IllinoisDave

You are very close to the mark there, Greg Greening who is the school president is from California originally, I did some research into him, and he lived for a while in Japan, and then later lived in New Zealand where he ran a business, and later filed bankruptcy, and moved to China. Sounds like he's staying one step ahead of something. Yes, that is what I figure about Gregg. Anyway, when I was chatting and emailing Yu, in the early days, she mentioned in one of her emails that she was a school teacher in Yangshou, so I did some searching and found her school and saw her on the school website, so I knew I was dealing with an honest and true lady. After finding the website, I had no doubts about who I was dealing with. Wow. I'll bet we can count on part of one hand how many members here were able to have that kind of independant verification. Good for you.

You are very close to the mark there, Greg Greening who is the school president is from California originally, I did some research into him, and he lived for a while in Japan, and then later lived in New Zealand where he ran a business, and later filed bankruptcy, and moved to China. Sounds like he's staying one step ahead of something.

Curious Dan. Did your wife have any previous teaching experience prior to coming to the US? If not, how did she prepare for doing something so new? Yep, she was an English teacher and vice principal at a private foreign language school in Yangshuo. Hehe I love it! They have not changed the web page! http://www.westschool.com.cn/Staff-eng.htm (She is "Rosemary just below Greg) Anyway many private Chinese language schools here are always happy to have anyone fluent in Chinese teach. That's pretty cool. Some shady looking characters from Australia though. It's nice she had that background when she got here.

My wife learned pretty quick what that means. It means every other driver besides me.

Curious Dan. Did your wife have any previous teaching experience prior to coming to the US? If not, how did she prepare for doing something so new?

Congrats Clayton and Wen Li. So will it be The Bahamas or Mexico first? Good luck with the biometrics appt. tomorrow as well. Don't worry, it's the easiest test so far.

Congrats to both of you. Another step along The Great Wall of the visa process.

For what it's worth... my wife was VERY excited when she read about it this morning.

I guess they're optimistic about it's recovery.

Blame, censure, wrong, improper, injurious. 5 out of 6 by my count, Dave. Close enough for our purposes, I trust? So you're saying that the Allies are to blame for the Holocaust? The Allies should be censured because of what Hitler did? The Allies were the injurious party that killed 11 million people? The 6 million Jews and 5 million others were wronged and/or treated improperly by the Allies? That's a pretty amazing argument to be making.

From the No Shit Sherlock news. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2008...ent_6549393.htm And the understatement of the year: "We will not carry out the deal -- the situation has changed," Tuesday's China Daily quoted CITIC group chairman Kong Dan as saying.

Won't argue with this. I only had a problem with the words "West" and "most" being used together. You've clarified what you meant. And I agree with what you say about China and what we can expect of them. I would just point out that Mr. Clooney isn't the only person or group calling on China to use it's influence. He just happens to be the one cited in this thread.

Really? I agree that the West has contributed to China's problems over the years. But did the West really cause the starvations and civil wars? What about Mao? I'd say much suffering was caused by the West, but "most"? Dave, I've been warned, so I won't say much, but... the West played a BIG part in Mao's ascension to power. The West's abuse of China, something the U.S. was NOT a big part of, played a tremendous role in everything that has happened in China since the 1700's. In that sense, the West had an enormous influence. I think China's natural tendency is indeed to stay out of the internal arrairs of other countries, but they have probably hardened their position in that regard based on what happened to them. Best Regards Mike. I don't think there's any argument about China's tendencies and motives for them. I think we all agree on that. The real difference of opinion seems to be about whether celebrities can/should call on them to change. We'll have to agree to disagree on that and move on. I'm obviously no student of Chinese history and I'm not arguing your facts. But I'm having a hard time finding any info that shows how the West specifically had a big role in Mao's ascension to power. Do you have any links I can check out on that? Thanks. Dave Nothing specific, Dave, just the general abuse of China during the world's 'colonial' period. Opium War, the forced 99 year lease of Hong Kong, the trade enclaves. The resentment was so great, I think the Chinese still think about it. I was surprised to have one of my friends tell me that a big factor in the Chinese 'affection' for the U.S. is that we mostly paid silver for tea when the English were paying with opium or the proceeds from the opium trade. I had no idea. Once again, nothing specific, just the general historical background of the West in China. Yeah, I understand about the more "general" interference. But I'm not sure the West can be blamed specifically in Mao's ascension or the suffering that resulted. I mean wouldn't saying that the West is culpable in Mao's rise to power and what resulted from that be akin to saying that Europe/the Allies were culpable in Hitler's rise to power and the results from that? Ah yes, we WERE culpable. I think it's pretty common knowledge that the punitive nature of the French-forced reparations after WWI played a HUGE part in the weakening of Germany and subsequent rise of Hitler. Hitler was seen as a 'savior' by most Germans. By the time MOST Germans figured out what was happening, it was too late to do anything. P.S. Sorry, I was editing my last post while you were responding to it... The reparations and restrictions placed on Germany after WWI certainly "influenced" German resentment which allowed Hitler's rise to power. But "culpable" for that along with what transpired? cul穚a穊le (klp-bl) adj. Deserving of blame or censure as being wrong, evil, improper, or injurious. While I agree that what the Allies did in Germany and what the West did in China may have influenced the rise to power of the respective tyrants, to say that either one was to "blame" for the resulting horrors perpetrated on the people of China or the population of Europe just doesn't make sense to me. Maybe we're arguing semantics of words here. But my contention was that AMafan seemed to blame "most" of the suffering (starvation,civil wars etc) on the West. That's why I intentionally used culpable, for it's specific meaning. I'm saying that blaming the Allies for Hitler's atrocities and the West for Mao's seems far-fetched at best. EDIT; And now we've offically REALLY gotten off topic. Sorry Carl.

