The Romance Tour That Made Me Meet & Marry the Love of My Life

    • The Romance Tour That Made Me Meet & Marry the Love of My Life

      Have you ever had an experience so literally life-changing that you wonder if it was the work of fate itself? I met my wife Olga in Ukraine when I tried one of those fancy romance tours, where you meet hundreds of women (15-20-1 ratio) during “Socials.”
      Before I met my wife, I was an occasional globetrotting guy as I was interested in traveling and other cultures, but I’ve been thinking lately that going solo is getting too lonely. To give some background, I am a white middle-aged male from Philly. I’ve been to many parts of the world including a handful of countries in Europe, some in Asia, but I’ve never actually been to Russia or Ukraine.
      Since I’m an adventurous guy ready for anything, I tried traveling by going to the highly advertised “Romance Tours.” from a company called AFA, or A Foreign Affair. I was hesitant at first, because what if it was a covert operation for human trafficking? But the more I browsed their website, (for the curious, link is here) the more I found out that AFA Romance tours have been a thing for a long while so I gave it a go and chose Kiev for my first tour.
      I’ll keep this brief, but basically, after a few months of preparation I was all set, booked and packed to go to Ukraine to meet as many women as I can. Going on this tour had me a few thousand dollars poorer but let me tell you that it was so worth it.
      Tales of the beauty of Ukrainian women are not an exaggeration. There were a lot of them: blonde, brunette, red heads and what not. Even at varying ages, the women of Ukraine are almost on another plane of existence. It was like going to a modeling agency, except that they aren’t as unattainable. The best part is, I get to be introduced to all of them. I was nervous at first since I don’t speak a lick of Ukrainian, but I found out that there were plenty of translators on hand, so I could to talk with as many of them as I want.
      When I saw my wife at first, there wasn’t a dramatic shaft of light from the heavens. In fact, she was the only woman who I wasn’t nervous to talk to. She had this grace and easy smile which I think put me at ease. There were other more beautiful or sexier women but when I first saw her, I just knew that I had to talk to her.
      There were a few technical difficulties as she can only speak a bit of English which I found cute (she’s a little fluent now and I admire her that. I’m also learning her mother tongue ... Привіт!). A few drinks later and a very haggard translator, I learned that she was 26, well-educated, and an ophthalmologist at a local clinic in Kiev. Even though, we couldn’t speak directly with each other, we knew we had a connection. I just couldn’t stop staring at her.
      After the socials, I asked for her personal details and we just started from there. I went to the States after the tour ended. While back in the USA, my correspondence with Olga went on for more than a year. I desperately wanted to see her, so I arranged for another trip to the Ukraine and this time on my own just to see her.
      I planned to stay for more than a week so I could spend time with her. By that time, we were able to communicate on our own so we didn’t need a translator. I’m not a sentimental guy and I rarely use the word “magical” but that was what it was. Spending time with her over dinner, coffee or breakfast, was enough to evoke that feeling. That was when I knew that I want to spend the rest of my life like that. I proposed not long after. It’s been 8 years since then.
      To all the guys who think that there is nobody for them, I highly recommend booking a AFA romance tour. It might change your life like it did mine. I never really got to thank the AFA guys for arranging my trip. I owe them a lot!