BluesChick

Kids are amazing It was on all stations in the US except for PBS, Disney and Nick. At least someone had some sense that kids didn't need to be exposed to the news all the time.

Amazing how you turned a post about people resting in peace into a religious debate! That was very poorly done. RIP to all those that lost their lives that day and because of those events. Also my heart and prayers go out to those who lost someone or is suffering because of these events.

I was at home with my children (who were almost 1 and 4 at the time). We lived in Erie, PA about 3 miles from an airport and about 200 miles north of where the plane went down in PA. I had just logged on to messenger and a friend asked if I knew what happened in NY with the plane, so I turned on the news to tell her. We both had thought it would be a little plane that had flown in to the tower. Neither of us were prepared for the shock that it was a passenger jet. We spent the rest of the morning chatting and keeping each other calm (my friend was in boston). There was a very tense amount time when the plane had turned back and was over Western PA, because we didn't know where exactly and for all we knew it could be over Erie. It crashed about 200 miles south of us, but even that was too close. I had friends that worked in the towers who miraculously were either out of town or not at work yet. I spent the morning checking in with friends (when I could get thru) and sending lots of emails to check if everyone was okay. I remember after ward a neighbor gave me crap because I didn't have my TV on the news all the time. I was shocked because I didn't think my 4 year old needed to see the images over and over. It was hard enough to explain to him what happened in a way he could understand and not end up afraid of flying or skyscrapers! The other memory that will forever be etched in my brain is the lack of planes flying into the airport and how creepy that seemed. The airport nearby was one that is used by the military for landing practice so they would fly over, touch down at the airport and then circle around and do it again. It seemed too quite with out those noises.

woohoo!!

Welcome to TalkChelsea

welcome

Ni hao. Welcome to the forum I am an American expat living in Shanghai.

I guess I am in hiding because I'm in Asia!! But honestly, it was the middle of my night when y'all were commenting on this!

how very sad!! I have heard Aeroflot is awful on safety... hopefully something good comes out of the tragedy! My prayers and thoughts are with all of the families

Ni Hao!! I am an expat living in China! Where are you? I am looking for someone to watch games with!

Zoyales summed up the uses of et al. and etc. really well, I just wanted to add that I typically think of et al. in relation to people (especially authors when you are doing a research paper, it is easier to write the first author and et al. than to write a list of 5 or 6 authors) and etc. I think of when making a long list of items or events and don't want to write them all. (Hope that helps) I am not sure why folks write "THIS" to say they agree to a post, I try to write agreed or Amen (which means to agree with what someone said) or sometimes ditto (meaning I would say exactly that). I think it may be a region specific saying or maybe even has to do with the age of the person who uses it. There are a lot of phrases and slang that I used when I was younger that isn't used now and things that are said now that I still don't understand! My students had to explain "snap" and "props to you" because I heard it and didn't quite understand the slang. Slang and idioms are the hardest parts of a language to pick up.

Ah, yes, American coaches (regardless of the sport) have a colorful use of the English language. Sports commentators I have realized (at least in the US) have the worst vocabulary and grammar. It is almost painful to listen too. Thanks, zoyales! Beast, Perhaps you should stick to football and before posting on things like grammar and religion re-read your posts and try to put yourself in the mind set that some one is saying this to you personally (and you don't necessarily see eye to eye). Re-read it twice like that before you post it and if you think in anyway you might come off as being high handed then don't post it or accept that you will get harassed about it. I have no problem with your religious beliefs or other beliefs, to each his/her own. I do however have a problem with your starting threads to get a reaction and then over reacting when you do and it is negative. Pull up your big boy panties and deal with the fact other people have their own opinions and if you voice your opinion you will undoubtedly hear theirs! Everyone on this board has gotten crap over a post at one time or another. Some more than others (just ask MadMax or TerminatorX). Such is the nature of an on-line community. Diversity and interaction is what makes the forum amazing. k

I would suggest getting a part time job. I worked while getting my first degree (for spending money) and my Masters (I was teaching full time and going to classes at night), it just means you have to manage your time better than other people. I had to take out student loans to cover my university costs when I went to Purdue and back then it was $11,000 for tuition and about $5000 for room and board. (it is more now). I was a full time mom during my second degree (my son was 6 months old when I went back for my Chemical Engineering Degree). My folks helped out but I hated asking for money, so I worked 3 mornings a week from 6 am - 9 am and taught swim lessons on Saturday morning. My niece who is at university now has two part time jobs so that when she graduates she won't have any debt. You can do it, you just need to decided what is best for you. I hope you do well in school!! Best of luck!

Dear Beast, Thank you for taking time out of your busy life to instruct those of who know how to write in English with a fair amount of accomplishment. Did it occur to you as you wrote your discourse that proper British English and American English have some (not a lot) very different grammatical rules, a good portion of our forum is made up of people who contribute meaningful content whose native language is not English, some of us are multilingual and occasionally forget which language what rules apply to, and last but not least that in the heat of the moment or when we are typing very fast that we may misspell things or leave out proper punctuation or forget which form of there, their, or they're is needed and really don't care as long as the rest of the forum understands us. And sometimes it is just faster to shorten things!!! (yes, I used AND to start my sentence on purpose!) By the way, why do you purposely start topics that are judgmental or rude and then try to say you didn't mean to offend? You are either very naive or just plain socially inept. Sincerely NOT yours, K Zoyales.... you didn't really pick on the Americans did you??? Oh wait, you didn't mean to lump me in with the rest did ya? :eyebrows:

Shanghai Girls Lonely Planets guide to Thailand and a guide book on Hangzhou

My name is Kerry Recently relocated from Memphis, TN (USA) to Shanghai I am once again a stay at home mum... which means I have to much time and not enough to do!!

My kids have decided to take German along with Mandarin in school!!

Hey all!! How are you tonight?? Loving the twitter comments!!

uniforms for my kids!! I am happy that I was able to get 3 sets for each of them for about 300 US... or about 2000 RMB!! I am happy about that their uniforms in the US would have run 300 - 400 US apiece! MacKenzie is fascinated with her sun hat!!

hope he gets well soon, beautiful dog

Liquidator: Sorry to hear about your bunny passing away This is our Sadie girl (she's a border collie mix) but we had to leave her in the US and we miss her horribly!

welcome AJ

That's true, flying is still safer than driving in a car! I worked on an FAA study about flight crashes and the resulting fires and I still fly. I admit I don't like take off and landing tho! You get used to it when you have to fly 15 hours to go visit family!

Not all of us are and I would say most Americans can't go see their favorite sports teams play!! I don't go to any professional sports or concerts in the US because of the cost. The last time I went to an NBA game it was because my husband's company gave us the tickets. There is no way I would pay the prices they charge even if the Memphis Grizzles were winning the league! I pay to see Chelsea when they are in the US because it is the only time I can see them and even then I can't imagine it is like seeing them play a league game. I missed seeing them in Hong Kong this year because we had just arrived in China. I would have paid to go to Hong Kong to see them. I wish I had the opportunity to see them at the bridge or an away game. That would be awesome.

Great news