danswayne

I keep seeing posts on here about people meeting each other and having a big meal. Why don't we have a big party down here also. I think most people I have heard about being from Florida are only a few short hours away from Orlando, of course some are closer than others. And as most people know there are many great places there to meet and have a good time. We would be happy to meet as many people as possible on some Saturday, even people from out of the state if they want a good taste of some of our sunshine.

I like the toilets you can sit on..........I dislike it when the toilet is so dirty I wish it was Chinese style so I feel cleaner.

Maybe your words are not the problem, but have you ever checked your posts for grammar and spelling mistakes. Or "art" those two things that you feel have no influence in what you type on here. I agree with what someone else said earlier, will you let your Chinese wife know how cheap plane tickets are also, or will you try to be more understanding of her feelings. Just one more question, do you ever watch people like Jay Leno, and David Letterman on tv, or do you boycott their shows because for 10 minutes every night they insult people like our idiot president.

I have a Chinese friend who is a student in Australia. She has not had a very good experience at all there. She wants to know if it is possible to get a visa while in Australia, to be a student here. Any knowledge that the group has to share would be appreciated.

When I see posts like this it makes me happy, but at the same makes me a little sad and mad at the same time. I am nothing but happy for you the couple going through all this, the ones I am mad at is the American government and consulate people. I know from first hand experience the whole process could be months shorter. I have a personal friend who got married in Shanghai 6 years ago during the month of May. They were both in America in the month of August the same year, not the following year as things are happening now. If you do the math this case was 3 months maybe 4 months tops. I know after 9/11 and things like this there are supposed to be more checks going on, but for petes sake how long does it take to look a name up in a computer database.

These guys are absolutely right I forgot about that. It is not Avon mosquito lotion, it is Johnson and Johnson that worked so well. Avon is the one that didn't work at all. The J&J brand in the green bottle is the best stuff you can buy to get the bloodsuckers to go away, and it smells better than that garlic idea also.

I know some people on here are in the sunny state of Florida, I have even talked to a couple of you on the phone. We are in Martin County just about 20 or 30 minutes north of Palm Beach. We would like to get in contact with anyone that would like to make some new friends. Diana has found out there are not too many Chinese people around here.

My wife used to sell Avon in China, and there was this green liquid lotion that kept mosquitos away great. Didn't smell too bad and it didn't cost too much either. Find an Avon girl and get some as soon as possible, you will be happ. Also for your home get one of those little things that you put an insence pad in those worked great for us also. Even if we had mozquitos in our home at night they would never bother us as long as we had one of those little burners going on around us. The Chinese people hate the bugs also and have found some pretty good ways to get rid of them just ask a friend or two.

Make sure you file taxes with the IRS even if they are backfiled. The consulate wants to see those 1040's. Then the easiest thing to do is just copy the signature page, and the money page of your contract with the name of the school on it. I did that and it worked fine. If you are asking your grandfather to do this and he says yes he should have enough stashed away by himself to meett he demand anyway. Just remember you are the sponsor and he is the cosponsor. Even if you have no money to your name you have to show the proper paperwork saying you are broke. I have heard many people don't even get a chance to show these papers at the interview, however when we arrived in San Francisco the immigration guy at the airport did seem to look at every page we had with us.

If you are meeting friends or family, my family over there has always been happy to change genuine RMB for my genuine greenbacks. They get the best rate possible and so do I, no comissions. I have been told they like to have the American dollars because they can do more with them.

Jobs, property, and money are no problems. Heck they own homes in 2 different provinces. Of course I know the people behind the glass in the embassy or consulate don't see things as sensibly as normal people. Anyway we are going to try the process for them to visit sometime next year and just hope it works out. Like you said the worse that can happen is a no, and of course a loss of a few hundred yuan.

Travellers checks in China would be a huge pain in the a** for sure. If you want to use them go ahead, but the banks and hotels charge a high comission where I checked. Debit/ATM Card might be the best bet if you are in a big city.

