NickF

Was wondering if ChunMei's dental and medical billing statements and/or insurance EOB's would also be considered evidence of a valid marriage.

Doug, thanks for your comments. ChunMei's hoping that the deep cleaning is going to fix most of her problems, and on 21 August she's having another evaluation to see how much the cleaning helped. Sounds like she and your ex-wife have similar problems, and maybe we'll have the same results. Both the dentists who looked at her felt that at least some implants would provide the best solution because that would give them something to attach a partial plate to. The other major option they both offered was a complete extraction of all of her teeth, and full dentures, which she is less than enthusiastic about, as am I. Hopefully there's something in between, but we'll know more next exam.

Last week ChunMei had a comprehensive teeth cleaning as the first part of her US dental care. Total cost to me after insurance, $871. That did include laser treatrment for her advanced gum disease. A couple of weeks before that she'd been given two detailed exams by two different dentists about what work she absolutely had to have done. Estimates from the two averaged between $17,000 and $18,000 after insurance. She needs five extractions and implants for each of them because she has so much bone loss from infection. She doesn't want me to spend that much money on her. Says if I send her to China with $5,000 she can get the same work done there. What I don't know is how we can ensure that what she gets done there is done well. She's had problems with poor dental work in the past, and if it goes bad when she comes home afterward I could still end up spending the money to get it repaired. Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions? The dentists here says that if she gets implants here they would wait six months for healing to complete before they build and install the caps on the implanted posts. ChunMei says that in China they only wait two months. That worries me.

ChunMei says the same thing.

Mike, Love the picture of you in the pink tux. I have a similar one, but mine is power blue. When I asked ChunMei to marry me of course we have to have the obligatory engagement pictures taken. We went to a photo studio in a nanning department store, and spent almost 7 hours on the shoot. It was actually sort of funny. There were about six other couples having pictures taken, and much of the time the women were having their makeup and hair done and redone again for each series of pictures. Us guys were just sitting around in a lounge area, wearing whatever costume their fiancees had currently chosen for them. Keep in mind at that time it was my first visit to China, I spoke absolutely no Chinese, and I had no idea what to expect on a cultural level. So here I am, sitting with a bunch of men I'd never met, with no way to communicate. I was wearing a 12th Century dynasty court costume with a ridiculous little hat strapped to my head. The other guys were wearing everything from a lime-green tux, to a faux 19th Century army uniform, to the latest disco style. We all looked at each other, then simultaneously broke out laughing. And I knew we were all having the same identical thought, "God, the things we do for our women!"

ChunMei had one about a year before she came here. Cost about 500 RMB. Last month, while she was in Nanning, the titanium post broke, resulting in the loss of the implant. And the dentist who did it originally had moved his office, and couldn't be located. She had to have another complete implant, this time at a cost of 550 RMB. I've mad an appointment with my dentist for this Thursday morning. My plan is to have a comprehensive exam done, and then get everything fixed that's necessary. Probably take a number of visits, and be expensive, but insurance will cover a lot of it, and I'll feel better knowing that everything is taken care of.

Had a similar discussion with ChunMei last night. She wants to buy a new rice cooker to bring home with her. (Have no clue how she planned to carry it on the airplane.) I suggested that it probably wouldn't work on US electricity, and she said her Chinese friend in Florida bought one and it works fine. I then said that she might want to ask the people at the store if the one she wanted would run on 110 volt US power. They told her it wouldn't, but she still plans to buy it. OK, then; I know when to shut up.

Talked to ChunMei last night (morning in Nanning, of course.) She and her sisters are busy making zongzi for the Festival. Then she's going shopping. I'm happy she gets to spend the Festival with her family, but I'm even happier she'll be coming home a week from today.

I gotta print that off. (But I hate like hell to admit I'm a senior now.)

Interesting. When ChunMei came here, I called my primary care physician, learned that he's a civil surgeon. He saw her, did the required physical, and charged us for a normal office visit.

I see. Zhongi. It's that time of year soon. ChunMei doesn't make them, but last trip she tried to bring a couple home with her. Got busted by Customs at LAX. Funny thing is, on one of my trips before she came here I brough back four of them in my suitcase. Didn't have a bit of trouble, but then nobody asked me. We also have the jar of salted citrus fruit, but in our case it's lomes. She's put the jar out on the patio in the sun every day it's sunny, but I've never seen her eat them. When we go shopping at the local Chinese grocery store I let her shop on her own while I wander around and play the game, "People really eat that?"

. I sure hope it's only a rumor; ChunMei leaves Tuesday for Nanning for a six week visit with her family.

Thanks.

What's the earliest you can file?

Sort of like a day ticket to Disney World minus the rides.

They're now saying 5-15 known dead, but emergency response crews are going door to door looking for victims.

ChunMei's terrified. I've tried to reassure her that it's unlikely to happen to her, but she goes back to Nanning on the 30th for six weeks to visit her family. Now she's unsure that she wants to come back here. Not sure what to say to her. Her family's just as concerned about her safety as she is, and they are trying to pursuade her to stay in China.

Actually Dan, I was wondering if it had ever happened to anybody here, and how they handled the situation when permanent residency was denied. I'm not concerned about ChunMei and me.

ChunMei and I will have our ROC application coming up this Fall. I was curious if anyone here has ever had it denied, even though it was a legitimate marriage. What do you do in that situation?

For what it's worth the State of Colorado won't even issue a state ID without a green card. They use the same process for drivers licenses, too. Social Security cards don't count.

Or as my wife says, "China, Land of the A-Cup." (Well, that's not exactly how she put it...)

I thought Asian-style toilets were supposed to reduce the incidence of hemorrhoids... At least that's what ChunMei tells me when I complain about using them.

I just don't want to buy a $300 phone used only to make phone calls and send text messages. Neither of us need internet access on our phones. I think buying a cheap phone when she gets to Nanning is the way to go.

Talked to T-Mobile yesterday, and since our phones are basic phones, not smartphones, they say there's nothing they can do. The guy at T-Mobile told me that the only phone he's sure will work in China with Chinese cell towers is the iPhone, and he'd be happy to sell me one for $500, along with a $70 a month data plan. We don't need smartphones and a data plan. so I think I'm just going to have ChunMei buy a phone when she gets to China. Personally I think the guy's just jerking me around. I did find the following website. http://www.ahappydeal.com/unlocked-cell-phones-c-1748.html Anybody know anything about them?

Thanks. I'll see what T-Mobile says.