Mike and Yan

time to break out the .... 'SNOOPY DANCE"!

Excellent site quick easy clear I benefited!! thank you

I used Rosetta Stone. It's good. BUT make sure your wife speaks the same way. Rosetta Stone is for a northern speaker. My wife from the south is understandable to them but it is difficult for me to understand her. Thus I had to stop using it. So I now try to read the language and learn vocab from her. We learn new words together. Pinyin helps me reduce the confusion. But again, she is an expert and does not know how to 'properly' speak; I need to be very flexible.

I am really happy for you and your baby. Soon you two reunite with husband / dad family together!!!! Congratulations! best wishes

Mike , I think we use the same books to study mandarin. I bought all 4 and the CDs. They are very good books and I wish they were available for the English learners in China. My wife and I often study English and Chinese together, including several hours on weekends. Having a little knowledge makes it easier for both of us to help the other. It seems that both of us learn that much faster. I¡¯m glad you had the opportunity to talk to that man. I don¡¯t think the Chinese will ever be a military aggressor against another country; it has never been the case (Tibet: I don¡¯t know). Perhaps a similar discussion is needed for the hawks in the US who believe that a strong China is a threat. (I¡¯m a hawk who does not believe they are a threat) I was told that very few people in southern China actually say: Ren shi ni hen gao xing !!! Upon using this I was told no need to talk like that, so I trotted out my ¡°New Practical Chinese Workbook¡± Vol 1. A dozen owl eyes and I knew something was up. I¡¯m not sure really what happened, but I know that the more I try to speak Chinese the easier life is. Additionally there is always something new for Yan and me to talk about. No TV in months If you aren¡¯t trying to learn you really need to consider the tsunami of Chinese in our world. The opportunity to learn Chinese is invigorating. The chances of using it will only increase. Good job Mike.

Thank you!!! In China I loved to go to a particular restaurant...they had a really good drink there....I order double large because ...well .... who can say when I'll return to China.. My wife is now in the USA and buys some disgusting soymilk which I refuse to drink. She heats it and says..."you like this ...I know". It wasn¡¯t EXACTLY the same but I could see her point. Seems that I might like the disgusting stuff¡­¡­ I wonder if this thing is a good New Year¡¯s present?

yup X 3 !

I downloaded and tried it.. but I don't want it as the default chinese input when I change to chinese; why would I ? I can't figure out how to make it not chinese default when switching bilingually. So I deleted it. I do not have that issue, but perhaps it is because I am running a different OS than you. Currently, I'm running Vista. After installing PinyinInput, it did show up as the default (Chinese input), however, in my case this was easily changed. All I had to do was select Microsoft Pinyin IME before switching over to English. This can be done by clicking the blue PinyinInput icon in the language bar then selecting from the options given. After you do this, switch over to English (For me, this is done by hitting Shift+ALT) http://i38.tinypic.com/zk35zo.jpg Hitting shift+alt when switching back to Chinese set my input system as Microsoft Pinyin IME. Vista will switch to the last used input method. Below are the different keyboards installed on my OS. http://i33.tinypic.com/qydeth.jpg Did you purchase your computer in USA or China? (looks like USA) Why would you use other "PinYin" software? the Vista stuff is pretty good ...looks like you bough tthe language pack. Does your wife use a writting pad? Mike

interesting article American ginseng may have less stimulants but otherwise they are about the same except in color.

As we were shopping, my wife was saying the ginseng was really good, but I could not figure out why. What is so great about "American" Ginseng?

Nice!!! thank you very much! May I ask... how she found these sites? I seem to recall you live in China? Regardless, I can not figure how to find web sites with Chinese names. Thanks, Mike

Do you buy any food on the internet? The problem is her favorite canned food items like fruits for making tea have no English name. Normally I Google and query a little…viola an answer, but with her supply carried from China running low I can’t figure out what to do. The international and local Chinese food stores just can't import everything. Any recommendations for a good website? Distributor in America? oopps wrong place for this topic

yup that award wining smile, from the other side of a huge room loaded with people, broadcasting: ¡°I have PINK paper¡± THAT is happiness!! Congratulations

Did you teach her about broken water pipes? I have helped friends repair this mess several times. At least keep the heat on in the house to maintain above 60. The interior of the exterior walls is much lower causing frozen/burst pipes at night. Also you don¡¯t need that musty moldy odor. A higher temp is less friendly environment for them. Additionally colds and related bacteria survive better in a somewhat cooler air. Space heater with a blanket on it???? PLEASE it's better to have a fight with her. Incredibly dangerous fire hazard. Incredibly dangerous bad habit.

