Two Months to Go

So, I've started my blog. This is one of the things I wanted to do before I left and it is still a work in process but I'll get it all figured out by the time I leave. If everyone doesn't know, I'm leaving Wednesday, August 5th. I have a 15 hour flight into Beijing, which gets me in around 4:30 pm August 6th. Don't worry, my family is having a huge going away party for me sometime in late July/early August. This way everyone can see me before I leave.

I have a ton of stuff I need to get done before I leave. The most important thing is getting my Chinese visa. My parents tried to get it at the Chinese consulate in Chicago, IL but unfortunately they didn't have all of the "official" papers and ended up getting turned away after waiting almost the entire day. I'm waiting for my school to send off the official papers that prove I have a reason to enter the country for 5 months. Once I receive the papers, I'll have a company get my visa for me. Until then, I'm just waiting.

I am working full time earning some spending cash for China, but I'm also working on trying to save some of it. I've been pretty good about that, but it's not easy. When I'm not working, I'm doing more work trying to practice my Chinese and read everything I can about Chinese history, politics, and current events. We'll see how successful I am at the end of the summer...

Also, I need to figure out what I'm taking out there considering I'll only have two suitcases and a backpack. I'll worry about that later but rumor has it that clothing is very cheap out there but on the other hand deoderant is hard to find...