Quote: (06-02-2010 11:02 PM)kindredspirit Wrote:
The only thing I'd be wary of is the fact that for a Russian guy like you (Western-educated I assume?), things are going to be incredibly easier than a foreign guy who speaks no Russian.
The "Russia for Russians" mentality has indeed taken hold and I think except for a brief period after economic collapse, Russian girls have always had a strong preference for Russian guys/Russian speakers --- unless you make enough $$$ to overcome this preference.
Yeah, you certainly have a point.
BTW I wouldn't say Russia has the hottest chicks in Eastern Europe, so I would only recommend it if you really want an other-worldly experience that's going to make you want to kiss the concrete when you land back home. Mother Russia can be cruel, cold and unforgiving. I'm not referring to the women, but to just about every aspect of interacting with that country. Many things don't work, and many things will go wrong. It will build character.
With that said, maybe the point of optimality would be Western Ukraine. Or Lithuania. (Just check out the Lithuanian dating site pazintys.lt - THESE are the hottest chicks in europe).
It's like the analogy of the Boiled Frog. Throw a frog into boiling water and it will leap out instantly. Put it into cold water and turn up the heat, and it will likely sit there, sedentary, used to the heat. The same applies to visiting Eastern European countries - start in more civilized areas (CZ is perfect) and work your way to the land of Homo Erectus (Lithuania) and maybe eventually to Russia. Otherwise, the women are warm and receptive everywhere. (By the way, if you make it solo as a non-Russian speaker from Moscow to Vladivostok on the Trans-Siberian, there is not one hipster in the western world who can top this "self-discovery" experience.)
Another thing about learning Russian...it's an extremely difficult language to learn. Since I also know some Mandarin (can a white guy ever FULLY learn that language?!) I'll draw some comparisons about using language to game:
1. Using Russian language in Russia: Russian humor is dry and relies on wit and word-play. "That's what she said" doesn't work at all. Jokes are usually minutes long, and may require background knowledge of culture or politics to even understand. If you don't know Russian at this point, I'd advise against wasting time trying to learn it. Ideal play: funny/flake/apathetic/macho
2. Using English language in English-speaking countries: much easier, people will generally help you get your point across if you're clearly a beginner-intermediate English speaker. You just need a few cultural tid-bits and selected clippings from The Office to make girls laugh. Ideal play: cocky/funny/confident/social
3. Using Mandarin/Korean/Jap: even easier, though the languages are so difficult for us "westerners"! For example, in Asia it's OK to use short phrases and be repetitive. This would seem ill-mannered or "low-class" in Russia, but in Asia this makes you "wise" and "cute" if you know what I mean. A girl says 10 different things? Respond with the SAME PHRASE EACH TIME. Your facial expression is 100x more important. Just be "cute" and "funny" - you don't even need to be cocky/funny cause the guys in Asia have far different game. Ideal play: funny/cute/friendly/confident