Rakkasan

I recntly purchased an electric wok from HSN for Zhen to use when she eventually arrives. The price was only $49.00 so I don't think it a big loss if she doesn't like it. I normally am not a HSN shopper, but I was channel surfing while it was being demonstrated and it looked interesting so I did the impulse purchase thing. Has anyone else used one of these and is it any good? Here is a link to view the Wok Electric Wok

Gee Ms. Goldstein if it is that important to you why don't you just puke up the money yourself to pay for the test and quit worrying about who to stick with the bill. Or maybe, just maybe you could check the toys to see if any of the paint is missing first to see if little Johnny might have chewed on them before running to a doctor. Besides the lead based paint thing arose from its use in older homes where children were eating paint chips from windows and baseboards. Toys were an afterthought.

It will probably cost you much much more to run a 220 circuit for this rice cooker than it would to purchase a new 110 unit. Definitely not worth the trouble or expense.

Correct, the importers need to be held to the fire on these things and test these products and apply the same product safety standards that are required of domestic manufactures, before dumping them on the un-suspecting consumers. Although the importers can test the items they import, they have no control over the making of the products and most times are ordering sight unseen. The problem is more with short cuts being taken by the manufacturer. China is beginning the address this problem because they realize that it will cause problems with consumer confidence. Remember the whole buyer beware thing. If you are buying something take responibility and check it out yourself. If you don't trust items from China then buy items that are made elsewhere. Considering the number of products imported from China and the quantities involved the items being discussed are a very small portion. After all it's not like there aren't unscrupulous people in the US who would cut corners to make a buck.

1) Most in China live in poverty by our standards so this warning sign is of little help. 2) My fiance' is eager to work so she can contribute to the household income. I do not need her income, but she feels it is important to contribute. This one was obvious and you should have noticed a problem. 3) Zhen has no fear of moving to the US, although she know little about life here. She has always stated that she is adventurous and this fits with those comments. 4) Zhen has never been evasive about work or anything that she does. If fact that is one of the things that attracted me to her was her openess. 5) She has always been prepared to immigrate to the US. 6) No an issue. We have had some disagreements in the past over things said or not said. We are both straight forward when talking and will deal with any problems created as a result after the fact. Based on your posts, I think your lady probably gave you plenty of warning signs and you might have turned a blind eye to them hoping that you misunderstood her somehow. As I said before, I would let her return to China, but do not send her money. If I recall corerectly she has been working but not contributing to the household accounts. If this is the case then she has money available to live off of while in China and will not need your money. I don't know if she is truly taking you to the cleaners or not, but I would step back and try to review your relationship without passing judgment, but still being careful. Some things that you have stated seem odd for a Chinese lady. I understand her devotion to her son, but she should also have a devotion to you and based on your statements that does not appear to be present. Good luck!!! JMHO

June 19th is the official day of the Dragon Boat Festival the start of the fifth lunar month. In the US and Canada the festival is held by private organizations so the date is adjusted to meet their scheduling needs.

I had discussed this with my Oncologist and he believes the Chinese are far ahead of us when it comes to natural medicines. He said there has to be something being able to keep 1.3 billion people alive.

I know Boston and Denver are having celebrations. Are you out west now in California? Here is a link for Long Beachon be held on July 28 -29. The Atlanta Festival is not until September 8th if you are still in Florida - Atlanta Festival 2007

Don't forget. Dragon Boat Festival is June 19th. Order your Tsung Tzu now!!!

There has never been any mention of "a gift" to her parents. I think her family feels that because she was divorced her chances of being married ever again in China were very slim and they are now happy that she has found someone that cares about her and will take care of her. On my most recent trip where I brought my mother along to meet her family, I was asked several time by different family members if my mother approved of Zhen for me to marry. Apparently they have no grap of American culture since we generally don't need our parents approval for anything. We may ask their opion, but we still do as we like. Besides, if my mother didn't approve of Zhen she would just miss out on numerous dinner invitations.

Thank you Cerberus and to all of those who have served, your sacrifice will never be forgotten!!! My annual tribute to the best man I have ever known, my father. He served with the 1st Division, the Big Red One in Europe. Never talked much about his time in Europe. Like many from his generation he felt that he did what was asked and then put it behind him as best he could. It wasn't until high school that I learned of his 5 bronze stars and his involvement in D-Day and the Ardennes (Battle of the Bulge). How anyone could have lived through that and returned to live a normal life is beyond me. He was a quiet man who cherished my mother and refused to let his children join the military, insisting that he served so his children would never have to. http://altairdigital.com/arpanet/dad.jpg My Dads' daily diary from WWII http://altairdigital.com/arpanet/dday.jpg My Dad carried this poem with him until the day he died. http://altairdigital.com/arpanet/lookgod.jpg

Bobby, I hope your SO is flying back with or else the guy sitting next on the plane is going to be real pissed.

