Introducing New Expieriences to Fiancee

[Bernie C 24]

Last night Doan and I attended her first hockey game with my boss and another colleague (our company has 4 seats for our local OHL hockey team - the Erie Otters). It was really great, even though we have major get lag it was a great and fun experience for her. My niece who just happens to be somewhat petite sent a whole bag of sweaters for Doan and my mom took her shopping for some warm pants. I guess it was quite funny bescause they ended up in the junior miss section of the department store hehe. Maybe this weekend we will visit the petite girls shop at the local mall!

It will take some adjusting for her to get use to the cold weather (luckily its pretty warm right now - about 0C, because a week ago it was -20C ). Thursday night she will come bowling with me and this Saturday we will attend a suprise b-day party for my friends wife. Everyone just loves her so much, it really helps in making her feel welcome and accepted. I know she misses her family so much. She was so worried about being accepted and so suprised that everyone she meets hugs her so much!!! I guess that is a goos thing about our culture that we are very open and affectionate. I'm so thankful that I have such a wonderful family and friends.

Everyone wants to know when the wedding and reception will be!!!!!!! I think I'll wait till my jet lag subsides a bit then well get into planning mode again!!!!

Thanks for listening everyone, I am so happy and excited and just want to share our new experiences with everyone.

On another note - if you are bringing your fiancee to a cold climate, make sure she brings a few masks with her to help her breate so she is not sucking the cold air into her lungs, it goes a long way towards staying warm too!!

[Jennifer1 0]

Congratulations for attaining the visa and on your upcoming marriage. I can feel the extreme joy and happiness that you're feeling and I sooo envy you both! My fiance and I haven't applied for any visa yet, so I know the road ahead will be long and difficult - not to mention the fact that he lives in a nation that is considered dangerous or whatever term the government uses.

Wishing you two the best.

[CDAgirlMI 51]

I like going to OHL games. Went to see our local team Saturday - Plymouth Whalers.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Hey Bernie!

Before I left for VN in December, I was talking to one of my Viet Kieu buddies about calling Vietnam. I figured Phuong and her kids would get homesick after coming here, and I remember my AT&T phone bill after Typhoon Ketsana - OUCH! My buddy said he used calling cards, and recommended cards from Lunex Telecom. He said they had good rates, and the cards were easy to find all around the Bay Area. He gave me a used card for reference.

After we got to the states, I took another look at the card. Not wanting to deal with the hassle of finding a shop that carried them, I figured I'd check and see if I could buy minutes online. Turns out they have a very cool plan where you add minutes to your account online using PayPal, and the plan is "pin-less" - you don't have to enter any pin codes. You just enter up to 5 phone numbers onto your account (these are numbers you will call FROM, and not numbers you will call TO). When you call the local Lunex access number (or the 800 number, if there is no local access number) it knows which account to use according to the caller ID of the phone you're calling from. I added my landline home phone, my cell phone, and Phuong's cell phone. I then added the local Lunex number to her address book.

Anyway, she just speed dials the Lunex number, after the recorded message (which tells you how much money is left in your account) she dials the number in VN and pound (#) key, and it completes the call. Very easy. The cost per minute depends on whether you're calling a major city, and whether your calling a landline or mobile phone. $50 will buy over 1200 minutes of talk time to a landline in Hanoi or HCM, or over 600 minutes of talk time to a mobile phone anywhere in VN.

I've had the service for about 3 weeks, and initially started with $50 in the account. Phuong calls her mom, her oldest daughter, and her Su Thuc almost every day, and she still has over $20 left in the account. If you look around you might be able to find a better deal, but I'm pretty happy with this one so far. Maybe you can consider getting this or something similar for Doan. It should help a lot with the homesickness.

http://www.lunextelecom.com/index.php

[decker 1]

AHHHHHHHH Cold weather..... Linh and her daugther My have adjusted very well to the cold here in AK. We have had a lot of -20F (-22F right now) and a few in the -40F realm. It has surprised me how well thay are doing. We had a long streak where it would not go below 0. The first good cold snap took it to -20'ish overnight. She walked outside to give smoke and said OH MY GOD!!!!! as soon as the door opened. It took a while for her to go back out but now it doesn't even faze her too much. Funny.

We went to a hockey game last month. Linh found the fighting funny.

Ditto the LUNEX. Linh learned of them a while ago and they seem to be providing a good service, we have not had any problems at all.

Congratulations to you and JimVaPhoung.

[Bernie C 24]

I like going to OHL games. Went to see our local team Saturday - Plymouth Whalers.

Ohhhh, Plymouth usually has an outstandingn team year in and year out, always a difficult task when they come to town!!! Introducing Doan to sports here will be fun and interesting!!!

[Bernie C 24]

Hey Bernie!

