Kyle

Hey Robert! Awesome to see your post. Well the ol' trade in for a newer model technique is one that I've never mastered. It always backfired, with the woman upgrading me! Have a great time buddy

Fantastic insights Tsap and Mick. I value your thoughts. I'll let you guys know how this will play out. It is exciting. Jingjing has already staked her claim to a portion of the back yard that she will use for a garden. She's also vetoed my suggestion of adding ceiling mirrors . . . . oh well

SOOOOO, Jing2 and I had an offer accepted on a house. Would you guys allow after the closing date the current occupant stay for a few days, or not? I said on the phone that I wouldn't be against it (I didn't sign anything saying I'd let her stay beyond closing), but after researching it, I'm inclined not to let her. http://activerain.trulia.com/blogsview/1163899/be-cautious-in-agreeing-to-delayed-possession Feel free to weigh in

So we put an offer in on a house today. Now, it's the darned waiting game. Fun fun fun.

I like Snow premium better than the original. JIngjing and I used to have a delivery guy bring it to us on a semimonthly basis.

I liked Huangyao; have no clue whether that is a "famous" tree or just a cool one. Regardless, it is cool

emphatically agree.

BTW, did the dude who guided your boat make you grab the floor when boating toward the back of the 20 RMB pic location? Nothing like a little unexpected pee in your pants to help you remember your trip. Good times. Info on the 20 RMB BTWx2 In the "us at the bridge" pic your fly is unzipped. j/k

Loved loved loved Yangshuo! Such a cool niche, in China. My Chinese students bypassed Yangshuo and focused entirely on Guilin, which I wasn't overly impressed with. Good times, good memories. Thanks for the nostalgic memories, Randy

Are you still in "the motherland" ? My sister-in-law is Texan.

Thanks everyone. - @ Mick - I think you and I may have had very similar experiences/backgrounds. I too help with various things like that at BFMA. Grant proposals aren't overly fun; it can be a tedious process. I'm gonna be transparent for everyone here; I really had issues with depression for about a year and a half after returning to the US. I wanted to be active here, moderate, admin, what ev, I just really struggled with the reverse culture shock. In other words, visiting the site, made it quite painful for me; I guess I just missed home (Wuhan). Let me explain this further. I love America, and I'm proud to be an American. That being said, China was an adventure for me; fresh out of college, I packed my things and said "Vaya con Dios" to the US, and went to a wonderfully new experience. It was also my first real taste of true independence. The university I went to was a private Christian one; which means that a lot of the "normal" college experiences that everyone else has were forbidden. In China, I had no boundaries, it was my choice, it was also my choice to either grow in my faith or not. I grew more as an individual in China than I ever did in my biblical studies courses at Harding. That's not to say that Harding's mission is not something that I don't respect or agree with, I just took/needed a different path to make my faith, my individuality, my own. I was separated from my parents, and was forced to make decisions on my own. My father, albeit a great man, didn't used to be. He used to be an ass, and we weren't close for a long time. As his personality changed (while I was in college), we began to make up lost time when being separated by an ocean between us; I am thankful for that. Now, I respect him as my father, but we do have a bantering like grown men should have, what I always seen in other son/father relationships of my friends. After moving back to the US, and back into my parents home (I'm 33 yr old btw), I struggled with the "social norm" of being self-sufficient and independent, which our (US) culture values so highly. I struggled with feelings of loosing my "freedom" by having a 15 ft buffer zone from my parents. I know I shouldn't of been ashamed, but pride is a b*tch, and I struggle with it. Also moving back to the States, I felt so disconnected from everything. Heck, I felt plum stupid as teenagers seemed to go on a develop their own jargon that I didn't recognize. What was "in" the last time I was in the States, was "out" when I returned. I'm fairly proficient in Chinese, and I struggled speaking English (primarily to larger groups) because it was a long time that I carried conversations in English with actual native speakers other than family. Typically while in China, I spoke 80 percent of the time in Chinese. Also after returning to the US, I seemed to become more introverted. I started having panic attacks in public which didn't help my already active depression issues. Basically, the only way I could phrase it is this. Have you ever brought home a gold fish from the store, and transferred it into a tank? The fish will be mind-screwed if you just drop him in the tank. You're suggested to let the bag which you brought it home in soak in the tank of water so that the temperature can gradually acclimate the fish. Basically I was a fish, and I was dropped back into America tank w/o a buffer zone. I post all of this openly because those of you abroad, need to be aware that culture shock is very very real. Some are likely better than I in dealing with it. It's also something that you can get through. Find a doctor, find a friend/church, whatever, to help you reconnect. For me, it took some counseling, and I'm doing a lot better, better enough that I started to miss you guys. Initially when going to China, you were my "buffer zone" and helped me touch base with America when I was having the same issues on the reverse end. That is why I always wanted to contribute; to be a giver as well as a taker; never be one-sided. I'm far from perfect, and and in fact, what I don't know, is far greater than what I do; but if my experience can help some other long-standing expat not face the same demons that affected me, then I'm happy to share this. Kyle PS. Go Team USA - screw group D

