Greg & Chun

Happy to report that we got the visa approval! Just waiting for everything to arrive at the post office.

Ready for document submission on January 26 and interview on January 27! Got the apartment reservation setup with the Yang's

Talk2China.com works great! I would write out my message in english, translate it to simplified chinese in Google translate and then check my work in MDBG online Chinese-English dictionary. (It helps that I am familiar with the pinyin translation and how it sounds.) Then I would send the chinese message to Chun via talk2China.com. She would reply and I would reverse the process to understand what she was saying. Seems like a long process, but it works! Be careful - the translators only work to a point. Sometimes you need to change the word order or the word selection in the original english message to get the right message across. It is amazing how one innocent text can set up a flurry of responses! Just sayin'

Stayed two nights on Shamian Island in the Guangdong Victory Hotel. My wife and I stayed in the West building. It is around the corner from the main hotel. Very nice location and rooms. Right now, all of the streets are under re-construction. They are getting ready for the Asian Games. I was told that everything needed to be completed in May. To say the least, it was an adventure walking around all the construction. Here is the reservation info for two nights: Hotel (Reserved) Total price: $155.72 Guangdong Victory Hotel Business Room West Building. Requests: 1 KING BED, Non-Smoking Check in Sat 6-Mar-10 Check out Mon 8-Mar-10 No. 53, Shamian North Street Guangzhou, Guangdong 510130 China 86 (20) 8121 6688 Fax 86 (20) 8121 9889