The Waiting Game

It's been awhile since my last post (first real post?). This might not bode well for the future. But I hope this is an aberration. It's been a busy month for other reasons. But it's also been a waiting game.

I started this journey in June 2007 when I learned about the opportunity to work in China, and really started down the path in October. I got an offer from an interested team in November, worked out the details, and then ran into a brick wall in December for a variety of work-related reasons that I will not go into here. I got final approval to participate in the program at the end of January, but then did not get the actual offer letter from the rotation program until February 20, 2008. I think that I was immensely patient -- especially for me. In fact, I was probably too patient.

Anyway, when I formally accepted the offer the ball started rolling. The company in China that is helping to coordinate the relocation forwarded the work visa process to me on the evening of Feb. 26, which is when I learned that getting the work visa would take 4-8 weeks, with 4 weeks being quite unlikely. Let's see. It was less than 5 weeks to my expected departure...uh oh. I made a series of phone calls and sent a bunch of e-mails to find out that, yes, an April 1 departure was unlikely.

The first step in getting my visa is completing a set of medical tests. Because I am going to Beijing (not Shanghai, which has a different process), I needed to get blood tests, x-rays, an EKG, and a bunch of signatures from my doctor and then send all of this info to China. If I were to have this done in China, it would take a couple of hours at a clinic set up for this sort of thing. But no, I'm in the U.S., so I needed to beg my doctor to set up the tests immediately and then schedule an appointment to get the test results and related documentation signed and stamped. I managed to get all of this done and sent off to China in 9 days (with a 4 day trip to Anaheim in the middle).

So I am waiting again. I perpetually bug all of the involved parties for status. (I apologize to everyone in advance and in perpetuity.) I found out yesterday that I have passed the medical clearance (no syphilis here!) and they are now working on my employment license and invitation letter. I should get that in about 10 days. I can then go get my visa and travel to China. I'm guessing that I will leave in about 3-4 weeks (fingers crossed).

Immunizations for China

It looks like I'm headed to Beijing for 3 months starting in April. I say "looks like" because I don't have the itinerary in my hands yet. But I fully trust that my employer will get it to me soon. (I'll provide more details as everything becomes official.)

My previous travels outside the U.S. are limited to Greece, Canada, and Mexico. Other than Canada, all of my trips have been very short. So, I haven't had to deal with the travel immunization issues until now.

In January, I had a travel consultation with my medical provider. I felt sorry for her, as my travel plans were "either 3 weeks in Hong Kong and mainland China starting at the end of Februrary, or 3 months in Beijing starting in April." She had to plan for the "highest risk" locations and the earliest possible leave date. That required me to start my immunizations almost immediately, as it takes about a month to complete them. (ADVICE: Have the travel consultation early.)

Because I'll mostly be in cities, the list is fairly short. The list of "required" immunizations is Hepatitis A and B (twinrix), Typhoid, and an MMR booster. They also recommended the first 3 shots in the rabies series. (I asked them if I get a rabies tag -- funny, funny. Everything's a bad joke with me.) When I return, I need to follow up with a TB test.

My experience with the immunizations:

• Twinrix stings.
• Rabies was nothing.
• MMR was kinda painful (but only for a second!).
• Typhoid was 4 pills. (The pills are good for 5 years. The shot for 2. I went for the pills.) I might have been a little nauseous the first day, or maybe that was the movie theater popcorn that afternoon.

They also gave me a list of meds to bring with me, both prescription and over the counter. This mostly has to do with food and water issues.

I was kinda surprised that I don't have to take anything for malaria and other mosquito-bourne illnesses, but I guess that's only for some rural areas. However, they did suggest DEET and long-sleeve shirts.

It's something like 7 weeks and counting. I hope to have my itinerary soon.

First Post

Welcome to my blog! For now, I'm just playing around in preparation for my upcoming trip to China.

In case you're wondering about the name "Larseny," its a play on my last name. MS Word spellcheck always marked my last name as a misspelling and suggested two alternatives: Larceny and Arson.