Phone Calls
If you really like someone - call her. Talking on the phone will allow her to become more personal in her letters and to gain confidence in you, it does provide you with more information about the state of your relationship than you get from only writing. The tone of her voice when she hears yours can tell you many things a letter cannot.
If for no other reason than you will get an idea about her level of English. But you must remember that it is more easier talking in person than on the phone. Don't take phone calls too seriously. A lady might think she understands you, but there might be one word that she missed that makes the whole sentence different from what she thinks she heard. You will need to take your time and ask (explain) several times or to send a letter if you speak about important things.
If your lady don't give you a phone number, don't think that she is lying to you or is not interested in you. Especially outside of the very big cities not everyone has a phone. Phones are rather expensive to install sometimes. Some of the ladies don't speak English and this is the only reason why they don't give their phone numbers. You can offer them to speak through 3-way translation services
Remember that Russian ladies not often live in a separate appartment. If a man's voice answers the call, he is probably her father or brother.
If her relatives don't speak English, learn a few Russian phrases.
Example:
You say - 'Zdrastvute, Elena mozhna?' - 'Hello, is Elena available?'.If the voice on other end says 'Vy oshibles' (You are mistaken), you say 'Izvenite' (Sorry).
If the voice on other end says 'Elena nyeto' (Elena is not here), you say 'Skazheetye yai, pozholuista, chto zvonil Paul'. (Please tell her that Paul called).
You may ask: 'Magu ya uznat kto vi?' (May I ask who are you?) Possible Replies: papa (father), brat (brother), muzh (husband), droug (friend), seestra (sister), mama (mother) etc.
Say "Spasiba, dazvidania" (Thank you, good buy)
Use 3-way translation services if you have difficulties speaking on the phone with your lady or her relatives.
It's good and polite to agree about the time of your call in the letters and please check the time differences before you call.
Here is a list of the cities with the time zones.
Sofia GMT+1
Riga GMT+2
Gomel GMT+2
Minsk GMT+2
Sevastopol GMT+2
Odessa GMT+2
Sumy GMT+2
Dnepropetrovsk GMT+2
Volzhsky GMT+3
Saratov GMT+3
Samara GMT+3
St.Petersburg GMT+3
Bishkek GMT+6
There are a lot of opportunities to save on international calls. But before you make many calls (with any international calling plan), make sure what you are paying.
