shushuweiwei

That's an amazingly generous offer on the part of Rob & Jin. Just wanted to acknowledge it.

Congrats Lili. My fiance just got hers as well. 1/22. Now a whole another set of worries: 1) Her interview time is around 7AM. Is it typical to have interviews that early? 2) 1/22 is a Thursday right before Chinese New Year (which is Monday the week after). Should I be worried about the visa pick up process due to the holiday? Thanks! Jon Hi guys, We go 1/21/2009 and I've been stressing about the holiday as well. I asked my SO to call the China Post there and see if they will be open 24th. The consulate doesn't re-open until the 29th. So I'm thinking if we don't get it (assuming all goes well) by the 23rd we could have big trouble. I hope the consulate realizes the holiday is coming and gets them all out by the 23rd. If China Post isn't open the 24th then we can't stay until 29th or 30th so I think we'll head back to Yingkou early on the 24th (or late on the 23rd). I think I'll need to look into having someone else pick up if it isn't there by then. I'd like to fly home 2/1/2009, but I'm trying to be flexible in case it takes an extra week. What are you guys planning? Joe

My fiancee is winding down in Yingkou but her sister still has her studio in Beijing. If you want to ask them, PM me and I'll pass it along. Joe

Hey, I recognize that family name from my "you're a member of the family now" commemorative kuai zi. Just between you and I...aren't Yang girls the best? I can make her laugh for hours just by repeating my rendition of "how Americans will say your family name." I want her to get it out of her system before someone at the POE says it and she does a spit take in their face.

Is the consulate really unaware that so many Chinese take "wedding photos" when they get engaged?

You know, the really smart thing to do would be to create a reverse scam, targeting those scammers in Nigeria. What would they do about it? There is a website of guys who scam the scammers. It might be 419.com. They get them to send them money and pose for crazy pictures with signs. It's entertaining. Addendum: it's www.419eater.com. There are even tips on scambaiting and if you get a good one you can put it up there.

have fun you two! Find a little time to let us know how it's going! Hundreds of lonely CFLers are waiting to hear some talk of being together.

Congratulations to you guys! I just wanted to point out that we have many members with true relationships who did not prevail in the visa process. In our excitement we can forget those good people but I think it is good to take a moment to remember that true relationships don't always follow the mythical "can't fail" slogan. Many, like tsappy, have prevailed despite the visa process and remind us that prevailing doesn't always have the same face. I'm so happy for everyone who has prevailed, but for those still in the process it is good to know that if USCIS/DOS prevails over you in this process it doesn't mean your relationship was not true. If there is one thing that CFL shows clearly it is that true relationships sometimes prevail in this crazy process. I know that no harm was intended in this statement and the slight was unintentional but it's just my personal opinion that the diverse experience of CFLers should be honored, even in our ecstacy over a positive outcome. If my Weiwei gets pink you'll all be able to check on whether I practice what I preach!

BTW, I believe that all prescription meds are supposed to be in original containers showing your name and date of prescription. I think OTC meds are supposed to be in original packaging. Unidentified pills may be confiscated and discarded. So I wouldn't fill your pill case until after arrival. If you are selected for special screening at the airport they may chuck them. It probably doesn't happen often but I'm sure you'd be unhappy if it did.

I hope not, Dylan is OCPD , if that suitcase is his uummmm some one is going to be very upset with him OOPPPsss, sorry meant " OKCPD" OCPD = Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder. Maybe a little Freudian slip about Dylan! I think a lot of us here are OCPD.

Congratulations and thanks for the details. That is very helpful to us!

As of 8 PM you've made it from Portsmouth NH to Londendery, NH! You are on your way!

This is a thread that has been debated before, and I would say the best airline depends on where in the US you are flying from and where in China you want to go. So there is no one single answer here. Just do your research on the internet and find the best deal based upon these two factors. I am in Florida and I fly to Beijing, the only real option for me is Continential to Newerk and then to Beijing. I did this in May and the flight was not only ontime but a little early, the service was very good, and I will do it again in November. Richard I agree with Richard both that it's been debated before (so much that maybe one could say we mass-debated ) and that it depends where you start. I go Continental from Newark. Sometimes a long line to check in but once you get to Elite status you can check in with first class in no time at all. Planes are good and clean. Food is good, but I get vegetarian meals so I haven't sampled the regular fair. Always been ontime. Entertainment system is good including good Chinese movies. (Beijing Bicycle was interesting. Richard and I took this flight a few days apart, I believe, back in May. He probably caught Beijing Bicycle as well. ) One trip a lady passed out as she walked by my seat and they discovered I was a doctor, which got me plenty of work the rest of the flight. The flight attendents were very kind, gave me a bottle of champagne, which I gave to the hotel staff, and one asked where I'd be staying and if I needed help exploring China. Ha! If I was going single I'd never get an offer like that! Continental put 25,000 miles in my account later and I thought that was nice. They could have left it at the champagne. I've been very pleased with Continental's flights. Never flew United outside the country but they stranded me in Chicago the night before my son's wedding. Wouldn't give me my luggage. I had to take a bus to the wedding site then wait at that airport the next day for my luggage, which arrived just in time for me to change and get to the wedding. Never again!

