February 2001

I met my wife through Anastasiaweb... I started writing in September of 1998 and went to Moscow to meet Elena in March. I spent about two weeks there and asked her to come to America. It took about six months for her and her 11-year-old daughter to arrive. We married two months later in December of 1999.

My experience with Anastasiaweb has been very good. I selected about 20 women and wrote to most of them. I received responses from about half of them. The ones who lived in eastern Russia or in Armenia were difficult to receive letters from. For those in western Russia, it took from one to two weeks to reply. However, we relied more on a bi-weekly telephone call to stay in contact once we met. 

There are many amusing stories to tell. Most of them have to do with the struggle for Elena to learn English. When she arrived in America, she did not bring any clothes. I said in one of my letters to bring her better clothes. She interpreted that as to bring only formal clothes. An expensive lesson in learning English.

I learned a little Russian and she knew a little English. At the start we didn't know enough words to argue. But I would strongly recommend spending some time learning at least some of the language. That and a dictionary proves invaluable during the courtship.

While trying to get to know someone through letters is not the real thing, it is a lot less stressful than just meeting them in Russia and then having to decide in a hurry.

An addition to our story is that my brother, who originally introduced me to Anastasiaweb, is now engaged and will be marrying his Russian fiancee in a few weeks. We both spent time narrowing down the search through correspondence before traveling to the other side of the world.

Elena and I have learned a lot in the past six months of living together. Essentially it takes a lot of patience to get across the language barrier. The struggles of learning a new language and new customs requires sensitivity by both partners and a good sense of humor. But overall it has enriched both of our lives.

Presented by the client himself