He does look like a little bear. Cool dog.

Thank you. I'm really starting to bond with the little sh*thead. He is a handful.

I worked with Russian chicks; all the time, they would talk about how spoiled American woman are. They iron their husbands clothes, cook and clean on top of working!

 

I had to take this bait.  I am far from alone in being an American woman who works full-time, cooks dinner regularly, shops for all the groceries, does laundry and cleaning and ironing regularly, etc.  Maybe they're getting their opinions of American women from TV or something, not reality.

I worked with Russian chicks; all the time, they would talk about how spoiled American woman are. They iron their husbands clothes, cook and clean on top of working!

 

I had to take this bait.  I am far from alone in being an American woman who works full-time, cooks dinner regularly, shops for all the groceries, does laundry and cleaning and ironing regularly, etc.  Maybe they're getting their opinions of American women from TV or something, not reality.

 

Yeah but you're exceptional.  :wink:

 

I think I kinda agree with them, just based on my own experiences with women girls. I'm only 24 so maybe it has a little bit to do with age but the few women I've been involved with were spoiled princesses who think they're God's gift to men and the rest of the world. Self-centered. I look at relationships other people have and overall, I think American women have their men whipped. I really wish I wasn't wired to go after women with good looks. I'm really not trying to bait but it seems like there's a fairly strong correlation between a woman's physical attractiveness and them acting like a spoiled, entitled princess. I've been lowering my standards in the looks dept. for that very reason. They take, take, take but shouldn't have to give. "Reciprocity, what's that!?  :? " Why should they have to? There's tons of other guys swarming around them, willing to put up with their bs if you don't. I'm not going to lie, it disturbs me how much power women have over men just because of their physical beauty alone. I think a lot of guys are attracted to these women abroad because they're much more humbled.

 

^David, that's why you need to find girls that don't know they're hot.  They're out there. 

 

C-dub, that puppy is a babe magnet.  I knew a guy who was hopeless with the ladies despite earning millions in the early 90's off domain names but he had one of those.  It got him constant attention from the ladies but they figured out he was lame pretty quickly. 

I know this thread is going all kinds of places but I just wanted to share an interesting fact about my new puppy. Just a few days ago I adopted a new Samoyed puppy (he was $1100 if you wanna actually call it adoption). Anyway, here's the connection to this thread. The Samoyed's (pronounced Sam-eh-yed) origin comes from NW Russia. Of course St. Petersburg is in NW Russia which is where I'm from and where I'm going. Anyway, I named him Mishka Bear which in Russian means cub bear or little bear. Here's a picture.

 

AS mrnyc would say SUPER CUTE! 

Yeah but you're exceptional. :wink:

 

...the few women I've been involved with were spoiled princesses who think they're God's gift to men and the rest of the world...overall, I think American women have their men whipped...it seems like there's a fairly strong correlation between a woman's physical attractiveness and them acting like a spoiled, entitled princess. I've been lowering my standards in the looks dept. for that very reason.

 

I actually DO think I'm God's gift to men. I'm pretty attractive if I do say so myself. I've been proposed to by 10 different men including Mr. RNR and said yes to 3 of them besides my husband so I was engaged 4 times before I actually got married, so I don't think I'm any slouch in the looks department.  I'm the whole package - looks, housework, gets along with people's families, etc.  In that respect, I guess I would say most of the men I've been with have been a little "whipped" as you describe it, as well they should be - this is a good package, you'd be lucky to have it, and you better work to obtain and keep it.  But yeah, I know what you mean about the princesses. I've never been accused of that type of behavior.

 

As for lowering your standards in the looks department, I highly recommend it.  Some of the best, most loving, wonderful men I was involved with were not anyone you'd see on the cover of a magazine, and some were downright homely by some people's measure. My husband is not what anyone would consider conventionally attractive in a George Clooney sense but he's very attractive to me.  You have to broaden your horizons. I mean, it's like looking for a job with a specific title in a tiny geographic area. If you don't find it, you have to broaden what you'd be willing to accept in order to get what you want - a job. And you keep broadening that circle til you find what you want.  Hell, KJP has broadened his circle across the globe!

Wow, this thread sure has taken an interesting turn.

 

I have noticed that women who learn I am shopping for women overseas respond in one of two ways:  they are supportive/happy for me or they are personally offended.

