Review of the Mordinson marriage agency by Heinrich (South Africa), 7th Februaruy 2016
Can you tell us about yourself?
My name is Heinrich, I am in my early forties, from South Africa, and work for a large Technology Company.
Why did you decide to search for a woman abroad?
I was married previously and after a terrible divorce I decided to better understand issues of Life, Love and Happiness and so I embarked on a journey of self-discovery. I read as many articles as possible, watched countless hours of informative videos and also befriended some incredible people along the way that have all gone down the same journey as I have. I was very fortunate to meet a fantastic relationship councillor who lives in the US. He has the most amazing videos and blog about relationships, marriage and the differences between Western and Slavic cultures. That is when the penny dropped for me and I immediately understood that what I was looking for in a future partner was probably not easily available in my country.
And why particularly a woman from Ukraine?
I knew that I could not go through life alone and wanted a partner to share activities with and build beautiful memories. This time around I had a lot more life experience and I knew exactly what I wanted in a partner and what I did not want. I saw it as a fantastic opportunity to find that special someone that had a very particular outlook on life and family. What became very clear to me was that to find the right woman I had to look in non-Western countries. What I was looking for was someone that came from a Christian background with strong traditional family values. Someone who was not scared to show love, had a nurturing character towards her partner and for whom the man (himself) was more important than what the man could do for her. Western women tend to be very focused on what kind of wealth the man has or to what status level in society the man can elevate her instead of who he is in his heart and what his soul is like. I am not saying that all western women are like that, but it seems that most are like this and so to find a single western lady that is not so inclined would take many years of dating.
I did not want to go through the ordeal of dating a 100 different western women to look for that one elusive unicorn. What I discovered through talking so several men that are married to Slavic women is that Ukraine was probably the best place to start looking. Ukrainian culture and society has moulded women into being extremely family oriented and loving and caring towards their men. Slavic women also acknowledge that there are very clear differences between the roles that men and women should play in a relationship and in marriage. Women are seen as the care givers and nurturers of the family environment and men are seen as the providers of safety and the protectors of the family (the castle wall to protect the family). Slavic women are very soft hearted and nurturing toward their men and they see their man as the rock star in their lives. They will literally follow him to the end of the earth, through good and bad times. This does not mean that Slavic women want dominating partners, no they want kind and loving partners who will respect them and appreciate their beautiful femininity.
What were you biggest concerns regarding looking for a woman in Ukraine?
The process of looking for a partner in Ukraine quickly highlighted the issue of scamming and it seems that many agencies are abusing men by using the allure of stunning women. I did a lot of homework and it literally took me a year of research and talking to many- many people and asking hundreds of questions. I realized that there were hundreds of agencies and to make things even more perplexing was the fact that there were so many different business models that these agencies employ to generate income. I did not feel comfortable with many aspects of the whole dating agency environment, but knew that somehow, somewhere in Ukraine there was a stunning partner waiting for me to contact her. I just had to find a way to her.
How did you decide which Ukrainian marriage agency will you use to find your soul mate?
I decided to do something radical and went about the problem in a different way. I decided to make contact with a 3'rd party in Ukraine that had no links to the dating agency environment. I was very lucky to stumble upon a young female Ukrainian blogger that was blogging about all aspects of Ukrainian life (traditions, culture, beliefs, history, even teaching Russian and Ukrainian language lessons etc). I started to write lengthy mails to her in order to better understand the culture as well as the great difference between Western and Slavic women. Talking to her was really informative and as luck had it she did a fantastic interview with Michael Mordinson a couple of months later. She had so many questions from foreign men about the issue of scamming that she decided to investigate the issue herself. Why or how she decided to do this interview with Michael is unknown to me. She just posted the interview on her website and when I saw the interview I liked what I saw. Michael seemed honest and open and upfront about aspects of his business and I proceeded to make contact with Michael
Why did you choose Mordinson marriage agency?
I spent probably three months just throwing questions in Michael's direction and he was so informative and helpful at all times. He even answers email questions over weekends and also late at night. I often mailed Michael questions at 10 pm in the evening with the expectation to receive an answer a day or two later and very often I would receive an answer back that same evening. None of the other agencies had such a short turnaround time and none of them worked on weekends. I quickly got the idea that this was run as a family business and Michael always went the extra mile to explain aspects and issues to me.
