Brian resurfaces in China

[Ed W]

So glad you had such an awsome trip. Mine had so few wrinkles as well and I can totally relate to feeling extraordinarily blessed. Hats off to ya Brian.

[Scottish_Rob]

Only got one word for your last post mate

..........AWESOME...........

:icon_biggrin::angel:

[David5o]

Brian,

If your looking for teaching positions, why not contact China Shark Mike, As far as i know, you can still contact him via the PM, and i think Arnold has another means of contacting him too. He's knowledge of teaching positions may only be around the Guangdong areas, but will still be of overall assistance to you i'm sure!!

Best of luck on your endeavours .....

David....

[brett]

Wow, that's a great post and will help me a lot with my own trip.

Having been to Hong Kong, I kinda know what to expect with regards the language barrier. But I know I'm still in for severe culture shock. The further I got from the sea front at Hong Kong, the more alien the place became (especially the stuff being sold in the markets!)

[ahkiwi]

Excellent post Brian, thank you.

Some good tips there that I will note down too :icon_cheesygrin:

[Voiceroveip]

Great post Brian, I'm happy things are so well for you, I hope you can manage until you return as I'm sure you miss her like crazy already. You will see that you will get used to the humid heat and find things terribly cold in Canada in a few years, the body adapts after a few months. I wish you and Zhen a happy future, and please stay on here, your advice is appreciated!

[Brian Mc]

[attachment=709][attachment=708][attachment=707][attachment=706][attachment=705][attachment=704][attachment=703][attachment=702][attachment=701][attachment=700]Greetings Brothers,  Well firstly thanks everyone for the kind words once again.  If anything I have written helps even one brother and his lady then its well worth it.  I have received much advice and support from this forum so its only fair that I return what I can.  Now some pics as promised.

Ok these pics are all from my first couple days in Beijing around the Tiananmen Square area.  The silver ball and the building with all the people sitting are actually from a park just outside the Days Inn Forbidden City and runs from the hotel to the Square.  The monuments and the different looking light are from a smaller square across the street from T Square.  That park by the way is a great place to go for a walk with your lady.

More pics later.

Regards,

Zhen and Brian

[RobertBfrom aust]

Brian and Zhen , firstly Brian yes only goes to prove you do your homework and meet your Princess , for you writing the way you do you will have no problems getting employment with Zhen's help, fan out from her home base and that should be easy , also look at the Buckland group website it may give you some clues , but they tend to be further south than Zhen's area I think , but for a lot of us I think that 2010 will be a great year , regards Robert and Ying [ China Doll ]

[Peter]

Thanks for sharing us the story. Very interesting reading.. I had some flashbacks of my own memories...

[Brian Mc]

Greetings Brothers,

Well another small update.  My Zhen and I have had two webcams since my return to Canada.  We cannot say much as her english is barely better than my chinese and my chinese is terrible.  However we are both learning and Zhen has her sone to help translate a bit.

We have also sent one emf to each other and I think we must continue that for a while longer.  I found out from our translator and also from Zhen that our parting at the airport was a lot harder for her than it seemed at the time.  From my view I seemed to lose it the worst between us but apparently she was crying when reading my letter to her at the agency after I arrived inCanada and wrote to her.  She also mentions in her letter to me about tears, tears, tears.

So yes this meeting and parting is a cruel thing for both sides, and probably the hardest most painful thing I have ever done in my life.  Now in our webcams we are quite content to sit and look at each other and say all the nice lovey words that we know and spoke often to each other when we were together.  I could look at her all day long and she knows it too.  SHe gets this really cute sexy smile/giggle thing going when I look at her for too long and I love it.

I hope this will keep us close and help to bridge teh gap even a littel bit.  She is utterly commited to waiting for my divorce to be final and we have agreed on a marriage date of feb 14 2010.  Now all I have to do is find work there and its a done deal.

One other thing from her side.  The first day she couldnt get the webcam to work and she was so upset and worried about it she took the day off work to go to the agency and get it fixed up properly before it was time for our call.. She was so worried about missing the webcam it was unbelievable.  To me its just another example of her total commitment to us and why I say I am the happiest luckiest guy that ever lived.  To be loved by someone this much is absolutly the best thing ever in my life and I do love her so.

So anyway now the long dull boring wait is on.  I only need to find one teaching gig in all of china and my divorce papaers and certificate of single and thats it  Marriage and the rest of our lives together.  Once I find a job there I am moving all my effects to my sister who will look after everything for me until we return in 3 or 4 years.

I still have many pictures I can post so if there is interest let me know and I will post more.

Regards,

Zhen and Brian

[Irishman]

A wonderful story Brian, sounds like you struck gold the day you started writing to your lovely Zhen (she doesn't have any cute sisters by any chance? ,just kidding!!)

[Neil]

Awesome posts Brian.  I'm just so incredibly happy for you guys.  Seems like we've had a good year for love over all.  And yes!  More pictures are always welcome.  I can't get enough of 'em!

[JimB]

Great goings Brian, really happy for you.  Just one word of caution.  Coming here and not knowing the language well enough to get around by yourself is very daunting.  After spending about two months here, I have found that it is not as easy as one would think.  I can go to certain places but just going out presents a problem.  Not everyone can read the translator and understand it. So without it written down by her, i am sort of stuck.  Also the pronunciation is very important.  If not done right, they guess and ask you then you guess back and it becomes like a who's on first scenario.    Anyway that is just something to consider.

[Martin]

Another successful Canadian.  Brian, you have kept the trend up!  Great story.  When you are feeling lonely, or when you need to talk about anything, the brotherhood is here for you.  Some days are easier than others...but when the going gets tough, we are here.

[Brian Mc]

Greetings Brothers,

Many thanks for the kind words.  I know the next few months are going to be hell but then we have such a fantastic group of guys here and the support is unbelievable.  I know that Zhen and I can work our way to be together and the help of you guys makes it all easier.  So we both thank you for everything you have said and given to us.

Jimb as for the getting around thing yea I can relate to that.  Every time we went somewhere in Beijing or Handan we went by cab and I had no clue where we were going or how to get back.  I am working on a new learn chinese program I bought in china.  It teaches the words and also the tones and pronunciation and includes reading speaking and hearing the proper way to say things.  Its early days yet but I have hopes that it will be better than the basic touristy programs I had before I left.  For those interested its called Follow me Chinese and takes you through beginner medium and senior.  The website for the company is www.languagex.com.cn.  I had a demo of it in the store by the sales clerk and she likened it to the roseta stone ones so I hope its better than the stuff I already had.

 Still every word I learn is a step forward.  Zhen and I are doing the learn a phrase or short sentence each day on our daily webcams so there is that to help also.

Its not going to be easy for sure but my next trip to china is the one we marry on and I will stay there with her until I can bring her to Canada after her son finishes high school.  My chinese and hers and RuiChens english should be well progressed by living together after we marry for a few years before coming here.

So anway thats our plan subject of course first to the divorce laws and the judge here in canada then finding and accepting a teaching gig in China ( already have that search started), then getting there and marrying Zhen, then the long and painfull immigration process.  But at least for the last one we will be together.

Regards to all.

Zhen and Brian

PS I will attach a few more pics in a seperate post.
[attachment=736][attachment=737][attachment=738][attachment=739][attachment=740][attachment=741][attachment=742][attachment=743][attachment=744]
Greetings Brothers,

As promised more pics.  hmm kinda screwy but ok.  
Pic 43 is one of the ancient entrance gates into Beijing.
Pic 45 another view of same gate.
Pic 53 is a pic of the Beijing train station
Pic 58 is the entry arch to a new shopping area they are building.
Pic 72 is in front of a teahouse in the new shopping area, and of course the beautiful Zhen
Pic 77 is the plaque describing the pic with Zhen and I sitting at a rock
Pic 79 is the rock the plaque is describing.
Pic 82 is the entrance to the forbidden city
Pic 85 an entry to the next progression inside the forbidden city.