I have been working as a translator and tour guide at the Introduction agency my family owns since 1999 and translated at many hundreds of meetings

I have been working as a translator and tour guide at the Mordinson Introduction agency (www.mordinson.com) my family owns since 1999 and translated at many hundreds of meetings, I decided to share some of the tips for western men who are coming to Ukraine or Russian to find a wife.

I have been told several times by men from the US that giving flowers and gifts to ladies on the date is not a custom in America, well it is in Ukraine. Doesn't have to be a huge bouqet or expensive gift, but a sign of attention from man's side is always pleasant for a lady. When you are going to the first meeting the beginning of the date can be rather awkward for both of you, so presenting the flowers can be a great start of the conversation.

One thing that you have to remember is that the girl who you are going to meet most likely spends at least 2 hours to get prepared to the meeting, she is making the make up and choses the closes to wear. She does want to look really great. In Ukraine all the single girls wear very sexy and elegant clothes even on week days, so she will definitely try to look really great for a date! Don’t forget to mention to her that she looks fantastic! Girls anywhere in the world love compliments and you know that, so why not to compliment a lady who might become your wife if everything goes well? It is not usually an issue, but make sure that the clothes you are wearing are smart looking. People here accept other people by looking at the clothes, so don’t spoil the first impression!

Many guys are surprised by how little Russian women eat. The truth is that a girl can feel not very comfortable ordering big meal at the meeting. In Western culture it is not considered to be polite to refuse ordering food when somebody else is willing to eat, but Russian language is very direct, if somebody doesn’t want something, he/she says: “I don’t want that!”. Often it may sound rather rude, but it is not in fact, on contrary, a girl doesn’t want to be rude and that’s why she honestly says I don’t want to order!

Having a conversation is not always very easy when you meet the first time, to many people it seems even harder to have it using an interpreter, but one thing that is great about having an interpreter is that you get lots of time for thinking. Women love funny guys, so make jokes, but also make her understand your intentions.