How long did you communicate with your lady before coming to Ukraine and how did you communicate?
I initially mailed an introduction letter to approximately 20 different ladies and I got feedback from 5 or so. From there on I just continued to write lengthy letters to the ladies and asked many questions. All of the ladies were fantastic but one particular lady stood out far above the rest and always made an enormous effort to write detailed letters back to me. After almost three months and many letters later I realized that this one particular lady was spectacular in all aspect and had a very caring and soft manner about her that I liked. I then decided to focus most of my attention on her and started to communicate via Skype dates that I organized with Michael's help over a further 2 month period. We used to Skype every weekend for 2 to 3 hours at a time (believe me those Skype dates go by so quickly) and we would also keep on writing letters to each other during the week. During the Skype dating period I realized that I wanted to meet her face to face and that is when I started to plan my trip. So, in total we communicated for almost 5 months via approximately 40 lengthy letters and about 12 Skype dates before going to Kharkov to meet her.
Would you recommend men to communicate with the ladies before meeting them in person and why?
Yes, I would!. There are several different business models and many of the agencies promote group dating visits where men go in large groups to visit several cities over a week and meet hundreds of women. It is literally impossible to get any sort of a connection with any one lady this way. Lettering the ladies first makes much more sense (for me at least) as you will be able to at least get to know several of them and from that you will be able to build some sort of connection. By the time you go to Kharkov you will have a pretty good idea of the characters of the ladies you communicated with and meeting them will just be the last aspect that will help you to make a proper decision regarding one of the ladies.
What were your expectations of Ukraine when you were going there and what was Kharkov like when you came?
I can honestly say that I was so pleasantly surprised by Ukraine and Kharkov as a city. I went there in the middle of winter with snow everywhere. Please do not let the aspect of winter put you down. Kharkov is a beautiful city. They say that Paris or Venice are the cities of love, I beg to differ. I have visited both those cities and believe me Kharkov is equally spectacular with many large parks that are beautifully maintained and lit up at night for romantic walks in the evenings. The city is very safe and the night life culture is vibrant and fantastic with restaurants and coffee shops dotted all over the city. There are 21 Museums in the city ( yes 21, of which two are fantastic Art museums if that is your thing.). The city is designed for outside living and that is why there are so many fantastic parks to go and walk through and visit. There is also a large zoo, a dolphinarium, a permanent circus and fantastic theatre where my lady and I went to see a brilliant ballet. The point is that there are so many activities you can do together with your lady..
What was your first meeting with your lady like?
Wow, now that was a spectacular moment in my life. We met the morning at the Mordinsons offices and we immediately went out for coffee at a nearby restaurant. The fact that we had written so many letters before and had so many previous skype dates made it so easy to feel comfortable with each other. We just clicked immediately and quickly established a strong connection. With it being in the middle of winter my lady immediately showed her caring and nurturing side and took me shopping in order to get a proper scarf and gloves as it was -12 degrees centigrade. She was so thoughtful and took me to many different shops to get the best deal possible always playing the role of an interpreter at each of the shops.
What was your stay in Kharkov like? Did you like the city and did you feel safe? What are the Ukrainian people like?
As mentioned previously Kharkov is a beautiful city and kept clean and neat. People are very helpful, even if they are not able to speak English. They will literally take you by the hand to help you if you have a problem. The city is extremely safe and you see many young people walking in the city late at night. The subway is very well run and on time and a very efficient way to travel long distances across the city. The people are friendly but not in the way you might think. For western people friendly means smiling and greeting each other while walking in the city. Ukrainians are more reserved and you will not see anyone smiling back at you when you try to extend the favor , however to them friendliness means being very helpful when you have a problem. So, when you are in Kharkov and you have a problem and you go and ask someone to help, they will go out of their way to try and help.
What would be your advice to all the single men who are thinking about looking for a wife in Ukraine?
Do not wait a single minute longer, there are beautiful, kind, soft-hearted ladies just yearning to meet a decent and kind man. Do your homework about the endeavor and be well prepared. Do not think it is easy, because it will take time, money and a lot of dedication!! Be prepared to travel to meet the ladies. If you are not prepared to do this, then do not even consider this as a possible route to find that special person. Read as much about the culture as possible. Try to learn a little Russian, it will take you a long way and will impress your lady.
The outcome will be well worth your time and effort !!!!!
