Greg.D.

Okay, so that's funny to ME. Maybe not the rest of you .... Greg

I appreciate this. The answer is, as you say, not necessary at POE. I've since been perusing the many. many available plans .... tough to pick one out. Greg

My friend is coming to the U.S. very soon and I just remembered that she might want or she might need visitor's medical insurance. I have a few questions: is this something she should show when passing through immigration at the port of entry? Then, is this something I can purchase for her and send to her to print to have on hand? I forgot about this completely. Thanks, if anyone knows the procedure. I appreciate it Greg

Loved this video, too. I have fond memories working around China on gas wells and a complete absence of safety protocols. I can't figure out what these guys are doing: even though methane is explosive between 5-20%, you still need a lot of oxygen down there to cause that explosion. I've already passed this around ... Greg

Pray for MASSIVE inflation! Well, you know, student loans are forever and non-dispatchable other than to pay it off. So, it's in your budget for a long time. Despite any regrets, it did allow you to get to this point and place in your life, which I think you're happy for. You may choose to augment teaching or leave teaching - you can never know! I have heard some pretty crazy life stories regarding student loan debt of people who spent it on a career path less remunerative than teaching. Greg Greg

Also, if you are back in grad school (you said "Masters", right? and, student teaching is for credit), you are eligible for a deferral again. Why rush to pay this off now? Sorry if I missed something, Greg

My friend got her visitor's visa. She declined the offer of the I-134 but did accept a friendly letter of support. Also, she put my name as contact person on the DS-160 (if that is the name of the online form). She had a stack of documentation and color glossy pictures with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each one was to be used as evidence against us. However, the officer did not even look at that but, rather, asked 3 questions: 1. What is the purpose of your trip? 2. What do you do? (as in "what is your job") 3. How long do you want to stay? The interview was relaxed and friendly and ended with "Congratulations! You got your visa". So, it is possible for a young, pretty, single woman to get a visitor's visa. In so far as I "coached" her I advised against memorized, canned answers (especially if she found them on the web somewhere) but to just be natural and open. She had nothing to hide. I suggested that consular officers have had it up to here (holding hands to eyebrows) with the BS and she could help the officer do her job by providing clear, understandable answers that got to the point. As we all do, she was all over the web looking for the group wisdom on Beijing embassy interviews and it was mostly quackery. Which leads to one of our common conversations about how Chinese prefer to believe each rather than Elvis himself but I dont think I have persuaded her (yet) to believe otherwise. Greg

Ahhh.. I spoke too soon. The Amazon.cn books were basically all in English - the ones of interest (Western/southwestern US), the YesAsia.com books as well (the in stock ones) and GoUsa.cn is blocked! At least when she tried from Beijing. She will go to a bookstore and search now. Thanks, Greg

I first heard a report of the opening ceremony on NPR. And, it was like gossip rather than reporting and, yes, the guy reporting did dwell much longer than necessary on the malfunctioning snowflake and speculated (when reporting turns into punditry) too, too much on how this would embarrass the regime, etc. On the other hand, they specifically said it would be impossible to match the Beijing ceremony - not some other Western ceremony and otherwise gave it high marks. I thought the ceremony was nice. The long shots of the Olympic complex look pretty awesome. Trying to follow this thread: are we saying Russia is "Western"? I will put my vote in and say "yes". The essay quoted at the top says "Putin has not been cooperative with the West". Anyway, I wouldn't waste anytime trying to judge East's coverage of the West compared to West's coverage of the East. Fairly similar and childish to me - so far as mainstream press goes. Greg

Thanks, Randy and ECE, Yes I wanted the USA guide but in the Chinese language. The Amazon.cn link was good for books and the GoUSA.cn link was good for excellent photography and state by state guide. I will be forwarding those 2 links to the interested party. Also, probably the YesAsia.com site: not sure if this is available to Yuan spenders in China - but she can decide that, too. Thanks a bunch, Greg

I am having a tough time searching for a USA travel guide for a Chinese person; it should be in the Chinese (Mandarin) language. I ask because any possible way I can craft the search terms, I get "travel guides to China". Getting pretty frustrated .... ... if anybody has provided one for friends or relatives and can recommend it, please let me know. Thanks! Greg

