Worst Week in China, the Final Chapter

Deep Breaths

I made my way through the packed waiting room to a quiet area near a wall. I got down on the floor and used my handbag as a pillow. I laid down flat on my back and took deep breaths for five minutes.

In the Country, Legally

They were working on my permit. I could be in the country legally. No need to fly to Thailand.

I decided I would go swimming that evening. I needed to wear myself out with a good swim.

I jumped into a cloudy pool and did my 24 lengths of the pool. It was only when I was ready to leave that I really took a look at the pool through my goggles.

It was really cloudy.

A couple days later, I caught a stubborn cold that lasted for weeks. Was it the pool? Or something going around Xiamen?

Limited Editon Oreo Coke: Yay or Nay?

Hey! I have a Youtube channel and occasionally, I review foods/drinks that make me say, “What the Fuck?” This time, I review Limited Edition Oreo Coke. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afAorK3ZV8A&t=1s

Worst Week in China, Part Six

Chinese Stay Permit

I slumped down a convenient wall, 10 feet in back of the chair I’d occupied just minutes before and waited. After just a few minutes, one of the women who had previously helped me caught my eye and beckoned. Thank. You. God. I scrambled to my feet and handed over the paperwork and my passport. They handed me back a printed form with the wretched picture and I saw my stay permit would be worked on and be ready in a week. The printed form was my receipt, should I happen to need my passport for any reason. It would show I could be in the country legally; the entry/exit bureau was working on something I needed.

After I got the form, I couldn’t believe it was over. The clerks sent me on my way.

Worst Week In China Part 5

A Lost Work Permit?

I also wondered how they would get the work permit to me. They said they’d mail it, but why were they okay with mailing such an important document, but NOT okay about mailing a work contract? They could print out another work contract if it got lost. A lost work permit, on the other hand, might mean a delay of minutes or weeks. And WHERE exactly would they send it? A well-known hotel? The main post office in Bangkok?

That weekend, I resigned myself to my fate. A smiling photo I posted to Facebook didn’t reveal anything about what I was going through.

Not surprisingly, I had trouble sleeping.

WeChat Brings Good News!

Monday morning, I picked up WeChat to scroll through my messages. I found one from one of the company’s office administrators who was supposedly on holiday. They had the form filled out, stamped, plus the letter I needed.

I hauled ass to the school. I picked up the precious documents, profusely thanked the staffer, and set off to get some pizza. I knew the entry/exit bureau took a three-hour lunch, and had time to get lunch.

Flight to Thailand

After getting lost, I took a Didi to the entry/exit bureau. Frazzled, I completely forgot I should have gone to the third floor to get my photo taken instead of heading to the second floor. Once my turn came at the window, I showed them my documents, but was told I had to get a photo. Inwardly groaning, I went to the third floor. I came back down and got another number. I was now number 52074. They were on number 52056. It was around 4 p.m. At an average of seven minutes per customer, I’d be cutting it very close to get in on time. But I remembered that the following morning was Tuesday. I still had the entirety of Tuesday and all day Wednesday to get the paperwork in. But for some reason, I thought I had to get the paperwork turned in that Monday. My flight to Thailand was leaving in 16 hours.

Wondering what’s going on? Read parts 1-4 here:

Also, I made another WTF Foods video! How does Limited Edition Oreo Coke taste? Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afAorK3ZV8A

Worst Week in China Explained, Part 1 of Several
Worst Week in China Part 2
Worst Week in China, Part 3
Worst Week in China, Part 4

Worst Week in China, Part 5

Residence Permit, Work Permit, Permits Schmermits

I also wondered how they would get the work permit to me. They said they’d mail it, but why were they okay with mailing such an important document, but NOT okay about mailing a work contract? They could print out another work contract if it got lost. A lost work permit, on the other hand, might mean a delay of minutes or weeks. And WHERE exactly would they send it? A well-known hotel? The main post office in Bangkok?

That weekend, I resigned myself to my fate. A smiling photo I posted to Facebook didn’t reveal anything about what I was going through. Was my time in China finished?

Not surprisingly, I had trouble sleeping.

Monday morning, I picked up WeChat to scroll through my messages. I found one from one of the company’s office administrators who was supposedly on holiday. They had the form filled out, stamped, plus the letter I needed.

I hauled ass to the school. I picked up the precious documents, profusely thanked the staffer, and set off to get some pizza. I knew the entry/exit bureau took a three-hour lunch, and had time to get lunch.

After getting lost, I took a Didi to the entry/exit bureau. Frazzled, I completely forgot I should have gone to the third floor to get my photo taken instead of heading to the second floor. Once my turn came at the window, I showed them my documents, but was told I had to get a photo. Inwardly groaning, I went to the third floor. I came back down and got another number. I was now number 52074. They were on number 52056. It was around 4 p.m. At an average of seven minutes per customer, I’d be cutting it very close to get in on time. But I remembered that the following morning was Tuesday. I still had the entirety of Tuesday and all day Wednesday to get the paperwork in. But for some reason, I thought I had to get the paperwork turned in that Monday. My flight to Thailand was leaving in 16 hours.