Before I left for VN in December, I was talking to one of my Viet Kieu buddies about calling Vietnam. I figured Phuong and her kids would get homesick after coming here, and I remember my AT&T phone bill after Typhoon Ketsana - OUCH! My buddy said he used calling cards, and recommended cards from Lunex Telecom. He said they had good rates, and the cards were easy to find all around the Bay Area. He gave me a used card for reference.

After we got to the states, I took another look at the card. Not wanting to deal with the hassle of finding a shop that carried them, I figured I'd check and see if I could buy minutes online. Turns out they have a very cool plan where you add minutes to your account online using PayPal, and the plan is "pin-less" - you don't have to enter any pin codes. You just enter up to 5 phone numbers onto your account (these are numbers you will call FROM, and not numbers you will call TO). When you call the local Lunex access number (or the 800 number, if there is no local access number) it knows which account to use according to the caller ID of the phone you're calling from. I added my landline home phone, my cell phone, and Phuong's cell phone. I then added the local Lunex number to her address book.

Anyway, she just speed dials the Lunex number, after the recorded message (which tells you how much money is left in your account) she dials the number in VN and pound (#) key, and it completes the call. Very easy. The cost per minute depends on whether you're calling a major city, and whether your calling a landline or mobile phone. $50 will buy over 1200 minutes of talk time to a landline in Hanoi or HCM, or over 600 minutes of talk time to a mobile phone anywhere in VN.

I've had the service for about 3 weeks, and initially started with $50 in the account. Phuong calls her mom, her oldest daughter, and her Su Thuc almost every day, and she still has over $20 left in the account. If you look around you might be able to find a better deal, but I'm pretty happy with this one so far. Maybe you can consider getting this or something similar for Doan. It should help a lot with the homesickness.

http://www.lunextelecom.com/index.php

Hey Jim, thanks for the info. She was asking if she can just use yahoo with the webcam and mic to talk to her family. I know the quality of service is rocky at their home in Nha Trang but wre going to give it a try and see how it works. I've got to get a PC for home since I've been carring my laptop back and forth from work for years. I guess its time to break down and finally buy a dedicated home PC!!!!! I've been a tightwad for too long and this is a great excuse to splurge a little (not that I have much left after 4 trips to VN last year and 6 weeks the last time)!

[Bernie C 24]

AHHHHHHHH Cold weather..... Linh and her daugther My have adjusted very well to the cold here in AK. We have had a lot of -20F (-22F right now) and a few in the -40F realm. It has surprised me how well thay are doing. We had a long streak where it would not go below 0. The first good cold snap took it to -20'ish overnight. She walked outside to give smoke and said OH MY GOD!!!!! as soon as the door opened. It took a while for her to go back out but now it doesn't even faze her too much. Funny.

We went to a hockey game last month. Linh found the fighting funny.

Ditto the LUNEX. Linh learned of them a while ago and they seem to be providing a good service, we have not had any problems at all.

Congratulations to you and JimVaPhoung.

Woooooow, Guess we dont have much room to complain given the temps you have!!! Makes for some good cuddling!!! Funny, we were wathching some football at the airport and she said, "Why is it football, it should be called handball because they carry it in their hands", I have not found an argument for that yet other than, "Well they kick it once in a while" Hahaha

Thanks, and I'll check out the Lunex.

[Bernie C 24]

Congratulations for attaining the visa and on your upcoming marriage. I can feel the extreme joy and happiness that you're feeling and I sooo envy you both! My fiance and I haven't applied for any visa yet, so I know the road ahead will be long and difficult - not to mention the fact that he lives in a nation that is considered dangerous or whatever term the government uses.

Wishing you two the best.

Thanks Jenn - our best wishes to the both of you as you walk the path of your journey. "They may burden us but if our love is true we will never be broken" - Good Luck to you both!

[bryonm4 0]

Last night Doan and I attended her first hockey game with my boss and another colleague (our company has 4 seats for our local OHL hockey team - the Erie Otters). It was really great, even though we have major get lag it was a great and fun experience for her. My niece who just happens to be somewhat petite sent a whole bag of sweaters for Doan and my mom took her shopping for some warm pants. I guess it was quite funny bescause they ended up in the junior miss section of the department store hehe. Maybe this weekend we will visit the petite girls shop at the local mall!

It will take some adjusting for her to get use to the cold weather (luckily its pretty warm right now - about 0C, because a week ago it was -20C ). Thursday night she will come bowling with me and this Saturday we will attend a suprise b-day party for my friends wife. Everyone just loves her so much, it really helps in making her feel welcome and accepted. I know she misses her family so much. She was so worried about being accepted and so suprised that everyone she meets hugs her so much!!! I guess that is a goos thing about our culture that we are very open and affectionate. I'm so thankful that I have such a wonderful family and friends.

