grumpy

This page contradicts that (I have no idea which is correct - we will soon see).

I would have guessed Aya and Louis as the first failure (never tried to look them up, but they didn't participate in the follow-up show, and something never really felt right with them to me). I saw some red flags with Aziza (tried to come to the U.S. before, Mike didn't meet her parents during his trip to Russia to meet her), but last I heard she was trying to get pregnant, ash things seemed to be going well for them. We do disagree then. :) I never saw any indication that she wanted (before she met him) to leave Colombia, and she always (before "Happily Ever After?") seemed extremely into him. I am going to posit that his unemployment is putting a lot of stress on the relationship (and that the producers are manipulating things to make it appear that more ready to leav than she really is). I could be wrong of course, but I will stick with that until stronger evidence to the contrary appears.

Sam did say (at the reunion show) "It was painful to watch myself on television. I was such a bitch." No guarantee she has changed, but at least she is not oblivious to her problems (I can't say the same about Derek).

I would add Kirlyam and Alan, as well as Amy and Danny to that (short) list (and Paola and Russ). Certainly none this season, though. As someone said above, the common thread is having met in the real world first. I am sure some people get tired of the cameras (or don't like the "story" the producers told about them). In some cases, the financial incentive is probably meaningful (like with Russ being out of work). I usually assume that if a couple doesn't participate in a "where are they now" episode (Aya and Louis) that there is a problem, but that is not always the case. Evelin is always tweeting about how much she loves Justin. When both go from mentioning each other all the time to nothing for six months, some sort of difficulty with the relationship seems more likely (not guaranteed, but that's what I would put my money on). I think that most of the people who go on these shows once (especially those who are persuing a career in the entertainment industry) want the publicity, and are willing to sign up again and again.

When was the last time you were there - the 1970s? I am taking huge exception to this (having made several trips to Russia over more than a decade). The shocking thing each time I arrive is how much things have changed since my previous trip (I am talking about a city out in the regions - not Moscow, by the way). There has been a huge amount of money invested in Russia (both from local and international entities) this century, especially during the commodities boom, and most of the results are easily seen. One trip - airport from the 1950s, plane parks on the tarmac, passengers are bussed to an ancient terminal (lots of fun when the temperature is forty below). Next trip - brand new terminal with jetways, completely up to first world standards. Every trip, there are new shopping malls (even ten years ago, they had IKEAs, and one mall had the largest supermarket I have ever seen anywhere - it had seventy-two checkout lanes, and the selection was amazing), car dealers (Lexus, Mercedes, and Range Rover, of course), and apartment complexes. All of the new construction is up to western standards. An ever increasing percentage of the population would be classified as "middle class." Having said that, this is stil a lot of old infrastructure, particularly in rural areas (and poverty is a worse problem outside of major cities, as well), but most of Russia today is simply not as you describe it. Moscow is ridiculously expensive (and much more unfriendly than the rest of the country in my opinion), and large apartments are rare there (think Manhattan) unless one has a LOT of money (and even if Anfisa is really older than twenty, I don't think she has been around long enough to gather that kind of sum in from foolish males).

I am wondering if you saw season one, which I thought did a good job with those, and included (mostly) couples to root for. It was all downhill after that. This is another example of Grumpy's Law ("any good idea is eventually ruined"). Invitation letters (unless they come from Congressmen or Senators) basically hold no sway (which the State Department even admits): "If you do choose to bring a letter of invitation or Affidavit of Support to your interview, please remember that it is not one of the factors that we use in determining whether to issue or deny a nonimmigrant tourist visa."

She probably knows she can't get a visa. The United States assumes that everyone who comes to visit wants to stay (especially those from countries where many of the people there want to leave - like Ukraine) - it is up to the visa applicant to prove otherwise. Recall that Aziza's parents were denied visas to attend her wedding in season one. I don't know Alla's sister's circumstances (but I do know the procedures for issuing tourist visas), and it (seriously) may be that the only way that she could get a visa is if she has a young child whom she leaves behind in Ukraine while attending the wedding (the child would presumably be enough encouragement for Alla's sister to return to Ukraine at the expiration of her visa).

Given the premise of the show, conflict is bound to ensue. The producers shouldn't need to create additional drama beyond that (but they do). I agree the experts have a poor track record, but I don't believe that is intentional ("never ascribe to malice what can be explained by incompetence"). No one has pointed out that Sonia drove away at the end of the episode in a late model Lexus. That seems like an odd vehicle for her given her modest income. Do the producers provide cars for them during filming, as well (or could that be one reason Sonia has a high level of debt)?

Glad you are not my travel agent. :) Should be less than twelve hours (still a long journey, and that doesn't count TPA-MIA tacked on the front). 8:20 MIA-MAD (AA 68 departing at 2000) 1:25 layover in MAD 2:05 MAD-RAK (IB 3340 departing at 1145)

IF I remember, they moved from Tulsa to Oklahoma City (away from his family) when he changed jobs right before his wedding. Not correct. There was a follow up show right before the premiere of season 2 (aired 20141019), where she convinced him to let her go back to Colombia for two months ("I will make it up to you. You know how that works."). Don't know whatever happened to her shoe company, though. As someone who has had multiple periods of being out of work for a VERY long time (once right after grad school, and the others due to company reorganizations / shutdowns), I have a lot of sympathy for Russ, and am not going to offer any advice based on what little was revealed in the episode that aired Sunday. Some other comments: The energy industry is quite depressed at the moment. I don't know if his expertise and experience is in exploration or production (and fracking would not require the same skills as offshore drilling), but the number of operating rigs in the United States has fallen from over 1600 two years ago to 414 last week. That is a lot of layoffs. I am going to assume that he is more capable than I am of evaluating his situation as far as the costs and benefits of relocating or changing careers. There aren't that many oil companies, although his pool of employers is probably larger than if he were say, an aeronautical engineer (especially one with very specific experience). It is far from clear to me that getting some unrelated job is a net benefit. Potential employers don't like to see deviations from a "career path" (although there is a tradeoff - employers also don't like to see long periods of unemployment either, although they will understand that it takes a long time to find a job in the current environment). I have absolutely know idea how realistic or effective his job search is, how hard he is working at it, or if he is just taking it easy. Perhaps more will be revealed in future episodes. As I recall, he had to change jobs to get his wedding day off. As I side comment, I really enjoyed earlier seasons (especially the first). There were enough challenges and interesting occurrences without all of the participants being train wrecks, as in the current season.