All in the Name of a Visa

It’s been a slow, long, drawn out process. Why not wait a little longer? The Visa process is finally finished but now I have to continue to wait. Wait and Hope that it arrives in time to fly to Boracay for October Holiday (next Saturday). Before leaving Canada I had to have an extensive physical and police check. What was I thinking when I thought that would be the end of it? I had to redo both once here and man it was a very different experience! I don’t do doctors or hospitals back home, let’s just say I won’t be returning to a Chinese one any time soon. The ECG was like having baby plungers stuck to me. The eye exam consisted of 3 letters (E, W, M) because we can show those with three fingers. Who needs a led jacket when you get an xray? Oh, and when having blood taken there was no private room. There was an open desk where we sat on stools and put our arms out for the nurses. The final step to the physical, we had to give a urine sample. Forget about bathrooms; say hello to squatters and an open cup that was to be left on a tray with everyone else’s sample. High class. After the enlightening physical we had to wait to do our police checks. The first one was in Nanshan and the second in Luoho. The longest part was the waiting. I was grilled (as grilled as you can be within 5 minutes) about what the NB Curriculum was and what grade I teach here at my first interview. At the second, I told them my name, said that I like it here in China, and they took a photo of me. That was that. They say it should take 5 business days for my passport and visa to be returned. Fingers Crossed!!