Everyone wants to know when the wedding and reception will be!!!!!!! I think I'll wait till my jet lag subsides a bit then well get into planning mode again!!!!

Thanks for listening everyone, I am so happy and excited and just want to share our new experiences with everyone.

On another note - if you are bringing your fiancee to a cold climate, make sure she brings a few masks with her to help her breate so she is not sucking the cold air into her lungs, it goes a long way towards staying warm too!!

Tran will be here in 31 days on Feb 19th we do plan on going to a few of NAHL Hockey games. She is going to try and stay awake that day so we are on the same scheduleas far as sleeping. We are going to celebrate valentines day on the 21st. and then our annaversay a week later. She loves sea food so we are going to Red Lobster one of those days and the other day I will take her out to a good Chinese resteraunt. I hope Avatar is playing I heard it was good in 3D I would like to take her to that.

[Bernie C 24]

Tran will be here in 31 days on Feb 19th we do plan on going to a few of NAHL Hockey games. She is going to try and stay awake that day so we are on the same scheduleas far as sleeping. We are going to celebrate valentines day on the 21st. and then our annaversay a week later. She loves sea food so we are going to Red Lobster one of those days and the other day I will take her out to a good Chinese resteraunt. I hope Avatar is playing I heard it was good in 3D I would like to take her to that.

Congrats - thats awesome!!! I suspect it will take some time for her to adjust. It always seems like it is much easier to adjust going east than when traveling west. Give her all the time she needs!!! I'm heading home shortly because my butt is dragging big time today, I figure it will take a full two weeks to be completely adjusted back after 6 weeks in VN. I also hear Avatar is really good, sounds like a great idea. Were working on ways to integrate Eastern and Western foods into our new life together. I love Asian food so I'm looking for a good place to buy supplies, may have to travel to a larger market like Buffalo, Cleveland or Pittsburgh to get them (they are all about 1,5 to 2 hrs from Erie).

Will you be bringing her back or will she be making the journey here alone? Best Wishes for a safe journey. Let us know when she arrives and how things went through POE.

[ScottThuy 140]

I took a vonage box over when I went last month and I can call her mothers house anytime the power is on.. (90% of the time...) and they can call any # in the US... unlimited use on that one...but its 30 /mo. I have a service similar to what Jim noted and it auto refills every time I get low at 10 bucks a shot... Jaxtr is the service.. good rates IMO...

Thuy says she is cold when it hit 15C so I cant imagine 0 or -0 temps for her... she has never seen snow except for on TV and swears she loves it... LMAO....

[Kevin and 10]

I took a vonage box over when I went last month and I can call her mothers house anytime the power is on.. (90% of the time...) and they can call any # in the US... unlimited use on that one...but its 30 /mo. I have a service similar to what Jim noted and it auto refills every time I get low at 10 bucks a shot... Jaxtr is the service.. good rates IMO...

Thuy says she is cold when it hit 15C so I cant imagine 0 or -0 temps for her... she has never seen snow except for on TV and swears she loves it... LMAO....

Good thing your in FL.

Edited January 20, 2010 by Kevin and Tuyen

[lindal24 1]

My husband's still adapting to the climate so his skin is dry and itchy and now the skin on his hands are peeling off. He typically has VERY moisturized skin so this was all a surprise considering the weather wasn't so much more dramatically different from VN. The temperature here in South Texas got down to 26 degrees or so last week--needless to say it was a pretty miserable time for him. I guess we're missing the humidity that HMC had which caused him to have all those symptoms...

If anyone else is having this problems, I recommend using baby oil right after getting out of the shower.

[Mike n Huong 1]

I know you must be excited about Tran coming to live with you. It is a great feeling. Your journey together can finally begin.

This is just speaking from experience. You just need to remember how fresh the seafood is in Vietnam. I remember taking my wife to Red Lobster for the first time. It does not compare to the fresh seafood she was used to eating. We haven't been back since. Also most Chinese restaraunts in the US have Americanized their food to our tastes. My wife prefers the more traditional Chinese food that isn't so sweet. We found a great Tokoyo Sushi buffet that serves a lot of Sushi and traditional Asian dishes that she loves.

You and Tran will have a lot of learning experiences after she settles in the US.

Tran will be here in 31 days on Feb 19th we do plan on going to a few of NAHL Hockey games. She is going to try and stay awake that day so we are on the same scheduleas far as sleeping. We are going to celebrate valentines day on the 21st. and then our annaversay a week later. She loves sea food so we are going to Red Lobster one of those days and the other day I will take her out to a good Chinese resteraunt. I hope Avatar is playing I heard it was good in 3D I would like to take her to that.