Mick

Wow, Steve! That really looks nice. You have done a great job putting everything together. It looks like you have a nice balance of sun and shade. Alas, although we have quite a bit of space (about an acre), there is virtually no shade to be had. Our sub-development is only about seven years old now and used to be a cow pasture.

We have a garden every year as well, plus one around our deck like you have. Last year, Li made the mistake of planting gourds that grew on vines. They climbed up our deck, over the rail and onto the deck itself. What's worse, there were these little bees that loved the flowers. We finally had to uproot them as they literally were taking over the deck. I felt like I was in that old 50s horror flick "The Day of the Triffids." At first, we just tried to keep cutting them back, but they were worse than kudzu. They just kept on comin'. We did have lots of gourds though. I ate so much of the stuff I thought I was gonna turn into a gourd.

I read the interview yesterday, actually, as it was posted on my facebook page feed. Steven certainly comes across better in the interview than in the video.

Congrats on such a special anniversary, Carl. I can surely relate to what you said about rose colored glasses, still finding her beautiful, and being a lucky man - knowing you will always be there for each other. Yesterday was a special day for us - it was Salina's 9th birthday. So this time nine years ago we were also at the beginning of a major transition point in our lives. Best wishes to you and Bing.

Very nice, indeed. Like tsap, I found the dining room wall paper to be a bit psychedelic. I didn't hear Pink Floyd though; instead, I heard In a Gadda Da Vida. What city is this in by the way?

Tsap, I'll wager that Beijing BBQ ain't the same as what you get at Stamie's. It may be cooked on the grill, but it ain't good ol' southern BBQ. Now if'in you want some fine BBQ, come on down this awaze and I'll show you some places that will send yore tastebuds straight to orgasm town. There's a little place over in Lynchburg, TN, about a half-mile from the Jack Daniels distillery that has some mighty fine BBQ. And nestled back in a holler about ten miles from my place, there's an old black guy has a shack with two 55 gallon drums cut in half and welded together, on which he has put grills. He has em filled up with some of the finest hickory this side of the Smokies and folks come from miles around, just to buy BBQ from this ol feller. He's got a couple of filthy old Irish Setters with matted hair and ticks as big as tumors hanging off of em, and the place don't even get a ratin' from the health department, cause like the bootleggers, he is too good for the local economy to shut down.

You raise an excellent point, Dennis. All too often second, third, fourth generation Asians, Latinos, etc., who were born here just like the rest of us, are lumped into the "immigrant" category in folks' minds. As I mentioned in another thread, my first girlfriend, the girl I dated from eighth grade until high school graduation, was Japanese-American, born in Sarasota, Florida. Still, there were folks who would ask "How long have you been in America?" Her parents, God bless them, they were really fine people, were in the camps in WWII. And they, too, were born in America, right out there in Los Angeles, in fact.

Best wishes for success and fulfillment in your new job. I really miss teaching in China. I truly enjoyed my five years over there and although I am back in the States ten years now, I remain in contact with many of my students. I taught Literature, Writing, and Journalism and can honestly say these were some of the most rewarding years of my professional life. I look forward to hearing about your adventures when the new school year begins.

A great take on the entire situation, tsap. I agree with you 110 percent. Very well said.

I watched the documentary beginning to end. I thought it was interesting in some ways, especially how the girl making the film became sort of emeshed in the relationship. I hoped she would have dealt more with the hassles of getting a visa, but that aspect got little mention. Perhaps they had smooth sailing through the process. I also found myself wondering where this guy got all his money. I mean, he flew off to China at the drop of a hat at least three times. Tough to pull off on a cashier's salary I would think. I know his brother has some bucks, as he shelled out 20K on the wedding. I also would have like to have seen more explanation of "losing face" as the wife mentioned it on several occasions, as well as her sense of shame. At one point she said, "I won't be able to hold my head up in front of my friends" and she spoke of friends and co-workers laughing at her. Of course I know it is easy to sit here and be a Monday morning quarterback. Overall, I thought the director did a great job and I enjoyed watching the film.

Fantastic news, Wolfman. Great to hear another old timer doing fine and dandy. Don't be a stranger round here, okay?

Those were some great pics, Carl. I appreciate you posting them for us to see. They have a great guitar show up in Nashville every year and from what I hear you see about as many music celebs a guitars. I have never been because it costs a fortune to get in, but I would love to check it out some time.

Durian chips??? That is pure evil.....

And might I add: this Japanese snack food has nothing to do with the fact that my thingies used to be pink. If you have been around here awhile, you will know why my thingies USED TO BE pink.

Wow! Pink fingers instead of orange. You can just imagine the images running through my mind right about now....

Hot and Sour Fish Soup and Pepsi and Chicken sound just heavenly.

Great news, indeed. Congrats and best wishes for a great life together.