 

The latter seem to take it as a rejection of all American women, including themselves. They seem to think I am looking for a maid, which I am not. I am looking for an intelligent, kind, career-minded woman, of which America has plenty. But I am also looking for something else and which is difficult to put into words. Probably the best way to describe it is that they have no anger or chips on their shoulders. They have a sweetness that I find intoxicating. I still believe in princesses, romance, the purity and depth of a woman's eyes and ever-lasting love. Perhaps I am hopelessly hopeful or innocently stupid. But I am late into the game and want to try this before I get too much older and lose the last bits of energy to raise children. So that's why I am expanding my search to far-off lands.

KJP, you are definitely making the right choice here.  I have noticed that a surprising number of (single) women in the US, or maybe it's just localized to the Midwest, often have a chip on their shoulder.  Of course this doesn't apply to all single women, perhaps not even a majority of them, but there is a kind of anger or suspicion towards men that my Midwesterner male friends and I have noticed and talked about.   

 

Come to think of it, I think this is actually a Midwesterner issue - I'd love to see a sociologist do a study and explore if it's a real problem, if it's regional, the root causes, yadda yadda.  Regardless, I think it's awesome that you've taking these steps and who knows, maybe these kinds of relationships will start becoming trendy and popular. 

 

OK, one more picture. This was taken by the translator of Lana and me. Lana just sent this photo to me today....

 

What's that blue building? That looks interesting.  It's a funny picture - you look like you're freezing and she looks totally comfortable :)  Wear boots next time! Those white tennies just add to the "Americans don't know how to dress" thing :)

The impression I get of the eastern European countries is that there aren't a lot of ways to "get ahead" without being from a prominent family, being involved in organized crime, or positioning oneself to benefit from government corruption, so women can't really expect many men to be making big money and be prominent in the community.  But you definitely can make the big money in the United States even if you're of no-name origins, so there is greater pressure on American men and women who do or don't love them to not to accept an anonymous existence. 

What's that blue building? That looks interesting. It's a funny picture - you look like you're freezing and she looks totally comfortable :) Wear boots next time! Those white tennies just add to the "Americans don't know how to dress" thing :)

 

I forget the name/purpose of the building, and while it's one of the few buildings in Cherkassy to survive WWII, it's not that old for Ukraine. For some reason I remember it being a theater.

 

Dear freezebaby, I'm not comfortable looking because my picture is being taken. I hate having my photo taken! I was not cold at all while I was there. I never wear boots, hat or gloves and seldom wear a heavy coat here in Cleveland either.

LOL. Good to know (and amazing, you are lucky!).  However, just a tip from a lady, lose the white tennies. You'll cut a much more appealing figure in some other type of shoe. Maybe MTS could help you pick something out? I"m being serious. I want you to succeed here.

I brought black shoes (and black socks) with me but never wore them. I think they always look good against dark jeans and a white, button-down shirt but I wore the white tennis shoes because I was lazy and often get stuck in routines.

 

Thanks for your wishes of success. She is interested in coming here but understandably nervous. Her biggest worry is not knowing having any other friends or family here.

She will have lots of friends here, just not as many native speakers initially.  I'd be happy to learn a little Ukranian to at least have some words to exchange with her so maybe she'd feel more at home.  Does she know any English at all?

 

I was also wondering if she drinks or not - and how you plan to handle that if she does? I was going to suggest a little UO get together over drinks. If there was a translator, or at least if a couple of people had pen and paper (to draw pictures of what you mean) and a dictionary, we'd stumble through it.  I mean, hell, if I muddled through several "deaf nights" at bars, knowing little more than the alphabet and a few basic ASL signs (took 1 year of sign in college a million years ago), it could work.

I have bought and continue to buy English tutorials and lessons for her.

 

She drinks socially. I am able to be around drinkers, including heavy drinkers at bars. No problem. It doesn't tempt me at all.

Awesome. Well, I'll butt out. Let us know how/if we can help or if you want to bounce any ideas off me.

What's that blue building? That looks interesting.

 

I forget the name/purpose of the building, and while it's one of the few buildings in Cherkassy to survive WWII, it's not that old for Ukraine. For some reason I remember it being a theater.

 

It's a former building of the Slovyanskyi Hotel. It's a bank now.

 

KJP - thank you for pics and all informations about Cherkassy. I'm from Poland and I'm very interesting in Ukrainian history. Wish you good luck and all best in the New Year.

It's a former building of the Slovyanskyi Hotel. It's a bank now.

