MoonCarolCafe

Passed through Guangzhou recently. Sadly had no time to visit the location of the restaurant- and knowing how things are in China I seriously doubt that after a decade (yes, it's been that long) later that restaurant is still open. I did see some of the "upscale" malls that had seemed so shiny and new during my first trips to GZ. Time has not been kind to them. And by way of update- we are divorced. Amicably so, no bitter words for each other, and we still are in frequent contact. She's a great woman, and I wish her only the best. FWIW she's still the wonderful woman she was when I married her. Except now she speaks a bit of Spanish too.

Same old same old. Robert has custody of another PIN, and once again I encourage anyone with unused time to donate it. The cards are cheap- but getting ahold of them can be a huge hassle for some.

Free VPN are pretty much worth what you pay for them. A proper VPN is relatively inexpensive.

The rise in real estate prices is at best only tangentially caused by inflation. Especially in the 1st tier cities housing has been trending unaffordable for several years. The inflation talked about in the news recently has been primarily related to the cost of foodstuffs, due to the increase in costs of agricultural inputs. Inflation is a particular issue because the cost of food has increased significantly faster than the wages of people buying the food. The cost to BUY housing is near obscene in places but the cost to RENT is still pretty flat over the past few years.

Are you saying that if the inspections are continued as required that the car can stay on the road longer? That would explain some of the older vehicles I've seen on the road. My wife tells me that our car is good for 15 years (at least the licensing). She calls the older vehicles still on the road "free" cars. Based upon my understanding of the vehicle registration laws, yes. For vehicles not engaged for commercial hire a standard annual inspection for the first 10 years, bi-annual for the next 5 years, every 3 months for those over 15 years. Keep in mind that as with many things in China the regulations as put forth by one government department (say vehicle registration) may not be in coherence with regulations as put forth by another department (driver licensing), and that there are often turf battles that mean just because you have permission to do something does not mean you have permission to do something. Anyhow, keep in mind that as of now, 15 years ago was 1996. How many cars were there in China as of 1996- and knowing what you do of how well the average PRC resident drives, cares for and maintains mechanical equipment what percentage do you still think are on the road today? I don't have hard numbers but I expect it's quite low as anyone with the cash to buy something nice / gray market / imported > 10 years ago certainly has the cash to buy a nice Audi A6L today. (Think I've gone on for a while? Wait- there's more!) Now there are cars here for sale that were not legally brought into the country, tax was never paid for, and so they are somewhat outside the law. You won't be able to get all the official paperwork regarding car ownership, insuring it can be... problematic. BUT- if you have the cash/ guanxi to have an untaxed Corvette parked in the garage of your villa then this being China getting questioned by the traffic cops is a problem to be solved with a phone call or two. These cars are sold secondhand and tend to cars that would have been quite desirable... 10 years ago. The ads will usually state something about the paperwork for them being kosher or not, I forget what the characters are at the moment. 可以过户 perhaps? 1994 (丰田皇冠)Toyota Crown - http://shanghai.baixing.com/ershouqiche/a71790463.html 1993 Toyota Cressida - http://fjcar.273.cn/sale/html/201011/sale2972978.shtml 1994 Lincoln Towncar - http://www.2sc.cn/pages/car/car_view.jsp?carId=125791 1994 BMW 740il - http://gd.273.cn/sale/html/201006/sale2479653.shtml I'm 99% sure the last three listings are for cars that are gray market imports at best as they were not available through official channels in the PRC.

From my POV you greatly overstate the significance of the wedding band in American culture. Respectfully; If you worry about other men thinking she's single because she does not have a ring on, you may have jealousy issues. If you think wearing a ring will stop any wife planning to get extramarital side action from hooking up with men who are looking for a fling, you are living in a dream world. If you think that her not wearing a ring means she does not take her marriage seriously, then perhaps you have married the wrong woman. Sometimes I wear my wedding band. Sometimes not. The wife's only concern is that it's in a safe place and has not been lost. On the list of marital problems to worry about "My wife won't wear her wedding ring" should rank below "She drank all my Knob Creek" but above "She wears her hair short".

