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It is now 6am in Guangzhou. Xianyi’s visa interview is in exactly one hour and fifteen minutes. We are staying across the street from the American Consulate in the Grand Palace Hotel, which is comfortable enough and offers internet access…

We left yesterday morning, early, and now we’re up early again. Not looking forward to waiting outside the consulate, as Guangzhou is not as warm as it usually is, and yesterday was raining, so I’m worried we’ll be huddled under an umbrella for 3 hours before we can get inside. Even though our appointment is for 7:15, I have heard that a line forms outside and doesn’t move for hours. We plan on eating light, bringing snacks, and showing up early (like right after I finish this post).

We are excited, not nervous; we are excellently prepared. I have extreme confidence in Xianyi’s ability to sail through the interview and come out the other side with that stamp in her passport. And certainly we’re both looking forward to completing this chapter in the immigration saga and moving on to the next step. Wish us luck!

Happy New Year everybody! Things have been slow around here, network-wise, as that earthquake near Taiwan cut all the undersea cables connecting China with America and Europe. Been tough to surf the web and read email, and hence the lack of posts on this blog.

The New Year’s celebration went really well for us! Xianyi and I had a very nice dinner at our friend Brad Turley’s restaurant. It was a five-course meal that served a glass of different wine with each course – absolutely exquisite! Then the band was performing at 4Live, and we got one of our biggest crowds ever. Always a good time. We stayed out till about 4 and then slept most of Jan 1 away.

Now it’s back to work and it’s been tough with the internet being so slow. We really are dependent on this stuff. But slowly things are getting back to normal.

And only 12 more days until Xianyi’s visa interview!