Hey there Don... I am an American and I've lived in Kunming, off and on, for the past six years and love it here. But I feel I should alert you to a problem you, and especially your wonderful wife, will confront if you move to Kunming. This is the prejudice most Chinese have toward the Japanese. I love Japan and the Japanese. I have lived in Koyoto, and my two sons were taught gymnastics seven days a week by a fantastic friend of mine, Mitsuo Mori, for years. One of my sons became the youngest gymnast to ever get on the U.S. Junior Olympic team. Living in Los Angeles, and teaching at UCLA, I always had many Japanese friends. So I was shocked when I first came to China. I lived in Yuxi then, and I saw graphic videos of the Japanese killing Chinese in Shanghai during the second world war being shown, all day long, on the bus. Amazing!

Japan is one of China's top trading partners yet the indoctrination is still going on. The government here, adds exorbitant taxes on to the prices of Japanese products imported into China. I just checked the price of a Sony laptop, and the best price I could get using my Chinese tech friend's inside connections, is double what it would cost, right now in L.A., retail.

I have never been able to open the minds of my Chinese friends, and even my Chinese wife, on this subject. There were Japanese living in and developing Shanghai for a hundred years before all those horrors arose when their property was confiscated by the Chinese and the Japanese retaliated.

So my advice, I'm sorry to say, is forget China. There are lots of other wonderful places out there to consider... Belize and Malta come quickly to my mind.

Hi Bird... How long will you have to wait before the results of your GRE Exam are posted? Can you give us a few brief tips on the best way to prepare for it?

Hi Piper... Have you passed that exam yet? Is there a book available, in English, that goes over the 100 test questions. I'm an American with an LA drivers license and tons of driving experience, but this is a new experience. Can you give me any "Tips?"

Thanks Laotou... I already discovered JJ and now know that the next meeting is at 7 pm on Thursday at his place. I am looking forward to it.

Hey there Eric... Being in an exciting new country like China is an adventure, fun. We are networking together to find stuff, that's all. We aren't complaining.

Daniel S... Ha, that is my size too, I think 45 is the largest standard size in China. My way to work around this is that I know of a terrific shoe repair shop guy near where I live, Jin Se Da Dao. I shop around for some nice shoes, slippers, leather coat, anything, and go to him. He cuts in and adds leather, etc. as needed and presto, a perfect fit.

I have a question... Whatever happened to the great Toastmasters group that used to meet on Wednesday evenings on 121 Street. I went there this past week and it was gone.