Heard a really strange new superstition yesterday. I swear that there are so many strange superstitions from the FSU that none of them amaze me anymore.
Yesterday my Natalia briefly ate something off her plate with her knife. "Oh, can't do that", she said. I asked why and she said if you eat your food with a knife your husband will lose his hair.
D@mn!! Wish I had of knew that when I was a kid eating all that peanut butter!
Tipping. It has just come naturally to me. If I received good or great service in Ukraine, I tip. Usually 10% to 15%. If I receive sorry service in Ukraine, I don't tip. Just like in America. Ukrainians do not tip, it is there custom. When a waiter or waitress see's an American client they usually get very excited and usually do a very good job as they know most Americans, and many foreigners, will usually tip.
Interpreters in Odessa, expect to pay $5 an hour, in Kiev $6, in St. Petersburg $8 or $9 and Moscow $9 or $10. Most all other places $3 to $4 an hour.
I would never pay $10 an hour for an interpreter in Odessa or Kiev, and I would never try to pay $3 or $4.
Cost of flats in Kiev. If you cross the river, or go some 20 minutes from the center, you might find some flats that cost the flat owner $50 a month. Most flats cost more. Any flat within 5 to 10 minutes walk of the center is going to cost you some money, some money meaning $40 to $55 a night. Of course there are those that cost more but why pay more and I am sure there are some exceptions and there are a few flats that are close to the center for maybe $35 a night.
Reported and un-reported income. There are a lot of people who report they only make $60 or $70 a month, and they don't report the extra $50 or $60 they might additionally make. I think a lot of people are making at least $80 a month but most people make more. Of course the homeless, beggars and very poor will make next to nothing.
Try to put ladies who speak at least a little English to the top of your list.
Never have to go thru an agency to communicate with your lady(s). Get your ladies home address and phone number. Have your ladies use Internet cafe's. A lot of guys are getting scammed by scam agencies who are writing the letters and who are really the ladies you think you are dealing with. Try to communicate with your lady without having to go thru any agency. Do not use the agency's translators or e-mail service beyond the second correspondence.
If you think you have real interest in a lady, please pay $35 and have some flowers and a card delivered to her. If you don't have her home address it is a BIG red flag. Once you have a home address, and hopefully a phone number, have anyone EXCEPT her agency to deliver flowers and a card to this lady. Do not use the same agency you met the woman thru to deliver flowers.
Please keep in mind that some dis-honest agencies do not want their more popular girls to find a man. The popular girls are having many men write to them. The agency makes good money off the popular girls. When a dis-honest agency see's one of there money makers getting serious, often they will try to mess up a relationship or get the lady to meet many other guys. Seperate you and your ladies from the agencies. Talk to these ladies, write these ladies yourself or thru an independent person. Many of the men who are on P-L have wifes who would love to make a little extra money by being a translator or interpreter. Get the agency out of the middle or they will always try to control things. Make sure your lady is real and deliver a card, flower, candy, anything to the addres she gives you. You guys will not believe how many times every month I have to tell a guy that his lady does not live at the address she gave him, or the address is not real.
When you travel to the FSU meet a lot of ladies in a short time, do your home work, meet many of your ladies in the first two and three days. Tell each of these ladies two or three weeks before you arrive that your first meeting should only be a few hours. When they ask why, tell them that you think we should spend a few hours together before we plan things for the entire week. Most every lady will agree. You will discover potential chemistry with one, maybe two ladies, and spend your remaining 6 or 7 days with the one or two ladies who you felt chemistry with.
If any lady ask you if you are seeing any other ladies while you are on your trip, always admit to seeing "another" lady. Not two, not three, only "another". If she ask anything about this other woman, where she lives, what is her age, you say you don't want to talk about her, you come mostly to visit her and you do not want to talk about this other lady.
I think there was one other thing I wanted to discuss,...what was it.
Oh, yes, what happened with Go2Rus? How can someone just disappear so quickly, did some upset him or what?