Really? I agree that the West has contributed to China's problems over the years. But did the West really cause the starvations and civil wars? What about Mao? I'd say much suffering was caused by the West, but "most"? Dave, I've been warned, so I won't say much, but... the West played a BIG part in Mao's ascension to power. The West's abuse of China, something the U.S. was NOT a big part of, played a tremendous role in everything that has happened in China since the 1700's. In that sense, the West had an enormous influence. I think China's natural tendency is indeed to stay out of the internal arrairs of other countries, but they have probably hardened their position in that regard based on what happened to them. Best Regards Mike. I don't think there's any argument about China's tendencies and motives for them. I think we all agree on that. The real difference of opinion seems to be about whether celebrities can/should call on them to change. We'll have to agree to disagree on that and move on. I'm obviously no student of Chinese history and I'm not arguing your facts. But I'm having a hard time finding any info that shows how the West specifically had a big role in Mao's ascension to power. Do you have any links I can check out on that? Thanks. Dave Nothing specific, Dave, just the general abuse of China during the world's 'colonial' period. Opium War, the forced 99 year lease of Hong Kong, the trade enclaves. The resentment was so great, I think the Chinese still think about it. I was surprised to have one of my friends tell me that a big factor in the Chinese 'affection' for the U.S. is that we mostly paid silver for tea when the English were paying with opium or the proceeds from the opium trade. I had no idea. Once again, nothing specific, just the general historical background of the West in China. Yeah, I understand about the more "general" interference. But I'm not sure the West can be blamed specifically in Mao's ascension or the suffering that resulted. I mean wouldn't saying that the West is culpable in Mao's rise to power and what resulted from that be akin to saying that Europe/the Allies were culpable in Hitler's rise to power and the results from that?

Really? I agree that the West has contributed to China's problems over the years. But did the West really cause the starvations and civil wars? What about Mao? I'd say much suffering was caused by the West, but "most"? Dave, I've been warned, so I won't say much, but... the West played a BIG part in Mao's ascension to power. The West's abuse of China, something the U.S. was NOT a big part of, played a tremendous role in everything that has happened in China since the 1700's. In that sense, the West had an enormous influence. I think China's natural tendency is indeed to stay out of the internal arrairs of other countries, but they have probably hardened their position in that regard based on what happened to them. Best Regards Mike. I don't think there's any argument about China's tendencies and motives for them. I think we all agree on that. The real difference of opinion seems to be about whether celebrities can/should call on them to change. We'll have to agree to disagree on that and move on. I'm obviously no student of Chinese history and I'm not arguing your facts. But I'm having a hard time finding any info that shows how the West specifically had a big role in Mao's ascension to power. Do you have any links I can check out on that? Thanks. Dave

Really? I agree that the West has contributed to China's problems over the years. But did the West really cause the starvations and civil wars? What about Mao? I'd say much suffering was caused by the West, but "most"?

Yes. Some,especially celebrities, who criticize certain aspects of the country do so because they love it and know just how great it could actually be. But unless you're in lock-step with certain groups, waving a flag and pronouncing the US as the greatest thing on earth or god's country, you're "un-American" or a spoiled brat.

Not quite, in most cases I-751 takes longer than 90 days to process, in some cases it can take more than a year. I-751's NOA1 letter will have notation that the letter extends LPR status for 1 year beyond the 2 year card's expiration. If I-751 looks like it will be longer than 1 year beyond the 2 year care expiration, then a visit to USCIS field office is a good thing to get an I-551 stamp in passport to provide continued LPR status proof. My bad. Wishful thinking.

