Cam

I just can't believe you. You are a disgrace.

Why are you even on VJ? You still haven't bought, I mean picked your wife yet have you?

OH MAN HERE WE GO AGAIN JEEEZ. How many guys go to Russia to get laid, probably everyone. If they say different they are lying.

This is happening everywhere, not just in Prague, ever since some annoying terrorist figured out that explosives could be concealed in that fashion. Toothpaste is on the prohibited list as well in some airports. Picture a 747 touching down after a 14-hour flight, and nobody has brushed their teeth since going through airport security 16 hours earlier. Eu-u-u!

Congratulations to you and Elena on her safe arrival. Meeting Irina when she stepped off the plane in Portland was one of the high points of my life. It seemed almost surreal.

Strange, perhaps it was an airline thing but Korean Air gives a travel toothbrush and a tiny little tube of toothpaste, socks ( ) and sleep shades! I still have 1 set of official KAL sleep shades.

I forgot to mention the little zippered bag they came in, which I have one of those also...it has my left over won in it!

Alright Slim and Elena.

I had fun in all the airports too HA!

Yesterday was the saddest day of my life. Left for the airport at 4 AM. It was freezing ### cold in Kazan, and the wind was blowing. My girlfriend stood out in the cold with a little jacket on, to see me off and watch me drive away. I ran back to her 4 or 5 times to hug her. She was still standing there when we drove away. Leaving her there was the hardest thing I've ever done

Ah so you picked one! Come on tell us more about the trip!

I remember going through the departure at Vladivostok and almost crying, was a sad day, indeed!

Took a couple tours of the city. Saw the Kremlin and a Monastary, really pretty places. Would not recommend riding the buses around town they hit pot holes that will chip your teeth. Couldn't go to Russia with having a beautiful Russian hooker, but that is another story.

Yesterday was the saddest day of my life. Left for the airport at 4 AM. It was freezing ### cold in Kazan, and the wind was blowing. My girlfriend stood out in the cold with a little jacket on, to see me off and watch me drive away. I ran back to her 4 or 5 times to hug her. She was still standing there when we drove away. Leaving her there was the hardest thing I've ever done

have a safe trip!!!

Thanks

I visited my fiancee in Russia last month and left her my laptop so we could email one another.

She "chose" you, and is coming here to marry you.

Slim, how do you make this connection? As far as I see it, he claims she is her fiancee. He picked her out and came to visit her. He has posted no timeline nor has stated he is doing the K1 paperwork. For all we know she has used him for a free good time in Russia and a free laptop.

Once again I applaud the Russian lady for taking advantage of the gullible American who has all the advantages to begin with. Now with a laptop in hand she can find the man that better satisfies her needs. I see this lady similar to Cam. If he can meet 3 ladies at once, then this lady can invite 3 men at once. All fair game when you are shopping.

I came to that conclusion because he said "my fiancee." That to me means that they are engaged to be married, or at least after selecting which girl he liked best from the website, and her subsequent "I do" which is most likely a "I guess I'll go ahead and say yes in hopes that you really will get me a visa to the U.S." that they are both hoping to someday be "married."

Since they don't know each other well enough to have 100% trust and faith in the entire process, (there are no guarantees until visa is in hand... and even then there still must be more to the process) they (or just her in this case) continue to "shop around" on websites to see if maybe someone a little better (or faster, or more willing, or more anything....) can be contacted.

I visited my fiancee in Russia last month and left her my laptop so we could email one another.

She "chose" you, and is coming here to marry you.

Slim, how do you make this connection? As far as I see it, he claims she is her fiancee. He picked her out and came to visit her. He has posted no timeline nor has stated he is doing the K1 paperwork. For all we know she has used him for a free good time in Russia and a free laptop.

Once again I applaud the Russian lady for taking advantage of the gullible American who has all the advantages to begin with. Now with a laptop in hand she can find the man that better satisfies her needs. I see this lady similar to Cam. If he can meet 3 ladies at once, then this lady can invite 3 men at once. All fair game when you are shopping.

I'm meeting his fiance.

