Can I come in now, China?

For those of you that care (so, about three people total) I got my visa for China today.

Okay, so in retrospect, getting my visa really wasn't that difficult. It was the worry and "what ifs" and the thought of having to send everything home that made it seem all the more daunting.

I didn't have to do that much more than Alix to get my visa. Yeah, I had to get the certificate from immigrations, yes I had to wait a little longer and certainly, I paid a lot more. But we both exerted the same amount of energy and time into the entire process, so I really have no complaints.

For any teacher living in Korea that is going to China from now on, I hope this option still exists in the future. I'm still confused as to why the consulate won't give visas to those of us who have less than 6 months here. Trust me, I don't want to stay in China. I just want to take a look around.

I'm ecstatic that I don't have to send everything home to the consulate in Chicago, and I'm sure my mom is breathing a little sigh of relief at this news as well.

All that remains to be done is counting down the days until we depart.

16- for those three people that care.