Billy, you keep showing us what the world is doing. Tell us what you are doing. About your life in China and where you live, where you work, where you shop and what you do in your free time.:)

I work as Engineer in Thomson Foshan . I live Foshan, near Guangzhou & Hong Kong, GuangDong Province. Now I prepare for TOEFL and GMAT tests. I want to go to the North America to take graduate program. Then I can have tea with you.

Waiters fill a tea cup in a unique way at a teahouse in Hangzhou, capital of eastern China's Zhejiang Province. The waiters practice the so-called "Kungfu of water filling " to attract tourist.

Chian's first astronaut Yang Liwei, (right) and Hong Kong action movie star Jackie Chan sing together during a welcome ceremony to the astronaut at the Hong Kong Stadium on Saturday.

A staffer of the Shanghai Art Fair examines a sculpture conveyed by the France-based Musee d'Orsay to the city Oct 27, 2003. The art fair opens today at the Shanghai Mart and will run through November 2.

A couple in Shanghai yesterday look closely at a sculpture named "Women Detachment of the Red Army", a story based on women soldiers of the Red Army in Hainan Island during the first Civil War (1927-37).

Holy shit, talk about artistic license.:eek:

Last Chance
 

Linda Wells, a lawyer from New Mexico, holds a picture of her adopted daughter from China, Kailee Matena Wells, in Beijing on Monday. Ms Wells is in China to seek donation of a bone marrow which may cure his daughter's aplastic anemia.

More

The netcafe fare costs me an aem and a leg, so I have to decrease surfing Internet time.

What would it cost for a PC over there? And how much for a server?:)

I have spent money as one PC. The fee is 3.00RMB/hour (nearly 40UScents).

If thats an arm and a leg, I'm fucking rich!

I think that is similar to what I was paying in Thailand. It is pocket change to almost any US citizen.

But I do realize it is a lot for you.

That's why the Waltons are so rich.:(

My month salary is just about 200$. So you can see that it is still expensive for me.

Newly crowned, Vivien Yeo waves after winning the Miss Malaysia Chinese International Pageant in Genting Highland, outskirt of Kuala Lumpur, Saturday, Nov.8, 2003. Vivien walks away with prizes worth more than RM260,000 and will represent Malaysia competing at the Miss Chinese International Pageant 2004 further in Hong Kong.

Former US President Bill Clinton (L) talks with Song Pengfei, a 21-year-old AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) patient from north China's Shanxi Province, at Qinghua University in Beijing Monday, Nov. 10, 2003. More than 300 experts, scholars and officials from around the world Monday attended the International Seminar on AIDS and SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) sponsored by the university.

British explorers Andy McEwen (L) and Ed Jocelyn sit at a road sign that reads "Red Army Snow Slope" in China's southwestern province of Sichuan in August, 2003. The two men spent more than a year retracing the route of the 1934-35 "Long March" by Mao Zedong's Red Army. Many long marchers died along the snow slope from exposure, exhaustion or from slidding down the slope in winter as they had to fight off Nationalist troops in hot pursuit. Picture taken in August, 2003.

A Chinese worker cleans the windows of a commercial building next to a national flag in Beijing November 11, 2003. China's economy grew 8.5 percent in this year's first nine months. Analysts said that they expected a similar rate for the full year. Despite its fevered growth, China still has one of the lowest rates of inflation in Asia. Consumer prices rose just 1.1 percent in September from a year earlier.

The Forbidden City in Beijing is blanketed with snow November 7, 2003. Beijing residents on Friday woke up to the Chinese capital's first snow fall of the winter. The Forbidden City is the largest and best-preserved cluster of ancient buildings in China. It was home to two dynasties of emperors, the Ming and the Qing.

An Iraqi boy holds a large Saddam Hussein action figure bought at a shop in the centre of the Iraqi capital Baghdad on November 6, 2003. Washington is set to order thousands of troops to prepare for duty in Iraq next year, U.S. officials said, as Britain's top envoy in Baghdad warned of difficult months ahead due to persistent guerrilla attacks.

