China Romance
All About China => Share your love story => Topic started by: kenny on July 29, 2010, 10:36:22 am
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I wanted to take some time and write a little about what has gone on in my life this spring. I have not posted much since my second trip to China during New Year. I had a great time in China and stayed with Linda’s father for 4 days during my two week stay. I have never seen such poverity in my life but never a more happy family either. Linda’s brother and his wife and daughter and aunt all came and spent much time with us. After the 4 days Linda and I and her daughter Zi Wei traveled to Shenyang for the rest of my two weeks.
During this time we went shoping and explored the city again and of course this gave me a good opportunity to get to know Zi Wei much better. We tried different restaurants but never anything very expensive. Linda is very good with money and I think this comes from living a life without allot of things that most take for granted here. We even took our translator out for dinner one evening at a Korean restaurant. I had a great time with them and leaving as most of you know was very hard.
We had been waiting for the interview date and was told it would be in April most likely. Since the death of Linda’s mother and her father not in to good of shape it had been decided that Zi Wei would come to America with Linda. This made me very happy because I did not like the idea of separating mother and daughter even though I think it is very common. I got back home and in less than a week had some health issues and was put on bed rest. The day I got out of hospital I got email from Laywer and we had got the interview date for March 23 a full month before we expected it and only three weeks from then. Needless to say bed rest was off I had paper work to get sent. My daughter helped me with this thank god, and got everything to the Laywer in time. Linda and Zi Wei went to Guangzou and spent a few days there and passed the interview. I think she felt a little alone there but she received a call from Ted and told me later that it made her feel allot better. (thanks Ted)
Linda had spent two years working in Korea after her divorce to make better money and was asked to provide a police report from the Korean government before they would issue a visa. This became more of a problem than we thought. I called the NVC here and they told me that Korea does not issue that to non residents. We were very worried that maybe this whole relationship was going to be stoped by a fu----- piece of paper. The Laywer was able to contact the Korean Embassy and was able to get the report after a few weeks and the visa’s were given to them of course after another trip to Gaungzou and more expense.
To make a long story short Linda and Zi Wei arrived here on June 27. I went to meet them in Chicago to help them through the Ohara airport and after many delays because of storms we arrived in Indianapolis at about midnight. We were on a different flight than we were booked on so where do you think her bags were at. We waited for the flight to come in that had her bags before we headed home, about 2 hour drive.
Over the last few years my father’s wife has wanted to leave the farm and get a smaller house and he has been trying to get me to come live in the home place but I did not want to move but decided that now might be the time. He bought a home about 3 miles away and when I got back with Linda and Zi Wei, about 5 in the morning started a new life with her, her daughter and a new home. It has been a month now and everything is going great. The house is big and there is a pool in the back. I think Linda is very happy and Zi Wei loves the pool. Linda is the hardest working woman I have ever seen. She seems to do everything she can to make me happy. I feel very lucky to have such a devoted lady in my life and frankly I wander what I did to deserve her.
We have applied for her social security number and hope it gets here this week. Then we will get marriage license and be married as soon as possible. We have a meeting with the school teachers that will have Zi Wei Monday. She will be in the sixth grade and will be at the same school that my daughter teachs first grade. We have already talked about Linda going to school and help out in my daughter’s class room a day or two a week and the sixth grade teachers has said that would help with translating with Zi Wei if they needed her. My daughter has been in contact with the teachers everyday and they are very excited to have a student from China to be in their school. This is a very small farming community and I think this is the first time it has happened. I hope that it will go good for her because I know this is the biggest concern for Linda and her family is Zi Wei’s education. I did not mention this before but Linda’s brother who is a year younger is a head master in the school there. We have talked to them allot through webcam since they have been here.
I wanted to get this wrote and tell of another success story for those reading this forum. I have not been this happy for many years and it get’s better everyday. I will write more later but I should be a married man after ten years alone in just a few weeks. Like I said, I am a very happy man! Thanks to all here for your post’s and the wealth of information on this forum that has made this possible.
