QUOTE(slim @ Sep 25 2006, 09:27 AM)

It seems that there is a difference of oppinion on VJ.
There are those that are here to get the S/O over to the States, and according to this particular camp, you must be "oh so in love" with the person you're sponsoring or else you shouldn't do it.
Then there are those who are here to get advice on how things work in a foreign country, how things work in the visa process, and how things work in general.
The system is set up a certain way, and that's the way it is. There are 48,000+ gorgeous women with profiles on the internet from Russia who post pictures and information with the hopes of meeting an English speaking man. Not every single one of them posts their profile in hopes of finding a man that they could be "oh so in love" with, so why is it such a big deal when a guy comes on VJ and lets it be known that he has no problem "shopping around" for a girl that is marketing herself?
There's a saying that some of you may have heard.... Don't hate the player, hate the game. I'm not insinuating that anyone paying $3,500+ to go meet some women is a player, what I'm saying is anyone willing to fork over a few grand of their own money has the right to do whatever they want to do with that, and if that means trying to "meet" more than one woman per trip, more power to them for organizing their time with the greatest efficiency and getting more "bang" for their buck. (No pun intended... well, maybe slightly.)
All I'm saying here is that for those of you out there saying "Cam is wrong for trying to meet all these girls at once, and isn't really serious about it." You're right. But, why should he be? If he's (or anyone for that matter) going to select a potential future mate based on 3 or 4 photos and a brief description (that probably wasn't even written by that girl herself) alone, why shouldn't he at least take the time to check out more than one?
I applaud you Cam for keeping it real, and not being afraid to say "I'm going to Russia to find a hot wife because I'm not going to settle for some mediocre wife here. I've got the cash to go there, there is an abundance of women who are willing to meet me and consider marrying me.... so why not?" Hats off.
Everyone who "found" their true love on an internet profile site... hats off too. You're LUCKY!!!!! Count your blessings and quit hating on Cam for increasing his odds of doing the same. Is it so wrong that he's going to actually spend physical time with these girls instead of e-mailing several then "narrowing the field" after picking out which replies he liked best?
I guess e-mail just makes it easier to pick-and-choose, and makes the whole selection process a little less of a "meat market." Oh, and it makes it a little less like "buying" a wife (or husband) and more like an actual "correspondence that led to true love."
If it quacks, let's call it a duck.
There are many agencies and services that offer a "romance tour". This is also not JUST to Russia, but to about every other country that has any kind of "matchmaking" service with foreign matrimonials.
If Cam was telling all these women they were his ONE and only, then certainly, that would be deceitful and he'd deserve a nasty fate for his philandering.
But how is this any different than a guy going to Florida on spring break, after he's made contact with a couple of girls who might be down there at that time, and saying, hey, let's hook up and see how things go for us while we're down there?
No one is forcing these girls to meet him. And most agencies (in Russia, I'm assuming elsewhere as well) often allow a man to come in, and say "look through our catalog, we can set you up with several 'dates' so you can get to know a variety of ladies".
I agree that Cam's attitude can come off as a "meat market" sometimes, and I understand that many people already have met their beloved before they come to VJ to post for help and guidance.
Now personally, I prefer meeting just one person I have a strong interest in before I take off on a journey of 1,000's of kilometers, but that's just me. And I know many have a "backup" plan in their pocket, such as an agency to contact in the event the primary contact doesn't work out for them.
That doesn't make someone a philanderer, any more than someone who goes to Match.com or Yahoo! Personals and answers more than one ad describing themselves and what they are looking for in a partner.
As I said, granted Cam's attitude toward the process is a bit chauvinistic and has rubbed more than a few people the wrong way, but just going on a "romance tour" to meet various people is not the same thing as being a philandering snake-in-the-grass either.
We all have had different circumstances of meeting our "beloved"... I can't help but think maybe if I had spent more time meeting different people on my various trips to Russia, instead of just being so enamoured that both my ex-fiancee (K-1 #1) and my ex-wife (K-1 #2) were the "one and only", neither one of those would be my ex-s, we just maybe never would have connected. And obviously neither one of them was "right" for me, or they likely wouldn't be ex-'s, now would they?
Nevertheless, I do have friends in Russia who are enjoying introducing me to other women, now that the ink is dry and the divorce is final... you can be sure this time, after two failed relationships, I'm going to be a lot more cautious. One would hope so, at least... LOL
On the other hand, I still can't bring myself to go on a "romance tour" and just meet multiple women on the same trip. That's just not me, and my mind and heart just doesn't work like that.
-- Dan