 

KJP - thank you for pics and all informations about Cherkassy. I'm from Poland and I'm very interesting in Ukrainian history. Wish you good luck and all best in the New Year.

 

Thanks for the info and for the best wishes! Happy new year to you.

 

I visited Warsaw last year and met a Russian lady there.

 

EDIT: I just realized I never posted my pictures from that trip! Ooops!!

Great to see this informative thread/pics of a city I knew nothing about.  Thanks for sharing your trip, and good luck with any trips in the future.

I sincerely hope you have a lawyer who can draft a good pre-nup should you decide to proceed with this whole mail order bride affair. Let's be realistic - she look young enough to be your daughter and is pretty much guaranteed to leave you as soon as she gets her green card and learns some basic english, and will most likely try to take you to the cleaners while she's at it.

Wow, what a lovely first post to the board. NOT.

^^If there was ever a post deserving of a bloody ax...

Indeed. Or MTS' face-slap thing.

While the tone of the post needs some work, it seems fair to voice honest concerns.

It's just awfully insulting for a first post. KJP is no dummy.

Agreed--that was killer post which should have been worded much more diplomatically, if seriously felt.  Nevertheless, may I tell you how much I enjoyed your pictures and your story--truly a  story that we hope leads to happiness for you both.  For better or for worse, KJP, please keep us posted on how your relationship works out.

Probably should have read the Grasscat quote in ColDayMan's signature line. Maybe that should be a banner that pops up when you register for the first time.

They say "Gorgar will eat you", but I think he/she made the forum go "Tilt!"

I sincerely hope you have a lawyer who can draft a good pre-nup should you decide to proceed with this whole mail order bride affair. Let's be realistic - she look young enough to be your daughter and is pretty much guaranteed to leave you as soon as she gets her green card and learns some basic english, and will most likely try to take you to the cleaners while she's at it.

 

Why would she take me to the cleaners? Wouldn't she know how to clean my clothes before she comes to America? :-D And shouldn't I take her to the cleaners? I know where the nearest cleaners are and she doesn't know it since she has never been to America. Besides, she probably makes more money than I do so she can pay for my clothes getting cleaned. She already knows I am sometimes too poor to even afford to buy translator services for our Skype chats.

 

Are you a Eastern European man, Gorgar? If so, can I tell you to treat your women better so they don't have to leave their families and countries to find more honest, trustworthy, loyal and sober men. She may not even come to America because she is shy and scared about coming to another country. She has never been out of Ukraine before, and never flown on a plane.

 

So, before I go, I want to understand something from you. Do you mean there's actually a chance that things might not work out well between a man and a woman, or that one person might not be honest with the other person? I'm shocked to learn this as I sure this has only happened to you in the entire history of relationships worldwide. There is also just as much of a chance that she is who she says she is. Life is risk. You cannot live life without it. So what does that say about you?

 

I am not the poor, unfortunate man. You are.

KJP wins this thread.

 

(And hopefully more.)

oh, SNAP!

So, Mr KJP, how's your mail-order bride doing?  :evil:

You didn't know this but I met two ladies while in Ukraine last year. I intended to meet only Svitlana but I also met Irina. I went back to Ukraine in August to see only Irina and we're now engaged. I've met her family and friends. She and I talk daily, do video-conferences and exchange e-mails and texts (I guess that would make her an e-mail order bride, wouldn't it?). We have been communicating for more than a year now. We're making arrangements so she can come to America. She's the sweetest, smartest, prettiest lady I've met overseas, and I've met quite a few after several trips behind the Iron Curtain.

 

Again, thanks for your concern. But I'm a big boy who can take of himself. Maybe one day you will be too.

You didn't know this but I met two ladies while in Ukraine last year. I intended to meet only Svitlana but I also met Irina. I went back to Ukraine in August to see only Irina and we're now engaged. I've met her family and friends. She and I talk daily, do video-conferences and exchange e-mails and texts (I guess that would make her an e-mail order bride, wouldn't it?). We have been communicating for more than a year now. We're making arrangements so she can come to America. She's the sweetest, smartest, prettiest lady I've met overseas, and I've met quite a few after several trips behind the Iron Curtain.

 

Again, thanks for your concern. But I'm a big boy who can take of himself. Maybe one day you will be too.

 

CONGRATS.  BEST OF LUCK!  :clap:

That is fantastic. Congratulations.

KJP, Congratulations!  Enjoy the happiest years of your life!