Friday, January 21, 2011

Visa???.......Visa!

Our work visa expires Feb. 3rd. Three months ago, we started reminding our bosses that the paperwork needed to be started so that we would have our passports before the 27th of January, the day we leave for Thailand. Otherwise, we would not be able to come back into China. Don't get me wrong, being forced to stay on an island wouldn't be the worse thing that could happen. Every time we reminded our boss, he reminded the school who reminded the next person in line and so on. But nothing was being done. Finally, last week they started the ball rolling after repeatedly telling us there would be no problem, it could be done in a matter of days. Suddenly, we find out that our school does not have the paperwork required to issue work visas, the visa office will be closed for the next week for remodeling and we will have to get a tourist visa while we are in Bangkok! WHAT!? Our boss is great. He offered to put us up in a hotel in Bangkok, pay for the tourist visa, get us back here, then pay for the trip we would need to take to Hong Kong to get the work visa once the school got their act together.

Last night, Frank got a phone call. "I need your passports." He raced them down to the education office. Then hours later, another call, "do you have the registration papers from your last address? Umm, no. We don't live there anymore, why would we have that? Oh, ok, well bring us the ones you have now." So, out Frank went again, around 10:30 to hand off the rest of our papers. Someone must have bought someone a large bottle of Johnny Walker Black because today at 4:00, our passports were ready! Someone was on our side! I think the last time it was an expensive bottle of perfume. So runs the system!

mandy

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