Qing's arrival and beyond .

[Arnold]

Haha .. Vince , being the same age ... we alway's seem to think the same stuff also . This was the first thing I thought off . When in Up-State NY did the same thing to practise in the Snow . Here in Calif. don't know how to drive in Rain . Thanks for the advice though , alway's appreciated .

Vince , to answer the question you ask about what does that mean on the back of my Car ... it say's
12 Girl's Band Shanghai  and on the left over the Toyota sign it say's Shanghai Volkswagen in character's .

Rocky , sorry ... but this Swing Set was at my Uncle's house . I only have a Spa , which is more Fun and Qing loves it ... haha ... so do I ! Much more now .
She likes our Supermarket's , but just love the Asian Market we go to in the S.F. Valley .

[Irishman]

Arnold, I just love your updates, America is of course different to Ireland but your great accounts of how you are interacting with your lovely Qing there at home makes me tear right up.
I so want to experience the same as you - showing her the neighbourhood, meeting my friends and family, teaching her how to drive, coming home to a smile and a kiss and just getting used to having a wife at home that loves me.
May you and Qing have many happy years together bro.

[mustfocus]

Rocky , sorry ... but this Swing Set was at my Uncle's house . I only have a Spa , which is more Fun and Qing loves it ... haha ... so do I ! Much more now .
She likes our Supermarket's , but just love the Asian Market we go to in the S.F. Valley .

Hey Arnold,

When I was visiting San Francisco, there was an asian supermarket near one of the restaurants I visited.  I don't remember what it was called, but it was somewhere in Hayward.  Not sure if that's near where you are, but if you or anyone else can make use of the address...

it was near 24123 Hesperian Boulevard in Hayward (somewhere near Freemont?).  There is a sushi bistro there (Tomodachi) which our hosts liked to use.  It seemed like a reasonable chinese supermarket, but I was only there for a few minutes.  Not sure if it's still there as this was about four years ago.

[rockycoon]

You might explain for our readers that the SF is not San Francisco, it's the San Fernando valley, am I correct? I was raised in California
so I know where your at.  Although China Town in Frisco and fishermans warf might also be a lot of fun.

[mustfocus]

You might explain for our readers that the SF is not San Francisco, it's the San Fernando valley, am I correct? I was raised in California
so I know where your at.  Although China Town in Frisco and fishermans warf might also be a lot of fun.

My bad.  To be honest, I found Chinatown in San Francisco to be more kitchy ().  Although I did enjoy the bakery there.  Kinda freaked out driving down some of those roads.  I've got to wonder how long people's brakes last driving down those.

[brett]

Yokohama's ChinaTown was the worst I've been to. Panda plushies, panda pens, panda keyrings, panda shaped dumplings, it was a shameful exploitation of the Japanese fondness for cute things :icon_cheesygrin:.

[rockycoon]

I ihaven't been to San Francisco for years, so china town there is probably so commeralized it's sad.  But in San Francisco, you will learn why an automatic transmission is a lot better than a stick.  Or you can sit there and watch the blood drain out of your leg with a clutch. Its also a lot of fun to see how tough your rear bumper is or to see how many times you can stall the engine while the light is green.....LOL

[ttwjr32]

brakes in s.f. replace once a year

[rockycoon]

Brakes anywhere in California, replace once a year or more....:icon_cheesygrin: And you thought the driving in China was bad.....

[mustfocus]

Brakes anywhere in California, replace once a year or more....:icon_cheesygrin: And you thought the driving in China was bad.....

How do you get or more? :s  I know my travels over there aren't that extensive, but I don't know of anywhere that is as harsh on brakes as San Fran.  Now if you say air filters, I've heard in LA you need to replace those quite often...

Now...trying to bring this back on track... I think we need an update from Arnold about how the driving lessons are going.

[Arnold]

Now...trying to bring this back on track... I think we need an update from Arnold about how the driving lessons are going.

Funny you say that , that is what I was going to do today . I also have some Photo's to share .

Friday night after I got home and showered , we went to my favorite Chinese Buffet here in Lancaster . Of course I ate like a Pig that I am when it comes to chinese Food ( yes even here ) . I was surprised how much Qing was eating this time , which was of course good to see , that she enjoyed it . What really made me glad to have come here , was that she started in no time to talk to the Waiter's and Waitresses that were all chinese and knew Mandarin at least . Not like the Sushi place where all Chef's were from Korea and not a word Japanese among them , after Qing started just to talk away in Japanese to them . I had a good laugh , when I realized they could not understand one word . Anyway , as I alway's have fun with chinese People .. writing character's down on Napkins and hand it to them and watch them react to it . I must say , we had a wonderful time talking to many there for quite a while . One of the Waiter's even told us about a Free School for English as a second Language . It happens to be about 10 miles away from our House . So this of course creates a problem for my Sweetheart . No Bus , Taxi or Train here . Too far to walk , which I would not let her do anyway .. in this crazy Society . So it looking for a School closer to Home . Which we will check out a couple today and see how far they are away .

About her driving lesson's , she did get her second yesterday . She actually stepped on the Gas pedal a little this time , but was very afraid , as she has not yet the feel of using the Steering Wheel to actually steer the Car with . I am in for ... or she is in for quite a few lesson's I think before becoming comfortable to just drive the darn thing with NO other Car in a mile radius . I'm already starting to think , maybe it would be better to enroll her into a driving school instead . I will be patient as much as possible trying it myself first , but we do need to see some procress happening .

About Qing being homesick , nothing yet .. I can see . But , her little Boy ( Tianchi ) is asking her already .. when she will be back ? That has me worried some , as we both like him to learn to read and write in chinese for a couple of year's at least . By that time Qing can Travel back to Shanghai and he can come with us then , no need for him to fly by himself to LA . This is our Plan as of now . We do think this is the best for his interest , if he ever decides .. wanting to go back to China as a grown-up . We see how this play's out , after all he is in great hand's with Qing's Parent's .

Well here are some Photo's that I promised .

Photo's with my late wife's Sister and her Husband . The Couple that went to Shanghai for our wedding ceremony ( she is from the Phillipines ) . Qing's first real X-mas Tree , that we both put up together . Took a drive up the Mountain to overlook all of Palmdale and Lancaster . Some of the wonton's she made one afternoon . They stood like Soldier's in a Parade . Talking about Delicious ... is an understatement . The last Photo is of a great friend of mine . He also met his wife over the Internet ( from Indonesia ) .

[Ed W]

Are those homemade dumplings? They're quite fancy.

My wife's son at one point took a cooking class and he made this very elaborate dumpling and left it for us at home. It had many intricate folds and pinches that made it look like a flower. I'd bet you could spend years mastering all the kinds of styles of making dumplings.

Arnold, I had a chat with a friend about the driving lessons. Just some thoughts i had. I was thinking how many years it takes for people to simply understand the cutlure of driving in America vs China. Including myself, I'd be quite concerned that my driving style would be very different and possibly dangerous in China. Keep in mind I had my million miles by age 30 as a long haul trucker. I can only imagine how difficult it would be for someone who's never driven before, let alone in a different country. Then I also got to thinking about something Maxx had written about when his wife first came to America and how he was trying to get her out and about but found it was an overload on her adjusting to the changes.

I'm not meaning to be critical in any way. Just trying to offer some thougts to consider since sometimes the best intentions can cause unintended results.

I'm soooo happy for you both. I don't envy the decision she had to make, leaving her son behind. I often think about the day my wife has to leave hers behind and how we'll deal with it. I often think of how to best take advantage of this situation for the childs benefit. Consider the child growing up being fluent in both English and Chines and what kind of future he/she would have with a proper business education. I'd bet the field of occupations would be vast!!

[maxx]

it can be a huge overload.As men we know we will go back home in a couple of weeks or a month.The women when she gets to your country.They are not really sure when they will go back to China.Couple that with new sites and sounds smells  culture and customs.it can be overwhelming.

You guys that are thinking well we will live 6 months in China and six months in your country.Have you really thought this through?Most of you can't take a couple of weaks off from your life just to go to China.How tough is this going to be with a wife and kids in tow.And how much harder does it get for your wifes everytime they have to leave China.And what happens if China doesn't suit you.(I can take China for about a month at a time.Then I'm ready for something else).

You guys really need to think about this before you start making promises.That you can't keep.Or your not willing to keep.It does have long term effects on the relationships.Sorry Arnold didn't mean to jack your thread.I'm enjoying reading it.keep posting

[JimB]

Great job Arnold and good pics.  Thanks for them.  I am surprised she likes our type of Chinese food.  Different to say the least.  About the driving lessons, you are taking your time with them and after all there really is not big rush so i would think that you can try it for a little while getting her used to all of this, then if she is still having problems, professional lessons.  But, I wonder how good her English will be and how will she handle a teacher just telling her to do this or that and her not understanding. You know what i mean?
It was probably nice for her to speak Mandarin.  I have been making friends with local Chinese so when she gets here she will have people already that will look out for her also and give her some familiar social settings.

Jim

[rockycoon]

I can say that teaching a wife to drive can be frustrating, also so can a drive instructor.  Better teach her yourself and by the way, teach her where the steering wheel and brakes are first!

By the way, shades of chevy chase in xmas vacation, thats a nice tree, are the neighbors still looking around their yard for it....:icon_cheesygrin: