When?

"When are you going to China?" is the million dollar question. The quick and most truthful answer is that we really don't know. We won't know until our travel dates are set, and that's usually about 2-4 weeks before we depart. We are guestimating October, but there are dozens of things that could swing that one way or the other. Today Max's visa application and accompanying paperwork will arrive at our agency in Texas. They will review it, make sure it is complete and send it off to the US Consulate in Guangzhou. Once it arrives in Guangzhou a weekish from now, it will take two weeks for them to issue our Article 5. What the heck an Article 5 is is still a little fuzzy. It's not Max's visa to enter the US, but it is (I think) a document saying our paperwork is fine and unless he shows up with raging tuberculosis or something like that, he'll get a visa when the time comes.

Our agency's representative in China will pick up our Article 5 and send that off to the CCAA in Beijing. We will then officially be waiting for our TA (travel approval). It could take anywhere from 2-6 weeks after Article 5 for our TA to arrive. It is at that point that our agency can set our travel dates. So, best guest, we're looking at anywhere from 5-9 weeks for travel approval and then another 2-4 weeks until we leave.

The other tricky thing is that there are a lot of other things going on in China, specifically Guangzhou where we will be for almost all of our trip, during October and November. There is a national holiday October 1. I'm not sure how long government offices will be closed for that. Then there is a large trade fair in Guangzhou October 15 - November 4 followed by the Pan-Asian Games November 15-27. Those could make flights and hotels ridiculously expensive or, worst case, not available at all. So there is always a chance that those events will screw things up for us. Only time will tell.

No Max updates yet. Supposedly he got his birthday package, but his orphanage director is out of town until the end of the month. We might get updated pictures at that time.

And now please enjoy some pictures of David at Millennium Park and playing baseball at Uncle's Dave's game.

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