Guilin, Guangxi most beautiful mountains of China (they say) nice place for a honeymoon too..(I can confirm that) Kung Fu Panda was filmed there!!

very interesting story......thanks. there is an interesting truth you describe and it is a reason that I enjoy the Chinese movies and stories. There often is an interesting truth. I might not have understood why Xiangnan went back to his ex-wife without the explanation 'she needs him'. Is it possible to generalize that Chinese movies/drama are similar to those in the US during the 1950s?

Is he against all interracial marriages? That would be bad. If for nothing else how can he say where the race line is, thus allowing any marriage? Is he against certain interracial marriages? That may be bad. ¡­¡­probably is racial. Is he against the town idiot making another dumb decision? That may be OK; official elected by the town/city knows the people, media is incapable of reporting all pertinent details. I could be wrong

point well taken. and you do say 'roughly'....so.... I think a distinction is here: The ¡®race issue¡¯ in this marriage request is discrimination of lifestyle choice. The ¡®race issue¡¯ of a business owner refusing service to ¡®your kind¡¯ is discrimination of a race. There is a difference there. I could be wrong: Does it benefit society to allow prejudice against a particular choice of lifestyle?

The Judge is cool ...... His statements are credible; the brat is just not very credible nor is the media (his megaphone). good for the Judge. Your comment reminded me of an email Okie2 (Bob) sent me the other day about how you cannot trust the media and how they can distort the truth. how you put this together....!.....? You are one dangerous person at the keyboard. B) and that Okie2 guy is another no-nonsense feller

Thank you....I skimmed the article before logging onto CFL. I could not bear to read that drivel again. But I remember the Judge¡¯s statement as you quote it. The Judge is cool and the whiney snot brat has a megaphone in the US media. God forbid if we have some kind of standard above mediocrity. Laws can not be written for every possible situation. I expect a Judge to be impartial and wise; this guy exercised restraint, broke no law and is not an activist. His statements are credible; the brat is just not very credible nor is the media (his megaphone). good for the Judge.

Yup....change the air, the new rule, two hour requirement, never remembers to shut the doors/windows. I'm cool with the concept...BUT chilled when it's done!!!! 70 works for me, but she would much rather freeze her cute little buns off down to 45 than turn on any heat. (dressed in layers!!) I'm nervous about burst pipes and similar as this has happened to me. Also it takes so long to warm up a frozen house...I just don't care that it costs a little extra to be comfortable. note that when we get out of bed....she does like it warm since she has zippppooo on !! I'm gonna work it from that angle.

Han Italian, barbarian, English, mutt

I certainly would change my name. If there is anything I prefer it is simplicity. Im America it does make things simple if husband and wife have the same last names. So who changes their name? . . . easy....the one that requires least effort. If I were to live in China I would take a Chinese name instantly. I also would learn to write it in perfect Chinese fashion. B)

$5000!!!!? ? ? ???? THAT'S INSANE!!! (...ummmm . . are you getting anything in return?)

My wife told me similar while we were in China. I indicated that I could not pay money to receive any human being. I would not be able to face my parents. As an American Citizen the idea of paying money to parents in exchange for their child is unacceptable. TOTALLY. I also said that I didn¡¯t mind giving a small gift of money; in keeping with the Chinese tradition. So a polite gift is possible at least in my mind. BUT it can not be of great $$$ value. I felt that 100 RMB was OK. She promptly left the room. Five minutes later she returned and I received a huge kiss. And I mean really huge. No words, no explanation, just an end to the discussion. I never asked what happened. Additionally, I ensured the parents were well fed and received at great wedding banquet.