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Forums > Living in Kunming > Chinese family wants do adopt my son

ALARM BELLS are now RINGING for me.
You have given a number of facts that can be re-ordered and create red flags.
Let me just pick on two.

- Your wife wants a divorce.

- Your wife's family wants adoption (custody) of the baby.

I guess these could happen in reverse order.
I am not saying this is the case, but keep it in mind.

I have a Canadian friend in Shanghai. His wife's family openly said (their bigoted opinion not mine) that a Chinese only marries a foreigner for two things. Big money job or green card, and he had provided neither (he teaches). As such the daughter needed to choose between him and her family.

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Forums > Food & Drink > peanut butter?

Not sure what you mean by 'icing sugar stuff'.

I find 'Skippy' OK. Ingredients listed as Peanuts, white sugar and salt. But it does not taste sweet. I have a salt tooth.
Available in most supermarkets.

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Forums > Living in Kunming > Chinese family wants do adopt my son

This sounds like normal Chinese family to me. Grandparents raise the kids so you can maximise your career. While you are still young enough.
Over a lifetime and extra promotion can give a lot more security.
Remember there are no welfare services like back in Europe.
Chinese often leave the kids back in the village while mum and dad go and work in the city, maybe getting home for spring festival, if they are lucky.

It might sound crazy, in fact it probably is. There is a problem with the mental health of many of the kids left behind. This is of concern to the Chinese government and has been reported in the media.

Crazy? Yes.
Wise? Perhaps not.
Normal? TIC

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Forums > Living in Kunming > Western groceries in Kunming

I am looking for places that stock UK/USA/EU foods.

I have been to Metro and was disappointed. And I have tried a few Carrefour and they pretty much as I expected.

I think I must have been spoilt in the tier 3 city I have just come from.

Are there any little hidden gems in Kunming?
Or is any one Carrefour better than the others?

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Tier ones, in the downtown/CBD areas will always be a good bet, but not so good in the suburbs unless serviced by or soon to be serviced by, Metro/subway lines.

Lower tier cities also have potential. Henan, Zhengzhou has boomed. Due to the city being named as an expanding rail hub for the Belt and Road initiative. Also, anywhere not yet serviced by a metro line. There is still room in this latter category in Kunming, but there is a need to be fast as the metro line as planned should be completed by next August.

I would also avoid buying new. Some of the more upmarket villas in SW Kunming are very poorly built, many are apartments and villas are overpriced and people are fighting to buy the more affordable.
Buying second hand may be less of an investment opportunity, unless a new metro line is going through. However, you can see quality or other issues more clearly and find out the reputation of buildings and management, you can buy already decorated (ready to occupy), there will be fewer unknowns.

The story of Li Bai always reminds me of:
The Little Fete
by J.C. Cooper
I take a bottle of wine and I go to drink it among the flowers.
We are always three -
counting my shadow and my friend the shimmering moon.
Happily the moon knows nothing of drinking,
and my shadow is never thirsty.
When I sing, the moon listens to me in silence.
When I dance, my shadow dances too.
After all festivities the guests must depart;
This sadness I do not know.
When I go home,
the moon goes with me and my shadow follows me.

Reviews

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A reasonable choice of lumber that has improved over time. Fancy hardwoods like walnut, and mahogany are in abundance. There are some plywood and rubber-wood boards available. There are also some kiln dried imported softwoods and merbao available. Some of the lumber is very green, so look for the kiln dried if you need stable timbers.

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Echo everything said by others.
Breakfast great and the serve from 8am. Most other places say 9am and they still are not ready.
Sandwiches are cheap 22-32, and really packed full of filling. We got some sandwiches for a day out, the only mistake I made was ordering two, as this was too much. These are seriously good sangars, and they are wrapped in alu foil.

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In fairness to Metro, they are a wholesalers, and not really a supermarket. Hence the need for a card, which can be got around.

They have improved in the year I have been away. They now carry a more consistent range of imported foodstuffs and they also seem to have sorted out the mported milk supply.

They have a wider range of electrical appliances now, there is a coice of more than one toast. There is also a better range of seasonal non foods, like clothes, shoes, garden furniture and camping gear.