jim_julian

Regarding the screen shots of web cams also try to include other people. We had shots of me chatting with our daughter, Lao Po with her parents behind her, Lao Po with sisters and brothers in the picture. Photos in China seem to be one of the most important pieces of evidence. You should have plenty of photos of you and your wife together under a variety of circumstances and also including photos of you with family and friends. I would scan or otherwise digitize everything. Use a program such as PowerPoint or a publishing program to arrange photos, screen shots, etc 2-4 to a page with each one labeled in English and perhaps in Chinese if there is any language problem. Then print on plain paper on a color laser printer. Yeah it's a lot of work but I'm sure she's worth the effort.

I would screen all e-mails, chats, and any other kind of communications very very carefully. Do it with the attitude that you want to deny the case and you are grasping at straws (not that I think they do this but this is the proper mindset for screening). Remove anything that could possibly be interpreted as negative or lead to a series of inquiries. This is serious serious business ... don't take any chances. So yes ... I'd remove the material you cite.

Congratulations to all three of you!

Now that's a radical leftist view!

Now the China Bashers are on the loose. Quick! Lock the thread! Politics and China bashing!!!

My in-laws in China could care less about US elections. As I've mentioned before, wife and daughter are very interested.

A few thoughts ... - I went with her the first couple of times, actually went into the room and stayed for the whole procedure - I prebriefed her on the details of what would happen - Remember, dental procedures are sometimes done without pain killers in China so she may be expecting a painful experience, which is not what happens in America - Teach her to floss, have the hygienist teach her again, have people in white coats tell her this is important. Tell her that bleeding is normal when you begin to floss; show her how you don't bleed when you floss because you practice such exemplary dental hygiene - We use SoniCare brushes, they work very well for us. Our practice is: manual brushing with a good toothpaste, floss, then SoniCare with no toothpaste, then prolonged swish with mouthwash ... it works wonders.

Best of luck to you both!

Bill ... I assume you've gone to the System Preferences (under the Apple pull down) and selected the International control panel. Within that panel select Input Menu. Scroll down in the first window and select Simplified Chinese (or Traditional) and then select ITABC and one or both of the Wubi's. Most importantly check the box at the bottom of the control panel that states "Show input in menu bar". This will put a little flag menu in the menu bar that allows you to flip between English text entry and Chinese text entry, ºÃÔË

but I think he wants it to SHOW as pinyin, and not be converted to Chinese characters. Ahhh ...

Bill ... no need for a program to type PinYin in ... just select it as a text entry option ... it's all automatic and works everywhere you enter text.

Mike ... you can't find another class somewhere in Tidewater? You might x-check public school systems, other ESL resources, etc.

Bill, if you are still having a problem I will be home in an hour or so and have access to a Mac perhaps I can walk you through whatever is troubling you. PM me a number to call if you'd like to do this. Are you on OSX 10.5?

Ah, but soon we will ...

You gotta be kidding ... specifics please ....

Lao Po and our daughter both believe in God. As with many Chinese, this was not accompanied by any more than the sketchiest knowledge of Christianity. However, even in our early discussions I did not see anything in their beliefs that was incompatible with the broad precepts of main line reformed Christianity. Lao Po was well accepted in our church. We were married in a small ceremony and I've discussed that in other threads. Lao Po attends church with me virtually every Sunday. I did not join the choir in this particular church, as I usually do, so that I could sit with Lao Po and help her understand. The Pastor provides her with a detailed outline of his sermon each week to help her understand the main points as he speaks fast and is pron to big words. When our daughter joined us after 11 months she was also well accepted and joined the "College & Career" group of young adults where she made some of her first American friends. Lao Po and I participate in a dinner group. Daughter helped with Vacation Bible School and went on a missionary trip to Mexico to build two houses. I have been very careful not to push either of them to join the church because they would, but for the wrong reasons. The Pastor of 30 some years is retiring at the end of the year and the girls decided that they wanted to go to his last New Members Class on September 28th, which is the step necessary to become church members. Sometime in October they will be baptized and join. The adult baptism makes them a little nervous and it turns out that was the thing holding them back but now it is offset by their wanting to join before their friend, our current Pastor, leaves. They have a Chinese Bible but seldom use it as they try to understand the Bible in English. Some concepts, such as the Triune God, have been difficult for them to understand but they now have a basic grasp of the fundamentals of Christianity as practiced in the Presbyterian church. I'm pleased with their gradual journey to accept Christianity and I have confidence that it was/is a journey that they want as opposed to something done just to please me.

Here's the pic we all want to take ... http://jjulian.org/page3/page19/files/page19-1015-thumb.jpg ... best of luck and don't let the Chinese guards push you around ... they work for "us" and they will back down.

Answer: NO

Congratulations to the three of you!

Congratulations to the three of you! Thanks for the very complete write up. The three of us look forward to meeting you at one of our California gatherings ... sans tiger please!

It's actually the visa annex of a consulate ... not an embassy ... no where near the security you would find in an embassy. While waiting for Haiqing during her interview you will be on the floor below the consulate in the coffee shop or elsewhere in the commercial part of the building. If you attend ACH I would suggest you have Haiquing hold the briefcase as she waits for you. You can't attend the interview; she can't attend the ACH. They do screen for cellphones etc on the way into the consulate area and to answer directly I don't imagine they would let you take electronics into the actual consulate area.

Hmmm ... since she hasn't come up for air, here's Joanne's moon cake recipe:

An interesting parallel

Here's the Chinese travel agent that has been the best for us ... Rosa Lee Rosa Travel Agency 817 S. Sierra Vista Ave. #B Alhambra, CA 91801 Ph# 626-458-8688 Fax# 626-602-3871 email: rosalax@yahoo.com If someone finds one that beats Rosa please let me know ... competition is healthy for the consumer. (unless, of course the government can do a better job)

If you mean buying from a well established travel website there should be no problems from a security viewpoint. Some of the sites do tend to bait and switch and on some the price may not be all inclusive. The best prices for flights to/from China are usually on the Chinese airlines purchased through a Chinese travel agent ... as opposed to a website. Offer as much flexibility as possible on routing an departure and return dates ... this can result in a much lower price compared to a hard specification of route and time.