"Funny laowai, why does he care so much about a 15-year car that's obviously a fake Buick?" Most Chinese care for appearance of luxury and not good stock 1/4 mile times, and you'll agree an 87 GN has none of one and lots of the other. Under 15 years old a car is inspected annually. After 15 years it's every 6 months. After 20 years it's every 3 months, plus no longer allowed to transfer legal ownership (something like that, the regs were in hanzi). IIRC for taxis and such knock 5 years off the schedule for privately operated cars. Now while I can't comment on percentages of cars still for sale after 15 years I'd like to point out that 15 years ago there were still very few cars in China; it's only natural that there would be relatively few of them for sale. Still, do a search for older Toyota Crowns/ Audi 100s etc. on the Chinese used car sites. Lots of them for sale. Were it not for the hassle of taking it for inspection every 120 days I'd be the proud owner of a LHD Toyota Crown with coilovers and a nice 2JZTT or 7MGT(BHG, I know!). For those wondering China does have lemon lots. If you don't know what you are doing you'll find little but frustration at them; even if you DO know what you are doing you'll still want to reach down inside your pants and rip the hairs out in exasperation. ProTip: Those guys who are chilling at the lot on a weekday, chatting it up with other people at the lot like they see each other daily? They make used car salesmen from the USA look downright saintly.

This can also be an issue if your car is too nice. Be warned that for the kind of person who will jump in front of your car hoping for a payout "nice" has a wholly different definition than what you would use. I have heard of at least one laowai being targeted for this scam by people who lived near the semi-rural facility he worked at. I minimized my risk by driving a Wuling bread van/mianbao-che which are actually a pretty decent vehicle to drive but you REALLY don't want to get into a collision as the best scenario is you'll "park it in the gutter, and go buy another". Stupid cheap on the used market. I know this is a bit dated however for the sake of your wallet and your continued ignorance of what Chinese jails are like on the inside I suggest you Don't Do This. You know what happens in the USA if you hit someone while driving without a license? Now imagine the same situation but with a crowd of onlookers clamoring for the policeman to show them a laowai can't disrespect Rising China. If it were cheap or easy everyone would do it. In general for the same make/model the price for the vehicle made in a Chinese factory by workers earning a Chinese wage will cost more than the vehicle made in a USA factory by workers earning a USA wage. China-made Audis run more than imported Audis do in the USA, if you have the cash/ guanxi to bring in the cheaper USA market A6 then you probably have the cash / guanxi that a price of a Chinese A6 isn't a concern worth the hassle.

While I wholeheartedly agree with your position that the current administration is not to blame for the peaking (all great civilizations eventually shuffle off the stage of history, don't blame a POTUS halfway through his first term for this) I'll argue that it's quite possible for a family to survive on one income provided they are willing to maintain the same standard of living experienced in the 50's/60's. A smallish home (1 bathroom, simple kitchen), no internet, no cellphones, single television (no cable!), wife spending the time to repair clothing instead of tossing socks that have holes, forgo exotic foods imported from far off places, etc.

Fortune dictates I return to the USA for a short spell, and this time I plan to do so with wife in tow. Thank you for the kind description of a humble soul such as myself, but I fear I must make a minor correction and edify our less senior members. In Guangzhou you may come across foreign gentlemen with skin coloration commonly found among the natives of Africa and their American diaspora. If the spotter was to loudly query without introduction or preamble "Have I Spotted The Negro?" you and your significant other would be treated to a meal at my namesake cafe- if it was Yours Truly to whom you had directed the question. There was always the risk you would have "Spotted the Wrong Negro" and therefore enjoy the luxury of discovering what sense of humor and how thick a skin the target of your attention possessed- this alternative outcome was far less likely years ago when Guangzhou was still a relative haven for those vile and despicable creatures who object to a free mixing of the races, than it is today where Guangzhou is a civilized metropolis wherein people of various shades peacefully cohabitate. heh, I was almost able to write that last bit with a straight face! Yes. Mailed it back to me.