This is really starting to be a funny thread. After everyone giving Cam $#!^ for meeting more than one girl, he finally got to strike back, and perfectly timed at that. Bravo Cam. Bravo.

In all seriousness though, guys, if you're not giving your girl daily updates and sending her money all the time and making life just too good to be true, she's going to always have in the back of her mind that you may just be stringing her along and may take forever to get her over to you, and maybe, just maybe, she'd be better off going with another guy. So, she'll keep browsing.

And ladies, we're guys. So if we can find a version of you that's a little better looking, a little younger, and a little more willing to take care of us.... we're going to. We might not, cause after all this, we really do love you, but in the back of our minds, the grass is always greener.

This is just human nature. We can't help but think things like this.... at first. But then, our minds and hearts and emotions and everything else takes over and if we're lucky, we find the one that's just right for us. Or, we concede and decide "That's it. There's no way I'm going to trade up from this one. Better take this deal while it's still on the table."

And that's how I do it. I'm going to shoot this situation straight. If you want all that puppy dogs and sunshine "but we really love each other and knew from the start that we were meant to be together, and I would never ever think about someone else like that and....." go to the K-1 forum. Cause right here, (and on all those "shopping" sites) that's the way we all think. Most people do it subconsciously, and deny that they're thinking about stuff like that. Russians (especially the ladies) don't seem to have a problem putting it out there.... and we shouldn't either.

Keep it real, everyone!

Leaving for Kazan tomorow morning, I will take a look at her laptop for her, maybe clean out her cache.

I visited my fiancee in Russia last month and left her my laptop so we could email one another.

She "chose" you, and is coming here to marry you.

Slim, how do you make this connection? As far as I see it, he claims she is her fiancee. He picked her out and came to visit her. He has posted no timeline nor has stated he is doing the K1 paperwork. For all we know she has used him for a free good time in Russia and a free laptop.

Once again I applaud the Russian lady for taking advantage of the gullible American who has all the advantages to begin with. Now with a laptop in hand she can find the man that better satisfies her needs. I see this lady similar to Cam. If he can meet 3 ladies at once, then this lady can invite 3 men at once. All fair game when you are shopping.

I'm meeting his fiance.

Women seem to be a mere commodity. Sad for them.

You know, if you bother to read the whole thread (and a few others), you would know that MOST of us do not fall into this camp, and are in fact expressing the same derision towards those who do.

Cheers!

AKDiver

I have read the whole thread and am glad that there are those who oppose this behavior because it really is appauling.

This is disgusting.

i agree with you 100% sarah ... the level of respect that some of the men in the asian/russian forums show for women is just deplorable. turns my stomach ...

Yes it just isn't right...

With all the women scammers out there, in every country, a little turn-about is only fair.

My buddy that went to Moscow with me in 2005 just went to the Philippines last week. He reported that the three-way, four-way, or however-many-ways strikes your fancy, go for about 10% of what they go for in Moscow. So, if that's what you're interested in, Manila is the place, not Moscow. (I've heard nothing but good things about Bangkok in that department as well.)

Thanks for the chuckle, slim (:

But in all seriousness - by the time you factor in the time and plane fare, I'm sure one could just get it locally and still save a ton of money. (:

Cheers!

AKDiver

True, but you get what you pay for! And he was talking about volume acquisitions at low cost. To get that here or in Moscow would be impossible.

And to all you women who have "good, women-respecting" fiancees/husbands from countries other than Russia/Asia (I'm wondering why you're even browsing through the Russia forum other than to display another of your womanly traits.... BEING NOSY!!! I'm guessing you saw the "replying to new girl" titled thread and said "Hmm. I wonder what these woman-hating boys are up to. I'm going to go display my dissatisfaction with them." In all fairness though, if you thought someone was annnouncing the birth of a baby daughter, and you came over to give congrats, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.... here it is: "I doubt it.") please open your eyes and realize that women in (some) foreign countries are sometimes a commodity. When they are in "the business" they are marketing a product to be bought and sold (or more appropriately, "rented") and when a consumer is looking for a product, (and since you are women, I'll go ahead and just assume that you like to shop... so you should know this) they like to get the best product for the least amount of money, hence a trip to Manila or Bangkok is going to be way more of a bargain than going to Moscow or attempting to "hire" a local. In theory, you get more bang for your buck!