My first thought was the same as danb - queue. Yes, it is British in origin

http://i62.tinypic.com/65sf8x.jpg Kyle after half marathon http://i61.tinypic.com/2woxjj9.jpg Jingjing and Kyle

Ello' CFL fam, Besides just wanting to say hello, I thought I'd let you guys know how we're doing and give you some updates. Jingjing and I have been living in a converted apartment in my parents' home since arriving in the United States. We've both been doing OK. Since arriving, Jingjing began and finished her four year BSN degree, and as of two days ago, she passed her Missouri boards, so now she's able to give injections, meds, etc at the hospital where she's accepted employment. For those of you in the Kansas City area, she's working at St. Luke's on the plaza. http://i58.tinypic.com/2jbqy55.jpg Recently we went from one car, to purchasing her one for herself. She's now breaking all of the speed laws in her Honda Civic. My wife grew up in Wuhan, so she's accustomed to all sorts of creative driving methods. http://i57.tinypic.com/1z1tgfq.jpg We also got a dog, named Yadi (for you STL fans, this needs no further explanation). That being said, he's kind of stupid, albeit cute; he just doesn't live up to his namesake. We just got his "boys" separated, and I'm not sure he notices any difference http://i61.tinypic.com/juvgrc.jpg We're very thankful to mom and dad to let us stay at their place. It's given us an opportunity to save money; now, we've been preapproved for a home loan, so the fun is about to really begin. We're in the process of house hunting. Although, we've never felt any issues with Dad about us living there, sometimes having two hens in one house can well, uhh, yeah, you guys know what I mean. . . . Although Jingjing more than meets the criteria to begin the citizenship process, we still haven't pulled the trigger yet. Some hospitals that Jingjing is thinking about transitioning to though do require it, such as the VA hospitals, so it might be something we begin in the not so near future. As for myself, I'm working in the finance department of a non-profit organization that helps a lot of vets, homeless, and mentally disabled in the KC, MO area. I love it. I'm not making as much bank as I could working elsewhere, but hanging out with veterans, as well as those who are homeless and/or mentally disabled, I find very meaningful and rewarding. http://bfmakc.org/index.html Although life has been good, it hasn't been without it's struggles. After returning back to the US, I was having some serious issues re-entering my "home" culture. After seeking help though, I've come a long way. That's one of the reasons why I kind of just fell off this board for a while; I just missed China too much. I missed my friends and family. A lot of what I knew (about America) pre-China, didn't make sense to me post-China. People to me seemed so high-maintenance and quick tempered. Part of that though, was how I was interpreting my newly immersed American culture. Jingjing though, has seemed to really thrive. She's becoming much more confident, especially after graduating nursing school. I just hope she keeps the good traits about her home culture, and doesn't become too "American" Now that we're moving out soon, I feel like we're starting to have our own individuality which is important to us both. We're looking for a house though that has a finished basement that we can convert into an apartment Per-Se, so when Jingjing's folks visit, they will have some room for themselves. Kids? Not yet, but we're thinking about it. Too many life transitions at once might not be a good thing for us at this time. If any of you are in the Kansas City area, let me know; we'd like to hang out sometime. Later, Kyle

That's great news, It's good to see your success!

