interview

[akdiver 3]

So, if you live in Moscow, or nearby you are allowed to pick it up at the embassy? Would be nice not to be ripped of by DHL, I am not a big fan of DHL in general, but that is a long story...Best of luck at the interview

No. You still have to pay DHL, but you can have them hold it at the DHL station for pickup, right there. Helps you get your package a lot faster, avoid having it lost somewhere, etc. etc. My wife did this. It was available for pickup either the day after the interview, or the day after that, I don't remember. 1-2 days after interview. It worked out great.

Honestly though - man, you have so many expenses ahead of you, you just have no idea. You definitely should not be sweeting the $35 (or whatever) DHL fee. Just pay the money and go your merry way.

Cheers!

AKDiver

[russ 1]

Even with a reasonable corp discount, fedex rips me off far worse than that here.

Honestly though - man, you have so many expenses ahead of you, you just have no idea. You definitely should not be sweeting the $35 (or whatever) DHL fee. Just pay the money and go your merry way.

Cheers!

AKDiver

[Milenka 0]

So, if you live in Moscow, or nearby you are allowed to pick it up at the embassy? Would be nice not to be ripped of by DHL, I am not a big fan of DHL in general, but that is a long story...Best of luck at the interview

No. You still have to pay DHL, but you can have them hold it at the DHL station for pickup, right there. Helps you get your package a lot faster, avoid having it lost somewhere, etc. etc. My wife did this. It was available for pickup either the day after the interview, or the day after that, I don't remember. 1-2 days after interview. It worked out great.

Honestly though - man, you have so many expenses ahead of you, you just have no idea. You definitely should not be sweeting the $35 (or whatever) DHL fee. Just pay the money and go your merry way.

Cheers!

AKDiver

Who's sweating? Just figured the embassy is in Moscow, Sergey works in Moscow, why not at least ask if we could avoid DHL anyway I think we will have them hold it at the DHL office, wouldn't want to risk having it get lost, so thanks for the advice. My Dad sent me a package from the US to Poland using his corporate account, and they made me pay $100 to pick it up (to DHL) for that, plus fill out a form to and write every item that was in the package and fax it to them, it was just clothes and my books from home...a similar package sent via USPS and I didn't pay anything...that was the first and last time I used DHL...

Edited May 15, 2007 by Milenka

[akdiver 3]

The thing about DHL is that their tracking system completely sucks. I have had stuff delivered already and their tracking system shows the package as being in some god-forsaken place. Not just an isolated incident either. I don't think I have ever sent something DHL and had it be where the tracking system said it was. As far as I am concerned, their tracking system is completely unreliable. UPS isn't much better. If you really want to track where something is, FedEx is the only way to go.

I'd never send anything through DHL if I had the chance to send it FedEx.

Cheers!

AKDiver

[ronnielee67 2]

The thing about DHL is that their tracking system completely sucks. I have had stuff delivered already and their tracking system shows the package as being in some god-forsaken place. Not just an isolated incident either. I don't think I have ever sent something DHL and had it be where the tracking system said it was. As far as I am concerned, their tracking system is completely unreliable. UPS isn't much better. If you really want to track where something is, FedEx is the only way to go.

I'd never send anything through DHL if I had the chance to send it FedEx.

Cheers!

AKDiver

Ok, has anyone went straight to an airline and made a deal with them. Is that possible? For example, I called Orbitz for a quote because I got a great deal from them on my trip to moscow in September. Well, they don't support flights originating in moscow. They told me to get a deal with an airline. How do I do that? Just start calling?

[slim 1,523]

Ok, has anyone went straight to an airline and made a deal with them. Is that possible? For example, I called Orbitz for a quote because I got a great deal from them on my trip to moscow in September. Well, they don't support flights originating in moscow. They told me to get a deal with an airline. How do I do that? Just start calling?

There is a way to use airlines for shipping purposes. You can usually access their fees on their websites, or if you Google something like "parcel shipping airlines" you should get several options. As far as starting in Moscow, you'd probably be better off calling the carrier that's bringing you (her) to the final destination and having them do the work for you.

I find that a "SkyMiles" or other frequent-flyer membership number really helps in situations like this. Just call up Delta (or another carrier) and say you want to ship a parcel containing household goods and personal items weighing 70 pounds from Moscow to Atlanta, and they'll be able to look it up for you and tell you how to do it.

Remember, there's really not a whole lot that needs to be taken to another country, even to move there. Just about everything available in Russia is available here, and for the money it would cost to ship it, you can usually purchase new here. There are several "Russian" things that are hard to find here in the U.S., things like a "pilminitsa", and those are things she might want to bring with her. But other (heavy) stuff, like books, cosmetic cremes, etc., may be more cost-effective to re-acquire here.

[ronnielee67 2]

I met her in jan. 06, applied for my passport in June, met her in moscow in September, sent the packet in November, and now i'm sitting here waiting for her to e mail me the verdict from the interview. It is at 8 a.m. Moscow time. Less than 2 hours from now. It's going to be a long night. Ok, she is suppose to be there at 8. Does that mean her interview is at 8, or that she may wait in line 3,4,5 or God knows how many hours before her interview?

[akdiver 3]

I met her in jan. 06, applied for my passport in June, met her in moscow in September, sent the packet in November, and now i'm sitting here waiting for her to e mail me the verdict from the interview. It is at 8 a.m. Moscow time. Less than 2 hours from now. It's going to be a long night. Ok, she is suppose to be there at 8. Does that mean her interview is at 8, or that she may wait in line 3,4,5 or God knows how many hours before her interview?

She could be sitting there waiting a long time. Maybe even until noon. If memory serves me correctly, my sweetie finished her interview around 1030am or so (Moscow time).

Cheers!

AKDiver

[Nancy2015 2]

"pilminitsa"

What's that? I don't think I have it!

[ronnielee67 2]

4:25 a.m. Approval. Thanks to all for your kindness.

God bless,

Ronnie and Ilyana

[JamesT 12]

Congratulations Ronnie and Ilyana! Hopefully everything will go just as smoothly for my fiancee on Monday!

[slim 1,523]

Congrats ronnie!!! I look forward to more about the interview/questions etc., when you get the info and a chance to write. Great news, and good luck on the rest of your VJ!!!

A "pilminitsa" is a kitchen contraption used to quickly make several pilminy without having to "assemble" them by hand. Ours is a big circular plastic thing with 35 little holes in it. We cover it with dough, then fill "farsh" into the little holes, and place another layer of dough over it. Then, we push the little "pilminy" through the holes and they're ready to go, without having to shape them individually. Ours was, like most other things, made in China!