Man, do those names bring back some fond memories. I had the pleasure of meeting a few of those characters as we were living in Guangdong at the time. AZWolfman is back on the board now from time to time, as he is in the visa pipeline again. Kaige lives down in Ft. Myers, Florida and he built a super-sized outdoor grill for his lady as I recall. Eric of Eric and Yuhui was a fixture in the early days. He was a Frenchman with a great sense of humor. Last track I had of him he was down in South Florida. I met the AngryTexan in Guangzhou and Littlebear was a student at the university where Li and I taught. She now lives in California I believe. Robert S. still comes around from time to time here on Candle. We met Robert and his lovely wife Ping Ping on several occasions and she cooked us a fantastic meal that I still think about. Tine and Ella are still around and live in Indiana. Charlotte was a great member and a source of valuable info from a female perspective. Li and Charlotte talked on the phone from time to time. Tony was around from the very beginning and has always been a valuable member. He lives in Boston and I think he works at the airport. Danswayne was living in China if my memory serves me, and was from Tennessee. One other early member not mentioned was Owen Krout, who lived up in northeast China. Owen was my cohort in the infamous meeting with the head of the Visa Unit in Guangzhou in February, 2003, at the height of the Black Hole days. Another guy was JohninDenver, who married his lady at the Denver airport right after she landed. We met her in Guangzhou the day we picked up our visa. And of course there was skibum, who battled a terminal disease with his lady at his side every step of the way. May he rest in peace. Ski was a good, good man. As I think back on those early days, I can't express how valuable Candle was for us. Living in China, we had major difficulty getting any kind of information and if we wanted to contact DOS, we had to stay up at night and call repeatedly, sometimes lucky enough to get through but most times not.

For an old timer like me, this is just incredible to comprehend. I can clearly remember the day, in early 2003, when we celebrated our 200th member. I think I am Number 156 or something like that. I joined in December, 2002, about a month after Candle was founded.

Now also reporting another blast at JFK Library in Boston.......stay tuned. Report Update: As of 5:45 EST, they are saying the JFK incident was a fire, not related to the other bombings.

My experience was similar to the one Dan described. I taught Li for awhile, but after several near-misses and taking into account my weak heart, I opted out of the teaching role. She took a course with a driving instructor and passed her road test on the second try. Like most Chinese, she made a 100 on the written exam.

As I said Mick, it was what I was told. I can't comment further than that. When I wrote that post I tried to be cautious how I said it because I know some of our members taught or teach English in China. I think its good income, and you get to live in an interesting place, but Chinese perspective of foreigners is changing. I agree with what you are saying and what you said. I wasn't taking issue with your view at all. My point was that in the years I was over there, things were most likely different. Change was happening at a rapid pace, even back then, and I can only imagine how fast that change has been since we left ten years ago. It does not surprise me at all that some Chinese would have this view of westerners, especially in the more highly developed, urbanized areas. I suspect you might find less of this viewpoint in the western and southwestern reaches of China, where development has been somewhat slower. Like Randy says, he doesn't hear it where he lives. On the other hand, I have a friend who teaches in Jiangsu, in Changzhou, and he recently described reading this sort of thing in the Chinese social media. In terms of income, it wasn't all that great, compared to what I could have made in the States. I left a good position to go and teach in China. I planned to stay for only a year and, in essence, had a leave of absence from work. I met Li, fell head over heels in love. She didn't want to come to the States, so I resigned my position and ended up staying a little over five years. I imagine all the ex-pat teachers in China have their own personal motives for being there. For me, it was a no brainer. Li was, and is, the finest, most honorable and decent human being I have ever met. Last week we celebrated our 16th Anniversary together. I can also say I don't regret my decision in any way, shape, form or fashion. The years I spent teaching in China, especially the last four years down in Shantou, were the most professionally rewarding of my entire career. I loved my job, my co-workers were great, and my students were a real joy.

During my years in China (1997-2003) I did not experience the "couldn't find work in the U.S." viewpoint. I think that stems from several factors. First, back then, the economy was much better than it is now - those were years before the 2007-08 meltdown. Second, I hold three advanced degrees and the Chinese have a great respect for education. I don't think any of them felt I couldn't find work. Now, things may have changed drastically in the ten years since we left the Middle Kingdom. With the recent wave of "anti-foreigner" sentiment present in the Chinese social media, the "can't find work" sentiment may indeed be a reality in some quarters.

Spectacular scenery, but very difficult terrain to negotiate. I suspect it is even worse in the winter when ice is a factor. My wife Li used to have to walk 45 minutes to get to school, so she can literally tell Salina she had to trudge through the ice and snow to get to school. Truly, the winters in Anhui can be brutal and none of the public buildings have heat. There were mornings when, teaching my eight o'clock class, I had to chip ice off the blackboard or, if it was really covered, use a hair dryer.

Thanks for posting this, Randy. We have been staying as aware as possible regarding this, as Li's family lives in both Jiangsu and Anhui. Li spoke with her brother on the phone for a long time last night and, as one might expect, there is a great deal of fear, rumor, panic buying of vinegar, etc. going on. I remember this all too well, as we lived in the area where SARS broke out in early 2003. Let's just pray this thing does not mutate into a form that is capable of airborne infection.