^^ If you take your average knock about aussie bloke - invested in his guns, bit of a cruisy attitude, likes a bit of banter, dresses for comfort, talks about Australia all the time, insists on paying for the drinks, occasional displays of pragmatism, doesn't like singing, can't decide whether Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi was the GOAT... you've constructed the archetype male that "Slavic chicks" find hideously unattractive. Different words for t in different Slavic languages. In these parts it's Buran (equiv of bogan) or Franta Omacka (equiv of joe blogs - a dag).

Yeah the Russian girls are very well read and respect culture.

They know full well that A New Hope is the original and best.

I guess you're right in general, though you make their reasoning sound much more intellectual and less shallow than it really is. In the main, they seem to like a macho man who exudes strength and dresses fashionably. In the West, there's a bit more latitude to be slightly daggy in style or a bit of a prissy mama's boy. You can still do well as long as you appear smart or make them laugh. It's just so much more easy going. I prefer it this way. In Eastern Europe, it seems to take much more effort to get anywhere. 

Of course, these are all horribly sexist generalizations, but fuck it, they fit my experiences pretty well. I lived in the Balkans a couple of years ago and struggled even to get one-night stands. I was getting friend-zoned everywhere. It was frustrating.

BTW, I deleted my original post when I realised that buggalugs was talking about Russian prison sex in the post I quoted lol. That was kinda embarrassing.

You had me worried for a minute there lol

Talk about Cross threading !

Yeah, I thought I'd voice an alternative viewpoint on the leadership in Chechnya. Sorry for that, Pala. I know perfectly well that you're appalled by those actions listed. And that you were simply pointing out that most of the people fans will encounter in Russia are just fine and that Russia's a great place to visit (particularly during a World Cup).

The Russians I've known have been very warm and friendly people.

Eastern Europeans (like all people) will vary in terms of their preferences. Some Eastern European girls will like one thing, others will like another thing.

But if you're looking for trends, I don't think what you're describing is all that accurate. I haven't an awful lot of experience with Eastern European girls (and haven't lived in the Balkans). But what I have noticed, and what I've found from friends who are Eastern European or who know lots of Eastern Europeans... it's the opposite of what you describe. Obviously beauty and fashion are subjective, but plenty of the blokes with stunning Eastern European girlfriends are not, imo, particularly good looking blokes. And I don't think they dress well, at all.

Having said that, plenty of Eastern European girls will be shy about speaking English. This doesn't need to be a problem if you know how to handle it. But if you're not used to hanging out with people and having language barriers (or are rusty with it, as I am now) then it can be tricky. It doesn't need to be if you can find ways to communicate and laugh about. But people do battle with it. And plenty of Eastern European girls will be fed up with bogan tourists.

Plus if you're in a dry spell (or a dry spell with the girls you really want to get with). And you're noticing hot girls getting with other blokes who you might think are stronger, better looking, more interesting, etc., than you. Then it puts you in a bad mood. Gives you a negative mindset and that tends to show in your body language. Basically, makes it worse for you. This I do know from some experience. That's where the friendzone stuff happens. The key to getting out of the dry spell is simply to stop giving a fuck, have fun, maybe get drunk (if you drink) but to be a good bloke who does give a shit about the things that really matter (beyond getting laid, that is). Maybe you just struck out when you were over there and it put you in a bad mood.

For those who think they're going to get laid with a "slavic chick"

You only have an "accent" to other native English speakers. They think you sound British. They don't give a shit. Their interest in your being British or American is so they can mentally prepare themselves for interpreting consonant constructions, syllabic stress and glottal stops.

Your "accent" isn't fun, it's fucking annoying. Accent/syllable stress is central to Slavic language grammar. That "accent" makes you hard to understand. And finally, Slavic languages can't ration or minimise syllables and consonant reproduction. If you're Stray'n then they're concerned that you are straying and wonder what is wrong with your life in England. 

*edit* and while I'm at it. You know how funny it is that Asians can't distinguish between l and r? Aussies can't tell the different between t and d. Seriously. What you think you are hearing is aspiration. 

Haha, while the lack of hook ups in the Balkans was unfortunate, it wasn't a huge deal or anything. I made some great friends I'm still in contact with. Everyone loved me (except this one asshole) and wanted to hang out with me, but I just couldn't convert for shit, my brother. I did pick up a Serbian girl at Sarajevo Film Festival, but when it came time to consumate the night, she went back to her hotel room without me. It was a case of, how do you say in English, blue balls :(...

Anyway, I always found hookups easier here and in Western Europe for whatever reason. 