The 2-yr GC is good for two years from the date on the card. You'll need to file the I-751 no sooner than 90 days prior to the date the 2-year GC expires. In other words, wait 21 months from receipt of the 2-yr GC and then file to remove the conditions. You're filing far enough ahead of the 2 year date so that the 10 year card comes before the 2 year card expires.

Interesting article about China's emergence,especially how Mandarin is playing a larger role in the world. Sorry I don't have a link for it. By TINI TRAN Associated Press Writer TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) - When Marvin Ho co-founded a Chinese language school in Taiwan in 1957, his only students were a handful of Western missionaries. Five decades later, it's a different story. Ho's classrooms are packed with scores of people clamoring to learn what they believe is the next global language: Mandarin Chinese. China, having traded socialism for capitalism, is emerging as an economic power, perhaps the only one that could rival U.S. dominance in the 21st century. For a new generation of students, business people and even artists, the land of opportunity now lies to the East, not the West. Drawn to its promise, many are seeking ways to navigate the often rough-and-tumble Wild West atmosphere of working in China. The clearest barometer of this trend is a booming appetite for learning Chinese. Worldwide, about 40 million people are learning Mandarin, China's official spoken language and its most common dialect. Nearly 100,000 foreigners went to China to study Mandarin in 2006, more than twice the number five years earlier. "In my generation, the U.S. was the first choice," said Ho, whose Taipei Language Institute now boasts 2,400 students at 16 branches, nine of them in mainland China itself. This generation "thinks their future is in China. Why bother going to the U.S.? My friends encourage their children to go to China." The rise of the Middle Kingdom has clear parallels with America in the last century, when it became a magnet for people from around the world, said James McGregor, author of the best-selling book, "One Billion Customers: Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in China." "This is a continental-sized economy being built from scratch," he said. "Everyone used to go to America because it was the global happening place. Now this is the global happening place." McGregor, a former journalist who runs a business consulting firm in Beijing, advises those who want to head to China to bring an open mind, a sense of adventure and an appreciation for the absurd. The other key to making it? Solid language skills. "If you're going to be an entrepreneur, you need to sink into the culture," he said. "Any 20-year-old American thinking of doing business in China one day and not thinking of learning Mandarin is not thinking." America has been infected by China fever. At U.S. colleges, the number of students studying Mandarin jumped 51 percent between 2002 and 2006 to 51,600, according to a Modern Language Association survey. The increase is significant, although many more students - 800,000 - still study Spanish. Last year, more than 3,000 high school students took an Advanced Placement exam for Chinese language offered for the first time. And some 500 U.S. high schools, junior high schools and elementary schools offered Mandarin, nearly double the number in 2004, says Shuhan Wang, executive director of Chinese Language Initiatives for the Asia Society. Illinois, Ohio, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Utah and Indiana are the states pursuing Mandarin instruction most aggressively, a sign of how seriously China's economic and political rise is being taken, she said. It's a message that 26-year-old musician Skot Suyama from Seattle has taken to heart. Suyama, whose clean-cut boyish looks hint at his mixed heritage - half Swedish, half Japanese - has spent the last several years in Hong Kong and Taiwan, creating a mix of hip-hop, pop and grunge music. His skills are in demand, because there are fewer people in the region trained in creating and producing music than in the U.S. With only rudimentary Chinese, he penned the lyrics for "Duibuqi, Xiexie" (Sorry, Thank you) a few years ago, which became a big hit for Hong Kong pop singer Eason Chan in mainland China and elsewhere. However, Suyama has held off diving headlong into the Chinese music scene in part because laws protecting music copyright and guaranteeing royalties are simply not enforced. "Musically, everything in China is wide open. 'Duibuqi' was huge, but I didn't get any royalties from it (in mainland China). Only in Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong," he said. For now, he is focusing on improving his Chinese. He and his Vietnamese girlfriend, Tran Ngoc Binh, spend three hours a day in a class of nine students at the Taipei Language Institute. Their classmates are from Australia, Belgium, France and Austria. As their teacher goes over the grammar lesson for the day, they painstakingly repeat her phrases, careful to enunciate the rising and falling tones that make Mandarin so difficult. Suyama believes the payoff will be worth the pain. "If I could go to the mainland now, I could make money," he said. "Right now in China, there's people who don't know the price of a song. You could find someone to pay you $50,000 to write a song. If you've made a name for yourself, you can make it big there." It's something that entrepreneur Joseph Green, 36, saw coming a decade ago, when he first moved to Taiwan to study Mandarin after getting an MBA in 1997. A native of Houston whose heavy southern drawl disappears when he speaks rapid-fire Mandarin, Green said he feels lucky that he concentrated on Chinese when "China wasn't even on the map." Now, his friends and family congratulate him on being farsighted. Green, who has worked in China and Taiwan, launched an Internet Web site (www.chinglish.com) with a Dutch friend a couple years ago that seeks to make English-Chinese communication easier. Chinese "won't supersede English but it's so big that it stands a chance of being integrated into the mainstream in the way that English is," predicts Green, who is now pursing advanced Mandarin at the elite National Taiwan University. "Even the normal person in Texas is saying, 'Holy cow. This is it. I've got to learn Chinese."' Nowhere has interest in Chinese been stronger than among other Asians, as China's rapid ascension reshapes the priorities of its neighbors. Recent Gallup surveys in 13 Asian countries showed some 40 percent expect China to replace the U.S. as the leading superpower within the next 50 years. Four of the top five nations that sent students to China for language study were Asian - South Korea, Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam respectively. The United States, which ranked third, was the only Western country in that group. In neighboring Taiwan, where the number of Mandarin students has doubled to around 11,000 over the past decade, about 60 percent of the students are Asian. Most come from Japan and Korea, though growing numbers are from Southeast Asia. The rest are split between America and Europe. "Twenty or thirty years ago, if Asians wanted to study abroad, they would go to the U.S or Europe," said Chung-Tien Chou, director of National Taiwan Normal University's Mandarin Training Center, the largest language school in Taiwan. "Now that has changed. More young people in Asia don't only look to the Western countries anymore but they look to Asian countries as options." China has encouraged Mandarin study through its Confucius Institutes, designed to promote Chinese culture and language. Patterned after Germany's Goethe-Institut or France's Alliance Francaise, more than 100 Confucius Institutes are operating, some two dozen in the United States. Demand for Mandarin, mostly from business-focused clients, has meant boom times for language schools like Ho's Taipei Language Institute. Clients include corporate customers, such as Mitsubishi Motors Corp., Dutch bank and insurance company ING, and HSBC Holdings PLC, Europe's largest bank. "Mainland China has become so strong so everything has changed," said Kentaro Kawauchi, 27, a student at Ho's school. His employer, Japanese trading company Marubeni Corp., is paying for him and more than a dozen other colleagues to learn Mandarin full-time. "My company needs me to learn Chinese." But the language alone only goes so far without an understanding of Chinese culture and its distinct business style - which is why Adam Sobieski has gone out of his way to be culturally sensitive. The 30-year-old self-described "farm boy from Minnesota" arrived in the northeastern city of Dalian in 2004 to set up an office for an American grain trading company. He tried to talk and even dress like local businessmen. He took business calls on weekends, discovering there is little separation between personal and business life in China. He also began drinking baijiu, a highly alcoholic spirit distilled from grain, as part of the near-obligatory bonding ritual that business deals required - until it started affecting his health. "When I first started, I thought I had to do it. I thought I would offend them otherwise," he said. "But the most important thing is your health. People die over there because they're drinking during business lunches. That's a big cultural difference that's very hard to adapt to." Ultimately, Sobieski said he found the key to business success was his ability to develop relationships. "In China, the rule of law is very weak. It's the rule of man," he said. "If you can use language skills to develop relationships, or 'guanxi,' it's going to help you in the long run. Once you have a problem, you can't rely on the law. You have to find your friends, people who have connections who can help you." Sobieski, whose mastery of Chinese won him first place at an annual language competition last December, said his ability to speak the language set the right tone for doing business, conveyed respect and humanized the relationship. "Most foreigners who go there are pretty clueless as to what the reality is in China," he said. "If they don't have language ability, they don't have the tools to find out what the truth is." (Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Probably won't be on CCTV9 though right? Not a chance Dave...get going on those Mandarin lessons... xie xie Rog.

Not sure what your point is with the first sentence...Oh well. I agree with what you're saying about the Chinese view on this issue is. I think I acknowledged that in an earlier post when I mentioned that they are not stupid. I think somewhere I even mentioned that it's all about the money. It's probably the case that no one is going to get China to do anything that may harm their own economic interests. I guess the whole point of this is that people should be allowed to try. I'm fine with China not bankrupting itself trying to get Sudan to stop the genocide. I'm also fine with George Clooney not bankrupting himself in his effort to get China to change it's policy regarding this particular issue.

I agree with Smitty. I've seen little or no evidence that a short "courtship" is a problem for GUZ, whether the result was engagement or marriage. I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. As Roger said, you sound like you've got a good head on your shoulders. If it feels right to you, go for it.

Probably won't be on CCTV9 though right?

And you can calculate how much you're getting: http://www.irs.gov/app/espc/