Moving to China is not easy.
I mean... there's A LOT of crap that goes into it. You don't just pack up and go. I'm not really sure where to start explaining things.
Since we got this offer in December, we've been sitting around, waiting. Waiting for D's company to make a formal announcement. Waiting on China to get their part done (when I refer to "China" here... I mean CAT China people). Waiting, waiting, waiting.
Then the race started.
Now all we do is run. Derek ran to China for 3 weeks. He ran around looking for a house. We got the girls passports. We had a teleconference with the moving company, Paragon (the company CAT pays to get us over there). Currently, we are running to get all of our documents together to send electronically to China. Birth certificates, marriage license, Derek's college transcripts, passport photos. They all get scanned and emailed.
Then comes the health assessment. D and I have to undergo chest xrays. If they are ok, we move on to the 9 vials of blood work. Cardiac EKGs. Physical. Then the psychiatric consultation (that should be humorous). Immunizations against things like Japanese Encephalitis.
Moving on to Cultural Training. We have a lady who comes to our home for a full day orientation about Chinese culture. We.... I ... need this desperately. I have no idea how to act over there. It's encouraged we begin taking language training as well. Yeah, right. That's gonna have to wait.
Tax training. We have a professional host another teleconference with us about our taxes. We have to learn how to document appropriately so that when tax season comes we get the right info to the tax people. I have always done our taxes, so this really pertains to me. No, I will not be doing taxes while we are there. It is mandated that CAT hires an outside firm to do them. I guess we have to keep track of the exact number of days we are in Beijing, as well as the number of days we are on vacation, D is traveling, etc.
I haven't even started about selling our house. That's a trip. People come to your house, assess, market, open house, etc etc. After talking to Paragon, the main focus is to get us OUT of the USA.... selling the house can be done with us not even here. Scary thought. Most people think selling their house is a headache. For us it's the easiest part. Although open houses and trying to keep your home looking remotely organized while you have rubbermaid containers all over, 80 rolls of paper towels, 30 tubs of Clorox wipes, and clothing for 2 girls for 3 years is a joke.
Packing. Ugh. The WORST part. I have 3 different packing circumstances. 1. small shipment going fast by air to China, 2. big shipment going slow by boat to China, 3. everything else left over going to Peoria for storage. That's not to mention the 12 pieces of luggage we are allowed to check when flying over ourselves to Beijing. And since we are moving to a slightly hardship area, things don't come easy. Deodorant, tampons, brownie/cookie mix, chocolate ships, fitted sheets, toddler snacks, clorox wipes, paper towels, razors.... these are just a FEW of the things I need to gather enough of for 3 years. I've made one trip to Costco and spent $1000. Not even a drop in the bucket of things we need. This is expensive and timely. And definitely nerve racking. I've been emailing and talking to women who currently live in the neighborhood we will be moving to. They are SUCH a help. They tell me what I should stock up on, what is (not) available, etc. One of my new friends said it best when she said, "These are things you think you can't live without. Then, as time goes by, you realize you really don't need those things." What a way to put it. Living in this wonderful Western world is truly amazing. We are about to embark on a journey in which is going to open our eyes in ways we never could have imagined. Eastern culture, open my eyes.
This blog is not meant to complain, although that might sound like what I'm doing. I'm venting! It's a lot of work, but we are so blessed to have this opportunity. We can't wait to go. Yes, we are sad to go, but excited. I'm writing so that I can remember the details. Because this is all becoming a big blur already. I'm writing because there might be someone out there like me who has NO IDEA WHAT THE HECK I'M DOING.
China, baby! Here we come.
