Ah, Christmas!

Well, Christmas is over and now that the craziness of the season is behind me I can now focus on the fact that I will be leaving the country in a week and a half. Annaliisa and I have everything in order. On Monday we went to the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco to apply for our Visa. We went with another friend of ours and had a blast! When we applied the guy told me I could pick it up on Thursday. When I asked him if I could have it delivered, he said no. Bummer! When my brother had applied for his visa his was delivered to him. But anyways, no big deal...unless you have no car.

Yes, I sold my car! A wonderful friend of mine was looking for a car and fate brought us together (more like a mutual friend). I was so ecstatic to sell my car for the price I wanted AND to someone who was willing to let me still use it until I was done with work. Miss S was truly a godsend! And she loves the car so it's really a win win!!

Ok, back to the subject at hand.

So we had to go back to SF on Thursday to pick up our visas and to do that we had to rent a car, which was really a whole lot of fun!!!

Let me tell all of you something...the Chinese Consulate is AMAZING!! They are so efficient and fast! When we first went there to apply we got our forms, filled them out then got numbers and waited to be called. In less than five minutes our numbers were called and within another five minutes we were headed to our next destination. The only thing I was worried about was the long line we saw of people waiting to pick up their visas. I did not want to stand in that line!! BUT when we went back on Thursday there was absolutely no line. We were in and out in five minutes! It was amazing!

I have loved how everything has worked out perfectly for this adventure. It should probably freak me out that everything til now has been smooth sailing but it is actually calming me. I am looking forward to seeing my bro and meeting my new sis-in-law!!

NOTE: To those of you (friends, family or strangers) who are looking to get a visa for China, the fee is now $140. This is not reflected on the website yet so I think this is a new change. At the consulate they'll take VISA, check, money order, blah blah. The easiest is to just do VISA charge or VISA debit. It's really quick!!

Yesterday was a good day!

Two very exciting things happened yesterday. First off, before I started my shift I purchased my very own nook simple!! I was waiting for my Xmas/going away gift cards that I'll be getting from friends but I decided to just jump in and get one. Besides, this just means I'll have more money for books!! It was also a good way to start off my work day. The store was super busy for Black Friday but I was really looking forward to every break and my lunch so I could play with my new nook!

It's so pretty! And today I got on there and filled up my wishlist! Me=excited!
Now I can keep up on all the recomendations from I Blog You Read!

Second thing that happened was...I got my passport!! Wahoo! When I opened the package and saw my shiny new passport it hit me how real this is but I couldn't be more excited, and it came so quick! It only took about 2 1/2 weeks to get it which is way quicker than I thought it would be.

I even put it in my fancy PanAm passport holder! :)

So yesterday was awesome and today marks three weeks until my last day of work! Let the countdown begin!



I did it!

I FINALLY got all my paperwork in for my passport! Oh my goodness was that painful. Sharing a car with someone and having a funky work schedule proved very difficult to find time to go the post office and submit my paperwork but I finally got the car to myself this morning so I took advantage!

Here's my advice for anyone applying for a passport...Have ALL of the paper work filled out before you go along with your birth certificate, a photo copy of the front and back of your Driver's Licence, a passport photo that you can get from Walgreen's for $9, and personal checks or cashier's check all ready to go.

The first time I tried to get my passport I for got my birth certificate. Don't do this! The lady will look at you like you're dumb! Of course you need to prove your place of birth before you get a passport from that country.

Second time I tried I forgot to photo copy both sides of my DL but that was ok because the lady was so slow that I had to leave or I would've been late to work.

So third time's the charm and I went in with my birth certificate, my DL photocopy, my passport photo, my personal checks already made out to Department of State for $110 and U.S.P.S. for $25 and I was out of there in five minutes. I had time to get myself a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit and two hashbrowns from McD's, deposit money into my account so the checks would go through AND make it to work early!

If I have learned anything from this endeavour it's that you should really go onto the U.S.P.S. website and read the entire list of what you need before you ever go inside.

Moving to China!

In just 7 weeks I will be packing up my life and moving it to China. It's crazy I know, and scary, but it's something I feel like I should do. My brother is currently living there with his new wife and she and her family are so excited for me and my friend Annaliisa (who is making this move with me) to come and join them. I am excited that I already have a family there and I can't wait to meet my in-laws. 

I've decided to start this blog for two reasons. One, because I want my family and friends to be able to see what we're up to and join in our adventures. And two, because I want to share my experiences for someone who might be thinking about doing the same thing.

I hope everyone will enjoy the experiences I will share as much as I'm sure I will and learn a lot in the process!