An Iraqi boy collects real bullets while playing at bullet casings garbage dump in Baghdad's suburb of Al-Talibeaa November 8, 2003.

A visitor looks at the sculpture "Him", a look-a-like of former German dictator Adolf Hitler by artist Maurizio Cattelan at the "Haus der Kunst" art museum in Munich November 7, 2003. The sculpture is part of the exhibition "Partners" showing items of the collection of Canadian art collector Ydessa Hendeles and runs until February 15, 2004.

Billy, does your employer or the government take anything out of that $200 or do you get the whole thing?:confused:

Of course, I must hand out my tax and others.

OK, so how much does that leave for you?:confused:

About 30$

Jury members in charge of the design for the Forest Park and Central Zone on the Olympic Green for the Beijing 2008 Olympics visit a model jointly offered by the US-based Sasaki Associates Inc and a local urban conceptual design academy November 18, 2003, in Beijing. The jury has chosen three top designs from seven contenders asked to participate.

Flying on a bike
 

Wang Huihai flies over a 35-meter gouge on a bicycle as thousands of onlookers observe in Guangwu Town, Central China¡¯s Henan Province November 16, 2003. Wang, 35, from Northwest China¡¯s Shaanxi Province, soared over the 31.4-meter-wide Huangyaguan section of the Great Wall by bike in 2002.

Chemical factory fire
 

A firefighter combats a fire at a chemical plant in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, early Tuesday morning November 18, 2003. The fire, which was caused by a series of chemical explosions, was extinguished after one hour. No deaths or injuries were reported.

Per month?:eek: Who do you pay taxes to? National? Province? City? What are the "others" you mentioned? You mean rent or dues or prostitutes? :)
I think most of us are more interested in how you live and how the "blue collar workers" live than the big news that's in the media. Except of course how you and the people you know feel about these big events. We have ways to make you talk. :D

Tax $30/month.I think Igive my tax to the country and the Party,mainly to city. $30 include securities and healthcare. In fact, I like to talk myself to you, but I don't know what you want to know.

Where you live? Apartment? Room? Do you share with others or alone? Share bathroom?
The people that work in the factory, do the live close or far from work? How old do you have to be to work There? Do you cook or eat out? Where to you buy food? How often?
I want to know how real people live there.:)

Billy, I think you mentioned once that mainland Chinese can't go to Hong Kong...is that true? If so, why?

I live in pnr renting house, one aprtment near my company. I share one apartment and nathroom, not sleeping room, with my workmates. They married.
My workmates live all over the city. Some take bus,some have motorbike, some have their car,some ride bike, of course some walk on foot.
Sometime I have food that they cook in home. I can make some food. Sometime I have food in company. Of course I often go out to eat, like Chinese food, KFC and other fast food. As you know Chinese like food so I can easily get food.

Just this year, Cantonese can easily go to Hong Kong because the Conton and HK government make one law to development. But we must have one residence ID card or passport. I still cannot go because I have no Conton ID card and passport.

Is that Alamuhan?

Not him. I never met him. Hope to see him one day.

What do people do on their days off? Where do they go on dates? Do people keep pets?

In fact, I am a minor "White Collar". In my company I guess the Blu Collar salary is about $100 - $220.
My expenditure/month:
Food:$40 House rent: $40 Trafic:$50 Book:$30 Internet:$15

Sometimes I am afraid that I am tied on money. I have to cut down my food fare to buy books.

They can go out to hike, travel. Or have a family dinner/lunch. Watch movies, operas, KTV.. Now we have many selections to relax. I don't know where they go for dating. I often go to restraunts, film... We can bring up pets.

Chinese university students take an oath to enter the Communist Party at exhibition called "Jing Gangshan Spirit" in Beijing aimed at promoting the Chinese Communist Party November 15, 2003. Jing Gangshan is the first Communist military base in China. The late chairman Mao Zedong and his "Autumn Harvest Army" arrived in Jing Gangshan, a massive mountain ranges lying between the provinces of Jiangxi and Hunan, in October 1927 and joined forces there with another rebel group called "Insurrection Army of August 1".

