I stumbled across this site and think it's a great place to learn, laugh & cry at all our experiences. Only last year after a break-up, I decided to experiment and see what else was on offer out there, and for anyone who's interested, here's my story, which probably sums up Ukraine.
I'll try and be brief but there's lot's to say. I wrote a letter to a girl on a well known web-site who needless to say was stunning. After a month I went off piste and contacted her via e-mail and 4 months later I was on a plane to Ukraine for an adventure. The most gorgeous girl met me at the airport and I enjoyed 5 great days with no bad experiences, lots of laughs and apparently clicked with this beauty.
We kept in touch & got booked to go back just before xmas for 2 weeks - then the bomb dropped. I found out via a random guy on facebook (who saw my photo's) that this girl was on scammer sites and known by a different name. Obviously I confronted her and she insisted I go to Ukrainn so all could be explained. I dismissed this instantly and told her i felt stupid for starting to believe any of this experience was genuine. Time again she contacted me and as I was booked to go, curiosity got the better of me. I'm 30 years old and well travelled so decided to let the adventure continue - what's the harm, I could always ditch her and travel Europe if I didn't like what she had to say!
So I arrived and she began to tell me how her friend runs a dating agency and uses her photo's to draw more customers. In return she may have to meet a few of these guys, who she gets to screen, get a free meal/date and if she liked them, she could persue a relationship. If not, she makes a little money from the site & gets a night out, inviting friends along if she feels uncomfortable. This stinks of scam anyway and she even admitted that sometimes the agency sends out simlar looking girls to meet the guys - incredible!
She then began to tell me how she met an Italian guy who she quite liked. After 2/3 days he invited her to his apartment and tried it on. She declined his advances & told him that she wants a relationship & isn't a prostitute. This didn't sit well with the guy and he threatened to blackmail her if she didn't have sex with him. She walked out but her friend at the agency told her he met other girls who gave him what he wanted. He then contacted her a month or so later & said if she didn't go to Italy and stay with him for 2 weeks, he'd get all his friends to put her on scammer....none of this she took seriously.
So.....she's now on scammer & very pissed off by the fact these web-sites don't care about the girls stories and only the guys. She contacted them but was ignored so decided to create her own site to protect girls from sex tourists. Her friend then put her back on the dating site under a different name and this is how I met her. The crazy thing is that us guys are completely taken for a ride over there. I now know that I was writing to her friend and not her for 4 months and only really met her when I arrived in Ukraine.......what a bunch of easy schmucks us foreigners must seem!!
I know this is turning into a rant but just want to complete the circle. I decided to stay on with her and travelled Ukraine for 2 weeks and had a great time. I've since been back in May and met her in Kiev for a music festival and we're now planning a holiday abroad. I have her real mobile number and not the agency phone now and also her proper e-mail & home address which i've been to many times.
The whole things crazy and if my best friend told me this story, i'd tell him he's lost the plot!! I've now started to slowly understand Ukraine & the people. It's an amazing country with lovely people but corrupt from top to bottom and cash is king. I'm 30, she's 23, educated and speaks perfect English. We get on fantastically well, have a connection and i've still never been scammed...at least not yet :) Of course when i'm over, I play the role of the provider but she still buys me gifts and her feelings appear genuine...i'm long enough in the tooth to know when it's on and when it's not...my last girlfriend was a stripper and they were complicated - anyway I digress :) Basically if she's a scammer she's shit at it - almost a year and nothing to show! :)
In summary - what a head fuck of a first experience in online dating. My gut feeling regardless of the circumstances is that it's genuine and she's a good person who's been brought up in a country where people are scammed, bribed and ripped off every day....particularly the residents & it becomes the norm. I've met her family and heard intimate accounts of Ukrainian life - not all of which are poverty stricken, desperate and money driven. The general theme on this site seems to be based on negative experiences and I wholey understand where it comes from. I just think that like any relationship, we can't read into too much too soon, and bad things happen with girls at home also. Relatonships are tough work but throw in the extra dynamic of distance, culture and differing attitudes for good measure and wow...I just wish this myth in Ukraine that all westerners have too much cash was cleared up. I saw more guys in Ukrainian restraunts with bigger cars and fatter wallets than I'll ever have!
For me it still remains an experience and it would be some story if she became 'the one', but I wont be putting all my eggs in one basket just yet or sending off thousdands of pounds any time soon if she asked, and i'd do the same with any girl at home!! I appreciate this is a big read but i've enjoyed the honest accounts from you guys and it might help us all with future success!
Cheers & here's to the crazy world of eastern european dating!!
What crazy stuff.... I only did one read on it but that sounds like a lot of drama.... you are a more resilient man than I am.