If you don't want to acknowledge these facts, or think I'm wrong for pointing it out, that's fine. Just click on another forum. While you're at it, send Sally Struthers $.21/day, there are kids starving around the world too. (I'm guessing you're not going to do that either... but you will b!^@# about it here in the Russia forum.) Go save the world.... one post at a time!

I am not spending $3500+ going to Russia just looking for sex. I can get that here.

In Response to the Russian Nurse, There is a great demand for Nurses here, Yes, However she can be sponsered by the Employer Quite easily if She has real Credentials that proof Out. Don't be a fool and fall for of those Russian Women. Never, Never send Money to anyone You have never met and still watch Your Butt. For all You Guys that think this one's for real, not like some of the stories out There, WAKE UP ! and stop thinking with Your Pecker. Use Your Brain. Nuff Said, Hope You get it all sorted out guy.

Thanks for the info on nurses. And I will watch my butt.

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.

Thanks Slim, I am going there to meet one girl. If it works out great. If not I will move on. I am totally serious about finding someone.

Satellite:

Well, if you read the posts of some people (I think you know who) and see their attitudes about meeting these women, or you look at the age difference of some couples (we all know who), then it is pretty clear what is going on and what people's motivations are, don't you think?

Personally, I think it's pretty sad and pathetic to treat people this way and it says a lot about their character. On the flip side, no one is forcing anyone to do anything. Life is a series of choices where one tries to exchange what they have for something better.

Furthermore, marriage is a contract - just like any other contract. Both parties agree to certain principles and exchanges in the hopes of bettering their lives. IMHO, in this regard, there isn't much difference between the nice Russian girl looking for a husband wherever he may be, to escape a bad situation, and the some Americian girl, who is looking for a husband to improve her situation or get what she wants in life. Yeah, there may be differences in bargaining power, but hey, there is nothing fair or equal about life (nor should there be).

In short, while many of the men seeking out foreign women may be complete dirtbags, at the end of the day, some women may conclude that life with the dirtbag is better than life without the dirtbag, and that's their choice to make. Plenty of American women choose to be with complete dirtbags too.

I agree with most what what you said in your last post - I think the difference is that I still think people's choices are their own and one can have no greater freedom than the freedom to ###### up their own life - and government should not involve itself in this process and more than absolutely necessary.

Cheers!

AKDiver

AKDiver

Are you the VJ gossip ####### or what? You sound like an old woman. If you know a couple you think has a huge age differene, at least of the guts to name names.

Cam, you do have to be careful of scams, but that said, sure... go meet her, the other two... ALL OF THEM!!!!

Then, TAKE YOUR TIME, and pick the one that's right for you. The best scam-buster in the world is a little foot-dragging. If you tell her, "naw baby, I'll get the papers next week." and for some reason she always has a problem with that, then you know.

Also, if I were you, while I was there, I'd be telling all these girls that I would love to get married.... "but not for another four or five years."

I have a feeling a lot of them will be right for me.

Cam, sorry to write this, but this girl sounds like scammer (it can be also a guy). I hope it's not. But if yes, she will later ask you to sponsor her trip to US (of course, you will never see her). It is soooo famous scam that hard to beleive you never heard about this.

Just be aware.

Thanks, I will be aware.

Yes, it's very possible. Quite a long process, but there is such a shortage of nurses she'll probably have great luck.

Go to:

http://www.cgfns.org/

And you can see some of the hoops she had to go through to become able to work in the USA as a nurse.

Looks like less hoops than a K-1

Now I have a Russian girl writing me. This one says she passed the nurses exam in English and as an agent lookng for a hospital in the US. Is this possible? I will meet her on my trip.

33,000 rubles! Wow.

My last trip I had 200 bucks in my pocket and my atm cards.

That's it. I would never use taxi's there, too risky and too much $$$. Buses and mini-buses always.

Btw, Wachovia also does Russian currency exchange.

Don't know where a Wachovia is around here. Went to Wells Fargo they gave me a phone number to call. So I just asked for a few brand new $100's and some new $20's You would think a bank would have tons of new bills, you would be wrong. She kept handing me bills, I kept handing them back. So I got a few good bills and will take my ATM card.

