TimD

A while back I tried my hand at sending my sister inlaw an email in Chinese....yea, it was all wrong too. Being fond of stupid computer tricks I went to one of the sites on the net that does translations from English to Chinese. I put in my English phrase, translated it to Chinese then translated it back to English....try this one if you really want to see some odd results Have you tried those pocket translators yet? -Tim

They might be talking about the new Super Id. I read about this last night and Sara posted the story for us here, check out the link http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/19/internat...sia/19CHIN.html or Sara's post for details.

I can just imagine Chinese Taxi drivers in the US....makes me laugh thinking of these poor drivers being restrained to one single lane

One of the questions I have been asked most since I have been here in China is what do I think of China and what to people in the states think of China. So I was thinking that I should add a section to my web site called "Trips and Stories" that would have photos and stories of westerners who have been to China and a little story of their trip here. If any of you would like to contribute send me a PM and we can talk about it. I think it would be great to have a section where we can all read about each others impressions of China...I think it would be cool too to add a section for the Chinese who are now in the states with their stories. I think it would be a great compliment to Candle. I think it would be great too for those folks in D.C. to actually see some pictures and read some stories of those of us who contact them, it would kind of personalize and humanize us. -Tim

Hmmmm....our friends are telling us that we are starting to look alike....maybe it's our noses

We had out pictures taken in the states for about $30. The man who took our photos was a Korean. He talked our ears off telling us stories of going to school with his Chinese friends. He also gave me some good advice on married life with a Chinese woman, he married a Chinese woman too. -Tim

She had a better day on her birthday than I did, I was too sad. I had a real hard time talking to her on the phone....it's still the toughest thing I have to deal with in being her. Her mother and I agreed that if she does well in school this year that she will come to China and spend the summer with us. She's excited about this as are we. She did start school last week and seems to like it there. I think that now that she is in school her mind will be focused on new friends and her school and should have an easier time dealing with her Daddy being so far away. B) -Tim

A building trade school, you may have something there.

Wow that's interesting. Most of the Chinese people I know here prefer western doctors over the Chinese doctors. One of the items I forgot yo bring with me to China is Tylenol for my headaches, so when I had my first head ache we went to a Chinese drug store and bought some pills for me to take. They were like Elkaseltzer<sp?> in that I had to disolve them in water and then drink it...I was weary at first but I finally gave in and it worked, and worked quickly. I have no idea what it was that was in there but now when ever I get a head ache its what I take.

I found this kind of funny, in another post in the Language and Culture area we there was a post about the lack of wiring standards in China....and then today I read of the blackout you guys had in the states....just found it kind of funny So what was up with that? Does anyone know what caused it? It wasn't unpatched Microsoft systems was it? -Tim

That's exactally what I am drinking right now as I sit here and read Candle....I hate to say it, but this stuff isn't bad at all!! -Tim

I have to agree about China being a mix of old and new. It's one of the things I love about being here. You can goto Shanghai, for instance, and see some of the most beautiful modern architecture in the world, then drive 3 blocks and see the older parts of the city with all the laundry, poultry and fish hanging out the windows. It's a contrast to say the least and one of the appealing aspects of China's personality. Kaige, did I understand your post correctly, your thinking of buying a home here and fixing it up? We've been thinking of doing the same, not a home really but an apartment in Beijing to retire in. I believe you can find modern building materials, I think it just depends on which city you are in. There are a number of large Home Depot like stores here that, I believe, sell what you are looking for. When we were on the train from Nanjing to Shanghai I was thinking about this, about how nice it would be to "buy" a plot of land and build a home on it in the Chinese country side, which is beautiful. I think it would be much cheaper than buying land in the states, especially during our retirement years. -Tim

Great to hear the news Dave, there's a story for your grandchildren!! Our thoughts are with you guys, -Tim

I hate to say this, but aside from the Shanghai blend I bought the other day my favorite coffee here is the instant stuff with the cream and sugar already in it. I put two packets of that in my cup, walk over to the water cooler/heater and I'm good to go. Here's another fun fact from China, here we don't have a coffee table in front of the couch, but instead we have a tea table, same thing, different name. -Tim

I just can't say enough about the Taxis here in China, I can sure relate to what you wrote. For me it's a thrill ride and always fun. Yea, the public restrooms aren't what they are back home either, I've learned to hold it. Funny story, kind of off topic but I'll share it anyway When I was here for our wedding we went to an Irish bar for drinks and some music. I walked in picked my stall and was taking care of business when this Russian guy two stalls down started talking tome in Russian...just to be a smart as I kept replying to him in Chinese, even when he asked me if I spoke English...wo ting bu dong...shen ma? dui bu qi!! He just looked at me as if I were some kind of yankee smart ass.....hmmmm We don't really barter here for food, but for game boy games and PC software we do. Also when we are in Beijing and Shanghai. I can also relate to the beggers, my god they just never let up and they come at you. When we went to Shanghai we had to take a train and as soon aso our cab pulled up to the station we were swarmed with beggers and people trying to sell us stuff. -Tim

