frank1538

Great to hear the good news. I'm sure it will be doubly sweet when your son gets his exit permit.

There are so many things, but here are the first 10 that come to mind: 1. The flora and fauna of the South (with the exception of kudzu) 2. Kitchen and household appliances, central air and heat 3. Real American cooking - can't wait to cook something on the grill for her 4. The malls - I promise not to hold her purse 5. The air. Atlanta's air is not the best, but it beats the heck out of China's 6. The beach. I might even convince Jingwen to wear a swimming suit 7. Car shopping 8. The parks, festivals, and fairs 9. New York City 10. The night clubs and dancing - a big difference from the discos that she's used to.

Ning and George, based on your timeline, you are up there with the "longest wait" crowd. Maybe the rest of the journey will go fast for you. Congratulations.

I love good news. Congratulations.

Orrin, thanks for the elaboration, but I think that many of us know what you meant. I certainly did. It is not fatalism. It is realization and a determination to see it through despite the endless snafus that the government throws our way. You certainly felt some of the highest frustration levels foisted upon a citizen by the government. As relates to the Viet Nam era, I think we were both young Turks in those days. As the song goes: "I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now."

I have been gathering up all the documents, etc. in preparation for Jingwen's K-1 interview. I had intended to incude the pictures from our ceremonial wedding, but a friend said GZ might think we were legally married and deny the visa. Surely, GZ knows the difference between a ceremonial wedding and a legal wedding. Did anybody use their ceremonial wedding photos for the K-1 interview?

Don't know if the K-3 process differs significantly from the K-1 after the petition hits the service center. The on-line CIS status check showed approval about two weeks before I received the NOA2 from TSC. Nothing ever came from NVC - had to call to find out that they completed the namecheck. Receipt by GZ? - gotta check with them. They send noting upon receipt. P3? GZ doesn't tell you that they sent it unless you ask. I assume GZ won't tell you about sending the P4 either unless you ask.

But do you remember how many lines of code it took to get the bouncing pixel to cycle across the screen? hehehe Can you say BASIC?

Some of the larger stores, as in department type stores, will take a credit card, but I'm with Carl on this one. Cash is king.

1) candle/001 name - frank1538 2) K1 or K3 - K-1/K-2 3) date P3 was officially sent to you - 11/3/03 (resent 11/18 due to address problem) 4) if and when you actually received your physical P3 papers - 11/20/03 5) P3 arrived by what service (EMS, regular post...) - EMS 6) date you sent P3 back - 11/22/03 7) what method you used to return your P3 - EMS 8) reference number for the P3 return - EK732888462CN 9) date P3 acknowledged as received by GZ - 12/2 (White Swan - 11/24) 10) date P4 was sent 11) interview date 12) visa received

I just got finished posting a few links for PJ's FAQ since there isn't much to do on the weekends while we wait for the P4. But, it did remind me of an off color joke (please delete if too offensive) So, a guy goes to the doctor and says that his unit has turned orange on him. The doc takes a look and, after a battery of tests, can't find anything wrong. So, the doc asks the guy if he's been doing anything out of the ordinary over the past few days. The guy says: "No, just eating Cheetos and watching porn flicks"

It being another weekend in an empty house, I thought I'd work on some FAQs. Here are a few links, PJ. Sending Money to China http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....5752f0316549ca5 http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....5752f0316549ca5 http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....5752f0316549ca5 http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....1ecc94f82fbc9f9 http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....aeeb03a3c6a803d http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....3b98d2a28aa1b14 http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....3b98d2a28aa1b14 http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....3b98d2a28aa1b14 Sending Money From China http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....3b98d2a28aa1b14 http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....3b98d2a28aa1b14 http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....3b98d2a28aa1b14 Drivers License http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....3b98d2a28aa1b14 http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....3b98d2a28aa1b14 http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....ba640ba70e34fc2 Vaccinations/Medical Exams http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....fac18d75174b787 http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....d4aa71a97a8f321 http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....102b3839b36e301 http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....d4aa71a97a8f321 http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....d4aa71a97a8f321 http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....d4aa71a97a8f321 http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....d4aa71a97a8f321 http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....d4aa71a97a8f321 http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....d4aa71a97a8f321 http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....d4aa71a97a8f321 Income Taxes/TIN http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....75f3370d0fa370d http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....75f3370d0fa370d http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....75f3370d0fa370d Traveling to China/Hotels/Tips/Flights http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....47cb744c2270fac http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....47cb744c2270fac http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....47cb744c2270fac http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....47cb744c2270fac http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....47cb744c2270fac http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....47cb744c2270fac http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....47cb744c2270fac http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....47cb744c2270fac Visiting the US http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....0b022f95b4c760c http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....0b022f95b4c760c http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....0b022f95b4c760c http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....0b022f95b4c760c http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....0b022f95b4c760c http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....0b022f95b4c760c http://candleforlove.com/forums/index....0b022f95b4c760c

Jingwen's mother is insistent on street exchanges - says she can get the best rate on the street. While I don't don't this, you have to be real careful. First, there's the issue of counterfeit money. I couldn't tell a good bill from a bad one if my life depended on it, so I figured, if I can't tell, most of the other people couldn't tell either. The second thing I experienced first hand while taking mom's advice on using the street. Double and triple count the money!!!!. I watched this guy count out the yuan to give me in exchange for $100. He counted and I added. Yep, 826 yuan. He counted again. I added again. Yep, 826 yuan. He then gave me the money, and I counted. WTF? 726 yuan. I counted again. Yep, 726 yuan. When he was holding and counting the money, he had folded one of the bills in half so he was double counting it. Needless to say, Jingwen went ballistic which brought the requisite crowd of judge and jury to resolve the problem. Feeling a little out of place, I just stood there while both sides pleaded their cases. Finally, the crowd agreed with us, and Vinnie gave us another 100 yuan.

Christmas

Welcome back, Monte, and congratulations on your marriage. We want details

Ah yes, the great sage. Just a few more pearls of wisdom from the master: Boy's as sharp as a bowling ball Boy's like a dead horse - got no get up and go This is gonna cause more confusion than a mouse in a burlesque show You're doing a lot of choppin', but no chips are flyin' That boy's as strong as an ox, and just about as smart Kid don't stop talking so much he'll get his tongue sun burned That boy's so dumb, he thinks the Mexican border pays rent And his most famous: Go away, boy, ya bother me

If anyone is interested, Spring Festival starts 1/22/04. If necesary, I'd sleep in the streets if I had to to be there during the interview. But, as Rob thought, I'll bet that the pit crews' interviews will be later than published. I'm hoping for January, but expect February.

Party time in GZ

Here is what GZ told me when I asked them to confirm receipt of the P3 forms: From: "GuangzhouIV" <GuangzhouIV@state.gov> To: frank1538 Subject: RE: ****** Jingwen GUZ ********** Date: Thu, 4 Dec 2003 12:12:20 +0800 Yes, we have received the forms. Based on our current schedule, it appears that her interview will occur in one or two months. Immigrant Visa Unit When is Spring Festival?

The pit crew finally closes its doors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations.

.1345 translates to about 7.43 yuan to the dollar - not the best. So, on a hundrend dollars, you'd get 743 yuan vs say 820. The difference is enough to buy breakfast for about a week.

I've used WorldLingo - bought it used for about $50. The dictionary is limited (about 50,000 words), but it has a nice voice feature so you can sorta hear the Mandarin pronunciation. Also, it displays the translation both in pinyan and hanzi. I found this feature quite useful when I was shopping and got that blank stare when I tried to pronounce the word. Overall, I think it was a good investment. One of my buddies carries a pocket dictionary with him. Considerably more words in it, and the batteries last forever

I've never exchanged money though BOA, so I don't know. The BOC rate is 8.17 yuan to the dollar. Is this better or worse? The best I've gotten was 8.22 - on the street

Maybe there is conflicting information elsewhere, but the following, also from the thread, indicates that a Chinese passport OR an exit permit is required: "If either parent of the child is a Chinese citizen, that parent needs to obtain an exit permit or a Chinese passport for the child from the Public Security Bureau located in the place of his/her residency. If an exit permit is issued, the child can depart China on that permit. "

That's kinda why I debated posting this. A buddy sent this to me and said it came from: http://www.rising-dragon.co.uk/articles/bu...nstructions.htm. I just checked the site and couldn't tell you if it's legit or not, but I did notice no number 19).