chengdu4me
-
Posts
855 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Calendar
Gallery
Posts posted by chengdu4me
-
-
Here are the pros and cons to living in China, as I see it. I hope others will contribute their thoughts.
Pros
1.) China is lively in a way that America has not been for many decades. You can actually walk down a Chinese street and see -- gasp -- people. Yea..sometimes too damn many of them!
2.) Cost of living can be quite low compared to the United States. Especially good if you have a steady source of income from the U.S., such as a pension or Social Security. That will change as the RMB rises
3.) Jobs are readily available for Americans, if you are interested in teaching English. There are other things you can do, but teaching seems to be the easiest
4.) Your spouse will be in her/his home environment and you can enjoy the benefits of the close family ties that Chinese people tend to have. (Especially useful if you happen to have a young child.)
5.) Can be an appealing place for someone who enjoys the international life, learning new languages, being noticed for being different.
Cons
1.) Cost of living is not so low if you plan to buy a home. Boy! That is the truth!
2.) With the "liveliness" of China comes a loss of the private, "live and let live" type of life you can expect in the west. Everyone is into everyone else's business. And life is a complicated, sometimes tiresome web of who's looking down on whom, who has more money than whom, who's gaining face, who's losing face, who has "guanxi," who's high-class and who's low-class. That only matter if you are paying close attention. No one is in my business because they can't talk to me to find out what my "business" is! HAHA
3.) Friendship is also a bit different. Hanging out with buddies on equal terms is less common. Friends need to be useful, and if someone befriends you, you can bet they are looking for ways in which you can be useful. If they find that you aren't, you may find that they stop coming around. Yes, this is very true. Everyone excepts something from every type of relationship
4.) Teaching English does not pay all that well. It is possible to make a decent income, but you may need to work hard building up a base of private students or get an additional degree in order to qualify for the top-flight jobs. Not true. Depending on how you do it, you can make a very good living teaching English. First, you must know the school. Second, you must care about the school. Third, you must work for a school that is run by ethical people. Yes, they are rare, but they are out there. Next year, my salary gets doubled. Why? Because I am willing to do what is necessary to double it and the school knows it is in their best interest to keep me happy
5.) Health care is an issue. Better have some cash savings just in case. Don't count on any hospital saying, "Let's save this guy's life first, we'll sort out payment issues later!" You may be able to buy insurance on the private market, but in an emergency, it may not do you much good. Yea...that can be a problem. Cash is the only way you get treated. No insurance policy will pay upfront.
6.) No one is going to set up a 401k for you in China, let alone give you matching funds, so you have to be very mindful of saving for your own retirement. Yes, this is a DIY society!
7.) By the way, while in China, you are most likely not paying into U.S. Social Security. Years you don't pay in bring down your overall average earnings, thus lowering your eventual check. (You can, however, pay in from China if you work for an American company or are self-employed.) From my calculation, the last five years I would have been paying into SS if I had stayed in the states would have increased my benefits less than $25 a month at the age of 62. That is not a good reason to stay longer.
8.) China still does not "welcome" foreign spouses from a visa perspective. You cannot expect any permanency unless you get one of the relatively rare "green cards." Otherwise, you are on a year-to-year basis, always with the possibility that you will be kicked out of the country due to policy changes or whatever other reason. You will also never be eligible for any of China's social welfare programs, such as pensions. Not that China is rich in social welfare, but just sayin'. Yea...this is the scariest part. Life and investment in China and then given 24 hours to get out. Bye-bye life, bye-bye investments, bye-bye financial security.
9.) You will never, ever fit into Chinese society. It doesn't matter how long you stay, how well you speak Chinese, how successful you become. You will always be an outsider and be thought of as kind of cartoonish. Your opinions and ways of doing things will never be considered up to par, since they aren't Chinese.
(Think about how this contrasts with the United States, where foreigners can stay permanently, get the same jobs as Americans, enjoy the same rights, get the same benefits at work and from the government.) HAHA...Not being treated like a Chinese by Chinese as far as I am concerned belongs in the benefit column. I have been all over the world and I have never seen people cut each others throat like they do here.
10.) China's pollution may be harmful to your health, as may be the traffic. No one gets out of life alive.
-
There is no "entertainment" TV today. There is also no gaming on the internet. The world famous "farm game" is not accessible. All entertainment videos...for that matter..all entertainment including movie theaters, arcades, internet cafes are supposed to be closed.
When they have a day of mourning here, they make sure no one gets any entertainment.
-
Have your US license translated at the Notarial Security Office in China. Study the test questions. Go take your translated license down to the Dept of Motor Vehicle Supervision and take the written test. Cost is 130 RMB. Minimum passing score is 90 out of 100. Test is computerized and in English. You will get your score immediately after completing the test.
You must have a Resident Permit to get a drivers license. You can get a temporary license at most major airports if you only have a visa.
PM me with your email address and I will send you the test questions.
-
This is not Oregon..this is China! In China, you mind your own business. It is not GDBill's place to inform anyone of anything unless it directly has a negative impact on his own life/business/safety. If he were to say anything to anyone and the facts played out later on to be not as he stated, he would lose face and lose credibility.
Whatever mess this guy got himself into with DOS, HHS is his business.
I understand that Bill post was a informative one to relate what can happen when you allegedly don't live up to your responsibilities. While his post may have also had some conjecture, the main point is still the main point.
While this does not apply to me (no kids), it is a good lesson for anyone that may find themselves in this situation or is thinking of making a move to avoid the financial burden of an greedy ex and/or one-sided legal system.
-
I guess he thought if someone added the pages for him they would not do a name check ...
Could be. I guess I'll find out after work when I get home just what his reaction is.
It used to be they wouldn't do a name check on adding pages, but now the consulates have instructions to do a name check for everything.
What kind of surprised me was that for $2500 in back child support they can nuke a passport, too.
Having been through a divorce in the USA (with children/child support/custody issues) it does not surprise me at all (either that they do it or that the dollar limit is so low). In fact, while I am not trying to defend this guy, it would not surprise me if the back child support amount is only "alleged to be owed" meaning the ex-spouse only has to file a claim for back child support not that it has been proven the person in actually in arrears.
The state cannot certify to the Department of Human Services that over $2500 is owed unless there is a child support order issued by a judge. That requires a hearing, doesn't it?
In many states, your payment for child support must be made to the state and then the payment is recorded and then sent on to the custodial parent. If there is no record of payment, the state Child Support Enforcement office merely needs to notify the judge that payments are not being made. This triggers a bench warrant which triggers notification to the HHS which triggers the passport hold/revocation. The burden of proof is on the payer, not the gov. If an $8 an hour clerk makes a typo, you can be screwed!
-
The bottom line is this...if you have Child Support issues, you need to deal with them before hopping a plane to live in a foreign country. Whether you are going for very innocent reasons or are hiding, BIG Brother will catch up with you.
Personally, I support this effort to get proper support for children, but I also think that there is another way to do rather than just hamstring someone once they have left the country.
In this guys case, he can't stay and he can't leave without just handing himself over to the Consulate for removal and arrest when he arrives back at a POE.
-
The CCP is going to have to do something about housing prices damn fast! The average cost of a home in Beijing rose by 47%, Shanghai 52%, Shenzhen 51%, Guangzhou 51%, Chengdu 48% in the past year. Curbing building projects will have a huge negative effect. The only answer is to force/give incentives to developers to build more, more, more!
The "law" states that 70% of all new homes must be under 90 Sq/meters so that "average" Chinese family can afford one, but that is not happening around here. Most new home developments are over 110 sq/meters and some entire residential developments have their smallest homes starting at 185 sq/meters and up. I saw a development of 4,000 homes in Wenjiang that the smallest home was 285 sq meters at a very fair price of only 11,000 a sq meter. I saw a different development that was nothing but condo style villas, attached homes in clusters. Each home was three stories and they all were on different levels. Some had garages under them, some not, some were built on raised earth, some not. It was a really cool looking development, but I can't even imagine what the prices were!! Each home was 500 sq meters.
While the banks are advertising that it is possible to get a loan for 80% of the value(20% down payment), it is rare to get that. You need 30% down and all the fees/taxes/commissions to get the loan approved. Sometimes you need even more because the bank will not appraise the home for the asking/selling price.
-
Don't sell yourself short, Larry. You are the link between them and more fluent interaction with the western world. Up until now, their teachers have been Chinese - with rare exceptions. Their English is what I referred to as the "one sentence" variety - after one sentence, they (and most likely you, unless you are just talking "at" them) are lost.
The ones who are the most fluent are the ones who have had interaction with native English speakers, whether in person or through watching and re-watching movies.
Any education system is only as good as what you can get out of it.
My students seem to pretty much be at an advance high school level - the papers I've gotten back have surprised me, as has their attentiveness. But, yes, always complaining about the "big words" that I like to toss up.
Exposure to actual Western speech and culture is very lacking in their education, except for people like us.
I have worked in the US with people who got bachelor's degrees in China, and went on to advanced degrees in the US - they are no slouch, believe me.
Sell myself short? Hardly! All these kids have had native English speaking teachers for 8 years now. They can speak. They can't think on their own at any level or in any language. They are not taught to think. They are taught to memorize. That is all they are taught.
My classes are about thinking, listening, and speaking in English. Nothing else. But, one thing I am sure of is this. They also couldn't care less about thinking on their own. Out of 13 classes of 40 students each, I have 2 or 3 in each class that want to learn English. The rest are just spectators. They want nothing to do with participating in class. Fine with me. It's their parents money that is being wasted. I get paid the same whether they want to be there or not.
Yes, you have known some brilliant Chinese people...so have I...They are the very rare exception, not the rule.
-
IMHO, after teaching here for the past six months, I would put any 8th grade Chinese student up against any American student in the subject of math or science. These are finite arts. They have rules and laws. They are black and white. Beyond that, Chinese students are nothing more than poorly disciplined robots. Any mention of creative thinking and they go "tilt".
They can recite anything in the greatest detail that they have learned over the past semester. Beyond that, they have no clue. Once they have taken the state exam on that material, it is either flushed from their brain or put into a memory block that is inaccessible.
I have 520 students that have all taken English for 8 years. Not one of them can think of a simple ten word sentence to write or speak in English in any spontaneous fashion. They can write or speak the entire textbook, word for word in exact order. They can't tell you what it means. My son is in 8th grade. Anything beyond a three word reply from him is impossible.
They can't do it in Chinese either. Certain subjects will get a Chinese phrase out of them. Mostly leisure activities. Academic subjects are nothing but rote. Drills, practice, memorization...that's all. They memorize what is written in their books, but if you ask them what it means, again.."tilt"
I heard a very notable and well educated Chinese scholar on TV here the other day. he said..."Once the Chinese see other ways to do things, they can copy it as well as anyone. Creative invention is not necessary in China, since inventions are once in a lifetime events and production is an ongoing task".
IMO, there is only one way to interpret that. We don't care what you know, We only care about that you can make us money. Do not try to think, you will only hurt yourself. We will steal the idea, you copy it for us.
It is not the students that are stupid. It is the state. It is the idea that learning is only about what is written in the book. It is the idea that thinking for yourself is just not a worthy pursuit. One of the reason that there are so many classes each day is that parents want their kids cared for while they are working. They do not want their kids at home when they are not there. The Chinese education system is about memorization and babysitting.
As far as the hours the kids go to school everyday, it is a joke. Here is the schedule for an 8th grade student anywhere in China.
8:00 AM - 8:40 AM Class 1
8:50 AM - 9:30 AM Class 2
9:40 AM - 10:20 AM Class 3
10:20 AM - 10:50 AM Mandatory organized break - Military formation style stretching and exercise. You do it standing in one spot.
10:50 AM - 11:30 AM Class 4
11:40 AM - 12:20 AM Class 5
12:20 AM - 1:00 PM - Lunch
1:00 PM - 2:15 PM - Mandatory rest time. Go back to your classroom and put your head on your desk and take a nap.