I got the left over melting dry ice, because I was told no refrigerators. Maybe I am just not first class, and so I am not important. Be careful , dry ice will freeze your meds. Wet ice is better. This is true, that's why my little cooler pack has frozen ice, surrounding a glass tube, which is wrapped in a cloth to keep them at the right temperature, without freezing. I use this... http://www.polarbearcoolers.com/mm5/graphics/00000001/PB06M.jpg Its a Polar Bear Med Cooler... and it works well, however now I take double the shots, so I might need to upgrade to this one... http://www.polarbearcoolers.com/mm5/graphics/00000001/PB12M.jpg Dylan, Your docs script can be filled in any state, as long as he was in the state where he's licensed when he wrote it. I'm not sure what route you take that takes so long but if you really have a hard time keeping it cold, you could find a pharmacy near the last US airport and schedule a layover long enough to run out and get your meds and some ice. At least it would cut those hours off the time to keep cold. Or maybe a small electric cooler like these could be plugged in onboard the flight?

You know, to a doctor GC refers to gonorrhea. You guys had me very worried about Randy. I'm happy you got a card and not a drip.

Glad that the PPD was negative. MMR and Chicken pox are good to have even if not required. We're trying to get everyone in the US who needs to get a tetanus booster to get a tDaP, like Adacel, because pertussis or whooping cough is making a comeback. If they have that, I'd go for that. Joe

Good luck!

I think that learning tongue positions, especially for the tongue blade sounds, is far superior to the various descriptions of Chines phonetics in various courses. You know the ones that say that you make this sound like a French "J" with just a hint of "ch" and ending with the sound of a horse passing gas on a rainy day. This link helped me a lot with pronunciation and I think that helps me be understood even when I'm just repeating a phrase I've learned by rote memorization. http://www.sinosplice.com/lang/pronunciation/03/

I guess the answer then is for both of you to only communicate in Japanese? Or, did I misread Erika's post? No, if I recall correctly their handling of misunderstandings it has something to do with puttin' the missus under wherever you're standing.

Yes, I'd read this before and I was surprised at how ugly some of the commenters thought she was when they found her. When I read it I looked around a bit about this concept of "human flesh search engines" and particularly this group of men in China who collaborate over the internet and find people (girls) from random pictures like this. It is almost like an online game and they follow leads obsessively until someone finds them. If you meet a girl and don't get her number you can give info you do have to these guys and they'll find her. A little scary. Anyway, that was the interesting part to me.

Sorry Gomdad. I hope you can work it out and be together. Joe

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good luck. Choosing "wisdom" for her English name is a good start. I hope it (along with all your hard work) carries you guys through to the pink zone. Joe

I hope you guys are rolling in the pink! Let us know!

I absolutely agree that we all see our own personalized version of China and all of us have seen negative things in China. The OP seems least aware of the point you're making and seems to feel that this brief experience allows him to summarize China "in a nutshell" AND for people who for the most part have spent more time in China than he has. He's also chosen to sum up the people of China in some very disrespectful terms. IMHO, the majority of members are 1) aware that what they are seeing isn't "China" and can't be generalized 2) able to present the negatives of our trips in a way that is respectful to our loved ones and their culture I personally don't think anyone is slapping at anyone for relating their experience in China. If you ignore the tone of disrespect and arrogance and the overgeneralization then it is someone relating things that we've all seen to one extent or another. The problem with, "if you can't say anything nice don't say anything", is that it often includes what we Buddhist's would call "idiot compassion" and it often doesn't serve the best interest of the greater good. The OP was pretty flippant about summarizing the backward, dirty country he visited. He pretty strongly pre-defended his right say whatever he wanted to say, however he wanted to say it and express his opinion strongly and disrespectfully. I can't see why he'd deny anyone else that right or why anyone would step in to stop people from returning the karma. After all, didn't your mama also say, what comes around, goes around"? I would vote for moving the thread to TC and allowing the wheel of karma to turn.