meaning of visit

[ttwjr32]

Lee  keep us posted on the developments as they happen
interested in seeing were this plays out

[Lee357]

Lee  keep us posted on the developments as they happen
interested in seeing were this plays out

I will I talked with my lady this morning and asked her what she meant by "I know you will make the right decision"  She tells me that what ever decision I make will be the right one. So I ask her what would you want me to do. She replies with "I know that it is important to you, to have time to spend with me. I also know that I want to have time to spend with you. Life has been hard for me so I wish that you will understand me when I say, I would want you to earn a good living to take care of us." So I now know that she would want me to get a well paying job even if it takes time from us spending together. I am still going to teach because I think 9000 RMB a month plus the 3500 USD a month budgeted for living expenses will be more than enough for us to live very comfortably in China. I just don't want to work for the government. It may be my American arrogance and a little bit of national pride, I don't know but I just can't accept mentally working for a communist government. I hope that does not make me prejudice or a bad person. I may change my way of think on this after I live there for a couple of years but right now I just can't do it.

[rockycoon]

I am glad you are all making good money and have excellent jobs.  But perhaps you have to consider your lucky,
as after looking at a "jobs in china" site, most paid way under what your earning.

[Lee357]

lee,

my god 9000 rmb +3500 usd you will live like a king and queen here.
i make 8000 rmb a month for 10 hrs work a week and i have not touched
a dime of the money i have in the bank and Sisi and i live well of course her
small house is paid for so all i pay is water,power, maintenance fee,cable,
internet  and we do well with what i make she even spends a little of what she makes
but not much. and with that i am still stashing away money for our travels later this year
if her boss gives her more than a week off at a time. so dont worry you two will do fine i
dont imagine you will even touch the USA dollars after the newness of living in China wears off

Some of that money will be used for visa for my lady, lots of traveling around China. I have many friends there. Traveling to other countries in the neighborhood. would like to spend a few weeks in Japan for example. Also hoping to buy a 50 to 52 foot sail boat while there and sail to different places. After I learn to sail. So need lessons. Also going to get at least a bachelors in Chinese studies while there. If I am there and want to learn about my ladies culture might as well get a degree while doing it. Might come in handy when the Chinese own the world. I think this is my plan but then again I am learning that if my plan does not exactly jive with my ladies plan, well.............then I guess we will go with her plan. Unless i think it is worth her telling me how she disagrees with me about it for a month. In a nice and polite way of course. if I don't use the money it will just sit there and build up. Mabe I will try my hand at investing in the Chinese stock market. Or invest it in some venture in China. I can garuntee I will think of some use for the money considering how much U.S taxes I will paying on it if it just sits in a personal account in the U.S.

I am glad you are all making good money and have excellent jobs.  But perhaps you have to consider your lucky,
as after looking at a "jobs in china" site, most paid way under what your earning.

I understand that I very lucky. Nothing I have done so far in life has been totally on my own effort. I have been fortunate to have friends point me in the correct direction and opportunities just fall into my lap. Family that has given me good advise that I have followed. So yes I am very lucky. The pay for the job teaching in China is for a state University and those do pay considerably higher than any of the other teaching jobs. Also I have the credentials to meet the Chinese governments requirements, and with the advise of the brothers on this forum I have been able to negotiate from a position of knowledge instead of not knowing the right questions to ask and therefore the correct statements to say. So even in that yes I am lucky. I thank you for knocking me down a peg. I do apologize if I was sounding arrogant. I surely did not mean to. :angel:

Alright! We have some other astronomers on here!! I am finding more and more to like about this forum. Any of you do any astro photography?

Dave C

I am sorry I have not gotten into taking the pictures but I sure do love them when they are taken. I have seen the big telescopes that take the real detailed photos of the night sky, but I have never taken any photos with them as it takes hours of looking at the same point in the sky to get high resolution photos of say the crab nebula, or the pillers of creation. I did spend a wonderful night with my daughter taking pictures of the last lunar eclipse. I will post one of those pictures.

[ttwjr32]

Lee,

the pic is to dark   hahahaha sorry couldnt resist that ok i will go to the corner again

Rocky,

your right the majority of jobs are low pay here which is why tutoring is a good way to go
you charge 200 rmb an hour 10 hours a week bingo 8000 rmb a month. Or if you have a great
degree then you can go Lee's way. Some schools he will find out pay upwards to 16,000 rmb a
month but you usually need a contact for those. I prefer not to go that route as i worked to hard
and to long in the USA all those years with the oil companies traveling and what not and i prefer to
have the freedom that i have now. If my wife didnt work then i wouldnt even be doing this. lol
but i will say i am enjoying it more and more because the kids love you here when you teach them
its not like in the states. hell in calif the school districts have their own armed police force on campus
thats not good anyway if you decide to move here then i will help you get your feet on the ground
Ted

[Lee357]

Update. I signed the revised teaching Contract. Biggest changes are No English corners at all. Only 5 teaching hours of English 4 teaching hours of Astrophysics. I will be working on government projects but no "sensitive involvement" (think that means state secrets stuff) 2 office hours and a five day work week Tuesday thru Saturday. Hours I am required to be at the school is from 0730 to 1630. So it will be a 9 hour day. Lower teaching hours for more Lab time. Housing is now an allowance instead of provided. From what you all have said I can get a very nice apartment in the city for what the allowance is. Airfare, Visa, residency card will be provided. Airfare is once to get there and once to go home and 2 round trip tickets to where ever I want to go in China for my 3 week vacation each year. One year contract with 1 year automatic extension in perpetuity if the University or I don't opt out with 6% pay raise for the first 5 years, then caped at 1% per year. Year end bonus of 15% after completing full contract year. Airfare reimbursement if an Emergency calls me home but only return ticket back to Zhuhai. "Automatic" Visa renewal when time comes as long as I continue to keep my passport current in the U.S. Round trip airfare for my daughter to come visit once every 2 years. The contract is not with the school though. The contract is with the government so not too sure what to think about it. I faxed it to my State senator and asked him to check into it for me, his secretary politely called me back and said the senator would look into it for me but is very busy right now and will likely not be able to get back to me until after the summer break. So I figured what the hell Ill sign it. My attorney looked at it and said he could not see anything that jumped out at him but then again he knows nothing about Chinese contract law. I think that this is as good of a deal as I am going to get. So that episode in my ongoing China experience is done. Now I can't wait to see what is next. I told my lady about it and I think she is pleased. I actually think if she could have she would have climbed through the phone and gave me a kiss and a hug. This will be very different from what I have ever done before. I am a little nervous about changing so much of my life. I am only 38 and this is a lot of change for me. I will be moving to a new country that is totally different then my own. I will be changing careers from the only one I have ever had, to something I have never done before. I will be getting married to a woman that although I love very much, I still don't understand how she thinks about things most of the time. I will be working for a foreign government, I don't even trust my own government much less one that I have been brought up to think of as the enemy. I am more referring to the Communist system not so much the Chinese government specifically. I think I am "freaking out". Time to go do some meditation and drink some tea and calm down a little I think. On top of all of this my Lady has to go out of town for 2 weeks for training on what the recent changes enacted by the government means to her profession. She is in real estate. She will not be able to talk to me very much over the next 2 weeks. We have talked in some form or another every day since December so this will be hard for me. Reading this post I sound like a whining little baby. OK enough of that. moving on. :icon_cool:

[ttwjr32]

Lee,

residence card or papers is extremely easy to get just go to the local police
were your at in China and fill out the papers. but if i were you MAKE sure you get
your work visa before you LEAVE the USA. there is no work visa's issued in China or
in Hong Kong under any option so if they say that its not true. this is fact and not some
hype one might read on the net. If you are lead to believe they can and will get it when you
arrive it will be just a sorry we cant obtain it. then you are working illegal and subject to
removal. if you just quit after that then whatever money owed you will not be payed. the
reason will be you didnt fulfill your obligation of the contract.

LEE,
the college is sponsored by the gov't but in actuality you are not working for the gov't a
gov't sponsored college enjoys the benefits of getting money from the gov't to help with
their day to day operations. it also enables them to charge a higher tuition fee to the students.
so it cannot and will not get you a work visa after you get to China so just make sure that paper
work is forwarded to you before you leave the states. just a little heads up on this as i would hate
to see you get here and the bottom falls out. not having a visa is why you see a lot of teachers spending short times at
schools teaching and moving on to other schools. i have met to many of them at the consulate trying to get
their wives to go home with them only to be told that the visa paper work needs to be completed at
and gone thru the process like everyone else. so they end up going home without thier wives and
and not being able to get back with another visa for visit because the govt denies you a re-entry visa
because you didnt play by the rules. or going home because they cant work here and have no money to live here

Ted

[Lee357]

Lee,

residence card or papers is extremely easy to get just go to the local police
were your at in China and fill out the papers. but if i were you MAKE sure you get
your work visa before you LEAVE the USA. there is no work visa's issued in China or
in Hong Kong under any option so if they say that its not true. this is fact and not some
hype one might read on the net. If you are lead to believe they can and will get it when you
arrive it will be just a sorry we cant obtain it. then you are working illegal and subject to
removal. if you just quit after that then whatever money owed you will not be payed. the
reason will be you didnt fulfill your obligation of the contract.

LEE,
the college is sponsored by the gov't but in actuality you are not working for the gov't a
gov't sponsored college enjoys the benefits of getting money from the gov't to help with
their day to day operations. it also enables them to charge a higher tuition fee to the students.
so it cannot and will not get you a work visa after you get to China so just make sure that paper
work is forwarded to you before you leave the states. just a little heads up on this as i would hate
to see you get here and the bottom falls out. not having a visa is why you see a lot of teachers spending short times at
schools teaching and moving on to other schools. i have met to many of them at the consulate trying to get
their wives to go home with them only to be told that the visa paper work needs to be completed at
and gone thru the process like everyone else. so they end up going home without thier wives and
and not being able to get back with another visa for visit because the govt denies you a re-entry visa
because you didnt play by the rules. or going home because they cant work here and have no money to live here

Ted

Thank you Ted that really takes a lot off my mind. Yes you had already told me or I had already read about getting the work visa prior to leaving the U.S and as soon as the contract is delivered in the mail to Beijing and approved by the Government contract office or what ever department deals with such things in China I can go to the consulates office in San Francisco with my visa and they will issue me a work visa and something they call a Foreign Expert certificate. No paper work needed. Like I said I am not going to be under contract to the School I am under contract to the Government of China. Working at the School. My paycheck will be issued By the Peoples Republic Of China not the School. When my work for the Government requires that I be away from the school I will not be under any obligation to fulfill my teaching duties during that time. I refused to move to Beijing and the government was keen enough to get a American trained Astrophysicist that they decided that I could work out of the University doing research projects for the government, in the hopes that once I get there and I get married I will change my mind and eventually agree to move where they want me to. I went with the option that my Lady wanted me to go with. Sorry I was not clearer in my post. I opted to go to work for the Government instead, much better pay and benefits. Also according to my Lady more prestige, I don't care about that but she sure does and I can understand it, she comes from a poor family. It took me a little while to understand or better put come to terms with just how important status is in China to people from the poor country regions. Class status seems to dictate what kind of job and life one can have in China still. By the way my Lady is what they call a migrant worker in Zhuhai. She was not born there and only came there to find work to help support her family and mainly according to her not to be a burden on her parents. I never noticed this when I was a tourist but I never payed any attention to Class structure either, too wrapped up in my own fun time I guess. So since it is no skin off my teeth either way I chose to take the job she had hoped I would, for her. I am absolutely sure she would have been happy even if I chose to take the job directly for the School instead and would have still been proud to marry me. If I do not get my work visa I will still go and marry my Lady in October with my current L-visa and not work. I do believe that the Chinese government is interested enough to get things done just like a woman from China when she likes you will almost move heaven and earth just to be able to be with you. I am rapidly learning through my Lady that one should never underestimate the Chinese. I am also learning that the image they chose to project at times of being slow and not in a hurry is not at all true just a ploy to gain a little time or put off something so they can think about it or try and figure out if they can get a better deal if dealing in business.

Ted,
I would also like to thank you for your obvious kindness and caring by offering me so much advice and trying very hard to help me stay out of trouble by sharing your knowledge with me.

[David5o]

Lee,

Your observations on the Chinese, (be it men or women) is very astute of you!! No they certainly aren't slow, once they know what they want. Only a fool and his dog underestimates the way the Chinese mind works.

If only there business mind, wasn't so dammed greedy, .....They would have it all!!!

Best of luck on your new life venture in China, hope everything goes exactly as you want it to go... It probably won't, but enough will, more than enough to make this turning point in you life a very worth while adventure for you both!!  lol!!!

David....

[Lee357]

Lee,

Your observations on the Chinese, (be it men or women) is very astute of you!! No they certainly aren't slow, once they know what they want. Only a fool and his dog underestimates the way the Chinese mind works.

If only there business mind, wasn't so dammed greedy, .....They would have it all!!!

Best of luck on your new life venture in China, hope everything goes exactly as you want it to go... It probably won't, but enough will, more than enough to make this turning point in you life a very worth while adventure for you both!!  lol!!!

David....

I agree that they do get to damn greedy at times and it cost them a lot. On the other hand there is something to be said for there is a sucker born every day and the kind of volume style of business they usually conduct will catch those suckers enough that they will someday soon have it all. Hell you can't buy anything that is not made in China. At least at some point in its manufacturing or components.

I hope that it turns out just like I hope for but like my dad always said roll with the punches then punch back. All I hope will turn out exactly like I want it too is my new life with my Lady. the rest of all of this is just translator fluff as far as I am concerned.

[ttwjr32]

Lee,

as far as everything not going as planned when living in China i have a few words on that:

when you first arrive it is a new,fun exciting time and after a short while it becomes frustrating
at times because as you know everything is different. language,signs,crowds,customs. but i will
say that after the local people see that your not a foriegner visiting but actually living here things
change. and believe me they do change. as they see you again and again they then go out of their
way to meet and talk with you. you start to make casual freinds and close freinds. and they try and
help you,teach you,advise you, and learn from you. and you will find that it is a really nice place to
live and work in. as far as business dealings, they are shrewd just like in any other country with the
exception it is all out in the open no hidden surprises. enjoy your life here with your wife and her family.
you will not regret it and if many other guys new what i know and Willy knows then the hesitation or
resistance to live here would be non existant. look me up when you and your wife have the time for
socializing and Sisi and i would love to meet the two of you. and if grandpa (willy) could get away he
and Angel i am sure would join also.

Ted

[Lee357]

Wedding update.
So my Lady tells me the plans are done and the whole process should only take 3 days. I have no idea how long a wedding in China can take but she says she kept it short for me. The days should be over before 6 pm each day and will not start before 8 am. I only complained once that 6:30 in the morning was too early for me. :fi_lone_ranger: She even booked a honey moon and will not tell me where or what it is. She will only say "it is my surprise" then she giggles for five minutes about it. total price for wedding, honey moon, first three months rent on the apartment she has rented for us to live in (western bathroom), Marriage fee, all appropriate red envelopes, gift for parents, clothing, transportation to and from wedding and honeymoon of 6000 USD. Not to bad I think. I sent her 6000 just for the apartment. I did not know that most apartments come fully furnished. I expected to have to buy furniture and a TV. She has money left over since I have sent her a total of I think 8000 USD total since we decided to get married. Her father called me this morning to tell me that her mother was going to call tomorrow and had some questions for me. He read off the list of questions she has for me. He just thought I should be prepared and have well thought out answers for her. Apparently she seems to think I am very smart and would be able to give in depth answers right away. One of the questions is if I have already slept with her daughter. WOW what a question to be asked. I am pretty sure there are very few mother in laws in America that would ask such a thing. I am sure there are a few but I have never heard of it. I guess this is my final interview before the invitations go out. Another one of the questions is how often my lady will get to come home to visit. Mom is under the impression we will be moving back to the states shortly after marriage. I think she knows that eventually we will move back. Another question she has for me is about money and how much we will be able to send home after mom and dad retire. Dad works for a company that has dealings in the states and knew that this question would concern me so he spent a lot of time explaining to me the cultural reasons behind why his wife would ask about such a thing of me. The other two questions are personal and I will not air them here. So that is my update for you all. Good luck, this is so much fun so far.

[Neil]

I was going to suggest you not tell her that you've slept with her daughter, but you seem to have things sewn up tight, I'm sure you have a perfect answer for her.  I'd be interested to know what it is in case I ever get asked that question though.  :blush:

[Lee357]

I was going to suggest you not tell her that you've slept with her daughter, but you seem to have things sewn up tight, I'm sure you have a perfect answer for her.  I'd be interested to know what it is in case I ever get asked that question though.  :blush:

just hung up with mom. She says I am acceptable. My answer to her question was simple. I have not slept with your daughter, I love her and  my new family too much to dishonor either of them. So it turned out well.

[ttwjr32]

well Lee it looks as though everything is set and on course
congrats on everything and dont forget to keep in touch