Both are acceptable. If I had to pick one I would select "B". The test is at a set point in time and not ongoing, so it is in the past albeit the recent past. In response to your argument. I have experience of sorts with this and I can say that if the test is a couple of days old your bloodwork may have already changed, as happened to me resulting in my last transfusion. The first test showed everything was fine, at the doctors office I was lethargic and a retest showed a very low red cell count, basically I was a quart low and now in need of a blood transfusion.

But Joanne, if I demonstrate how to use them she will expect me to do the cleaning all of the time.

I figured the problem was the voice recognition software, surely no one hired by a national broadcaster could spell that poorly and keep their job. I have yet to figure out how to activate the closed captioning with my cable operator. I would like it for myself because I do not like having the TV turned up loud. I think I am getting old I even use subtitles when I am watching movies for the parts when people are whispering or when there is loud background noise so I will know what is being said.

Rak All I had to do was take the time to show/explain to my wife what each bottle was use for. A few times she ask me which bottle to use for what We always do home chores together so there has never been any problem Our Chinese ladies are a lot smarter than we think In fact I have screwed up more cloths when washing that she has! I still have not heard the end of it and she has banned me from washing cloths. I work off shifts and Zhen is always talking about cleaning house while I am at work so as to not disturb my sleep. I think I will take Threadbares' recommendation and reduce the number of choices to 3 or 4 and dispose of the rest of the specialty cleaners. Those can always be replaced later if needed.

I bought the book today. I was surprised that the B&N store in this town had about 15 copies. Thanks to the help. DavidZixuan - Yes, this is a real topic. I am not intersted in keeping her out of the cabinets, only helping her learn English names for cleaning products with labels she may not be able to read or products she may not be accustomed to. I am not sure where the telephone call comment came from but I use OneSuite for calling China so 3 or 4 cents per minute isn't an issue, besides Zhen is very frugal and has stated she would prefer to use Yahoo messenger and Webcam to talk to relatives because it is free.

When I order food in a restaurant in the US, the waitress asks for my order I tell her I want the marinated ribeye, rare (no horns no hide) baked potato with butter only, vegetable and 1000 island dressing on the salad. She writes this down and moves on to the next person. Simple. In China even if the menu has each item numbered, the item (#53) is pointed out to the waitress and then a five minute discussion takes place before moving on to the next person where this lengthy debate takes place again and again and again all around the table. Of course when the food comes something is almost always screwed up. What is all the talk about? It seems almost like the Chinese equivalent of "When Harry Met Sally" meets "Groundhog Day".

This occurred to me while using Clorox Cleanup to clean the grout on the kithen floor. Knowing what this product can do, I could imagine Zhen getting seriously upset with herself if she was using it and inadvertantly used a colored towel to wipe something or accidently wiped her hands on a pair of jeans after using this product.

I live in a town with 3 Chinese markets, all of them sell food only. Besides if only she can read the labels how will I know if I'm being poisoned.

Although I have no idea when Zhen will arrive, I periodically think about what preparations I might need to make prior to her arrival. Zhen frequently talks about her cleaning house after she arrives. While cleaning today it occurred to me that Zhen most likely will not be able to read the labels on the various cleaners. Even though Zhen is working hard to learn English and she seems to read better than speak, her English skills are still very limited. I thought about making adhesive labels in English and Chinese for each of the products, possibly with abbreviated warnings for like Clorox Cleanup to let her know not to get it on clothing. Or instructions on what to use the product for. How did you (those with fiances' /wives in country address this? Would the labels with warnings be considered helpful or taken as an insult as if I didn't think she was smart enough to figure this out on her own? P.S. As we wait for the interview notification I suspect other points may occur to me so be preapred for more odd questions.

FC, have you decided on an asking price yet? If so how much are you expecting?

Perhaps a newborn........

Here is a question for those who are residing in the US with their fiance'/ wife. While in China I noticed women using umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun even while riding in cars. Does your fiance' / wife still use an umbrella to shield herself from the sun now that she is in the US or has she become accustomed to using sunscreen and getting a tan? We seem to have a rather large number of members from California and Florida, I wonder if living in an area where sun and fun are the norm makes a difference. Then of course there is the whole Texas contingent living in a hot spot without much shade and very little in the way of cool breezes.

How long does it usually take to get the AOS appoinment? Just curious as I am not where near that stage.