Many of you at some point in the visa application process will make use of the pre-paid cards from CITIC bank for the Visa Information Service. How many of you actually make use of all the time you purchased? As much as the Federal Office of Management and Budget might like you to let whatever minutes you have not used expire, why not donate them? I have a RMB54 card with some unused minutes on it. I'd considered posting the PIN here for all to see but instead I've sent the card information via PM to Robert S. How many minutes? Who knows, but considering how much the recipient is paying for the card number... Robert, I trust you won't object too much if I direct them to contact you if they are in need, or have leftover minutes to donate?

Per this chart ( http://awesome.goodmagazine.com/transparen...gtoamerica.html ) in 2008 25,540 Chinese who were immediate relatives of US citizens migrated to the USA. http://awesome.goodmagazine.com/transparency/web/0905/trans0509whoiscomingtoamerica.jpg

What did my lawyer have to say? Actually she didn't have much to say. I think she was a bit suprised that I was taknig it so well. We had a quick discussion afterwards, when I told her "It's cool, we'll just move to China instead" which probably suprised her a bit.

...Days later smacks his head and starts to giggle... Yes, it took me that long to get your pun. I'll know in a few weeks if I can get a residential visa.

Getting a visa is a hurdle. I'm about to find out how difficult it is for me to get a D-visa. Or we could just change our last name to something that ends in "ez".

Those who have joined Candle after 2004 may wish to read this to understand what went on before And now we begin Part II: After numerous delays the wife and I finally went to our scheduled green card interview yesterday. In attendance were she, our (very helpful) lawyer, a translator, and I crammed into the office of the examiner. Stood up, swore to tell the truth, nothing but, etc. Then she gets to asking the questions. Are you now or have you ever been a prostitute? Did you leave the USA last summer to spend time with uncle bin Laden? Are you a bible burning, dog kicking, freedom hating commie?" I sat there quietly letting my wife answer. Strike 1: Things went smoothly until “So, when did you get married?” One of the many nice things about my wife is that she is not the type to get upset when I don't remember the exact day we met, or married, or she arrived in the USA. Because she also has trouble with exact dates. So when she answers in English “December 2002” and I correct her with “No, in October 2002”. The actual month is November, she had tried to answer the question in English, and had said “December” when she meant “November”. She then made the capital mistake of trying to write down the date on the desk blotter “No you can't write on that!”. My excuse? 2 hours sleep the night before making certain that all our paperwork and documentation was in order, with originals and duplicates in matching nylon expanding folders ($8 each at Staples). Anyhow, I knew it wasn't December (X-mas). I had forgotten that I went over there during Thanksgiving, which would of course, been November. More questions on how we met, have I ever worked in China, (what does that have to do with my wife getting a green card?) where do we live... Strike 2: “What's the address of where you live?” Well, I know the street, street number, city, and apartment number... but not the zip. Because we have a P.O.B. that has been in constant use as a permanent address for about the past 7 years. I don't know my zip. Aside from a couple of utility bills I don't have anything mailed to this address. Our friends know where we live, aside from utility hookup never bothered to use the zip again, so why would either of us remember it? “You have a different address?” Yes, we do... I explain the difference between “mailing address” and “living address” to the nice lady. Wife and I know the mailing address as if we have been using it for years. Which we have. So she moves on to... “OK, so what's your home telephone number”. Something else we don't know. We never call it. We don't give it out. Normally there is not even a regular phone connected to the line. The only reason I have it is for DSL. Skype (internet phone) gets used for outbound calls when I'm at home, or she wants to call China. Like many people we know our cell phones have taken the place of a fixed land line. 8 years and counting for me. The advent of number portability between cellphone companies was a happy happy day. Anyhow, it looks like she is managing to wrap her head around the concept of keeping your cellphone with you means that you don't give out your home number, and if you never call yourself at home or give out your home number you just might possibly not have it memorized. More questions. Strike 3: “So, where are your wedding pictures?” We don't have wedding pics. There is a pic of my wife and I standing together on a little stone bridge right after the former PLA officer gave us our little red booklets. That's it. Little did I know that 5 years later some idiot would make the following statement: “EVERYONE in China who gets married always has a big celebration and takes lots of pictures of the ceremony.” She does not say this as a question, she says this as a statement of fact. Her ninja-style attack on logic and common sense is successful against me. I'm monetarily stunned into silence. My wife was listening to the translator, this allowed her to partially avoid off the attack on reason and sanity. Even she had a “what the fuck?” expression as she tried to wrap her head around this. The examiner, a Hispanic woman in her late 30's, is telling my wife, who spent over the past quarter century living in China, that she knows better than my wife what Chinese wedding customs are. And for her next trick she's going to inform me that I'm wrong when I say that I would enjoy some fresh broccoli because what I really crave is a warm bowl of spit. The examiner gets up and leaves the room. She returns, makes a few notes, we get a sheet of paper saying “We need time to review, don't call us-- we'll call you”. Just. Like. Last. Time. Unlike last time,aside from being upset at myself for not being able to deflect her surprise logic disruptor ray attack, I'm not angry. Well, I was for a few minutes after the interview. As I got into the elevator to leave the building I realized that it wasn't as if I was going home without her. She was there with me, would get into the car with me, drive home with me, it wasn't as if I would be separated again after a two week visit. We are still together. It's not as if this means I have to wait for her to be with me, she's with me already. I hope we are able to do something that lets her stay in the USA before her visa expires in a few months. If they don't then we move to China. Some of the old timers may remember me saying something along the lines of “You know that she is the one for you if instead of her leaving China and coming to the USA, you are willing to leave the USA and join her in China” My wife was willing to move to the USA for me. I have no problem moving to China for her. After a long absence it looks like your favorite reality game “Spot The Negro” just might be coming back to a Chinese metropolis near you!

