Chest x-rays and broken elevators

We have been in China for almost two weeks. It was a long time coming and we finally made it. The process to get a Chinese work visa is far more complicated that we thought it would be. The difficulty in getting ours is that I am getting a work permit, which is the complicated part. After the almost two months of paperwork before we left, once we arrived we had to continue the process by getting a medical exam. We did this the first day. In about 45 minutes total we both had the following procedures done: an interview, EKG, eye exam, chest x-ray, ultrasound, blood draw and a urine sample. Let's just say HIPPA, the FDA, customer service and patient privacy aren't concepts that have made it their way to China yet. The picture below is where we left our sample cups after the last exam.

Moving day: my life-saving skills, chinese border patrol, and more

Where to begin...oh yeah, we moved to China yesterday. That was interesting.  Any guesses as to how many bags we brought? I'll give you a hint, we took a lot. The answer is 9 bags: 5 checked and 4 carry-on. And we were still tight on space. 3 of the 5 checked bags were EXACTLY 50 pounds, the others 48 and 49. Not bad for a bathroom scale. For those of you who are considering a foreign move, here's what you need to do. Corral all of your possessions in one room, rent a dumpster, and throw 75% of it away. It'll make things a WHOLE lot easier, I promise.

This is us in the Salt Lake airport at 5:30 am. Don't we look chipper for 4 hours of sleep ;)

Yes, we're FINALLY moving!

For those of you who've been wondering, why are Crystal and Eric still in the states...here is your update. Our initial plan was to move the first week of July, but our ridiculous visa company dropped the ball on several things. They kept pushing back our departure date 2 weeks at a time because our visa paperwork wasn't being processed correctly. I'd like you to know that our paperwork has made it around the world about 3 times by now. We had to send in our passports, marriage certificate, diplomas, and a few other things. Don't ask me why the Chinese needed our OFFICIAL marriage certificate or Eric's college diplomas.

But after 2 or 3 date changes, we finally have one that's going to stick: August 18th (in one week!). Our visas are currently winging their way to the states as we speak. Once they land in Chicago, they will visit our nation's capitol via express mail to get their final stamp of approval at the Chinese embassy. And ONLY THEN will we be able to move. Eric and I are really hoping to avoid a situation like the movie "The Terminal" with Tom Hanks. Can't you imagine Eric and I looking very sad and pathetic in the Hong Kong airport, while eating saltine cracker/ketchup sandwiches? Well I can.

That being said, we are reasonably certain that we will have the correct documentation come August 18th to enter Shenzhen. Eric and I are extremely happy to be finally heading to our final destination. We've been enjoying a relaxing stay at the in-laws house (ha ha ha) but are ready to move forward with this new chapter in our lives. Eric and I are going to be around this week. Feel free to call or email, we'd love to chat with you before we go.