irish44

In fact, out of all the days I was there, Irina only translated for us very few times. On our first date, I told Irina that I wanted to be with Tanya on my own.

So did you have to pay for the interpreter to fly with you to Sochi or is your fiancée from Sochi to begin with? Also how does one find a job as an interpreter for these kind of things. My wife is interested. I can do it too if necessary Any kind of interpretation work from emails to dates. It's good money I take it, since wealthy Americans are paying.

Both of them are from Sochi. I met Tanya through an excellent agency and that was part of their service. As Tanya also works, there were many hours that Irina and I would just sit and chat together and we became good friends. Irina speaks English like an American with almost no accent as she studied English in Russia for over 8 years.

I think that if you both are bilingual in Russian there are opportunities. I think that translating phone calls and letters to/from Russia would be good. You could offer to chaperone for the whole trip I suppose, but I think that it would be very expensive and would be a small part of the business. If I were in your situation I would look at the phone/letter translation service and also to help with sending gifts to Russia, which are things that most folks would need help with. Also, finding decent hotels or apartments can be difficult and that is something that might be an opportunity for you. Perhaps offer some literature for a specific trip. Maps, advice, and help with cultural differences, are things that would ease a trip for an American in my opinion.

Good Luck!

How did your fiancée let you take so many pictures of other girls?

I also remember reading your had an interpreter "Irina" with you? How does that work? Does she like hold the candle and translate when you propose?

As I said, this was just a 10 minute walk around the plaza. I took many hours of Russian lessons, so I could speak enough to be able to propose on my own.

In fact, out of all the days I was there, Irina only translated for us very few times. On our first date, I told Irina that I wanted to be with Tanya on my own. We definitely couldn't talk to each other very well but with the help of a piece of paper and a pen to draw, it worked out fine. It was also a means to see if we had that spark that no language barrier could stop. Fortunately, we really had a great time and laughed with each other over the language thing. She has been taking English lessons since September and is doing great. The problem is since we talk on the phone every day, and as her English is improving, our conversations are getting much longer and the phone bills are growing!

Interesting website! I liked reading your thoughts on Russia, although I must admit I am always compelled to defend the Russian male.

I did not mean to offend, eekee! Please let me be clear that this applies to Sochi only. Tanya has told me that this does not apply for the most part to the men in Moscow, St. Petersberg, or other larger cities! It is that Sochi is a tourist town and thus is a bit different than the others and Russia as a whole.

Cool website!

When I returned from Moscow I was wanting to show something like this to my buddies that were like, "So what was it like over there?" (I knew what they really wanted to see... you've done a nice job of showing us!)

I've gotta get my Quicktime player updated. Couldn't watch the movies. I'll see what I can do.

Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Slim. Weird, but they play sometimes, and sometimes not. If not, download them and play locally.

Glad you enjoyed the site! You know, I was thinking of putting a few people's photos and stories on it as well.

Are you interested?

I have also located this service:

Contact

Their fees seem to be the lowest (3% if the transfer originates outside the FSU). It's not as convenient, necessarily, as Western Union, since I must specify the actual bank (from their list - MANY in Moscow and even one here in Omaha), but it seems like it would work.

Anyone use this service?

Kevin

I have not used this service but I have used MoneyGram a bunch of times with 100% success. Their rates are 1/3 to 1/2 of western union and have many different send options. They can send to a multitude of banks . All that is needed is your Passport. They do provide a transaction number but my girl in Sochi never had to use it. Good Luck!

Interesting city.. I did put up a small website if anyone cares to look, of my trip.

I put up some pics, sounds, and impressions. http://irish1.startlogic.com

Thanks all for the great board and warm welcome!

Thank you all for the warm welcome!

Did we scare you away from the fotos thread with all that "serious" talk?

Sorry.

There really are some fotos in there somewhere.

Edited: Fotos. I've been "thinking" in Russian again.

I speak Russified english all the time. It's terrible. "It would be more better if we did this..."

Sochi is in the top five of places in Russia I want to travel to. Great photos!

Thanks guys.. I have many more pictures of Sochi. Thanks for the welcome!

Here's a random sampling from my late September trip to Sochi.

Managed to figure it out!!

Hi all:

I have created my timeline but and set country preferences ,etc. How do I get those to appear on my posts?

Thanks for the help!

Tom

Hi all!

My name is Tom and this board has helped me immensely. Some of the stories are joyous and some sad but one thing I see is a LOT of patient people!

It has been 5 months now since I have seen my fiance Tatyana, but we talk on the phone every day (thanks to the cheap VOIP phone systems!).

I wish the best of luck to everyone and am very happy to be here!