Hi Randy, yeah, that's funny, and no, like you I was never asked about English text on articles of clothing. I remember those days. It somewhat reminds me of Americans who clearly didn't research their Chinese tattoos enough before getting inked.

So uhh, hi everyone. It's been a while since I've stopped by; I really feel bad about that. Figured, I'd say hi to old friends and hope that I'm still welcome around. Admittidly, I kind of abruptly fell off the face of the CFL universe. That being said, I'll cover some personal stuff that's been going on, as well as try to give an overall update of how JIngjing and I are doing. First off, my wife is still giving this goat a good mop slap every now and then, and really, I can't deny that I deserve it (at least most of the time). For those of you in the Kansas City area, we're still here and we'd be open to meeting you guys if you'd want. My wife is about to finish her last semester at St. Luke's college of nursing where she'll graduate with a BSRN (and she has already secured employment afterwards). She's more dedicated to her university studies than I was at 18. She's still pulling a 4.0. Some semesters, due to "extra" activities, I was lucky to make a 0.4, so yeah, she's smarter than me, and now she has the records to prove it. We're also in the process of purchasing our first home. It's all exciting and new and even a little stressful, but it's a good kind of stress. Jingjing's parents are planning on coming to visit us later this year (tourist visa) assuming that everything goes smoothly. Ok background info about myself: I grew up on the east side of Missouri, close to St. Louis, so I've always been a cardinals fan. I have successfully converted my wife as a fan of the redbirds as well. we even have a dog named, Yadi. http://i61.tinypic.com/15p1s3a.jpg We're still just the two of us, but were beginning to discuss additions to the family. Still preliminary though. Since coming to the States, my wife has put me on a diet. She's not screwing around either; essentially, it is an anything I want to eat, she won't let me eat diet. I've lost 60 pounds so I guess it's not all bad as long as I don't let her know when I cheat. I am a firm believer in transparency among spouses except when it comes to cheating on a "diet" or as she says "a life change" Our marriage although going well, has had it's bumps. No marriage is perfect, and I for that matter, am far from it. Culture shock is real and so is reverse culture shock. My wife has handled it better than I did in China, but I've struggled a lot upon our return to the States. My mood and just overal emotional state declined greatly. Although, I never physically or verbally abused my wife, I did shut down a bit mentally/emotionally, so in an essense, I did indirectly affect her. That with her own dealings of cultural adjustment made it hard from time-to-time. The good news is that the human spirit is fairly durable and can adjust to most things and thankfully that applies to us both. It's an on-going deal though which creeps up every now-and-then. The most severe time in my life is no coincidence to my abrupt absense from this forum. A time away has allowed Jingjing and I to focus on one another and since our initial arrival to the US, we've found a church home and a network of close friends who have helped make us feel "at home" - In other words, now, I kind of miss this place, and although I don't know what my status is considered by others on this site, would like to return on a more consistant basis, if anything else, to contribute where I can and hopefully rekindle friendships made in the past. This website has served me well while in China. living abroad was difficult enough, and this place allowed me an avenue to "decompress" I feel that now, I'm in a good place and hopefully can return the favor who are currently undergoing what I went through for over five years. Anyway, I thank you all, miss you, and wish you well. Thanks for not changing the locks while I was away. Friendship love and appreciation, Kyle http://i57.tinypic.com/21d0u13.jpg http://i62.tinypic.com/28khhms.jpg

no problems here

Ouch! Scrambled eggs are no way for a guy to go. I feel bad for the dude

I'd feel comfotable recommending the Yangs. they were a great help to Jingjing and I

That is pretty cool, Carl

That's great news! Congratulations to you both!

150000 RMB for a parking space??????!!!!!!! Whoa, that's a tad on the high side to say the least. How much to use a bike rack - 50000? That's funny, Mick!

Concerning my wife, I can see that point-of-view