Tourist Visa

Due to popular demand (when you're a high-profile blogger with a following of nine, the demand of one constitutes "popular," right?), I have conceded to doing a series of Visa How To posts for purposes of international compare and contrast.  Also, as the other eight of you may have noticed, I haven't been able to post all that regularly lately.  Unfortunately, our connection seems to have been especially tricky lately.  So, the visa posts are something I can easily write up without a good connection, then just transfer to the site - when I'm able to pull it up - and post.  I might even manage to get an entire two posts up this week (no promises)!  So, here, in all its glory, are the steps I took to get a short-term Chinese tourist visa just over a year ago.

How to get a Chinese Tourist Visa in 30 Easy Steps

1.  Schedule a vacation for mid-October.
2.  Find out the Chinese consulate no longer accepts mail and must receive the visa application in person.
3.  Find out the nearest consulate is roughly a four hour drive away in Houston.
4.  Defer to your frequent traveler friend's judgment about which agency to use to get the visa.
5.  Learn that the agent's courier will be vacationing and unable to deliver the application to the consulate.
6.  Contact an old friend living (somewhat) nearby the consulate and ask her to drop off the overnighted passports and applications during her lunch break.
7.  Receive call from distraught friend who has been waiting in line for about two hours with no end in sight and must return to work.
8.  Find out consulate is closed all weekends and holidays, at least the first few days in October*, and for all but two hours every afternoon.
9.  Freak out a little.
10.  Request personal day from work.
11.  Drive to Houston at 3 am in order to be first in line at the consulate (and hopefully be able to return the same day).
12.  Get lost in downtown Houston.
13.  Find consulate and begin the quest for parking.
14.  Find spot and walk to the consulate.
15.  Wait in line.
16.  Go through security.
17.  Take a number.
18.  Wait in line.
19.  Approach window with documents and hope for the best.
20.  Find out you may pick up documents after 1:30 pm, when consulate reopens.
21.  Find a way to kill about 3 hours without getting (too) lost again.
22.  Return to consulate.
23.  Wait in line.
24.  Go through security.
25.  Take a number.
26.  Wait in line.
27.  Receive documents.
28.  Double check documents.
29.  Triple check documents.
30.  Drive home to pack.

If you plan to get a visa during any other time (with the exception of Spring Festival, which is usually in late January/early February), you should probably not have any trouble just using an agent to take care of the process for you.  Please keep that in mind as I know many of you will be preparing your visas to come visit me soon.  You know you want to.

Full details about the current requirements for obtaining a Chinese tourist visa are available with the US Dept of State (http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1089.html) and the Chinese Embassy (http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/ywzn/lsyw/vpna/).

Information about the process for my work visa and resident permit will be in a following post.

*National Day Holiday - as a tourist trying to get a visa it's no fun, but as a teacher I love that this country takes a week to celebrate a day.

Upcoming Trip!

As many of you know, one of the most exciting things to me about moving to China was the potential to travel with more ease and frequency.  Last month I took advantage of that by visiting a friend that I hadn't seen since college.  What a blessing to see her again and to meet her husband and boys!

Now, another amazing opportunity has presented itself to me.  My current boss, and her husband, both make regular trips to Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) and have invited Arianne and I along on one of these trips during our winter semester break.  Myanmar is often hit hard by natural disasters (such as cyclones), but the couple has told us of the amazing spirit of the people they have met while touring/traveling there.  They've also told us of the various orphanages in the country that they've been able to offer support to when visiting.  I'm pretty sure that I could not possibly be more excited about the chance to meet (and hug) some of these little guys!

I know some of you would relish this opportunity as much as I do, and so I would like you to have the chance to be involved if you so choose.  We're leaving the week after Christmas, and I know that's usually a tight time for everyone, but if you would like to send a gift to the kids or any family friends there, I'd be happy to deliver them.  Feel free to contact my dad, Richard Snow, at rrsnow@hotmail.com for more info.  Considering how long our winter break is, I'm pumped for all the travel opportunities I'll have (including reconnecting with old friends in Taiwan and meeting teachers from other campuses), but I'm definitely looking forward to this time as being meaningful in a different way.  Hey, and maybe I'll have a functional camera by then and post pictures of the trip.

Rainy Days and Mondays

Sorry to all the diehard Carpenters fans, but rainy days and Mondays do not always get me down.  Matter of fact, it may actually be quite the opposite (for now!).  The rain here in CQ does tend to come rather frequently and drag on, creating a noticeable deficiency of good, old vitamin D.  However, after one of the driest years in Texas, I am still not tired of it.  Also, I have to say it did save me from an early morning run one day last week that I was so not looking forward to.  What's more, considering the lack of tornado risk, who can resist a good thunder?  (It sure beats the constant furniture moving and dropping of marbles/mah jong tiles from the apartment upstairs!)

And Mondays!  Well, Mondays really might be my new favorite (besides the weekend, natch).  I only have four hours of classes and they are at my home campus.  As English majors, my students here have a higher level of language, as well as a higher motivation to pay attention.  Plus, Mondays are my day to use the internet while the others are off in TL.  It is so lovely to see updates from friends, catch up on e-mail, skype with loved ones back home, and maybe even catch a bollywood on netflix.  Having good internet also means that I can jam to grooveshark while cooking dinner and getting ready to welcome the weary crew back from TL.  I think Arianne put it best when she said that there is just something healing about coming together around a hot meal and sharing the blessings and burdens of the day, especially on those days.  I love that Mondays mean that I get the honor of seeing to the hot meal.  Of course, it doesn't hurt that after a TL day everyone is just so grateful for anything that they heap encouragement and praise on whatever is put before them - especially if cheese is involved.  Tonight will be my first attempt at homemade pizza here.  The Americanese version of Grandma's tomato soup went pretty well last week, although the tortillas in the accompanying quesadillas were more like naan than traditional Mexican fare.

On a different note, I apologize that I don't have any pictures to make the posts a bit more interesting.  My camera broke just in time for our Halloween/Birthday Costume Party.  I can't be sure, but after looking back at the last pictures I took, I think the awesomeness of my new salsa shoes was just too much for my little Kodak to handle.  Behold, the shiny: