of that. But the impression I got from Olya at the time was that she was informed BEFORE she went to pay that she had to have 'russian dollars' or rubles. I have tried to figure out what could possibly have been meant by 'russian dollars' but nobody seems to know! Hearing your story about someone actively trying to make people miserable there is the first possible explanation that begins to make sense! I will ask her more about this now and see who it was that informed her of this 'requirement'. At the time it was a very upsetting thing for Olga but we had even more stressful things to deal with just after her arrival here with her 2 y/o daughter developing seizures!	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-03-05 20:00:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	My Interview Experience	I wonder if my Olga had to deal with this same rude woman! She had normal US currency with her to pay the fees but was told by someone that she had to have 'russian' dollars or rubles, 'american' dollars could not be accepted! Olga had to leave, go to a nearby bank and exchange the dollars with a substantial penalty and return. She had to use all of their spare cash to make up the difference and didn't have money left for buying food for herself and the two kids. I had wondered about her story and couldn't understand how something like that could have happened but your account of this woman's nastiness and hostility might explain it!	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-03-05 13:40:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Ukraine rape case sparks protests over investigation	Nudity is legal in Vermont We go skinny dipping! If you want I can get Alla to take naked photos of me to post. You can even carry a concealed handgun while naked! Without a permit! Good thing because if you are naked where would you keep your permit? There are always some UVM students who have to get drunk and try it out, see if it really IS Legal. Yep. They wander around Church street naked, going inthe shops, tryng to act "normal" while naked. Everyone laughs and says "Well, school is back in, that will come to an end in October" Then there is the annual "next to last day of classes" naked bike ride featuring hundreds of naked UVM students riding around town naked protests are common in Montpelier. I will try to get photos this year for you! I do not have the fortitude to discuss the topic, sorry. I could not finish reading the article. I have to sit some things out. I know handguns, like other weapons, come in many sizes and even some unusual configurations but where exactly would you 'conceal' your weapon? (Weapons?) Especially if you are 'bald'? Sorry, I will pass on the photos Alla could provide of 'little' Gary.	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-03-25 18:43:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Ukraine rape case sparks protests over investigation	Americans think that they have more freedom, but they are not always right. I talked to this Italian guy once and we started talking about the States, cause I've been to the US and he's been to the US once, so he was like: "In Italy I can do what I want... In the USA you get arrested for that" Are you talking of nudity in public? We want photos!!	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-03-25 11:28:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Ukraine rape case sparks protests over investigation	I stick to the facts. We're "supposed to" have freedom of the press, assembly, etc., but we really don't. Print something that upsets the status quo and see how long you're around. So you're saying the US does? You don't think someone "proofreads" all our stories to make sure they're "acceptable?" When was the last time you read something damaging to a high-level politician's career? You can't be serious! Look at all the cr@p on TV, radio, and printed in the papers accusing Obama of all sorts of things! He is the president! Nobody has more power! And before him people were not exactly kind to Bush and Cheney! How many of those people were 'disappeared'? Things are not perfect here, far from it, but the reality is that we have it waaaaayyyy better than the people of the FSU!	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-03-23 20:08:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Ukraine rape case sparks protests over investigation	And Obama is a what? Duly elected president of the United States of America!	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-03-21 18:41:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Advice on Ukraine Tourist Visa	Not at all. I'm saying he's some dude on the internet. And if he calls you 'slim' he's saying...	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-03-21 18:48:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Advice on Ukraine Tourist Visa	Actually know I had her phone number and I spoke to her by phone several times so I knew I was dealing with a woman and not a man Hairy Mavis, even worse!!	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-03-20 04:05:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Advice on Ukraine Tourist Visa	Good Lord. You aren't even communicating with this "girl." You are probably talking to "Hairy Boris." They do this for a living. By you confronting him with his errors it will only make him smarter...more able to successfully scam the other dozens "she" is "writing" to.	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-03-16 00:53:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Advice on Ukraine Tourist Visa	This thing is so hopelessly twisted up I can't figure out a way to get it straight!	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-03-11 19:32:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Advice on Ukraine Tourist Visa	What is the connection to the USA here? What Caribbean country are you from?	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-03-07 22:58:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Slavic, Russia /Ukraine area cultural differences.	That's my point exactly, although I wasn't really referring to your Alla because you guys didn't meet online. An otherwise perfectly wonderful/attractive/vibrant woman is seen as unmarriagable because of age/kids/whatever... leading her to be open to marriage outside her home country. You guys should be thanking RUB men every day for being so closeminded. I DO, I DO!!!!	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-04-02 19:55:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Slavic, Russia /Ukraine area cultural differences.	I told her there was only 1 request (not requirement). I would like to HEAR I love you at least 1 time a day. It may be silly, but I want her to be able to express it vocally as well as physically. I know what you are talking about here. Olya is the same, she has insisted that it is better she SHOWS it than SAYS it. But what is wrong with both?	