Indeed. A transparent (plastic) accordian folder are what I sent my dear in with. Keeps the guards at the security checkpoint happy, keeps the documentation to be ignored by the VO organized. (Can y'all tell that well over a year later I'm still bitter?)

1) The colloquial term for "male bovine fecal matter" may sound a lot like "bu shi", and may have a similar meaning in certain contexts, but unlike "bu shi" is not always appropriate for use, particularly in public. 2) When you become used to using a mix of Chinese and English when speaking to your spouse, be aware that bystanders not versed in basic Mandarin may mistake an excited response of "Bu shi!" to something your spouse has said, for the abovementioned term that is sometimes abbreviated as B.S. Keep these two points in mind to spare yourself and your loved one embarrassment.

Makes sense. I see where you are coming from.

How about we change your statement to: "ABSOLUTELY ! If she cannot pay for her husband, why is he her husband?" Would you say the same thing if the genders were reversed, and if not, why?

That list applies to women (and men) from Texas, France, and Brazil too.

Mrs. MoonCarol is originally from the sticks. The boonies. As in I'm the first, last, and only black person to have been through those parts... ever.

There are financial incentives to have only one child. The local gendarmes won't come and take you off to jail for having more than one.My wife is one of 3 children. My in-laws are anything but wealthy.

Long term, I would expect there to be a gradual increase in social disapproval of Chinese women who marry non-Chinese husbands, in light of the looming bride shortage. There are millions of young Chinese men who are approaching marriagable age, for whom there are not millions of corresponding young women available for marriage. I can easily imagine situations in 5-10 years where these young men take their frustrations out on married, and single non Chinese men who are seen to be "Stealing their women". And I can even imagine the Party deciding to place barriers and restrictions on the issuance of passports to women who are not married to Chinese citizens, in the interests of maintaining social order (and preventing riots caused by the perception that non-Chinese men are cheating the locals out of the ability to marry)

GZ is a VERY nice place to be. Aside from the humidity it's a very very nice city. My only bad experiences were related to things that went on inside the consulate. (My near assault of an innocent man did not occur in GZ)