Chuckles

Having done this before, I'd recommend not putting the child into Public school right after they land anyway. It doesn't matter how much English they know. Give them a month to acclimate. Even though kids adjust faster then adults, being in a class full of strangers you can't understand (even if you know English) is tough on a kid.

If they are typical Russian kids a month or 3 will not make much difference to them, because they will probably be ahead (curriculum wise) of the other students anyway. Although the American curriculum does tend to catch up to the Russian system around high school.

Those damn Russian women! Evil!

OMG PPL IM GOING CRAZY

im now in Moscow waiting for the interview and i want to call and get the appointment for the medical check....im from the Far East, and my mom sent me my veeery old medical record with all the vaccinations that i had by DHL. But this is not a problem. The problem is that i just read that the document should include a doctor's signature and the stamp..OMG, i dont even remember if there is a signature and the stamp..but for god's sake, its my medical history document, u can see that it's old and authentic....do u think i'll have a problem???? if it will, i just dont know what to do........

Whatever you do, do not cancel the interview. If there is a problem at the medical, get done whatever you can, then go do your interview. If I understand this right, it may mean you just need to get more vaccinations before you leave, and it will cost you some more money. Since you are from the far east you probobly do not have many options as far as coming back, so you might have to extend your stay while you figure it out.

I hope the document works for you... you never know!

My understanding is that while neither country supports dual-citizenship, you can still do it. Does anyone with experience or a better understanding agree with this?

So we're back to square one.

How do I get a person who is unmotivated to get and keep a job to go to (and somehow pay for) school? How is there free school out there in California, by the way?

And for some reason, I don't think having a degree of some sort is going to help our situation. I just don't see how someone can make it through school and then a higher-level job if they can't make it through simply sustaining an easy middle-class life. It's not like it's really difficult to get up and go to work for eight hours a day. To ask a person who's not capable of doing that to go to school as well is asking too much.

She's starting English classes next month (finally) and when I suggested she find a job more suited to her hours (like going to school for 3 1/2 hours during the day and then working six to eight hours in the evening) she flipped. Absolutely bonkers! How could I expect her to work so hard for the things she wants? I'm the one that should be working harder to pay for them, not her. That's a husband's job.

Am I just going to have to be patient until she realizes that either she's going to be happy with what we have or she's going to have to adapt her expectations to a more realistic plan?

That is quite the conundrum, what is your education level?

Tell her she needs to support you for a few years while you get whatever the next step is for you so you can be the sole provider. She can support you by paying some bills while you work and go to school. I assume you have some money coming from the military for school?

140 years may seem like a long time, but its not. I realize we cannot compare any other data. I also have to wonder about the veracity of the data pre-1960.

Simply put, there is not enough data to make a scientific conclusion. I would expect 1000 years ago the oceans where much warmer then they are today by historical accounts of the people that lived that long ago (i.e. naming of Greenland etc.), but it is not scientific proof. Just like that chart is not.

Aren't you talking apples and oranges?

One way was new wells? Costing lots of money?

The other way is getting more oil out of existing wells? Costing less money?

I'm not an expert, but isn't that the case, and doesn't it blow the authors point out of the water?

Great news! Your luck is turning

my lady is on her way to moscow embassy,standing in line i imagine at this very moment,im rushing through everything in my head we went over together the last week,all questions we think they will ask based on what i have read here, any possible scenario that might pop up unexpectedly. we have all documents,a lawyer, all things in order,AND IM STILL AS NERVOUS AS A GERBIL IN A KEY WEST PET SHOP ON FRIDAY NIGHT!

i cant sleep, and she didnt sleep all night either. i called to her at 540 am her time to wake her up,but low and behold, she was very much AWAKE.

i ask everyone here who will, to please pray for our success,as many of us on here have,her and i have been through much since jan 2007,when we first began speaking. i love her soo much. thank you to all for your advice and help, and i promise to write a review of moscow after we find out,im thinking about 330 this morning,i should know. thank you again to jason/sasha,because sasha talked to my lady and it helped alot with her questions about interview.

to corey /mariya-congratulations!!!! soon you will be together!!!!- David

I think everything will be fine, the only thing that worries me is you got a lawyer... EWWWWW hope he/she doesn't screw it up for yah!!!

I wish you the best of luck, although you probably do not need it.

I cannot believe your Russian fiance is letting you plan a wedding without the visa !! Don't you know you are gonna jinx it ?!! Seriously though, October may be a bit soon, my advice is to not plan the wedding until she arrives. I know, that doesn't give you much time to do anything "good", but thats the nature of the beast.

There are a few things you can read in the Russia Forum guide at the top of the board here that are not covered by the general VJ guides. You will want to work on getting your police certificate as soon as possible. It may not be that hard, but then again, it might be hard. It seems about 50/50 here. Personally, getting my wife's certificate wasn't that hard. There is a website to look at once you get NVC where your interview date will be listed. There is more Russian specific stuff, just read it.

The best guide for list of documents can be found on the Moscow embassy website, if memory serves me correctly. I followed the guides here pretty exactly, as well as reading the embassy site to be was sure I covered everything they wanted there. Maybe someone who has done it more recently could add to that.

Begin collecting everything now. Start filling it out now. I would wait untill you have an interview scheduled before you actually date things.

The whole process is easier then it seems, however, at this juncture you will be busy. Just make sure you 'dot your i's' and 'cross your t's', and don't procrastinate.

I know you are looking for someone who has done an IR or CR specifically... but... the moscow embassy didn't have any issues with us sending in the copy and bringing originals to the interview (that I believe they never looked at).

Many muslims consider the bible a holy book too. Many Arabs are christian. Religion is strange to me. At least when it comes to the whole idea of what is and isn't sacred.

The soldier got what he had coming to him, it should end there.

Well... How is this any different then this? http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,2...38-2862,00.html

I can tell you... one was made out to be an international incident, and one was brushed under the carpet as a "prank"...

If someone used the Bible for target practice I would be offended. The Quran may only be a book to some people but for others it is something sacred. It all boils down to respect.

Do you respect that the bible is confiscated in Saudi Arabia, burned when confiscated? Do you respect that it is illegal to posses this "book" in certain Arab countries?

Sounds like some people are saying "Respet my book while I piss all over everything you respect".

I am not religous, but it seems one side is really taking advatage here.

The IRS was pretty clear, if you filed using TurboTax and elected to have the fees deducted from your return, you will recieve your check in the mail NOT by direct deposit.

My guess is the cause of most of the 'issues' here.

Our experience was good, no complaints.

My wife had her exam about 9 months ago in Oregon, and my nephew had one right before that, and there was no parellel parking.

As odd as it may seem, I have met, and otherwise have had contact with VJ people in this REAL WORLD you speak of. Including mox's fiance, hence, the concern.

Yes, I let him know folks were concerned too.

I feel the same, I am so sick of conversations without real contact.

I always worry about people if I see them 'disappear'.

Mox is okay, but do not expect to see him around much, if at all.

He is doing well.

Just had a trip to visit his kids in Denver and he's working a lot.

It's good to hear the man finally found a life outside of this virtual world. Good for him. One should never worry someone disappears from VJ; it just means he or she is "living" for a chance rather than wasting hours upon hours here.

I can't wait for the day when I don't need a computer or a phone to communicate with my fiance.

I don't understand why this whole driving lessons thread exists. Driving is not very hard people. My wife, who did not drive in Russia, got her driver's license after being here a little less than a month - and a license to drive a motorcycle the following summer. Unless there is some kind of paperwork problem, I dunno why it should take much longer than this.

If everyone was like your wife, then there would be no thread. Obviously you are in the minority. Seems pretty strait forward.

Yep, I noticed that too. Seems odd that he wouldn't even peek in here, and he never said anything about leaving. He seemed like a 'techie' that is never a few steps away from a computer. My wife had been talking with his fiance, and I had some questions for him, but I can't get a hold of him...

What's the point? 99% of them will be back.

It may take a week, a few months, a year... but they will be back.

What a colossal waste of money.

Maybe someone can help you here, I don't know.

HOWEVER, you should ask this question in the Ukraine forum (europe and eurasia) as Russia is a completely different country then Ukraine, with most likely different circumstances concerning this sort of thing.

I still can't help wondering what happened to mox. He stopped posting so suddenly, and his wife's interview was today.

I've met a few American women who felt the man should carry everything too. That doesn't seem that odd to me, no matter what culture.

As far as my own family, I always try to do all the lifting and carrying... but my Russian wife and daughter do help...

Congrats to those that are finished, and good luck to those about to be inteviewed (although I don't any luck is needed). But, this got me wondering, where is mox? Isn't his interview coming up soon? I miss his posts!