What kind of exchange rate will a local bank in the US give? I'm guessing it's not going to be any better than even the rate at the airport.

And now due to the weak dollar/strong ruble the rate is about 26.7 to the dollar.

Not much I can do about weak dollar and strong ruble. But this way I won't get charged for a wrinkle in my bills.

Hey Cam. I dont know when your leaving but if you happen to have Bank Of America you can get it in one week like I did. Not sure about Chase because I haven't had to buy any from them yet. Just talk to your bank that you use. Have an awesome trip.

Cool, I'm leaving Oct. 4. Try to get to Bank of America tomorrow or Thursday. My bank is Wells Fargo I'll try them first.

Thanks

Funny that this subject is going on now. I was just in Russia a few weeks ago and got questioned heavliy about the 100's that I had. One place refused them. Then we had to go to a government bank. You can't miss them they have the Green signs. They did exchange them but not before some serious scrutiny. You can also order from your bank Rubles. I did this on my second trip to Russia. Not sure why I didn't do it the 3rd and 4th time (no one has ever said I was smart). Make sure you get the best 100's before you go there. And using the ATM as well works. Good luck

What US bank orders rubles for you?

Did anyone else making a currency exchange get shown every little speck on their money, and come to learn that you were geting about a 6% exchange penalty for worn notes? Natasha warned me in advance, so I went to my bank and told them I needed good bills for exchange in Russia..

Well, what our bank considers good, and the Russian banks seems to be 2 different things. Fortunately, I had my debit card, and was able to easily get the rest of my rubles from the ATMs there, and kept my dollars for when I returned.

Good point!

Yes, I agree. If taking cash into Russia, you should take clean and crisp $100 bills.

There are some places that will exchange those bills that we too would consider good, for the going rate; however, not everyone knows, in advance, where these places are located.

I actually went into my bank and made them pull out lots of $100's and selected the ones I thought would work.

"BIG head" presidents only, NO rips, no tears, no ink, no markings.

If the bill has any of those, you might get it "discounted" in Russia. IF they'd even change it for you, which they might not...

Etta Rossiya...

And be prepared, that if you cash, say, $100, that's now about 2,800 Rubles, so suddenly you have a LOT more bills to carry around... but that can last you a long time in Russia... depending of course, on where you go...

-- Dan

New $20's won't work?

Suggestion to avoid taking a large sum and convert in bank...

Stop by a Bankomat (ATM) with a VISA logo on it to get money from your regular checking account. I did this my second trip and it was very easy and convienent!

Do these money exchange places take debit or credit cards? Don't really want to carry a bunch of money to Russia. Leaving October 4.

Thanks

Do these money exchange places take debit or credit cards? Don't really want to carry a bunch of money to Russia. Leaving October 4.

Wow.

*wanders back out of the Russia forum in shock*

My wife and I met the old fashion way (in person, in the states), so I have very limited knowledge of marriage brokers. Personally, I have no interest in being married to anyone anymore.

I don't see how this is any different than personal ads, which seem quite popular on the internet. The only difference might be that everyone involved is serious about marriage.

On of my friends nearby met and married a Ukranian woman through such a service. Their marriage is far more succesful than mine was. She has a wonderful husband, and it is unlikely she would have met someone like him in Ukraine. Because of his profession (Physicist), most women in the US have no interest in him (very smart, very eccentric).

I think that we should all try to remember that different people are here for different reasons. In my experience, the intentions of just about everyone here have been sincere.

I can only speak about my situation, which was the most important relationship I have had in my life.

I think that this forum being dominated by men does cause the language used here to appear crass at times, but the general impression I get here is quite positive.

Just my 2 cents.

Got the phrase book. Love the section on romance, some pretty funny stuff there. Hope I get to use some of it.

I can't say it enough:

Lonely Planet Russian Phrasebook + Pimsleur Russian = Impressed Russian girls. (And isn't that what we're all after!)

Got the phrase book. Love the section on romance, some pretty funny stuff there. Hope I get to use some of it.