I slumped down a convenient wall, 10 feet in back of the chair I’d occupied just minutes before and waited.

Late to the party?

Read part 1 here

Read part 2 here

Read part 3 here

Read part 4 here

Worst Week in China, Part 4

She didn’t contact me back.

The entry/exit police told me what I needed. It was a filled out form, and a letter. Those were the only two things separating me from the stay permit. I got the form. I took a picture of it and my former colleague forwarded it to the person at school who refused to accept my WeChat information. Meanwhile, the entry/exit folks called someone at the school plus the woman who refused to friend me. I was told everything would be taken care of. I called my former colleague and told him what was going on.

He deflated my relief by telling me the school’s administration had gone on holiday. There wouldn’t be anyone available to help me in time.

I had tried to prepare in advance by securing a ticket to Thailand. It was a cheap place to stay, plus I knew someone who lived there and explained my predicament. I said it could take anywhere from two days to two weeks to get my work permit and could I possibly stay with him in the meantime. He agreed. I would have stayed in Hong Kong if I had a good chunk of money saved. I’d stay at my $50 a night hostel, and check out the touristy things I didn’t have the time to do on my first two trips to Hong Kong.

But I was very worried about money.

That was Thursday, July 26. I had resigned my fate to flying to Thailand the following Tuesday morning. I didn’t want to leave my flight to the last minute, and get delayed by a typhoon or some other problem.

Late to the party? Read part 3 here.

Have no idea what’s going on? Read part 1 HERE and Part 2 HERE.

Worst Week in China, Part 3

Remember how my school said they wouldn’t help me get a stay permit? They had told me that. So that wasn’t the problem. The entry/exit bureau said because my school/employer helped me to get the residence permit, it was THEIR responsibility to give me a stay permit. I said they wouldn’t.

I called a former colleague. He put me in touch with someone at the school who he claimed had helped him get a stay permit. He gave me her phone number, and I’m not sure why. WeChat is the normal way of contacting people. WeChat has a translation feature, which makes it super-easy to communicate. But he said she knew some English. So I called her, introduced myself, told her of my situation, and of course it got all messed up. She thought I was a student. She said she couldn’t help me, so I contacted my former colleague who then gave me her WeChat contact card.

Read part one here. Read part two here.

Worst Week in China Part 2

This was strange, because I’d been hired at jobs where I got my health certificate AFTER I’d started working. So I didn’t think anything of it when the new place applied for my permit. However, they said it had been turned down. Did I have a recent health permit?

Well, no. It’s not the sort of thing I get every six months or so, only when I get a new job. So I immediately got a health permit, got the results, took photos, sent them via WeChat, and they resubmitted the work permit application. I asked if they could possibly rush it, as July 31 was looming. Transferring the permit was of utmost importance. Because if I didn’t have paperwork in place saying that was being worked on, I’d have to leave the country.

I looked into the risks of overstaying the residence permit. I could be fined, imprisoned. I spoke with a lawyer. He said I probably wouldn’t be jailed, but I would definitely be fined. And it would be on my “permanent record.” Meaning, it would show I overstayed my visit in China, and it wouldn’t look good if I decided to visit other countries.

I thought I would just get a stay permit. I’d read on the internet that people in a similar situation did it. I’d just go to the entry/exit bureau and get one.

Except, I couldn’t.

Read part 1 here

Worst Week in China Explained, Part 1 of Several

So, here it is, part one of the long-awaited, why July 21 to 29 was the most stressful week (and one day) during my time here in China.

It’s my fault of course. Everything is my fault. I should wise up and just accept no matter what, every decision I make is going to screw me up.

That being said, here’s the story…

I worked for a university, or rather a company that worked with universities, and it was coming down to the end of my contract. I’d asked over the course of three months or so, if they were going to renew my contract. Lesson learned: in China, if they put off answering you, it means no. I should know this by now.

Also, the job interviews were slow coming in. I wasn’t anticipating this, because in the past when I’d looked for work, I usually got a new position in two weeks. This time it took a month. (Jealous yet?)

I also should have heeded a co-worker who had heard I wasn’t going to be asked back for the fall. It’s hard to know who to believe/trust over here, but she’d heard the low down, and felt bad for me, so she let me know the situation. But also asked me not to let anyone in the office know she had leaked some information.

So I looked for work, and I was a bit panicked. I found a position, but held off on signing because I thought I could get a better deal. (Hahahahahahaha.)

In the meantime, I was told by my company, they wouldn’t help me get a stay visa. My residence permit wasn’t going to run out until July 31, so I thought I had time.

Lesson learned: it’s later than you think.

After being pushed to sign a contract quickly (usually not a good sign) I had to get my work permit cancelled from my old employer. I was leery about signing in a hurry. Another thing that puzzled me was the new school’s reluctance to email me the contract. Every other school sent me contracts electronically. Why the push for an in-person signing? They didn’t want to mail me the contract either, which I could understand. Eventually I took a train to sign the contract, with no reimbursement.

The new employer applied for my work permit, but it had been denied. The reason was I didn’t have a health certificate. Because they didn’t ask me for one. Had they included that bit of information, I would have gotten one. I can’t read minds, you know.