ChiKat

I went to the Chinese Consulate today to get our visas. It's like going to the DMV, but everyone there is Chinese. The lines are long, the hours are short, they take a one hour lunch in the middle of the very limited hours, and they yell at you for having the wrong paperwork.

There were two other non-Asian people there besides me. One was a priest; the other was a guy in front of me.

I got there at 10 AM. They close at noon for an hour lunch. There were 30 people in line. By 11:15, I had made it almost to the front of the line. I thought I would have no trouble submitting my application before they closed.

Then the guy in front of me took 35 MINUTES to submit his paperwork. There was much arguing. The clerk kept demanding paperwork from him. He would argue that he had already given her the paperwork; she would toss the pile of paperwork at him and demand that he find it. The guy would tell random people around him that he couldn't understand a thing the woman was saying (although I thought her English was quite clear) and say that he dreaded the idea of an entire COUNTRY with women like her. Based on comments like that, I was ready to be sympathetic to the clerk, but then she would find the missing paperwork on her side and demand all the paperwork back, then complain that things were now out of order. Ugh.

At 11:50, the guy was finally done and she called me forward. I was convinced she was going to announce that they were closed, but she took my paperwork and reviewed everything. On the application, I had to enter my occupation. Her only question about the paperwork was, "You say writer – what kind of writer? Are you a journalist?" I assured her that I was in marketing, which she had me add to the application. And then I was done. I wait four days and go back to find out if I was approved.

I've never needed a visa to travel before. Only two weeks left. I'm getting so excited about the trip.