Two unidentified men shoot a performance of Guanyin (Buddhist Goddess of Mercy) with a thousand arms at the Putuo Mountain in Zhoushan, east China's Zhejiang Province, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2003. The First South Sea Guanyin Cultural Festival of Putuo Mountain, one of the four famous Buddhist mountains in China, opened Sunday, during which a series of cultural, tourism and religious activities will be held.

What is the meaning of 'Mc-'? I meet many words have this prefixion, such as McGill, McDonld's. I don't know its meaning.

From what I've read, names that begin with "Mc" appear to be of Scottish origin and historically refer to the son of someone. For example, "McDonald" means "son of Donald."

Don't worry about it Billy, Mc- only appears in proper names and they have no meaning in English, only derivation or where they originated. Unlike Chinese In English a persons name only means the identity of that person.

sycamore, as you say, it is the "son" of name. Johnson is the son of John? Right?

500 years ago when the family name was invented. Today, the names are only historical.

Many American/European names refer to the profession of the person who started the name. We have many "Baker", "Carpenter", "Smith" (referring to "blacksmith", a metal worker), "Miller" (referring to one who worked a mill).

Even though there are no more blacksmiths, the names continue.

Generally, but not only. Due to the McDonalds hamburger chain, he's also likely to run into terms like "McJobs". The term is used to describe low-paying dead-end jobs.

True Dar, but he was asking about the meaning of peoples names. We got into this a little some time ago. The Chinese put a great deal of importance on the meanings of peoples names and get confused trying to interpret western names. What Syc told Billy was correct but I was trying to steer him completely away from the practice because it won't benefit him at all and will probably just confuse everyone if he comes to school here.
BTW, I heard on the radio that McD's legal staff have convinced the dictionary to drop the McJob rederence. I wonder if we'll see a pocket dictionary promotion at McD's soon?:rolleyes:

Ah. Never mind then.

On another topic. I don't know everyone here as well as some of you seem to know each other. So when you say Wolf knows you, is that in the biblical sense? :)

None of my business - just wondering.

Whenever someone asks anything about names, I almost always think of the line that Bruce Willis delivers in Pulp Fiction..."We're American, honey...our names don't mean shit."

All I know about my own is that the last name is apparently made up, and the first name is due to sperm donor getting to the name people at the hospital before my mom. And since I'm named after sperm donor, I can only assume that one or both of my grandparents had a case of the stupids the day he was born...or sadistic tendencies.

Wishful thinking on Bruce's part ... (it's also a play off my user title, which was a play off slang's former user title, which was "Doesn't know all the psychos")

Chinese like chatting privacy
 

Many Chinese like to know one's age, resindence, marriage, families... They are some topics in chatting. With communication to the west, we have started to notice these topics. We dare not ask them if others don't tell.

US Santa Claus in HK
 

Volunteers from the United States dressed as Santa Claus wave to Hong Kong residents December 3, 2003. The US Santa Claus Friendship Group, comprised of more than 60 senior citizens from Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco, is in Hong Kong to deliver a message of global good will and peace.

In your grandparents day the name was a strong traditional one. That's before it took on a faggy connotation, as did mine.
Uh huh...sigh Not dissing your point Dar, just adding that Billy had clued us to their attachment to name meanings. Billy, I think that most Americans are happy to tell you about those things but will wait to be asked.

It is a pity that I can not go to the USA to have Christmas
 

I don't get one passport so I can not apply visa. I don't know if I can go to travel next spring.

Well at least our women folk will be safe a little while longer.:D
Did they give a reason Billy, or don't they give reasons. How long before you can try again for a passport?

Becasue I have no location certification. I think I can get one soon and apply next year visa to the USA.

Never mind. I cannot snatch your girls.

Billy, how much would it cost you to travel to the United States? It would be very expensive for one of us to come visit your country. The plane ticket and hotel in Beijing for one person would cost around $2500 US.

William Shatner told me that you can get your fares cheaper on Priceline.

Brian

No need so much if you come China
 

The single ticket is about $900. You don't need live in the top hotels. There are many cheap hotels to select. Many USA people use little money can have a super life here.

I go to the USA to see one my friend. He would help pay for the money. I cannot afford it.