Coffee and cream is expensive here, by Chinese standards, about 56RMB for a can of Maxwell House, which I hate anyway. The other day I found a brand from Shanghai that was cheeeeaaaappp!! And it tastes good too. I can put our milk in the coffee, not problem it tastes fine. I think what I need to do is buhy some chocolate syrup and I'll be fine The other thing I noticed is that some of the instant drink mixes here are absolutely awful. We bought some lemonaide and some fruit bunch and both tasted like soap. They do sell Tang and instant Nestle Ice tea which we drink a lot of. -Tim

How do they handle the income requirements for this, do you have to make a certain percentage per year for 3 years or a certain percentage for a total of 3 years? -Tim

OK, here's another stupid question from Tim Back home I use to kill at least a half gallon of milk a day, good ole 2%. Here I think I have had a total of 2 glasses. Milk here is sold at room temperature and for this yankee it just doesn't seem right to buy warm milk and then refrigerate it. The other day we picked up a case of milk which has a 3 month shelf life. I put some in the fridge last night and had a glass this morning. It tasted kind of odd, like there was a lot of cream in it or something. My question is what is the difference between milk in the states and milk you buy here in China. I realize it all comes from a cow, except soy milk, but the manner they process it, is that different? Can you find 2% milk here? -Tim

You're right Wolf on both counts. When I call my daughter we dial 001 - then the rest of the number and we do have to use an IP card which is running us about 100RMB for a 45 minute call. -Tim

I think PJs bright enough to realize this fact. Thank god China is China and the US is the US. It wouldn't be such a wonderful place to live or visit if it were the same. I've seen a lot of things in my short time in China that I have found disterbing, but just wrote it off to another countries culture and customs. Then on the other hand I've seen things in the states that have discusted me too. I came to China for many many reasons, one of which was to experience the culture of my wife, both the good and the bad. And even though I have seen some pretty outragous things here my opinion of this wonderful country has not changed in the least. I love being here more and more as each day passes. As for the topic of plane tickets, as I've always said, just shop around, however if buying domestic airfare for Chinese flight it might be best to get the tickets here. We have a great agent we go through and he knows that if he gives us a steap price my wife will give him hell -Tim

PJ - Here's another one you may want to try http://www.blogger.com. I was playing around with this yesterday after installing Google's new Tool bar. The new tool bar has a button that allows you to post a web link to your blog, this eventaully led me to their site to check it out. What have I been doing I've been a busy IT, Chinese/American house husband Actually I just finished working on a database for my wife's company and now plan to get back to work on my site. I have tons of little stories about my life here so far that I want to finish my blog tool so I can easily update and post my adventures. Here's a fun fact, I don't know if I posted this here yet or not, but as many of you know there are no cloths dryers here in China, I'm sure there are somewhere but for the most part no one uses them. So we have to hang all our cloths up in the "sun room". Also, our little washer plays "Jingle Bells" when it starts and stops, beats the heck out of that annoying buzzer I had on my Maytag back home I'll let you all know when I get more posted on our site, but for now I have some floors to mop and some cloths to wash

I'm in the process of writting one for www.ourlifeinchina because I'm lazy and don't want to create a new HTML page everytime I want to add en entry, plus I'm 5 weeks behind on my blog anyway...yea yea I'm a slacker Is this for a mySQL database and PHP, if so I can send you what I have once it's complete and you can hack away at it at will to accomidate your needs. Or if you want to give me a better idea of how you want this to function I can add it into what I'm writting now. -Tim

Sarah, Are you describing Six Flags or a ride in a Chinese Taxi -Tim

Oh boy, this topic brings back some memories. My wife was here on a business trip just 3 weeks after my divorce was finalized, so we decided to get married. We had 6 days to find the perfect wedding rings and engagement rings. We found 2 nice wedding bands of white gold, but could not find an engagement ring that suited our bands. In comes my mother.....she had my great grandmothers engagement ring, which just so happened to be white gold and a perfect fit for my wifes finger. We both took this as a good omen and decided that the engagement ring was the one we wanted. My greatgrandfather, who bought the ring, is the man I was named after, since I was born on the same day he was....yea, good sign -Tim

GREAT SITE!!! Thanks Tony....Now I've got a bit more to offer the wife when she comes home from work