Invitation

Well, my friend finally came through. This afternoon he faxed me the letter, which I promptly scanned and sent on to Jane. About two hours later, Jane sent me the following e-mail, apparently from her iPhone:

GREAT!
I will give it to the related department early this morning.
It is 6:30 am on April 14 now.
I will let you know as soon as I get any news.
Thank you!
Good day!
Jane

I replied, expressing my appreciation for her work ethic, and asking when she expected to get the foreign expert certificate.  A few minutes ago she replied that they expected to get the invitation letter and send it next Tuesday by express courier, estimated transit time 4 or 5 days, which means I can expect it on Saturday the 23rd of April at the earliest.  When I get the letter, I will take it to the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco to get my Z visa.  That process is estimated to take about a week.

This means that, Lord willing, I can expect to get the visa around Friday the 29th or Tuesday, May 3rd, since May 2nd is International Labor Day, an official Chinese holiday.  Theoretically, I can leave as soon as I have my visa.  Of course, in practice, I need to book a flight.  In theory, I would feel comfortable paying for a flight as soon as Jane tells me that they have the invitation letter.  Of course, when I pay for a flight I also need to choose a date.  If I choose a departure date before I have the visa in hand, I need to allow enough slack time to make sure that I will have the visa by the time I leave, otherwise I might have to change my flight, which would be expensive.

I do want my parents to be able to see me off at the airport.  I think if I book my flight for May 5th, that should allow enough slack time.  A quick check on three leading flight search sites indicates that a round trip returning at the Lunar New Year should cost about $1057, with a connection in Seoul.  Not bad.  I'll wait to book until Jane has the letter in hand.

Yes, I'm getting a little excited.  It's finally starting to feel real.

Prayer Requests

Obviously, I have very little control over the visa process, so please pray that it will go smoothly and quickly, and that the visa will be approved.  Also, unlike last time, I have no excuse for not cleaning up before I leave. So, please pray that I would be able to make the necessary decisions about the disposition of my possessions in a timely manner.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for praying.