2:15 PM - 2:55 PM Class 6
3:05 PM - 3:45 PM Class 7
3:55 PM - 4:35 PM Class 8
4:45 PM - 5:25 PM Class 9
5:35 PM - 6:15 PM Class 10
This is the mandatory class schedule prescribed by the Ministry of Education. Some provinces deviate from this schedule a tiny bit. They have ten different classes each day in school. Some subjects have classes every day, others do not.
These subjects are:
Chinese Language
Math (8th graders are learning Algebra and Geometry)
Science (8th grades are learning Physics and Chemistry)
English Grammar
English Reading
English Writing
Oral English
Art
Music
P.E.
History
Political Affairs(Civics)
Geography
Computer Usage
The last two classes of the day are usually "self-study", so you can get your homework done. Even during the self-study classes, the teachers will not help the students that have questions. One of these classes is a P.E. class, but it is also a joke. Girls do not do P.E. They sit and stretch or they play ping pong. Boys play BB or soccer.
Classrooms in China in public schools have an average of 60 students. There is no time for explanations of any kind. The teacher gives the lesson plan, again, by rote, by the number, and then class is over. If you do not understand or you do not "get it", you are ignored and left behind. Teachers are not given any time to help students. They, like the students, are just programmed robots. If you need help beyond the classroom, you may hire your teacher to tutor you or you may go out and hire a private tutor.
From what I have seen and experienced here, I would rank Chinese education in the K- 12 arena as one of the worst in the world. I haven't experienced it , but from what I hear, university education isn't much better.
One issue I have with Chinese education is that the kids don't have enough "play" time. Playtime is where children learn to be creative. They learn to think for themselves and to use their imagination. This does not happen in China. This is the root of the of the problem in the lack of creative thinking area, IMHO. It is also where kids with energy burn off that energy so they can sit still in class and learn something. Most class time is used for settling the kids down and constant repeated attempts to maintain order. This takes up about 1/3 of the class time, so even if they wanted to learn something, there is now no time for that.
If they didn't pay me so well to be a white face poster child for the school, I would have nothing to do with this system. It is by any definition, a poorly managed joke.
-
I suggest you get here and then shop around. No doctor/hospital/clinic accepts insurance payments. You will need to pay the bill upfront and then submit your claim to your insurance company. Since medical treatment here is so cheap, it is useless to use insurance in most cases. There are many places you can buy insurance with an almost unlimited menu of options from "cover everything" to "just the major stuff".
I have medical insurance that costs 120 RMB a year. Another 100 RMB is for evacuation insurance. I doubt they will buy me an airplane ticket back to the states for that amount. Maybe a bus ticket to the nearest big city hospital.So far, they have paid all my claims 100%. However, I'm not stupid. At some point, they will stop paying and drag out some clause from the archives that states that I have used up my benefits for the year. Luckily, I'm still in good enough health to kick their ass!
My policy states that it is renewable at the same rates, year after year. I'll let ya know how that turns out next October!
Seriously, with the prices here for health care, insurance is not needed except in very extreme cases. Complete treatment for a broken arm will only cost $25 USD.
-
I think you will find that only major stores take any plastic. But, you may find that your purchase is declined by the card issuer as fraudulent. Make sure you let them know that you will be in China and want to use the card before you go. If you have a VISA/MC debit card, make sure they use it as a credit card, not a debit card.
All banks have three exchange rate. 1. The true (spot) rate which has nothing to do with why you are at the bank. 2. The buy rate. The price they will pay for buying your USD for RMB. 3. The sell rate. The price they will give you to buy your RMB for USD.
The buy rate fluctuates a little. Yesterday, I got 6.78 with a money exchanger outside the bank. The bank buy rate was 6.76, so I did a little better. If you are going to use a private money changer, let your wife/fiance handle it for you if you are not fluent.
Most(some?) US banks will give you a good (6.80 - 6.81) exchange rate when using your ATM card and then charge you $2 for using a out-of network bank. That is actually the best way to go if you can handle carrying cash. I used to get 2500 RMB from the bank here in Chengdu with a good exchange rate and then give up $2 on the US end of my account.
