trumpetwasher

Dave, she had a Chinese license, and knew how to drive. SOS didn't mention anything about a translator. Having one this far south of I-80 is merely a pipe dream. Now, had she been a Mexican, EVERYTHING would have been available in Spanish. I recommend a driving school, and you are closer to Chicago than we are, by a bunch, so maybe you can find one in Chinatown. George

Lixin got her driver's license 11-15, less than 3 months after arriving. The second day she was here, she began studying the Rules of the Road and making margin notes in Chinese. She missed 1 question on the written test. Would anyone like for me to copy pages from her book for his/her SO to study? George

Does Lily have her EAD card? She won't get that until after the biometrics appointment.

Paid my lawyer to handle the AOS filed on 9-24. Got receipts back 11-12, and biometrics appointment for 11-28. Once again, I can't stress enough how important the lawyer has been. He never sends things to the wrong address, and always has Lily prepared for anything that might be required of her. I'm not above trading worry for money. BTW, Lily has employment offers from a college and 2 large international companies, but won't decide until after Christmas.

I am all for getting Congressmen involved early in the process-at the first sign of any kind of delay. It worked like a charm in my case, and it will probably benefit others as well. We can sit here in our little community and winge about GUZ, or we can spread the misery to our employees in Washington. If enough of us complain about how unduly complicated legal immigration is, maybe (boy, is this whistling in the dark) Congress will DO something about it.

This justifies my tactic of getting Congressmen and Senators involved at the first hiccup. GZ says it doesn't help-anecdotal evidence says otherwise.

Yea! but do you wear underware? Or underwear?

Uh... Ham? Biscotti di prosciutti?

You need to purchase the Chinese version of the Operating System. Hope this helps. I bought my wife a Dell laptop from Dell China, and had it delivered to her in Shenzhen. You can do it easliy, and you have to fax some things, but it is worth the tiny effort. BTW QQ works on her machine with absolutely no problems.

Food. But sometimes we talk about food. And we have even been known to discuss food. Last night, we had a wonderful conversation about food. Just now, she asked me about food.

That was 13 exclamation points after the last phrase. I am a writer, formerly educated in the English language, literature, journalism, punctuation, composition, and Electro-Optical Engineering. So yes, I do get a little more particular than most when it comes to English. The next piece of information was from her American History Teacher: Now I'm willing to concede that young people can be a challenge to stimulate when it comes to subjects concerning history, but to use Hollywood drama to generate interest is going way too far. Yes, that's my opinion. Most of these movies were rated highly in the commercial market, the vast majority do not accurately depict real events that occurred in history. In a time when I'm hoping that Sarah will learn about borders, presidents, government, war, and peace, I and my daughter are confronted with this. My first reaction was to call the teacher and tell him I think he's a moron, then, later realized doing so would place Sarah in a very uncomfortable situation; so would asking the teacher to give her another assignment in lieu of having to watch Hollywood movies being sold off as a history assignment. So, here I am, wondering just how to handle this. I do plan to call the teachers, but need to carefully plan just what to say, and what to do. Sure beats the heck out of writing lesson plans!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! When are they going to have time for instruction? During visits to the snack bar??????????????????????????? There is a definite leftist bent to some of these theatrical offerings. As for Mrs Batista, the useless-as-tits-on-a-boar-hog ESL teacher, the only option is summary execution. I have a masters in philology (emphasis on comparative linguistics), and can state that the woman is an obvious embarrassment to the profession. ESL just means Julio and Maria can speak Spanish at school, as well as at home. We did much better in this country when it was sink-or-swim. Option 1: Is there a Lutheran or Catholic school to which you can send her? Option 2: Go ahead and confront the "history" teacher. He's obviously too dense to be offended. Option 3: Do nothing, and allow her to learn what "bell curve" and "70th percentile" mean. Option 4: Strangle Mrs Batista with your bare hands. There won't be a jury who will convict you. Option 5: Go to Mrs, Batista's calss yourself and observe an idiot in action!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Option 6: Have your daughter get a job for 2 years, and get her GED. Oh, and buy a really good electronic translator. It will come in handy for that copy of Well's "Outline of History".

Thanks xiaoheather. This is great info! It means I don't have to worry about getting my SO a learner's permit for the first 90 days she's here. She can practice to her heart's content with or without me along. I never thought to look in the Illinois manual. I just assumed she wouldn't be able to drive on her Chinese license. Oh well, you what they say about assuming anything. Thanks again for the heads-up. Just checked on this today with Sec of State's office. In Illinois, (unless you bought it from a friend of a certain ex-governor) you may drive for 90 days on a foreign license. Lixin has had a license for 10 years in China, and many of the rules are identical. So she can get herself around while waiting for that all-important Soc Sec card. In any event, the Federal Government has no jurisdiction over state laws regarding who may drive a private, not-for-hire vehicle. That's why the Illinois manual states that it is permissible to drive in this state with a Federal License.

Texas State Trooper pulls over an ol' boy just outside Knickerbocker. The trooper walks up to the pick-up's driver's window, and knocks on the visqueen. "Pops, you got any ID?" asks the trooper. "'Bout whut?" asks the driver. (told to me by my nephew who's a policeman in Colleyville)

That is so true! And they do it in such a non-judgemental, matter-of-fact way that it doesn't sound insulting or negative. First words from Lixin to me in person in a taxi in GZ: "Wow, you fat." Not any more. Sometimes it takes a more direct approach than, "You know, you really should lose a few pounds."

My SO had her lips redone (a very nice coral color), her eyebrows darkened, her eyelids lifted (almost unnoticeable), the bridge of her nose straightened (injury), and a full set of caps and crowns. Much cheaper than doing it here, and if it makes her happy, so be it.