Two days ago, we were in Maine. We used to live there, and love visiting at much as possible. Because our Chinese visas were on track and we just had a few precious days left in the States, we thought Maine would be a good place to visit before we departed.

And then, another wrench in the plans.

We found out that against all odds, our visas required an in-person visit to the Chinese consulate in Chicago. (This is specific to this particular region, and only for certain types of visas, but is a new rule.) After a few minutes of simultaneously being shocked by the turn in events and also not shocked at all (have you heard about the insanity that is this process?), we shifted our plans.

Twelve hours later we were on the road, on a seventeen hour drive to Chicago. This morning we’re coming to you from our friends’ guest room, in one of our favorite Chicago neighborhoods. The consulate visit was successful and our visas are still on track. We thwarted what could be a tricky delay due to next weekend’s long weekend holidays in both the US and China.

There has never been a time when I could really use some mindless internet browsing than at this very second. I look forward to spending most of the day in the semi-darkness, doing all the work that didn’t get done the past two days and getting my fill of online entertainment.

Let the fun begin!

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