Diana and I are interested in finding out what the people here think of the possibility of a visitors visa being granted to parents from China. Her parents would like to come visit us but we do not know if the people in the embassy will even consider a yes at all. Any opinions on this subject would be appreciated.

Really no clocks, and also no umbrellas, and if I remember right no pears. Also in China white is the color for death so that might not be a good color all the time.

In China no paperwork means no marriage took place. The same thing as here in the States. The ceremony has no legal meaning behind it, it is just to show everyone that you are married. And of course to have fun with everyone too.

One question that should be asked is: why do you want to be married in China? Is it so you can share the glorious time with her family and friends? If that is so why not just have the wedding party with all the family and friends and play it off like you are married. I have heard of many people who said their new Chinese family considered them married before they actually did all the legal stuff. Getting married legally in China is very dull and boring, except for the part where you have to drop your pants and let the doctor check you out, depending on the person that could be something you don't want to do. I might be wrong, but in my opinion the banquet and party is the most important part to the Chinese people involved. As long as you follow up and really do get married when you arrive in the USA. If you had the party and banquet and then did not get married they would lose way way too much face and maybe never want to see their friends again so it is real serious. If anyone has any questions about getting married in China I might be able to help I was married there 2 years ago, and I was there for 3 years total. There are others who were there longer than me too. They should be goldmines of info. Marriage is one of the customs that is a little different than what happens over here so it should be handled very carefully.

If you have a cell phone in China or live in Beijing or Shanghai (I believe at least) you can call America for about 3 cents a minute give or take a cent. You log onto their site and use their big talk function and their network sets you up with the number stateside. Then in a few seconds your cellphone starts to ring and you are told to wait while your call is being connected. It works most of the time and it is almost as clear as a regular phone call, although it can be a little rough sometimes. You can buy the card on the internet with your credit card and then use it anywhere in the world almost. I am using it now even stateside since they give long distance rates to the 48 states for 2.9 cents a minute. No connection charge either. www.bigzoo.com

Don, we are doing great in sunny Florida. My laogon is working in a doctors office and thinking about going to school to be able to practice herself. I am waiting for a certification test so I will be able to teach, but that should happen pretty soon. We are thinking about her first car right now and other scary things like that. I have not checked the board too much in the last few weeks but plan to be reading more in the future.

I am a very foreign person in China, but during my 3 years I could sometimes get cheaper tickets than even my Chinese friends could. I guess I just made the right friends and found the right numbers to call. Maybe Changsha was nicer to foreigners than I used to think.

W hen we went through ther Shanghai airport in May they made Diana show them her envelope with her visa on the outside. They did NOT however make any show of trying to open it just looked at the name and picture on the outside and made sure it matched the passport.

I have taken the Ferry to Shenzhen from Hong Kong twice and it is the only way to travel if you are not flying. When I was there both times it was not even half full and it has airplane style seating only more comfy. They drop you off 4 minutes from the airport, and the customs line only has your boat instead of the thousands of people on the train.

I don't know what kind of visa you got when you entered the US a few years ago but all the visas that were received this year for CR-1 had a hole in them for sure because I have talked to so many people who had the top left corner cut off. And yes you could read things inside if you tried hard enough. By your own admission they process thousands of cases annually, just how many cases are there that you have talked to the person and know what happened to them. There are 400 - 500 people on here and most of them almost never post so how are you an expert on mixed up packages?

When we entered through San Francisco about 1 month ago we got the EAD stamp. Of course we were and still are CR-1 so it is easier for us than all you poor K people out there. We went to the social security office last week and got the form filled out and handed in, in just a few minutes, we then called the 800 number the next day for the number, and got the card earlier this week. Diana already has a job also, she is working for a doctor using her skills in Chinese since he practices Chinese medicine If anyone has any questions about what we have gone throug so far send me line and I will try to help.

I just sent you a PM with a person's info in GZ that should be able to help you if you are nice to her and remember she does not work in the IV unit but is willing to help if the caller tries to be understanding.

My grandmother called once a week for two months and had a pleasent conversation each time, even had messages returned same day or next day at the latest. If you need help just send me an e-mail.