-
Tim, if you do a short sale, make damn sure you get a letter from the lender stating that you have no further financial obligation for this loan. Have your attorney look over the letter before you accept it and go through with the short sale. If you do not have a release from the lender, the lender can come back later and sue you for the loss and you will be on the hook for it. Banks/Mortgage Companies are doing this left and right now. Any borrower that did not request a release is getting sued.
-
Yea Robert! You guys pulled it off! And all that worrying... see? all for nothing!
That's only three weeks from now...can you consume all those Cheetos, clean up the porn all over your home, get that place ship shape by then?
For your own safety, I suggest you postpone her flight for a couple more months!!!
Congrats!!! to BOTH of you!!!
-
These types of ceremonies are common, especially when one or both parties will be separated from family during the actual "wedding". I can only imagine that the VO's have seen millions of pictures of this type.
The important thing is that you really are not married. No official registration, no marriage..simple.
If you and your bride-to-be decide to include pictures of the event in your collection to show the VO, just make sure that she refers to you as "her husband in her heart, but still legally just a mutt in training". The VO will get the distinction and maybe get a laugh as well.
-
I can attest to the ear lobe as well as hand web pressure points to relieve pain in the mouth. I learned this many years ago and it has worked to varying degrees.
Another method is to take one of the little black peppercorns that my wife uses here in Chengdu for spices and put it on the tooth that is cause the problems and then crush it down into the tooth. It will definitely numb the site for about 24-48 hours. Your taste of your saliva will now be terrible! Spit it out and rinse. Repeat if necessary until you can get to a dentist.
-
I heard that same thing about the 40%. I later heard, after watching the TV for awhile that is the CPPCC that was mentioned and that only 40% of that body holds a official government position. But, I understood that to mean that they ALL were party members. I'll qualify that by saying that as in anything in China based on my interpretation/understanding..there is a good chance that I could be mistaken.
-
As has been said, pigeon-holing is never going to turn out correct, but from what I see and experience, the four groupings aren't correct.
I would say that it is more like one of these two paths....
1. Excitement
2. Confusion
3. Withdrawal
4. Escape
or
1. Excitement
2. Confusion
3. Immersion
4. Assimilation
The path one would choose will be determined by their inner strength and their reasons for wanting to be here. One the one hand, there are those that come here to live with an "open-ended" plan and although they would like to stay; they are more than willing to go home.
Another person might come here with the sole and single-minded intent of staying no matter what and overcoming all obstacles to a well-managed life.
I have seen both types here. And within those types, people that move or assimilate at different speeds. The speed of inclusion/assimilation only needs to be done at the speed that the person is comfortable with.
Back to the first type, they are never going to include themselves in the populace and culture. They seem to be the type that wants to world to conform to them and then they withdraw when it doesn't. I know this is stereotyping, but it really can't be helped. This stereotypical type, in my observations, have mostly been Americans. Europeans seem to have a better handle on openness and adaptability as they have lived in a society that is more diverse with smaller countries, different languages, different cultures/customs/traditions. Americans typically do not get this exposure.
This is a subject that could go on and on. Everyone is different and every single person has a different perspective/breaking point/stubbornness/willingness.
-
Randy, try these folks. Most clinics have their own pharmacy or can get you whatever you need. They aren't cheap, but they do speak English
http://www.globaldoctor.com.au/ListPage/Li...anguageAutoId=2
-
According to CCTV reporting, Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery never filed the official application for the business merger/acquisition which was to include a business plan and ongoing technical and material needs assessment. Further, the Minister of Blah, blah, blah stated that the deal was a bust because it was never taken beyond the talking stage by Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery.
-
Some options -
Use your ATM/Debit card at just about any bank. Different banks have different daily withdrawals limits.
Wire Transfer from your U.S. account to her China account.
Western Union - send money to her or to yourself and pick it up when you arrive. You have 1 year to complete a transfer. Most all Bank of China and all China Postal Savings Banks are receiving stations.
Cash - Just put it in your pocket and go. As long as you are taking less than $10,000, you don't even need any forms to fill out. If more than $10,000, you need to complete FINCEN105, but I doubt you meet anyone to give it to on your way out of the country.
