I just want to say hello.... I am relatively new to this whole thing. I did make one trip to the Ukraine back in April. My experiences were okay..... I only went to go meet one lady..... I felt it was the honorable thing to do. She lived in Mariupol and I asked her to meet me at the Donetsk airport. I was very glad she was there. We had a decent time.... I made sure I was a gentleman and treated her well and with the utmost respect..... I appreciated her making as much of a sacrifice with her work too hang out with me as much as she could...... although she was always on her cell phone.... which bugged me a little. I don't think she was a professional dater or a scammer at all..... I just didn't feel enough of a spark. We never did more than hold hands and kiss a little.... not much.
I do think the interpreter was a total scammer and a rip-off..... plus paying $20 an hour american money.... I felt was too much..... but I had little choice at that point.
I stayed at the Spartak hotel it was okay.... although I feel that a lot of people in Mariupol were rude and do not like Americans.... especially the men..... which I can't really blame them.
I was just curious what everyone else's thoughts were on my experience.... plus I really wanted too introduce myself to you guys.... you all seem very funny and articulate..... I have been reading a lot of the posts for months now.... although it can get depressing. So I look forward to talking with all of you.
I wish you luck Teddy, seems a bit steep for interpreter but you can always ask a few people here for e reference if you go again. most people here rent apartment for a stay since there normally cheaper than hotel.
Was the girl with an agency, or did you correspond directly with her? It's always nice to know who's charging too much for services. I know a Mariupol translator for $12 if you need one in the future.
Don't worry too much about unfriendly guys over there, it's pretty common everywhere, not just Mariupol. Also, there is an initial 'gruffness' in people there in general. For instance, it's considered that only idiots or strange people smile at strangers, so people look unfriendly, even if they're not. They come across as more rude than they are sometimes. Don't worry, you'll get used to it :)
hi ya Ted,, for some reason Mariupol gives me mixed feelings, likeable city or not from my once passed visit,, possibly not.
but it was interesting, everything there was interesting.
Mariupol was my introduction to the gangs that ran the streets at night, dog gangs that was:)
did you get hot water at the Spartak? i didnt but it was summer, i found such strange.
it reminded me of camping on our far north beaches but i wasnt camping:)
$20 yeah thats steep, shows how cheeky the place is getting.
if you are going to carry on with this, i would keep to english speakers,, it will make everything so much easier and it will show up dodgy people quicker.
really Ted, if you are confident about this now, you should think about staying away from Ukraine, its full of time wasting women and scamming agencys,, get into the back areas of russia.
good luck
Thank you for all the feedback. I have decided on only going back over there if the lady speaks enough English so we don't need an interpreter. I was traveling with a buddy of mine from work..... I am too much of a wuss to go by myself.... plus I am not the brightest guy in the woodshed.... I probably would have missed all the connecting flights.
The lady was from an agency.... but I do think she was real. The interpreter not only overcharged me but did a lousy job she was always answering her cell phone as well.... saying it's work.... I was thinking the whole time..... so what is the $20 an hour I am paying you for?..... fun? I did not create a scene and just took it..... but I did learn I think some good lessons.
My friend and I are going back to that area in August.... he has been corresponding with a lady since October of 2010.... they have never met..... he went to see her..... but she said she had to go out of town..... so obviously I am worried for my friend.
I did get hot showers at the Spartak..... but it was weird I had to literally turn the water on 5-6 minutes before I got in the shower just to get it hot..... and than it got really hot. I am a picky eater so for the most part I was not down with the food.
I could not believe how many men wore black leather and that was it.... everything was in black. I am a huge animal lover and it was very tough for me to see all the dogs and cats limping in the streets with no one to take care of them.... and yet most of the women on these sites say that they are huge animal lovers?
The yellow buses I thought were hilarious.... and the apartments where people lived made me very sad.