Are guys still able to contact her to try and date her?.... that would be the biggest thing I would worry about. But you obviously have been through the wars if you dated a stripper.... I tried that once..... it lasted about 2 weeks.
It just sounds like a lot of dishonesty involved..... that she also played a part in..... I would definitely be careful.
I respect your opinion and thats what makes the site topical. I may never know whether I've been taken for a ride or not but I'm also aware that not every guy who visits these girls do it for purely romantic purposes.
I just find that the dating scene in Ukraine is chaotic and perhaps even the most perfect of girl gets sucked into it's seedy underworld?
As they say "There are two sides to every story" and, it seems, you are falling hook, line, and sinker just hesring one side of the story.
What do I know? I haven't met her, I haven't read these scam reports of her, all I know is that if I had a dollar for each time I've heard a similar excuse then I'd be making quite a living from it!
You must discern if the woman in your life is truthful yourself. My lady friend of 2 years was listed on a site and most correspondence was intercepted and answered by her agent. Partly because of the many letters I wrote made it difficult for the agent. When I realized that the tone of the letters was not the same, I challenged the agent through my letters to my lady. These challenges were not passed on in an effort to hide the deception from my letter. I canceled plans to make a trip and even that was not passed on. Four months passed before I made plans again. When I arrived and my lady became aware of the trouble cause by the agent, she became quite angry and the mention of the agent angers very much. My lady waited day to day for me to arrive throughout the summer. She thought I was just bull-sh@#er. She owned an apartment that could have been rented while awaiting my arrival and she did not take her summer job as well. Everything she did was to try and save me money and be hospitable. The agent wanted to send a car to meet me at the airport, attain an apartment and use her translation resources at a premium price Ultimately, it cost my lady considerably in lost rent and wages. My persistence finally won out and we are quite happy and look out for each other. So, these ladies are indeed sometimes used by agencies and men.
We can give advise and share experiences, but ultimately your decisions are between you and your lady. It is most important to have verified correspondence via video chat and "DIRECT" communications over a period of time after you have shown interest in each other through the agency. I still sent fair compensation to the agent for her efforts, even though my lady was angry with her and me for doing so. The agency still did bring us together. If we do become married, the agent will receive further compensation,,,,, surely to her surprise.
Bob,,,, In the Ukraine,,, you just never know!! It sounds like a scam,,, but I know what the agenices are capable of doing too!! And sometimes,, it's the girl's translator and interpreter making up the lies!
My advice,,, is to go cheap on her for a while,,,, and see if she looses interest?? Many of the girls are really just in love with our wallets!!
I mean, whatever became of a forum supposedly dedicated to the sharing information and advice related to FSU women? It has become nothing more than a Dr. Phil show about a few individuals who have it out for one another. Or more likely a Jerry Springer show.
I suggest that you all get together and go on the Jerry Springer show. It would definitely have to be at least a three part show. And for sure the fans of Jerry Springer would love this! I'll call the producers and check into it. But you all have to commit to flying to Chicago to tape the shows. Who's in? Ivor? Danny? ragingbull? lonelyranger - you can drive? Who else? Because that is what this has become.
Is it no wonder that few if any new people post here? And when they do they are lambasted for whatever they have to say. Yes, I think Jerry Springer would love to have you all.
You have in no way referred to me? What do you call this?
"Who's in? Ivor? Danny? ragingbull? lonelyranger - you can drive? Who else? Because that is what this has become."
"The pursuit of happiness can mean different things to many people. If it is just the hope to spend out your years with a mate then why criticize (or not) someone for seeking the fortune of finding a woman from another country? Though difficult as it may be, it is not ridiculous in the least. Why do some of you continue to put down almost everyone if it does not agree with your own thoughts or experience? Advising someone and questioning their acts is surely what it is all about. But to just slam someone for no reason other than you think they are lost or confused is out of line. Therefore I am a hypocrite. Because I slammed ragingbull for the same reasons."
That second piece is your post from the other thread. I did not want to ruin Steve's story so I did not reply there. You have been slamming me from since you started in this forum when you called yourself Julian. I do not believe your reason. There have been many posters since then. Some are like me, some not. But, you chose to slam me, time and time again. Then, you post things like that making us think it is over, but it never is.
Mental retardation is a disability characterized by slow learning skills. To use retardation indiscriminately to describe those who do not agree or understand you, is making fun or trivializing those who are afflicted with this disability.
it is an "expression of speech" used in this context. it has nothing to do with mentally handicapped people. I could have said, "Are you nuts?" but it wouldn't have had the desired affect. gee-whiz already. let it go.
sorry you didn't want to ruin 'steve's' thread. but you have no qualms at all about ruining every other thread you post on... ;)