This past Sunday was a very bittersweet day. We spent the day as a family making final preparations prior to departing. Packing for three months proved to be quite a challenge. Simply identifying the correct clothing (i.e. no cowboy boots or NASCAR t-shirts) was challenging enough, however it was further complicated by the laundry list of medication recommendations from the travel medicine clinic. I have a medicine list that would rival a small hospital tucked away among my luggage, and am anticipating several questions from kind and gentile custom authorities in China. However, with the packing finally complete, the family decided to take a moment to bask in their labors...or at least Kate did...
Preparing for a trip to a totally different culture can be quite challenging. So, it was with the assistance of several expat sites, blogs, and former Shanghai residents that I finalized the pre-trip to-do list. The first item that was to secure a visa (which was made possible by paying a number of fees to a "visa consultant"). The second was to insure that I had enough cash on hand, both Chinese yuan and American dollars. Also, transporting this currency would need to be done in a secure manner, which gave me an excuse to buy a James Bond-style hidden wallet. Lastly, nearly every business etiquette book indicates that position or "title" is very important. So, with about 30 seconds and a ball-point pen, I fixed that as well.
Once all these steps were complete, followed by a bittersweet farewell, I was off to the airport. I boarded a flight at 9:40pm at JFK which landed in Mainz, Germany at 11:20am on Monday, September 12.
The next post will cover the time in Mainz. Talk soon!