Actually, my Aussie accent was a source of some delight among my work colleagues and was quite popular all round, though I felt it also differentiated me from everyone else too much, to the point of sometimes feeling like a circus exhibit. So it's both a blessing and a curse. Use with caution would be my advice :).

My corrective pronunciation consultant at uni used to prepare our pronunciation exercises so that we would think we were saying things like "i'm meeting the teacher" and actually saying "i'm pissing on the teacher." To them it was the perks of the job. Many of my pronunciation efforts are the basis of new teachings at the uni. They even put me in a recording studio.

Hahaha, a girl I know from Sweden clocked my accent fast :)

But would you recommend BBC pronunciation when talking to "Slavic" people?

Why so grumpy? Is it really because I said "Slavic chicks"? If so,  I'm sorry. Didn't mean it in a derogatory way. It's just, you know, locker room talk or whatever. 

Yeesh, tough crowd. 

Yep, just gotta not treat it as no big deal. It's not really a drama out of all the things that could fuck up in life. I was going through a dry spell a year and a bit ago (while half my mates were doing brilliantly). Anyhow, randomly met this Russian girl at a beach in Phuket. Cute face, not the best body but she was lovely. Not sure how but ended up macking on with her for fifteen minutes and thinking this is a sure thing. I'm trying to cajole her to come home with me. Nekk minute- saying bye to her and her friend because they've got a flight in 4 hours. All I could do was laugh.

?? Having some bants on my end, who are you "arguing" with?

Use syllables

On the listening side, try not to laugh at their a/u and articles. Total fkn mystery to them. I tried "teaching" that one out of a girl in a coffee shop by saying "imagine 'a' to be more like á". Everyone who wasn't local outed themselves when all their heads snapped in response to her saying "cuuuuuuuuuunt". After that I told her to stick to can not.

It may sound weird, but many ESL speakers around here draw a distinction between American and British English. They know they're the same language, but to a degree they are separate things. They'll demand a British or American teacher for instance. It's because the sounds have to be taught in different ways to approximate it. They can speak with all English speakers but have a preference either way.

Good stuff. I'll try to remember that. I haven't heard so many people from CR, Latvia, etc. But whenever I've heard Russians, so many omit the definite article. Even people like Garry Kasparov. On the other hand, Ksenia Sobchak doesn't appear to do that. And Mascha Gessen speaks English flawlessly, iirc.

Can't go wrong with a crisp upper-class London accent anywhere, but all of the Slavs I've met tend to feel most comfortable with Hollywood American. Australian is definitely interesting-to them though, if only as a novelty. They might even question you about it and urge you to say something typically Aussie (I fucking hated that). I don't know why the other guy insists it's something to be ashamed of. Slavic chicks definitely don't mind Aussie accents! You do have to enunciate though. Ocker strayan will struggle to be understood. 

They're hard to teach because on the issue of articles they think wtf is the point? The indefinite article is slightly easier for them. But from my experience helping C1 level speakers with their written work, given a 50/50 chance of choosing the right one they'll get it wrong 90% of the time.

Also, Russian and other speakers will screw up the verb do/make every time, set your watch to it.

I have the weirdest accent. It does rather funny things. For starters, in terms of my upbringing, it was influenced both by family members with strong Australian accents and also family members with quite neutral Australian accents. And then family members who aren't from Australia. So it has kind of varied naturally in a way (I think that's kind of unusual).

Right now, as I've been in Australia for over a year (and mostly among Aussies) it's fairly strong. But when I get back to Australia after being around people from the UK for ages, my accent becomes rather neutral. In fact, it even gets influenced by weird things. If I'm around people from Scandinavia all day long, it almost become lilt-ish (even when speaking English). But it has dropped that for now. And a Swedish friend of mine (who's in town) was commenting on how 'Aussie' my accent is now compared to over a year ago. But then again, if I'm overseas and it's doing odd stuff, if I'm on the phone to my Dad or somebody, my accent quickly becomes broader Australian. Likewise, if I'm angry or taken by surprise, I think it becomes broader Australian.

Do they not have any version of the definite article?

They don't use any articles. There's nothing really equivalent in the Slavic languages, so it just doesn't come naturally for them. I'm not 100% sure about Russian, but speakers of the ex-Yugoslavian languages struggle equally with both definite and indefinite articles, so they often simply omit them to save themselves the trouble. My parents never mastered the articles even after 25+ years of living here. 

There are no articles but other words are used in ways that simulate the function. For instance you do something similar to an indefinite article in referring to "some" or "such" a thing. In a way an indefinite article can be simulated by positioning the subject here or there. But it's drawing a long bow. We hate articles in English basically because we want to sound like badasses in crime films or tradies that do a surprisingly good job.