-
An unknown little tip that I was told by a airline employee friend. If the need arises to "bump" travelers due to overbooking, they will always bump the ticket holders that DID NOT buy through the airline/airline authorized travel agencies first. And within that group, the cheapest seat holders go first until they have the space they need cleared. Just because a website/travel agency can sell tickets does not mean they are an authorized agent. MOST web based travel agencies are not authorized agents.
For example: Traveler A buys a $700 ticket through the airlines website. Traveler B buys a $950 ticket through a discount website. Traveler B will get bumped and rescheduled. Traveler A gets his seat.
This hardly ever makes any difference, but sometimes it can.
-
The very first thing I would like to see changed is that if the VO requires something, they must ask for it at the interview. We all read over and over again how many time the beneficiary has gone to the interview loaded for bear and then gotten a blue slip for something they had right then and there but the VO didn't ask for it or wouldn't take it. If you are given a blue slip due of a communications errors (ie: the beneficiary didn't understand what the VO was asking for, you ought to be able to get right back in line and show it to them that day. (Example: Do you have the petitioners last three years of tax transcripts? No! Blue slip! Oh, he meant tax returns!!!! I have them right here! Take a number, get back in line.
The letter confirming the interview appointment should have a list of everything needed at the interview. If it isn't listed on that letter, then it is no longer applicable to the case. Then the Vo should either ask for the entire pile of requested info or refer to the number on the letter for each item. Do you have item #1..Yes, here! Do you have item #2?, Yes, here you go!
The second thing is the question of bona fides. If the petitioner says the relationship is bone fide, then it is. Period! The government needs to stop being our babysitter. We can decide who should have their finger on the launch codes, but we can't decide for ourselves who our wife should be? Perhaps interviewing the petitioner at the same interview process would be acceptable.
White slips should not be the end of the road ( or a detour that takes you out of your way for the next four years). They should state exactly what the problem is and what resolution is needed and allow the petitioner/beneficiary 60 days to correct the problem and submit that to the same VO (meaning we have to know his/her name) before the case is send into the Martian gravitation field. Once the problem is corrected, visa should be issued within 30 days.
There should be a telephone/email hotline to discuss specific about your case manned by actual knowledgeable people that can pull up your case on the computer and discuss it and answer questions that may fall into the gray area of what is needed. Example: I have my last three years tax returns, but year #2 the income fell below 125% of poverty level because I broke my leg and couldn't work for two months. Please tell me what is needed to make this anomaly insignificant to my case?
I know that part of the mystique is to prevent fraud. But, come on! Once the petitioner puts his signature on the I-134, the fraud is no longer the governments problem. IMHO, the government can not use "crime" as a reason for their erratic and confusing processing. Crime statistics of legal immigrants is way, way, way, way, way below the crime statistics of US born citizens.
We don't need a babysitter/Mama/caretaker. We need efficient administrative processing!
-
Personally, I would let her stay in VN until as late as possible. Let her know she can hang out with her family right up until the last possible time to come before her visa expires. This makes sense from a couple of different perspectives....
Why?
From a life in VN to Bismarck in winter time? Are you nuts? At least if she waited until late spring, she would have time to get used to the change in climate over the summer and then autumn, and then finally a winter in the frozen north hinterlands.
She is leaving for a long time. By your own words, 3 - 5 years. Basically, in her families mind, she is leaving forever. Let them have their time together.
And one other point to consider.Her family is now YOUR family, too. There is no competition factor to consider.
Good luck! I don't know what you do for a living, but you may want to consider doing it in a bit warmer place for her sake(and yours).
-
She can go China Eastern From Shanghai PuDong to JFK. Leaves PuDong at 6:30pm 3/7, arrives JFK at 7:45pm 3/7.
You can fly Delta from ATL to JFK, arrive about 3:30 pm 3/7.
Depending on how long it takes to get her through POE and Customs, you may ( or may not) be able to get back to ATL that night.
Would a night in the Big Apple be so bad?
Best proxy server in China ?
in The Middle Kingdom - 中国
Posted
I use Witopia. It works very well. Large list of servers to connect.