I am not the expert, nor have I married someone in China or married a Chinese person, but my understanding from all of my Chinese friends is that the banquet/party/ceremony is usually (or is it always?) separate from the legal procedure. Sometimes a year or more (thinking of a couple of friends in particular). The problem with her family's idea is that if you two choose NOT to marry in the 90 day K-1 period and she returns to China .... she needs to more or less announce to all that you did not marry after all - and she may have to return the gifts, etc (wedding etiquette also NOT my area of expertise). I wonder what the different opinions are about that outcome. Greg

Another old trick is to put the drive in the freezer and then try to run it cold. This would be because there is a mechanical issue with the head reading correctly. (be careful about it condensing too much moisture when you remove it). I have used this successfully. Other than that, since you can mount it, what about a commercial program? Free programs and here also It used to be "Norton Disk Doctor" - but, it is so commoditized now that Symantec doesn't even bother with this product anymore. Your files are there. Hopefully, it is just partition table corruption. This happens if you put a divot in the disk in an important area. I would try one of those free apps like "Test Disk" Greg

I missed that part: that tickets that expire "after 14 hours" re-appear Tuesday night.

He says "Wednesday morning (Tuesday night)" - but then goes on to say because it is 24 hours after the booked reservations expire - which should be Tuesday morning/Monday night. Regardless, has this worked for anybody? Greg

Thanks! I'll complete it ASAP, THEN. I'll post back to this thread if she is successful. Greg

Question re the I-134, or is about the B2 visa? Trying to help a 25 y.o. Chinese citizen friend get a B2 visa for about 4 weeks so she can make some visits to grad schools. She has probably got all her ducks in a row and a decent case for proving "strong ties" to return. She will be traveling with a VISA credit card. Can I help by doing an I-134? Or, otherwise provide some kind of letter? I think I understand the strategies and rationale for the process but, now that clock has started, I am a little nervous. I am willing to help her out should anything unexpected happen. Also: she would like to have 7-10 days tourist activity in her itinerary. Is there any problem with that? She will shorten or lengthen her visit to increase her chances of obtaining the visa because the ability to make the school visits is paramount. Thanks, Greg

I think this is a good thread. I have worked with Chinese grad students for .... 25 years? And, I still do. Now, I am mentoring a Chinese grad who wants to take the TOEFL and attend a US grad school. So, I am dealing with the differences every day. The Chinese student #1) obsesses about the score!!! 2) Is more likely to think memorization is the key to the top score 3) believes (because they were told) that long hours is superior to any other way of studying (as opposed to "work smarter, not harder"). This, despite me telling her repeatedly that the grad schools just want to know that you passed the TOEFL, not where your score ranked. She was taught (in TOEFL) class) that during her speaking test the key is to talk as quickly as possible and use as many words as possible - as far as I know, there is no correllation between word count and speakng effectiveness. And, I now know things I wish I did not know about the quality of research (and the accompanying publications) from China as well as how traditional models of Chinese hierarchy and higher educaiton blend and grades and degrees are awarded. I winced a lot at some of the stories I've been told by various people. For me, my take away right now is more and more of the elite are sending their children off to western countries for undergrad and grad schools - even high school now - and I think eventually, if even half of them return to live and work in China - they will influence the political culture somehow. It would probably be a plus to have a degree from the west - barring any kind of backlash against such people. Greg

Thanks, Mick. I've been working in China off and on over the last year and a half and ..... ..... 6 months ago met someone! And, for various reasons, though marriage isn't exactly being fast-tracked, planning and knowing the strategies for it would be a good thing right now. This is the best site for all-around completeness and accuracy! Greg

The OP refers to the JEEP clothing stores, which are all over the place, at least in Beijing. And, Converse - esp Chuck Taylors in a huge range of flavors - continue to be hugely popular (there are Converse stores, too). My GF bought me a Levi's wallet at the Joy City Levi's store last week when I was there; there are Lee's stores, too. New Balance Classic style shoes are flavor of the month right now, too. Very difficult to find in the US. Greg