5 Days Left in Houston

Back to the grind- Rob and I were given the extraordinary gift of a cruise vacation by my parents and we spent all of last week floating down to Honduras, Belize, and the Yucatan peninsula. We're feeling very relaxed, connected, and have a lot better idea of what all needs to be done. This week is going to be a whirlwind!

We've been packing, cleaning, and painting, but now we're down to our last few days to wrap up our apartment in Houston. I just said goodbye yesterday to our 12 boxes, cedar chest, and Rob's bike which got picked up to begin their slow journey to Shanghai as freight. We re-weighed and packed a few extra things in our three duffel bags, leaving one large suitcase for the rest of our clothes (including the stuff we'll be wearing for the next three weeks in Ohio). 

The other thing going on is getting our visa paperwork filed. Since we were on vacation last week and were using our passports, we couldn't submit the visa application any sooner than Monday of this week. And when we took it in, along with our letter of invitation to work from Soochow University and Foreign Worker's Permit (key components to allowing us to apply for a work visa versus a long-term tourist visa), we ran into two separate issues: oops- we didn't type our information into the .pdf document, we handwrote. Adios, go type it and print out new copies of the visa application. Once we came back with the proper application, the lady at the window said we needed three copies of the letter and permit, along with a copy of our passports. And the xerox machine in the consulate had a big "out of order" sign on it. 

I'm beyond grateful that the Chinese Embassy is not only in Houston, but literally 1 1/2 miles from my apartment. We don't have to send our materials off and pay a huge fee to an intermediary to process this stuff. BUT, they're only open to the public from 9:00-11:30 and 1:30-3:00. That's four hours. Anyway, big fail in getting this handled Monday, which wasn't ideal, because we really need to have everything go smoothly and be approved for pick up before we leave town on Sunday. Assuming our second try to submit on Tuesday morning goes well, we'll be able to get everything on Friday morning. Thank goodness.

My sister and her fiance have been an enormous help through all of this process and they passed along the following nuggets of wisdom:

- Visas have to get done and they don't stop being confusing, even if you've done the whole procedure for a few years. You're not alone on this one.

- This is aaaaall a part of the China Experience. 

- Per the "Laowai's Guide to China" made by Fulton for Rob: "When China seems like it's against you, it isn't- this happens to everyone. Go get cheap eats, get lost, whatever you wanted to do for the day, divide by two." Yesterday, we divided by about 5.

Goodbye, beautiful grey walls. 

Cleared out dining room, fresh white paint, and our 12 boxes to be shipped. Adding on a cedar chest and bike- can you believe anyone would have the kohones to quote us $5400 to ship that tiny amount?!

Poor Eddie, she's finding safe places to nap anywhere she can find them.