frank1538

I read somewhere that the post-partum period is considered a "cold" period for the mother, and she is believed to be weak and vunerable to infection and disease. So, she should avoid baths and hair washing to keep the wind from entering the body.

Looks like we've got some promising candidates for the Darwin awards.

Just a reminder that the Mid Autumn Moon Festival is approaching. Last year, I sent Jingwen an animated greeting card with dancing mooncakes on it. Everybody got a laugh. Looks like another long distance festival this year.

Wonderful story. Reminds me of the lyrics to a song - something about making love in baggage claim. Congratulations.

Congratulations! So nice to hear the good news. Don't stop "practicing" now.

I wanted to let the group know that Jingwen cleared NVC in 39 days. This wonderful news is tempered by the fact that others have been waiting much longer. I wish we knew better why this happens. Well, now it's on to P3, P4, and the elusive K-1.

The long wait is over. Now, have a long life together. Congrats.

Fantastic news!!!!!!!!!!! The burden has been lifted, and life is good. Congratulations.

When I went to China for Spring Festival, the lines through customs were exceedingly long. The "Nothing To Declare" line probably would have taken me about an hour to clear. But there was no one in the red line, so I thought I'd take a chance. I was carrying CDs, perfume, jewelry, and a few other things. The inspector checked the CDs and smiled. He asked about the perfume and the jewelry, and I showed him the receipt. I don't remember the amount, but it was well over $100. Again, no problem. I was out of customs in two minutes. Luck of the draw, I guess.

Don't know if it will help, but Washington has it drivers manual online and in Chinese: http://golocalnet.com/drivingage/outofstate4.htm

I have read of fiancees being denied a K-1 for failure to show an ability to communicate in English. The usual demand from the VO is a five minute video tape. I have two questions of the group. The first is whether having a tape made in advance is a good precaution. I would think so. Having one available just in case might not be a bad idea. For those of us who are planning to be in Guangzhou during the interview phase, I guess this could be done in the days leading to the interview. The second question is more computer technical. Does anyone know if it is possible to record the webcam chats (Yahoo, in my case)? I know I can do screen shots, but I don't know if it is possible to record (video and audio) the entire session. Jingwen's English is passable, and we communicate just fine with a combination of English and Chinese, but she is so nervous about the interview. I worry that she may get flustered.

First, I don't understand anyone but could or should have known the contents. How did you list the contents on the waybill? Second, I don't understand how Customs can hold up routine commerce. If they did this to all outbound mail, FedEx would go belly up is short order. Something in Anchorage doesn't smell right. Third, how comfortable are you with the explanation? When I was experimenting with carriers, I tried FedEx. Tracking was routine until the on-line message "Clearing Customs" kept coming up. After about 2 days of this, I called FedEx, and after a fair amount of shouting, they finally informed me that they did not service my fiancee's home town, so the package could not be delivered. Again, copious amounts of shouting ensued. They finally agreed to use local EMS to finish the delivery. Just curious, where does you fiancee live?

Maybe you should kiss Yuhui and tell the car that it did real good.

Whatever you do, don't mail it, unless you want her to have ONE BIG piece. I made the mistake once of sending a box of Godiva, along with some other Christmas presents. I figured it's winter, so it should be okay. Wrong - all melted. I might add that when I brought a box with me, the kids liked the chocolate, but Jingwen thought it was too sweet. She did like the gold box though.

Maybe these tips will help: 1. The assumption of immortality is required of all drivers. 2. All maneuvers, use of the horn and evasive action should be left until the last possible moment. 3. Traffic entering a road from the right has priority. So has traffic from the left, and also traffic in the middle. 4. All traffic at all times and irrespective of direction of travel should occupy the center of the road (no, that's a Chinese rule). 5. Passing is mandatory. Every moving vehicle is required to pass every other moving vehicle, irrespective of whether it has just passed you. Passing should only be undertaken in suitable conditions, such as in the face of oncoming traffic, on blind bends, and at junctions. No more than two inches should be allowed between your vehicle and the one you are passing - one inch in the case of bicycles or pedestrians (sorry, another Chinese rule).

Shoot, and I had these visions of catching a clip so I could show Jingwen that driving in America was a piece of cake - kinda point and shoot, right? Jingwen has never driven a car in her ** years. She's deathly afraid of trying to learn. She did say that she would be willing to drive a motor scooter. She's only crashed one Imagine a petite Chinese woman tooling around Atlanta on her scooter. Imagine anybody driving a scooter in Atlanta.

Ok, I give up. Wanted to check out the link, but I keep getting a page not found error message.

Don't you mean iced tea with your sugar? I'm Southern born and raised, and sweet tea is sometimes more common than Coke. Can't wait to see Jingwen's expression with her first sip. Also, I have always been told that drinking hot fluids on a hot day cools you better than a cold drink does. I think it has something to do with opening the pores for more sweat evaporation. Whoever came up with that bright idea has never lived in the South (US or China) where the humidity is usually higher than the temperature.

Given the fact that Jingwen is scared stiff about the interview, these tidbits are like nuggets of gold. Thanks. Congratulations to you both.

Hang in there. We're all praying for you.

This is the first time I've heard of Guangzhou setting up a provisional file. It is is a good sign for you. As suggested, a provisional file is set up in advance of the receipt of the paperwork from the US, but I really like the way tywy_99 put it: A case that is between being and not being but will be.

Just add a little extra soap to the water, and you can make snow to go along with the music.

Just be careful about common law marriage in the States Fortunately, my state, Georgia, just did away with commom law marriage, otherwise, I might have found myself "married" when we had our ceremony in China.

Jingwen and I sometimes feel the subtle undercurrents when we are out with friends. I think part of it is jealousy; part of it is cultural bias that treats foreginers as outsiders. Many of us are dealing with this "marry your own kind" mentality now and will likely experience more of it once our spouses arrive. There is not too much we can do about it except to remember that these types will always exist. With respect to the jealously, Jingwen does not seem to be bothered by it, but she does do little things to make it a little easier for the jealous types. For example, she generally will not wear her engagement ring when we are out with her firends. If we are paying for something, she pays from her wallet, not mine. I think that she does not want to give someone a reason to be jealous. Unlike some of the larger cities in China, Zhanjiang is rather provincial, and a westerner is a real oddity. Despite the fact that Jingwen and I are about the same age, give or take of few years (our hair belies our true ages ), I sense that more stares are because of the apparent age differences. But I agree that it's amazing how those stone faces will melt with a nod of the head or a "ni hao" and a smile.

I downloaded a pdf file (I think from AAC) with the codes. Are you suggesting that these may be inaccurate? BTW, the group is welcomed to the file, if someone will let me know how to post it.