Amoy Wanderings

We had an amazing summer in the US, and were very sad when it came time to leave family and return to our home in China. It is always an emotional time, but we are joyful to be where we are supposed to be. When Emily and I returned to China, we knew that we had a challenge ahead of us. Over the summer, Emily had been accepted into Jimei University to study Chinese, and the school had sent the official paperwork to our address in China. Well, that created a problem. Because we didn't have the original paperwork, we would be unable to apply for a student visa for Emily and she would have to re-enter China on her tourist visa. When we arrived back in China, we weren't exactly sure what the process to make that change would be, but I anticipated that at minimum we would have to visit a US embassy within China and at most we would have to travel out of country to make that change. We got the visa! Administrative Building at Jimei University At the first opportunity...

You can't. That's the short answer. Because of rampant cheating on the SAT throughout China, students who want to take the test must take it in another nation. Fortunately for us, there are two other nations immediately nearby: Taiwan and Hong Kong. Unfortunately, getting into a testing center is a whole different ballgame. As part of her curriculum for this year, Emily has been studying to take the SAT. Although the specifics of her schooling next year are still uncertain, we wanted to make sure she took the test just in case she needed it, and the best date to take it was December 1, since the next administration is in March. The process, however, was complicated by the fact that as of January 9, Emily will no longer be on my resident visa and needs her own, which must be applied for in Hong Kong. So, it just made sense that we would combine the two trips into one longer trip with Emily and Sandy staying  few extra days in Hong Kong. But, since this is a new process...