griz326

If I could marry her without resetting the clock, I would do it in a heartbeat at the Spring Festival. ...but with the time invested, I think we must wait. ÞëÃçÖú³¤ now is a bad thing.

There was more pie at the picnic table before all these other countries showed up! We better learn to live with it because it ain't going to change.

You guys are sending me back to the FAQs again...

I leave for Spring Festival with the Visa clock at 190 days. If I decide to marry during Spring Festival, that resets the Visa clock, correct? I see two reasons to endure that setback: - solidifying the commitment - family integrity/face Are there other reasons that should be considered as well? I know some of you have taken the setback. What were your reasons? What are you thoughts?

This relates to the thread about staying in my gal's home during Spring Festival, but I thought that the cultural implications you sages detect might be interesting. I wrote her that "I do not believe that it is good to have lies between family and friends; and to make your daughter a party to the lie." (Her daughter will be in the house during Spring Festival but lives with her grandmother during school time) She wrote back, "This a kind lie. I told Chinese mother we have got engaged. She is happy. She hope we marry early." To me it sounds like my Chinese mother is giving a blessing or maybe an absolution. I feel good that I expressed my concerns about what I saw as deception of family and friends, but I sense this is the Chinese version of a wink and a nod. She will discuss my staying again with her daughter before we finalize our plans. Her 17 year old daughter is very shy and child-like. We do not want to hurt her, so the second discussion is warranted. On the other hand, with the child being painfully shy (I have only met one other person in my life as shy as this child), it is important that we have time together as a new family. ...but now the hotel stay is my gal's decision, not mine.

I declare everything. The inspector took all of my commercially packaged meats. The tea, spices and condiments were not a problem. There was no fine, but then I wasn't trying to sneak it past the inspector.

Do you call your gal by her Chinese name or her English name? My gal's name does not easily fit in my mouth ...so I (almost always) call her by her Chinese name...but she seems to like her English name. Xiaoyuan told me that she got her English name Cindy in her English class. I do not know if she picked it or if the name was assigned to her. ...but she likes her English name and might even be proud of it. So now I call her Cindy more often... Do you call your gal by her English or Chinese name? Which does she prefer?

This site provides information and insights available no where else. If only it could shorten the wait.

Thank you...I did not see the message on the system outage.

I've been trying to check my case status for two days. Those pages are not available now. I even checked by digging through the USCIS main site until I found the Online Case Status link...and it didn't work. Hmmmmm.... Anyone know anything about this?

A while back I read a post that mentioned getting "tax transcripts" from the IRS. Because the records come straight from the US government, does it provide any positive benefit? Here's the link for it: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=148237,00.html

>>>We are not going through the K3 process, we will have the Symbolic wedding for her and family there in China. Maybe I worry too much...but might that "symbolic" wedding actually be viewed as the real deal - forcing you to switch to a K3?

I found this comment interesting: >>>"I think there is much room for the United States to think whether it's possible to change its lifestyle and energy consumption patterns in order to contribute to the global climate." In the US, lifestyle and energy consumption are out of the hands of government. Lifestyle and energy consumption are largely determined by people trying to make a buck. How many people are driving SUVs in parts of the country where SUVs are toys not tools? (although I concede I'd rather have my family in an SUV than that 75mpg Mercedes SMART car) Our society is manipulated more by TV/business/commerce than by government.

You do mean a US Senator from you state, correct? I would not expect that a State Senator would have any more influence than me.

I thought there was substantial truth to the commentary, but considered it similar to the way the rest of the world works just modified for China. John Fairbanks history of China talks about how those who invaded China were eventually absorbed and made Chinese (forgive the gross over-simplification). Some of the Chinese people I've known have told me that China has not changed since the days of the emperor's. That's pretty hard to wrap your head around (especially with some aspects of Mao's rule in the mix), but I've heard that same thing from several of my Chinese friends so there must be something to it. I do not pretend to understand it.

I lived on a 26' sailboat and I can say that only my bull-headed nature allowed me to enjoy it. With a 40+ foot sailboat you have a much better chance of her being able to adapt than in a sub-40 footer. Do barnacles grow on your hull or are you a weekly sailor? She'll also need to enjoy sailing. My gal told me ¼Þ¼¦Ë漦£¬¼Þ¹·Ëæ¹·¡£Which is an idiom that says a woman loves and cares for her husband no matter what his lot (according to Wenlin). Google's marvelous translation tool translates it "Married chicken with chicken, marry a dog with dog." It most closely resembles our traditional, "for richer or poorer, in sickness or in health, to death do us part." However, the Wenlin puts the bulk responsibility on the woman. That may account for her optimistic determination to please you.

I live in a log cabin in the mountains of Montana and have very similar concerns about my gal's adaptability. I also lived on a boat in San Diego Bay for 3+ years so I have some questions the other guys have not asked. * How big is the boat? * Is it a sailboat, a stink pot or a houseboat? * Is it at anchor or in a marina? I've lived aboard boats for 6 years and in a bus for another 7 years. Few people can live on a boat (or in RVs) for an extended period. Even if your gal is game, you should prepare yourself for living ashore. Maybe you'll get lucky and have a gal who enjoys the lifestyle as much as you.

I have the Pimsleur CDs. It is an excellent program. Unfortunately for me, I am hard of hearing and cannot make out the word sounds being said in Chinese to repeat them. So I got stuck. I need a classroom environment.

It is by David Brooks: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/04/opinion/.../David%20Brooks I'll be interested in your comments.

What is a Chinese Civil Surgeon?

A side-bar please... How do you know good ginseng from bad ginseng? I did a google search on wisconsin ginseng and found a number of sites. Interestingly enough my gal just asked me to get her American Ginseng for her boss. http://www.schumacherginseng.com/ http://www.aginseng.com/catalog.html http://www.rolandginseng.com/product.htm http://www.cornermark.com/ginseng/wisconsin_ginseng.html

I would love to know where you read this or what study lead to that information. The carrying capacity of the earth is beyond my comprehension. However, my little town of 1000 people in Montana is over-populated...and that's a fact!

I finished watching a China: a century of revolution. It contained no new information for me. However, seeing the pictures over such a span of time did hit me at another level: the realization that China has lived mostly in turmoil for a century...the pictures drove that home. It also got me thinking about how the Chinese mind set could allow these things to happen; the influence/impact of Т, filial piety; the snitch society; and Mao as a godhead. All of that is well known, but the faces transformed that knowledge into something other than information. It is indeed a powerful program and worth whatever I paid for it on Amazon.com

Perhaps our meaning of "standoffish" is not the same? That is quite possible. I think that becomes clear in the elaborations within this thread.

"Standoffish" geeeesh...that does not match my experience at all. Some were shy or bashful, but I talked with everyone and they talked with me even though we didn't have a clue what was being said. In my 3 trips to China - only once did I encounter a "standoffish" man. He would not allow his son to take the Montana quarter that I pulled out of his son's ear. B) ...perhaps my different experience has to do with being a close-up magician.