ken88

If anyone is interested, there is a special documentary on China, on ABC tonight (Wednesday, July 6, 2008), at 10:00 PM ET

A couple of suggestions ItalkBB. 1) I forward the phone after 3 rings to my cell number. This way no matter where I am my wife can reach me. 2) ItalkBB has 3 way calling, so no need to wrap the phones, just conference the third person in. What is ItalkBB ? Ken88

Richard: You are really lucky that you have wife with a BA in English ! What more can you ask for in communications? Ken88

Did she know how to use a computer, pinyin, etc ? ken88

Not many hardships, only I not there Daily I use www.ecallchina.com to call her, $20 usually last 1-2 months We use ibbtalk at home and skype, with a cam corder on each end. email for quick messages. She doesn't buy phone cards much any more, she'll just ask me to call her with a email. When you met her, did she know English (speaking and writing or typing, pinyin, computer skills, etc. ) ? ken88

Some of you raised the concern about the inflation during the last 30-40 years. Let us say that it is about 5-10 times depending upon what criteria you use. That would make the 36 billion to about 200-400 billion. If we want to be strict about it, we also will have to consider the value of one billion US dollars in the US and 1 billion US dollars in China. Actually $1.00 in the US is worthless. But it is very valuable in China. Let us say NASA hired engineers paying about $100,000/year (including health insurance, vacation pay, sick pay, pension etc). In China, engineers of similar qualifications are hired at $10,000/year. A factory worker or a construction worker in the US is paid about $50,000 per year. In China, similar workers are paid about $3,000/year. Let us say that we did exactly the same thing that China did in Beijing for the Olympics, we would be spending not just 40 billion, but something like 400 -500 billion. To get the exact numbers, however, we will have to hire about a dozen CPA's and work for a year. Ken88

None of the above. No vomiting, no blood, no diarrhea and no fever. In gastric and intestinal bleeding, there would be black stool. She did not say anything about that either (She said she did not know. She did not pay attention) My gut feeling is that she ate something bad and she had a tummy ache ! She tells me that there no govt hospitals. There may be some small clinics. But all big hospitals are private. ken88 Ken, Don't know if you have a medical background or not so excuse me if I'm telling you stuff you already know. The black stools of GI bleeding are pretty hard to miss. They are loose but "tarry" and stick to anything. They also have a distinctive odor that one never forgets and can't be mistaken for normal. I would push to get them to tell you what her Hemoglobin is. If there is more than one done that would be great. If her Hemoglobin is normal and stable, I'd feel a lot more comfortable suggesting she leave. It would be doubtful there would be any significant bleeding. If there is a doctor there who speaks English and you want me to try to get some info from them, let me know. Of course, if you are a medical professional you may have already tried that. I hope that things straighten out and that your wife is well but I have heard of the hospitals there running this kind of thing for money. Joe Thanks Joe. I am also in the medical field. But I can definitely use a second and a third opinion in this case, especially when we are making a diagnosis without seeing the patient and without knowing enough about the symptoms. I do not know if you talked to chinese doctors. I talked to several, not in this connection though. There are two barriers in communication with them. One is the Chinese-English language barrier. Secondly, there is medical barrier. They are taught a mixture of Chinese and Western medicines. As I heard it, they only spent about 25% of their time in medical schools learning western medicine. For example, the majority of them do not know about diabetes, insulin or blood glucose levels. Only a small % of diabetics who need insulin get it. Anyway, I hope they do the Hgb. She was told that she would die on July 23, if she did not have an operation on July 22. That did not happen. I can not think of any reason why one should have an operation in one days notcie for a stomach pain. Can you? Peptic ulcer or some bleeding tumor would be a slow disease. None of these would require an overnight surgery ! I will just wait it out for 2 days. Your comments would be appreciated. Ken88

Good idea Dave. I already did that! Thanks. Ken88

None of the above. No vomiting, no blood, no diarrhea and no fever. In gastric and intestinal bleeding, there would be black stool. She did not say anything about that either (She said she did not know. She did not pay attention) My gut feeling is that she ate something bad and she had a tummy ache ! She tells me that there no govt hospitals. There may be some small clinics. But all big hospitals are private. ken88 I would try to convince her to leave and go home, though this may be next to impossible to do since you are not there in person. Does she still have pain and has she shown anything that indicates she is in danger of dieing or getting real ill real fast? I asked her several times to go home. She is a very traditional and compliant individual. She is hesitant to leave the hospital without the blessings from the hospital staff. More over she is brain washed; she truely believes that she will die if she leaves. Ken88

The "she will die" thing is a gigantic red flag. http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?...st&p=411643 Orrin's case can be put in the same category. His hopital also used similar, " You better listern to us or you will die" tactic. Thanks Ken88

How did your communication with your wife/gf in China evolve during the first and second year of your relationship ? What gadgets, what methods, what language, what time? What were the hardship? How did you overcome them? etc.

China has spend about 40 billion USD to prepare for the Olympics ! US spent about 36 billion to go to the moon ! Besides going to the moon, US had tremendous scientific and technological achievements in the process of carrying out that task. Electronics and computer technology, rocket science, aviation, communications, etc. etc. progressed beyond belief, because of our landing on the moon! China achieved or hope to achieve significant progress in transportation, architecture, communications, regional and national security, pollution control, envirnmental protection, better infra-structure, and most of all good will around the world, etc. by these Olympic games. Two days ago they reported that Beijing saw a blue sky for the first time in many years ! We wish China the best ! ! Ken88

None of the above. No vomiting, no blood, no diarrhea and no fever. In gastric and intestinal bleeding, there would be black stool. She did not say anything about that either (She said she did not know. She did not pay attention) My gut feeling is that she ate something bad and she had a tummy ache ! She tells me that there no govt hospitals. There may be some small clinics. But all big hospitals are private. ken88

Don't worry about it unless you have one. Either leave it blank or say none. kEN88

Tom: First of all, money speaks louder than voice in China secondly, Did you take the teachers to Dinner and Lunch? Thirdly, It has somethig to do with your wife's ID book (Hokou ?) which may have to be changed to the new city or province. And lastly, many children have to go to private schools for that very reason. Another possiblity is this: Let the boys continue their education in their previous school and stay with a relative or a friend, until you figure out what to do with them. Good Luck Ken88

I watched a few of them. I enjoyed it very much. Ken88

Look through the blue slip very carefully. They might have marked some boxes. Or they could have written something in chinese and/or in English. Let us know what it says. Ken88

Hello Jay: I went thru a similar situation myself. It has been 2 years and still waiting. I might sound very negative, but that is the way it is ! ACH: It is useles to go there and waste your time and money. They will only answer general questions about documents, fees, signatures, forms, etc. They will NOT tell you anything about your case, other than what is already said in the blue slip. Also you can not "impress" them because you were there. You are only one in the crowd, and nobody loves a crowd ! More over, they hardly spent 1-2 minutes with you ! Documents: Give them everything they asked for. Nothing more, nothing less. Do not try to impress them or distort the truth. Time line: You might get an approval in 1-2 days or 1-3 months. then it might also go into "Administrative Processing" which could run into 1-3 years ! In the mean time you could be rejected at any time. Good Luck to you ! Ken88

Steve: Why do you want to go through HKG and get into all those troubles? Is it cheaper? Or you need to go HKG for business or pleasure? The reason I am asking is that there is a nice, convenient, direct, non-stop flight from Lax to GUZ by China Southern and Delta. I did consider HKG route to china, but finally gave up on it ! I have been to HKG several times, but not as a stop over to go to China. Ken88

My wife in China came down with some stomach ache, 2 weeks ago, on Saturday, July 19, 2008. Next day she admitted herself into a hospital. Next day, Monday, she got some X-rays done. The hospital said that she needs an immediate operation which is scheduled for the next day. They need 25,000 RMB to get started. My wife asked me for the money to be send right away. I asked her to get the full description of their findings, the name of the disease, and what exactly they plan to do. The best translation that I got was "stomach bleeding" and "gastric hemorrhage". I was not convinced. My wife is a healthy 34 year old. She had no past history of any peptic ulcer disease, etc. I asked my wife's siter to tell the doctor to send me an e-mail about his findings in English or Chinese, and the hospital to fax me her medical record. They refused to do either. Then I asked my wife to go to another hospital to get a second opinion and may be a third hospital for a third opinion. The hospital and the doctor told her that if she leaves the hospital, she will die on the way. So she stayed put and asked me to rush the money. Buy this time, it is Friday, July 25, 2008. I send her 30,000 RMB by Western Union. She received the money on Monday morning. Operation was scheduled for Tuesday. I could not reach my wife or her sister for the next two days. Thursday, July 31, I hear that the doctor said that operation is not needed. I asked to take her medications and go home. The hospital again says that if she goes home, she will die. So she is still in the hospital now. I think that the hospital wants to keep her there, until they use up the money ! What was your experience with hospitals in China? Ken88

I am sure you will get a lot of advice here. This is mine. Discuss with your wife and come to an agreement. There are three possible ways of doing it. 1. There will be just one account for all the three of you. You withdraw money and spend it as needed. If any body spends more than $50.00 on a personal item, the family has to approve it. Set aside 1 hour a week, say Thursday right after dinner, to discuss family finances. 2. Have "his, her, and our accounts". Every one has his/her own account and one joint account. Make a budget for the family. In order for this to work, your combined income should be at least 25% higher than your monthly family budget. Everyone contributes 50% of his/her income to the joint account. If it does not meet the budget target, you, as the man in the house, contribute upto 80% of your income. If it still does not meet your budget level, everybody contributes 80% of his/her income. this works best for the high income people. 3. The last and the best I think is this. Give 80% of your income to your wife and tell her "this is what I have, spend it the way you want it and take care of the household". some people give the entire pay check to the wife. Let her worry about the money matters. You enjoy your football game and a beer. If you want, you PM me with all the numbers. I can give you more specific guidelines. Good Luck Ken88 1.

I have Vonage Internet phone service (VoIP). If I take the phone adapter (small in size, 3" X 4" X 1") and a small phone to china would I be able to use it there when I am connected to high speed Internet. It has unlimited phone service to the US and Canada, and 2 cents per minute to China. Did any of you use it? How about Magic Jack. Do any of you have experience with MJ ? Ken88

Yesterday, I heard 2 pieces of real estate news on CCTV9. 1. BJ: Prices dropped more than 10%. Sales volume dropped 46%. People shopping for houses dropped 30% I think the market is going to shed most of the previous "irrational exuberance", as we experienced here in AZ, FL, and NV. 2. Chengdu: After the earthquake, government is giving incentives to purchase homes in Chengdu. New construction taxes reduces by 30%. down payment reduced to only 20% (from 30%). Interest rate one and half percent lower than the national average. Mortgage term increased to 30 years (from 20 years). This sounds like a good deal. But we do not know when the next earthquake is going to hit this area. Ken88

How are cars purchased in China? Are they finanaced? What percent is finnanced? what is the interest rate? Are they leased as well? Or people pay cash for the whole purchase price? Ken88

Congratulations Ed and Ying ! You got the 10 year card ! You completed your 1 0 0 0 posts ! ! May be a special prize coming to you ! Ken88