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-04-02 16:55:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Slavic, Russia /Ukraine area cultural differences.	easy there tiger. Only speaking from my own experience! As they say in the car ads about mileage, "your mileage may vary"!	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-04-02 12:34:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Slavic, Russia /Ukraine area cultural differences.	FSU women show more honest appreciation for those men who work hard to provide for their families. American women often seem to disdain men who work hard to provide, yet demand that those who do must continue to provide for them even when they are no longer holding up their end of the relationship! This sense of entitlement without appreciation is a big turn-off for me! For those of us who want nothing more than to have a close, loving family and see our own role as leader of that family and usually principal bread-winner find a good reception from FSU women! Here you are sometimes considered a 'dirty old man' if you are successful and are with an attractive somewhat younger woman! It seems to be more openly acceptable in FSU culture to see this.	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-04-02 11:50:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Slavic, Russia /Ukraine area cultural differences.	how much different women from those countries are.	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-04-02 09:56:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Kazakhstan athlete dishonored	once guilt is proven in a court of law, that's when one goes to prison. not before. Most people suspected of murder are arrested and have to post fairly high bail to get out of incarceration pending trial.	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-03-28 01:14:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Kazakhstan athlete dishonored	And women are allowed to compete? I can understand women shooting, someone has to defend the compound against Seal Team 6. But women being allowed to compete and win something is highly offensive. Come on Slim, aren't you going to get your wife into guns too? You aren't afraid she might get to be the better at shooting?	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-03-25 11:13:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	shipping from moscow	We are starting to plan the big move from Moscow. I was wondering if anybody had any ideas on shipping her house hold goods here to the US Unless it is something of significant sentimental value, sell it all and buy new here. You will come out ahead! VERY expensive to ship from over there! And since things usually cost more there than here you might even come out ahead, even without factoring in the exorbitant shipping costs.	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-04-08 01:15:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	RUB cultural customs to be aware of	I will be travelling to ukraine / moldova and did not really know much about the appropriate behaviour for visitors / newbie family members, such as showing affection in the presence of parents / relatives and in public places. proper etiquette in restaraunts and other social settings. customs inside the homes to show respect, like taking shoes off, taking a small gift for close family members at first meeting, how to get advice on where to take her without asking her as she wants you to be the leader ( kinda wondering how this works when you are in a strange place you are unfamiliar with. ) also A bit more personal;;; when to initiate sex when you have been internet dating so long and she is so hot? as too soon might scare her off, or make her feel cheap and too long she might think there is something wrong with you.but if you are only there for a week or ten days. ?????? here in US there is more time to feel her out. Thanks again everyone.! Take flowers from here! It is a gesture that will mean a lot!	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-04-02 19:24:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	ads on vj site	to funny. we can order like at fast food. i will take #3 combo with out the extra baggage and make it lean You obviously are not looking for the 'american' special!	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-04-21 10:10:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	finding cheap place to stay in moscow	hi everybody my friend and her father need a cheap place to stay in Moscow from Wednesday 25th till Friday 27th for her visitors-visa interview any help will be welcomed, thank-you City realty in Moscow has very reasonable rentals in that neighborhood.	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-04-22 00:00:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Green Card Approved!	Lena was approved yesterday at the Detroit USCIS. Interview lasted about 20 minutes. Overall, a nice experience. Typical questions asked of her. Big relief! Congratulations!!	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-04-26 20:29:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	FSU spouse politics	As you may imagine Jim (or maybe not) Libertarians can have a range of beliefs just like Dems and Repubs. Wow! Are you serious? Amazing!! Who would have guessed! (insert very large rolling eyes emoticon here)	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-04-26 21:18:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	FSU spouse politics	Libertarian. Most people ARE, they just don't admit it. They think that in a free country of 300 million people they need to "be" either Democrat or Republican? Alla kind of likes the idea of being able to influence getting a job by looking good. I do not think it is strange at all that someone from the FSU prefers as little government influence as possible, he IS a bit unusual in not being anti-gay which is the prevelent attitude there. I would say that Alla porbably was a bit "anti-gay" at one point but after living here where you can marry your lesbian/transgender sheep and realizing it has no effect on her life at all, she more or less just ignores it. She is now of the "who cares?" attitude. Alla has heard we could own guns and wanted to go shooting, she even asked me "is it really true we can have guns?" When she saw what we have .... WOW it IS true. Then she wanted her OWN gun, she chose it but I bought it for her which somewhat disappointed her, she wanted to buy it HERSELF, so the next gun we bought (for me) SHE bought. She also likes to buy her own ammunition, all by herself. If libertarians are really in favor of universal health-care coverage and universal higher education for students with decent grades and aptitude than I must also be libertarian! I am afraid, though, that Ron Paul is in some other wing of the libertarian movement and most other libertarians are, as well, from what I have seen.	james&olya	Male	Russia	2012-04-26 20:27:00