Kenny
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Kenny,
very very nice. congrats on everything going well and i wish you all the best of success.
glad my call helped her be a little calm and happy to see that she was granted a visa to go
there.
take care
Ted
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Congrats! Kenny (& Linda) Best of luck to you both. Don't lose touch?
I hope the readers that are doubters, trolls and pessimists, that insist we are a minority, rich old men seeking younger women, that are still stuck at the gate complaining (of emf's & Chnlove) that it wasn't all smooth getting it to this point but it was completed. So all I can say to the others is, na na nana na na :P
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A great read Kenny and thanks for sharring with us your success. Sounds like your new family is already fitting in nicely and growing your own special crop. The seeds have been planted so go and grow some more romance.
Also don't be shy and please post some pictures of your bumper harvest ::)
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Kenny , one more Person that is very happy for you both here . It's me !! :D :D :D
I have seen your quest and now also see you succeed with a lovely Lady at your side . Congrat's to both of you .
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Wow. Thank for writing Kenny. I am struggling to get the applications written. The struggle is not the application but the language barrier between Peggy and me. So your story had removed the frustration of the struggle and reminded me of the goal that we all seek.
Great story and Thanks.
Shaun
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Kenny, thanks for sharing your story. We all want smooth sailing, but it is nice to know that when rough times hit, there is a support system in place to help us all. I look forward to seeing the two ambassadors in a couple of months. I wish you all the best. buzz
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Hi Kenny,
A big well done to all 3 of you! Another success story! We all know it's not the easiest road to take but if you work together you can make the dream come true. Ming Zhi and I both wish you many happy years together. Every day with these fantastic women is a joy and I'm just like you when I think what have I done to deserve this!
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I agree with Paul it is a joy with these ladies everyday even when they get a little cranky.
when Sara gets a little cranky i always tell her " Ok Chairman Meow" and she knows then
that she is sounding a little grumpy. lol!!!!!!!!
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Kenny great read mate...CONGRATS to the 3 of you...hope you will live a happy and prosperious life... :D
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I read on here the other day that monday the 16th was chinese valtentine's day. I thought i better not forget that so today i went over to town to a little gift shop and bought her a simple planter and a stuffed animal left over from valtentine's day. I brought it home and gave it to her and said happy valtentine's day. She said what, and could not understand what i was saying i had to google it and show her it was today. Linda started laughing and said she didnt even know it was today. I thought i should have just bought some beer but ever since she has had a smile and bragging to her daughter about what i did. Tonight she made supper and when i got up to wash dishes she said no no honey you go watch tv. So here i am on the computer while she is cleaning up with a smile on her face. Man i am damn glad i didnt buy the beer instead. I never seen a lady that aprecieted (bad spelling) things any more.
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Hahaha .. well done Kenny .
I'm off work now to buy some Flowers now and surprise my LaoPo coming home . I also send her a E-Mail to her Yahoo Box , so she might expect something already ? A big plus for any of us remembering .
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Arnold,
while your working your online here hahahaha must be nice
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Arnold,
while your working your online here hahahaha must be nice
Yeah .. a lot of times I just leave it on all day , doesn't mean I'm in front of the PC . I do work for my Money . hahahaha
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i used to do that also ah the good old days lol
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This is the last time I will be one here as a single man. Linda and I get married officaly at 4:30 this afternoon. I never thought about it till the other day but we get married on August 28 and we met face to face on August 26 last year. We are going to have a small ceremony here on the farm with family and a few friends and are setting up computer with webcam for her family to watch the wedding from China. Vince I will try to set the computer so the sun glare doesnt mess up the picture.
I went out to dinner with my boys and a couple friends and my daughters and future daughter in law took linda and ziwei out to dinner last night. The girls were drinking some wine and i think Linda got about half looped, she was cracking me up. She seems to be very happy and everything is still going better than I could have ever expected.
We have a friend that is a wedding photographer and she had the day open so she is taking a few pictures today. I will try to post some photos next week. Thanks to all you guys here for all the help you have provided through this foroum.
Kenny
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Which program are you using for the webcam? Maybe I can tap into it also and watch from here? And give me a time? I think your an hour behind me? Will Sonia be watching? lol
My Congratulations none the less.
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Congratulations to you , Kenny and Linda , looks like we will have a glass of bubbly for breakfast to wish you both all the best , regards Sujuan and Robert .
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well all my best wishes to the both of you congratulations
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Still 70 minutes to go before the big moment .. but Qing and I Congratulate you now and wish both of you the very best and all the happiness that you can muster .
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Ming zhi and I would both like to add our congratulations and wish you many happy years together ;D
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congratulations to both of you
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Thanks guys everything went real well. My family was able to see Linda's brother and his wife, the preacher said it was the most unqiue wedding he has ever done. Linda looked so pretty, my daughter's worked all day on her and ziwei makeup and hair. They had a big time together. I cant wait to get some of the pictures back and put on here and have something to gloat about. haha Damn she sure was pretty!
Vince I am sorry i didnt get back on here and get your message. I am not sure i could have told you about the program anyway. I bought ziwei a computer a while back and she put qq on it. We called Linda's brother and told them it was time and they got on the webcam like they always do and it worked great. Weather was good, It is 4:30 Sunday here now and it is pouring rain. Maybe god likes me after all. I have not talked to Sonia in a couple weeks now but Linda talked to her last week. She has moved to a different job i didnt know if you knew or not. Translating for some business now and get two days off a week now. We are daylight saving time here so I think same as you.
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I figured you had your hands full. I did not know Sonia left? She's a smart girl and made a move for the better I bet. I'm on Eastern time here. Only the pan handle part of Florida is on Central.
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well we are all happy it turned out so well what a very unique way that should also be done by others
if the opportunity arises
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Congratulation for your wedding, Kenny :)
Liyan and myself wish both of you all the best :)
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going to try to post a picture here, this is after the wedding and dinner. I will post more later.
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she is looking all fine were is your TUX Kenny???
i also see the old gas sign in the back were was the pic taken?
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WTH? Not sure what happen to that photo? But I fixed it up for you. Gave me the chance to use my new Photoshop. They moved things around some. Have to get use to it now. But here ya go. Ken if yours is that dark in your file take this one and save it.
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good job vince on the pic i have some suirvelance pics of Willy drunk in china maybe you could
lighten them up for us so he can quit saying its not him hahahaah
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Thanks Vince the photo looks allot better. They just put them online late last night and I havent had a chance to look at all of them yet. Just picked one to see if I could post it here. I tryed to put some pics in the album section here a while back but could not figure out how to get them in a folder like everybody else so i will get the kids to help me put more there later. She took 471 pics!!
Ted no tux for me! The kids have been told when they bury me it is flannel shirt and jeans. Anything better I come back and haunt them. The pic was taken at the resturant here in town. It is called The Osgood Grub Company and has been in the family since before i was born. It is full of old signs and photos from local business and people dating back in the twentys and probably even before. It is very interesting just to walk around and look at all the stuff they have in there.
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Kenny,
wow 471 pics thats great but not so great if you post them all here that will take a while lol!!!!!!
i bet it is interesting to walk and see that stuff. i picked up on the sign because for 30 years i collected
old oil signs and i restored old gas pumps and i had them displayed in a large building like a barn on my
property in calif. it was hard to sell all them when i came here but i had no were to store them as i lived
in china.
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Hey Guys I was messing around with some pics today and thought I would put some more on here. The wedding took place in front of the house here around the spruce trees. The pics are of Linda and I and my kids and grandkids and one with son in law and future daughter in law. One phot is of Linda and my grandmother in our living room. Grandma will soon be 96 years old. Then there are a couple taken beside the house looking down over the back yard.
Everything is still going good and Ziwei is settled into school here and is very well liked by her teachers. I ran into the princple at the grocery and she told me Ziwei has a work ethic that the others kids just dont have. I am very worried about the boys allready though they were afraid of me when my girls were young I am not to sure now. Like the song says when she goes out I guess I will just be here cleaning my gun!
Kenny
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Great pictures. Thank you for sharing them with us.
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Yes , I agree with Martin great Photo's . Only one thing .. Kenny ? No .... no Tie :o :-\
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Good show Kenny! The story just gets better from here.
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Everyone looks happy. Allot of greenery, that's your yard?
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Kenny,
i agree very very nice photos. congratulations again and i am happy for all of you.
its really great that grandma was there to share in your special day, such a great pic
of your wife and her sitting there.
the one of your wife and your daughter is very nice also. yes i agree with you in a few more
years you will need to be cleaning the gun as she is going to be the prettiest girl in high school
your wife looked very beautiful in her dress. and everyone looked happy.
Ted
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Yes Vince that is all yard. There are 3 spruce trees that stand in front of the house where the first pics were taken. The pics of Linda and Ziwei are about 10 feet from the side of the house looking down the side and back yard. The photographer wanted to get some shots with that weeping willow in the background.
Dad bought this farm in 1972 and there was nothing here but land. All you see in the photos was farm land then. Allot of work has been done here over the years and it has payed off. I was here every weekend and all summer when I was younger working on this place. He built the house in 1976 and we moved here that fall. I have never lived far away since then.
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Kenny great photo's mate, you have a beautiful family...
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Beautiful photo's, looks like you all had a fine time ;D
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Dear Kenny,
Hope I am not out of line, as I am new here. I have not helped you, or know you as the other members do. I just wanted you to know how happy I am for you, and how inspiring your success story is. As I read the thread, and the replies from your friends it made me hopeful about my own future. Thank you -That is a very lovely family you have. Congratulations to You -Linda and Zi Wei
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Thanks for the great photos and synopsis , what a lovely and relaxed way to have a wedding , regards Sujuan and Robert .
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"Like the song says when she goes out I guess I will just be here cleaning my gun!" Haha,Kenny,you make me laugh ! I am really enjoy reading your story, Thank you for sharing the precious wedding photos with us.
It is good to hear more and more couples get married finally since I haven't been here for a long time.Each time I log in the forum, I can read a lot of good news. That 's encourage.
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And we welcome you back Yan Were have you been?
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Yes Yan it is good you are back and thank you for your comment. I just hope the boys dont see any humor in it. haha
I want to tell a little story that happened yesterday. We are well into harvest now and Linda is at my side almost all the time. Friday my son was unloading the grain cart into the truck and spilled about 4 or 5 bushels of soybeans over the side of the truck and into the ditch. Yesterday I was unloading grain and Linda was trying to get everything picked out of the garden before we get a frost. Well it began to drizzle rain so Linda came to ride with me in the truck and try to get the combines unloaded before everything got to wet. She went into the barn and got an old seed sack. I asked what it was for and she kept saying Mitchell beans, Mitchell beans I didnt know what she ment but away we went. We got to the field and I ran to get the cart to unload it and I looked to see were Linda went and she was down in the ditch cleaning up those beans by hand. Of course I had about 1000 bushells out in the rain but I got out and went to help her get those few beans cleaned up. My father and 2 sons were there and came to help as well but Linda had one thing on her mind that was clean those beans out of the ditch. Hell of a woman!
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... She went into the barn and got an old seed sack. I asked what it was for and she kept saying Mitchell beans, Mitchell beans I didnt know what she ment but away we went. We got to the field and I ran to get the cart to unload it and I looked to see were Linda went and she was down in the ditch cleaning up those beans by hand. Of course I had about 1000 bushells out in the rain but I got out and went to help her get those few beans cleaned up. My father and 2 sons were there and came to help as well but Linda had one thing on her mind that was clean those beans out of the ditch. Hell of a woman!
ARN'T they just mate...each and every one of them !!! ;D I bet each brother here could tell a similar type story with their partners...
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Kenny, I am a little late to this party.. ;D , but I wanted to congratulate you, your new wife and new daughter. They all look lovely in the photos, and you don't look bad yourself :). A great success story to read. Congrats again.
Don
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I t is truly amazing when they do these things that we tend to just
overlook and or dont want to do anything about. Makes it so refreshing
to be in the relationship
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Hello Guys and Girls,
Yesterday Linda and Ziwei and I went to our interview to adjust residence status. I have been very nervious about going and prepared another pile of paperwork to have whatever they asked for. It seems I have sent copys of everything i have all over the country since Linda has been here. The only thing that he wanted to see was a copy of our marriage cert. He asked Linda my birth date and Ziwei if she still talked to her friends in China. He then asked if they were or had been a member of the communist party. This took me by surprise, I guess I never thought about that question before.
They are now conditional residents of the US. He said we should recieve their green cards in about a month and it is good for two years. I then have to file a form I-751 to adjust status to permanent resident and the green cards will be good for another ten years. He also told me that Linda could apply to become a citizen of the US. If she did this before Ziwei is 18 years old she would become a citizen with her. If she waited till later then Ziwei would have to apply herself. My question to you guys is, first does all this sound right to you and is there a benifit for them to become citizens? I have not talked to Linda about it and she might not even want to become a citizen here. Knowing her I think she will do what I think is best so I ask what you all think is best. I really think about Ziwei going to collage, would it be better to be a citizen? I wonder if the way things work in this country she might get more finanical help as a forigen student but i dont know. I still have 6 years to go and know things will probably change but I like to think ahead.
Everything else is going very good. They have settled in very well and had a great time at Christmas. It was the first tree that Linda had put up and she worked for a week on it. It was the perttiest tree I ever seen. We took the tree down and used all the lights to decorate the living room for Chinese New Year. Frankly I am tired of all the lights but I would never tell her that. Ziwei has made the honor roll both grading periods now and is one of only two to do that. My daughter tells me she is little miss popular at school. We have been snowed in so much here that we both have spring fever bad. I know you guys from canada are laughing at that.
Thanks
Kenny
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Kenny the only benefit to becoming a U.S citizen is your wife will be able to vote.Also she will be eligible for public assistance.And other government programs.It is the same thing for the daughter.It would be easier for her to get a scholarship to go to college.Your wife can Evan run for office if she chooses to.
The disadvantage of becoming a American citizen.You wife will have to have a American passport.China doesn't recognise dual citizenship.She will also need a visa to visit China.
With the I-751 you need to file that form 90 days.Before the temporary green card expires.You cannot send the paperwork in early.If you do they will send it back to you.When I filled for my wife's permanent green card.They sent us a extension for the temporary card.And told us that it could be up to a year before my wife recieved her permanent green card. 3 weeks latter my wife's permanent green card arrived.
Kenny on a personell note it is nice to hear that your wife and daughter.Are adjusting well.Most people who do this don't realize.That when the lady arrives in thiere country.The real adventure begins.All the other stuff you went threw before.Was just a warm up for the real adventure.Again good luck and best wishes
Maxx
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Thanks guys for the response, never even thought about the right to vote. How do you forget that one? Linda and I have talked about it and we are going to leave things as they are for now. Linda talked to our laywer about it as well and he told her the same thing that you guys did, it might be better for Ziwei to be citizen for school reasons.
You are right Maxx, the real adventure does begin when they get here. I read here about guys moving to China and taking time to get used to the culture. I cant imagine doing that but I try to put myself in Lindas shoes and remember how hard it is for her. The thing I watch for is to see her laugh and us laughing together or even at each other. We are big Packers fans (my boys and me) and we get together and watch games on Sundays. I bought Ziwei a pink Packers shirt for Christmas and they enjoy watching with us. I think they enjoy watching us more than the game but it is a family day every Sunday. (big help for me) In two weeks we have super bowl party I am looking forward to seeing them at this as there will be many friends over for that. It sure is worth all the time and money and frustations that go along with this, I have never been this happy. Good Luck to all that read this!
Kenny
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I thought I would drag out my old thread and give a little update. Time has flown by and Ziwei has started her senior year here at high school. She is applying at some colleges and is hopeing to get into Purdue and persue engeering. I took her picture as she left for her first day and it has had me thinking ever since how much she has changed.
Linda has applyed for citizenship and we went for fingerprints last week. Everthing is still going well and after the interview I hope the paperwork is over. Linda still helps me here on the farm, grows a big garden and ofcourse a huge flower garden. We had a litter of beagle pups 6 weeks ago and she has adopted all of them. I guess I will be forced to keep all 8.
I hope all is well with the old brothers.
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Congratulations and best wishes to Ziwei. Yes the grow up quick and the change a lot. I just spent two weeks as chaperone to Katie in Guangzhou. Shopping-shopping-shopping. And KTV with a bunch of teenagers. Glad to be back home. Katie is just a sophomore in HS so I have a few more years before she is off to college.
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Great update Kenny and glad to hear of your family's success - growing that it is.
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Time for another update.
I will steal Jerry's thread title "End of the Road"
We have two more citizen's around here. Linda was swore in yesterday and Ziwei in August.
What a relief that the uscis bullshit is over. It was very important for Linda to become a citizen.
I guess that is a good thing, and she wanted Ziwei to become one too. Linda had to study for a while
and after passing the test and speaking she said her mind went blank and didnt pass the writing.
Had to work on that for a month, I bet she wrote a thousand sentences but passed the next time.
Ziwei ended high school as valedictorian and had no trouble she is now at Purdue making A's on Calculus
and engineering exams. Chip of the ole block!
Here are some photos
My daughter and the newest member of the family came as well.
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hey Kenny, nice pics! Looks like you did well in life. Linda and Ziwei... smart genes.
All the best to you.
For me, I will be in China next year. I just found out I will be sending Jing's son to a
vocational school.. then college. Lucky me.
He has the enthusiasm now... I hope he has the smarts going forward.
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Kenny, Linda and Ziwei are awesome. And you're ok too...
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Great update and congratulation. There is a chance, like JohnB that I might be in Shanghai next year, as my wife wants to participate in some music competition there. We just booked a trip to Cancun so will be the first time for both of us to go to Margarita land. Definitely an easier 6 hour flight than any jump across to China.
Kenny I can relate to having a wife struggling and passing writing exams. She is still delaying getting her Canadian citizenship since once a citizen, ESL is no longer free.
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I have been doing allot of thinking and remembering lately, sign of getting old I guess. This will be Linda and Ziwei's tenth Christmas here. I cant believe how fast it has gone by. I lost my Grandma this past April at 104 and a half years old. She was a great lady and big influence in my life, her and Linda became very close over these 10 years.
Ziwei is a junior at Purdue and still doing great. Her and I are close and for some unknown reason she still calls and runs her thoughts and plans through me. She was asked by one of her professor's to consider to stay and enroll in grad school, not sure if she will do that yet.
Family still growing had my nineth grandchild this year, all together last night for Christmas. Damn it was noisy!
Linda and I are still farming and she is a big help operate's the combine on all the acres now. I think she loves it more than I do. Life has changed so much for me since their arrival, it keeps getting better. I find myself coming back here and reading old posts and still learning. I know that this site has lost allot of members and activity over the years but I know it and everybody here has made this all possible for me.
Thanks to all those past and present and I wish you all a very happy Christmas and productive New Year.
Kenny
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Photos were taken here on the farm this past September
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Good to hear from you Kenny. There are still some that come here to investigate and also to see what is going on. I've always like to follow you and your family and the successes you have had. Good luck in the future.
Good looking family too.