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Martin B

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Everything posted by Martin B

  1. Martin B

    From Yulin

    Martin B replied to Randy W's topic in Expats

    Yeah honestly looks like a positive based on the dark C and faint T, either it was incubating, or she is recovering. Either way, a bummer! BTW when I had COVID Aug 22 it took almost 2 weeks for the line to fully disappear - even though all my symptoms went away after 3-4 days, turns out that these tests can still pick up traces of the virus and produce a faint test (T) line for quite some time.
  2. Martin B

    From Yulin

    Martin B replied to Randy W's topic in Expats

    Take care of yourself Randy, sorry to hear about this. It's hard to tell from the lighting but the "negative" test looks like it shows a faint 2nd line which would still indicate a positive case. Could be that she's recovering from the infection, it could be incubating at a slower rate for her, or she didn't swab enough "sample" from her nose, or a faulty test... My in-laws both just recovered without any issues, and my FIL is 72 and smokes. They only took a few extra-strength tylenol to ease muscle aches and fever so they could sleep through the night.
  3. Martin B
    Recently rediscovered this post and it's kind of crazy to see where we were 3 years ago, right before COVID blew up. My stepdaughter's I-751 ROC was approved without interview a few weeks ago. Took just under a year which was much faster than we were expecting , and that includes an RFE. Thankfully they approved it right before she turned 14 so she was able to skip biometrics and afaik police and background checks.
  4. Martin B
    Figure I'd wish everyone a great Christmas and Happy New Year - we're in Chicago with family until Monday then making the trek home early next week. Very optimistic about finally being able to visit the mainland again Summer 2023, or at the very least Hong Kong if mainland restrictions are still too onerous. Hope everyone actually in China stays safe with this recent re-opening, and that in another month or two the situation will calm down and life will go back to pre-COVID times.
  5. Martin B
    Thanks for the input Randy - she is going to contact the Chicago consulate when it opens up later this week to double check, as she's gotten conflicting answers online. Oddly enough we're actually in Chicago now but are planning another trip back here in March/April to Get me a Q2 visa Renew my stepdaughter's Chinese passport Renew our daughter's travel doc Sort out the HK "visa" situation for my wife/stepdaughter who are on Chinese passports Going to be a fun day trip based on our recent experiences there 🤢! I know some of this stuff is now done via mail and even APPs nowadays but we're just going to try to get it out of the way in one shot here and be near the consulate just in case
  6. Martin B
    Is it generally as simple as going to the Chinese consulate in Chicago, purchasing a 14-day card, and then being able to fly to HK from the US and stay up to 14 days? I know that generally stays of <7 days are handled easily enough but that would be too short and hardly worth the long flight over. My wife is going to call the consulate after the holidays to double check as well. THanks for the quick (and early!) reply Randy
  7. Martin B
    What a trip sounds like a PITA but at least you made it with a slightly shortened quarantine! With the recent reopening we're cautiously starting to plan a trip for June-July of this year. I'll have to get a Q2 visa unless they happen to re-activate older tourist visas from before. If the quarantine goes away by June we'll 100% be going back to visit. Worst case scenario we'll meet her family in HK though we're still unclear as to how to get the '14 day visa' in HK as a Chinese national.
  8. Martin B
    Not sure what these guys are going after. Is the money really that good? Do they really detest the west so much? I'm legitimately curious as to what's driving these wackos to act this way. I'm pretty sure Alex Reportefy doesn't even have a connection to China (e.g. a spouse)... he's just a random Canadian living in Vietnam who happens to be a geopolitical expert on China???
  9. Martin B
    This recent abrupt opening is VERY interesting and highly unexpected. I think that the "controlled burn" strategy that was originally used in the west may in the end turn out to be the best strategy, as crazy as it was when first proposed. Keep COVID numbers low enough to not overburden the healthcare system early on until a vaccine comes out and/or the virus mutates to a weaker form when restrictions can be lifted to start building up herd immunity with fewer deaths. Even with that we are seeing major repercussions now - huge outbreaks of RSV among kids, a nasty flu season, etc. Not to mention other related fallout like learning loss in schools. If there's one thing the US did well, it was the clear messaging to not go to the ER unless you are having serious symptoms (e.g. trouble breathing). I just saw a report of a guy that went to the hospital with a runny nose and a "fever" of 98.5 degF. Take care of yourself and stay safe Randy...
  10. Martin B
    Great intel... thanks! My wife will likely file her N-400 in the next year or two so this is good info. Congratulations!
  11. Martin B
    And another vlogger leaving: They cite visa issues and the difficulty of doing business in China... not surprising. BTW I noticed Gweilo has been silent for a few weeks now.
  12. Martin B
    Well might as well wish CFL a happy 20th anniversary week, many forums have come and gone since the early 2000s and despite the drop off in activity, CFL continues on (thanks to Randy W). Wish I could've been around for the earlier days, but glad I found it either way. I got a lot of great advice on our AOS case, bringing my stepdaughter over, helping her adjust to life in the US, and of course during the early COVID months there was a lot of great info on here. And I always appreciate seeing Randy's posts on what's going on nowadays in China. Here's to another 20 years!
  13. Martin B
    BTW this site must have passed it's 20th anniversary recently? What was the official date? If any cash needs (or other needs) arise to keep this going, please let me know, I'd be happy to help. I think it's important CFL stays up, even after the loss that occurred some years ago, there's too much valuable info on here.
  14. Martin B
    It's a step in the right direction... but still way too risky for us to travel. Even with this change, there's still the chance of getting randomly locked down in Disney or IKEA, and flights are still horribly limited and incredibly expensive - even if there are no flight suspensions. But at least things are moving in the "correct" direction. In another group I belong to, the general consensus was that this move is to make it easier for Chinese nationals to travel back to China.
  15. Martin B
    We live in an area where there isn't an enormous Chinese community, but there were large gatherings twice a week from 6-9pm where a bunch of older Chinese folks would rent out a room somewhere and meet to play cards, eat, etc. However, my understanding is that it still hasn't resumed post-COVID as that population tends to be quiet fearful of getting sick. Most metro areas should have something similar. Chinese churches are often popular meeting spots as well and will often have events for older people. Otherwise, there are really IMO only a few places in the US that can replicate living in a Chinese city and those would be Chinatown Chicago, NYC (prob the best bet), SF, maybe Boston...
  16. Martin B
    If you don't need to travel in/out of China regularly, own property, send your kids to public schools, use Chinese banks, public hospitals etc. then probably none. My wife is still keeping her Chinese passport for now, mostly in the event that if something happens to her parents she can (hypothetically) travel back quickly and handle any affairs as a Chinese citizen vs as basically a tourist. There could be some pension issues as well but I'm not educated on that.
  17. Martin B

    From Yulin

    Martin B replied to Randy W's topic in Expats

    That's the most beautiful test site I think I've ever seen LOL
  18. Martin B

    From Yulin

    Martin B replied to Randy W's topic in Expats

    Aw come on, you've gotta show us what's inside! 😄 (durian? seafood supreme?) I hate to say this but Pizza Hut is probably, by far, my least favorite of all the western chains in China ...
  19. Martin B
    I haven't used the QQ international version in years. I started running into issues with it around 2018/2019 and just gave up. Now I just use wechat. Wish I could help more. GOod luck!
  20. Martin B
    Even if they fully re-open the borders tomorrow, I would be shocked if there is anything more than a tiny trickle of tourists coming in. There's just too many obstacles - expensive and limited flight options prone to cancellation, testing requirements, the quarantine-upon-arrival system, QR health codes, mask requirements, and more. Not to mention the possibility of getting quarantined (possibly in a center) if someone in your building/hotel tests positive, COVID-related closures of tourists attractions, flight cancellations within China due to COVID etc. We would still go with the intent of making it a 4-6 week trip but I highly doubt there would be many takers if China started issuing tourist visas tomorrow. BTW @danb I'm pretty sure Q2 family-visit visas are being issued now, double check with the consulate but if you have family in China I think it is possible to go now.
  21. Martin B
    We're watching this closely. But I agree with Randy, these speculation articles have been popping up regularly since summer 2020 and thing have only gotten a tiny bit easier (eg Q2 visas are now being issued, some students have been let back in).
  22. Martin B
    Fastest way would be to simply visit the US as a family and your wife adjusts status from her B1/B2 visa, if it's still valid. Though I'm not sure that's technically 'legal' unless you decide to adjust after entering the US. In other words, if you show up to the airport with 20 suitcases and tell the officer you're moving to the US permanently, you may run into issues....
  23. Martin B
    Not surprising. The online tutoring market is booming. I also know that there are English summer camps in Thailand, Philippines, etc. that well-off Chinese can send their kids to for 6-8 weeks. Like most bans, the market just becomes more expensive and goes further underground which locks out more lower/middle class families, while well-off families can easily find a workaround. If anything, schools should provide free after-school/weekend/summer tutoring to all students to level the playing field.
  24. Martin B
    Well today marks a pretty big day for me - I've unsubbed to all of Winston's and Matt's channels. It's kind of a bittersweet day, but I rarely watch their stuff anymore and their ~8 channels are cluttering up my feed. I only watch their older stuff occasionally when I'm feeling nostalgic. Their video titles are a bunch of clickbait and most of their vids rehash the same points over and over. I've noticed Laowhy in particular has become somewhat of a twat, recently cracking jokes about abandoned babies in China among other things. It's sad to see how they've changed, while I under$tand why, it's just not something I'm into (despite agreeing with some of their points).
  25. Martin B

    From Yulin

    Martin B replied to Randy W's topic in Expats

    Sorry to hear you're still confined to the house Randy. Hopefully things continue to improve for you. I recall reading this thread some time ago and you guys were hoping around all over the place some years ago. Glad you've managed to avoid COVID. After 2.5 years into the pandemic, we had our first COVID outbreak at home. First with me (post business trip), and after a futile quarantine in our guest room for a few days, everyone else ended up catching it anyways. Not a particularly pleasant experience.
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