Question for those with experience

[KenB]

I am new to this board although I have read other boards (mainly Russian) for about two years. Likewise I know about the scams etc. that one might encounter. Even so I feel that I am starting at square one for I do not know what direction to go in this endeavor. Which agencies are honest which to avoid etc. My main interest is Chinese and Japanese women. I would appreciate any assistance by members here. I have tried first looking through the archives typing in honest agencies etc. but to no avail. Thanks in advance for your help.  KenB

[KenB]

... in response to Question for those with experience, posted by KenB on Jan 16, 2002

Thanks for your informative responses. I guess I have my work cut out for me. At least I have some direction now. I appreciate all your time and consideration. Thanks again.  KenB

[Jeff S]

... in response to Question for those with experience, posted by KenB on Jan 16, 2002

I think you'll find far fewer scam agencies dealing with Asian women than you will in the FSU. Most of the Asian agencies simply sell addresses, and many are free. Few require you to communicate through them and I've almost never heard of a tour discussed on this board, though I know they exist. Most on this board are laid back, friendly people looking for love or helping others after they've found it.

You hear very few horror stories an this Asian board as compared to the Russian board, also. Sure, there are some marriages and engagements that don't work out, but it seems more a case of individual immaturity, failed expectations, and the usual human failings associated with individuals rather than out and out fraud that seems to be a constant topic of discussian with Eastern European and FSU women. Anyway, archive 0052 is a good one to read about some of the problems you might encounter bringing over an Asian wife.

We did a survey recently and about 1/2 of the couples on this board were introduced by friends, with about 25% by accidental meetings while one person was traveling and the remaining 25% via purchased addresses, chat rooms, etc.

Most of the people on this board are searching in the Philippines, primarily because of religion (most Filipinos are Catholic) and language (all Filipinos are taught English in school and most speak it pretty  fluently.) On my Asian Sweetie web site, though, there are sweeties from five different countries in Asia: The Philippines, Japan, China, Thailand, and Viet Nam. If you are comfortable with a non-Christian, and are willing to deal with a big language barrier (Asian languages are vastly different than European ones) there are some wonderful women in China and Japan. I could spend hours talking about what it's like having a Japanese wife, but hey, mine's pretty special!

Good luck in your search!

- Jeff S.

http://www.geocities.com/jeffsatpl/index.html

[Bob S.]

... in response to Question for those with experience, posted by KenB on Jan 16, 2002

Some of the oldest introduction agencies dealing with the Far East are Sunshine Girls (http://sunshine-girls.com/) and Cherry Blossoms (http://www.cherry-blossoms.com/).  Remember that ethnic Chinese girls can be found all over South East China including Indonesia and Thailand.  Some that focus particularly on Japanese women are Elite (http://www.netjaya.co.jp/elite/elite1/index.html) and TransPacific (http://www.marriage-agency.net/) that also features Russian girls.  But if you just want to try some penpal friendships to get your feet wet, you could look into Tokyo Friends at http://Tokyofriends.com/.

Choosing a country to focus on is up to your own comfort level and personal preferences.

China is a land of contrasts.  Hong Kong is an industrialized modern financial center with a per capita income to rival the U.S.  But there are villages in China's central Asian provinces that still do not know indoor plumbing.  Japan has been modern and industrialized for many generations, even before the war that smashed up much of their country.  Even in far northern Hokkaido villages, young girls wear the latest fashion trends and sport cell phones.  And the economy of Japan, despite a decade of recession, is still second only to the United States.

As far as learning the different languages, the phonetics of Japanese are fairly easy compared to the various intonations of Chinese dialects, but I heard that the grammar structure of Mandarin and Cantonese is much more similar to Western tongues.

Learning about the cultural differences here is also important.  "Japanese Language, Culture…" at http://www2b.biglobe.ne.jp/~shohei/index.htm is a good primer for introduction to the dynamics of Japanese interpersonal relations.  It is critical that you begin to understand the "uchi" (home) vs. "soto" (outside) concept as it applies to relationships in Japan.  You will find some good articles on this subject in Japan File (http://www.japanfile.com/).  See also My Nippon (http://www.mynippon.com/romance/romancehome.htm) for additional info on the difficulties and benefits of forming close personal friendships in Japan.  Tim (whose trip report to Hong Kong used to be in the travel tales section) can probably provide some good resources for understanding Chinese culture and interpersonal relationships.  Those who remember Wayan Vota might recall that he too eventually left Russia and married a gal from mainland China (http://www.wayan.net/).

And you can start getting the lowdown on Far East current events by checking out the regional English dailies such as The Japan Times (http://www.japantimes.co.jp/) and the South China Morning Post (http://www.scmp.com/).

Hopefully that's enough to keep you busy reading a while as you decide if the Far East is the direction you truly want to go in your search.

[Jeff S]

... in response to A Primer for those interested in China a..., posted by Bob S. on Jan 16, 2002

Informative, well researched, and annotated with plenty of reference material. Sugoii!!!
-- Jeff S.

[Bob S.]

... in response to You can sure tell Bob's an engineer!, posted by Jeff S on Jan 17, 2002

My geek training is showing?  Ooops.

I didn't bother to include some of the more colorful links I stumbled across during my surfing (Roppongi soaplands now have their own websites? Yeesh!) since this is a "family" channel. 8-)

[Stephen]

... in response to Question for those with experience, posted by KenB on Jan 16, 2002

For Chinese ladies......

There is a guy that come here regularly named TIM.  He is married to a chinese lady and has a board about relationships with chinese ladies.

So I'd recommend that you get his website address and check it out.  I believe it's a Yahoo site.

Some one else can perhaps fill in the gaps I've missed here.

Stephen

[MarkUSA]

... in response to Question for those with experience, posted by KenB on Jan 16, 2002

Hey KenB

This is a good free place to start and correspond with anylady from anywhere in the world and its pretty active also ...
and the girls all have email accounts so that is a plus..
Only down side is the amount of men that answer the girls profile...
So you will need to be creative in your response ..
Ok here it is
http://www.matchdoctor.com
know I am not promoting either ...

Ok I hope this helps..

watch your back

MArkUSA