But come on! some of these girls are obviously going to get a lot of hellos from men just testing the water, they are more than ok. But some of the other? Maybe you guys can see there wonderful personalities shine though the words in there profiles that I cannot that I cannot?
Been there done that. You will be expected to pay for the interpreters airfare, meals, accomidation, and $100 USD per day. It is the agencies Idea...They convince the girls that if you do not do this you are cheap. I cannot say it is a scam...but it is a cash cow for the agency. If you can convince her, the Sherborne Guest House in Kyiv is a good place to stay and they have interpreters for $10 hr. I am sure if you look around you might be able to find one for a little less.
Cornwall,
Does her profile state that she speaks English? As wmferg says, it's a money making exercise for the agency, tell her that you would really like to see her city, meet her family, any you REALLY do want to travel to Mariupol and wait for the reaction.
Any serious lady will want that you meet the family, a 'good time gal' just wants a 'jolly' in Kiev and just wait for the expensive shopping trips!
The way this agency typically works is there is a suggestion to meet the girl in Kyiv with her interpreter (airfare and accommodation paid by you of course) for three to four days and if all goes well with the meeting in Kyiv then the three of you travel to Mariupol to visit the family and friends. The agency has convinced the girls that this is the best and safest way. It is very difficult to get by this…after all you have only known each other through e-mails…the agency is their friend.
wmferg,
To reiterate, an idea, indeed a policy, of the agency to scam as much money as possible from the guy.
When I met my 'special one' there was no suggestion whatsoever of us meeting in another city and when I arrived in her city in a damn great Volvo limo, well first impressions as they say!.
Meet the lady, not the interpreter and certainly not the agency, it takes ONLY two people to have a relationship.
Thanks for all your helpful thoughts. I am in direct contact with her through an independent interpreter that I have hired.
I have suggested that we meet in Mariupol but that idea was ignored.
Of course you do not know what messages are given to her by the agency. She phones in sometimes and they are read to her. She then dictates the answer.
I do believe she is very controlled by this agency.
Cornwall,
Are there many questions that she ignores, ask some other questions to see if they get answered and why not ignore her suggestion of Kiev, what's good for the goose .....
She answers every question I ask her and she has just contacted me again for another conference call for tomorrow.
I think we can sort this out. I have her home address (verified), mobile and home telephone and can contact her indepedently, with my independent interpreter.
She speaks no English, which I forgot to mention.
I am sure this is just the agency trying to make some money out of me... It sort of backfires in a way, because if I meet her in Mariupol then I will not be using the agency's interpreter.
How do you know what she has written and what the translator has written?
You don't!
What a headache?
Yes, and it is set to get worse before it may get better, trust me I know, find an English speaker!
Dave,
Noting that you are from one particularly beautiful county there are many an FSU lady that yearn for the big city life, something which Cornwall is not reknowned for, have you had this discussion with her, if the more rural life will be acceptable or does she yearn for the big 'yuk' city life?
Where in Cormwall are you, I had family in the village of Helford and I lived for 3 years in Plymouth, save me a pasty, an ice cream and some clotted cream :) Oh, the good old days.
Yes it is already getting worse. She only wants to meet in Kiev and does not want me near Mariupol. I am expected to pay the $180 return fare. LOL
She says Mariupol is dull etc. and I would not find it interesting. In fact I am probably more interested in seeing Mariupol than Kiev.
I live near Land's End in a small village called Pendeen. She says that she does not want to live in a village. Although I have said that I may be moving to Extremadura, Spain soon and that would be near a bustling city.
I am a qualified Teacher of English as a Foreign Language, so do appreciate the problems of communication.
I've given up the Philps pasties and ice cream for a while. Too easy to put on weight down here:)
Kiev is a great deal more expensive than Mariupol, accomodation, food and everything and also a lot more shops and the "high life"..be wary about being taken for a ride and a shopping spree at your expense while in Kiev...money can't buy love.
The fact she does not want to meet you in here home town of Mariupol is very disconcerting and suspicious and is behaviour like she is trying to hide something such as an existing boyfriend or if she is married and does not want you to see anything or know anything including the real truth.
Reading between the lines, it looks to me like "I will invite him to Kiev, get hime to buy me gifts and pay for the high life ( these girls like the opera and concerts which is an expensive activity that they don't do often and nightclubs which are $10 to $20 entry cover charge..too expensive for the local girls and drinks and food at Western prices ) and then I will tell him it has not worked out and I don't love you and dump you scam after I have bleed him of all the things I can get"
I did a lot of research on Kiev and planning but I never went as the girl I was corresponding in 2004 was not genuine..I found this city, especially the central, most affluent parts to be very expensive by Western standards and the prices being asked for things were in some cases dearer than many Western developed countries and "not consistent with the economical standard of the Ukraine"..it was way over the top.
Be very cautious..for me theres enough reason here to dump the girl and move on.
Dave,
In their culture it is very important for the guy to meet the family, put yourself in the position of a father who's little girl is thinking of moving halfway around the world to live with a guy, wouldn't you want to meet him if your daughter was serious about this guy?
I'm sorry but I don't go for this meeting in Kiev fiasco where there are lots of expensive shops etc. Normally she wouldn't be able to travel to Kiev thus you could merely be a 'meal ticket'.
Suggest asking if she would like that you meet with her parents & family to gauge the reaction, meeting the family is a 'must' if her intentions towards you are serious. If you are to go for this Kiev idea I would strongly recommend that you have a back-up plan like a Kiev lady in reserve.
Scammers are not merely in correspondence, they are there in real life also to empty your wallet as quickly as possible on the expensive shopping trips thus if she were to pull such a stunt you could tell her to get lost and go with a back-up plan.
My attitude to girls who want to date me "If you are looking for diamond rings and glitzy things, you are not going to get them from me"...you have to make a proven committment and prove to me that you love me..tie the knot and even then you won't get the gravy train.
A personal meeting with a woman in another country is a date..treat it like that, sure pay for her meals, be a gentleman but don't start buying her fur coats,laptop computers, mobile phones and jewellery and paying for extraordinarily expensive activities..MONEY AND GIFTS CAN'T BUY LOVE AND IF SHE ASKS AND EXPECTS THEM FROM YOU, SHE IS IN LOVE WITH YOUR MONEY...AND NOT YOU AND LETS NOT KID OURSELVES HERE.
You can't base a relationship with girl by showering her with money and gifts and if she wants them from you, she is not the real deal and you need to move on.
So many men get scammed by gold diggers, does not matter what country she is from for if it is a relationship motivated by the pretence of money and gifts, its not a relationship at all.
Good luck and be careful!
To echo wmferg, "been there, done that"! So, don't do it! I paid for a round trip train ride for a girl and her interpreter from Mariupol to Kiev, and realized from the first two hours that the girl had absolutely no interest in me, but had been dying to visit Kiev on someone else's dime. But I was stuck, with the hotel and transportation already paid for, and I didn't know anyone else in Kiev! If you go through with this, at least try to have one or two other women to connect with in Kiev, or you risk a complete waste of time and money! As for me, no more paid vacations for women I've not met...