June 7th, my friend Amanda came to help me and say goodbye. A lot of our foreign team had already left Chengdu for their summer home. My house helper (aka maid but she's a dear Aunt to me) came as well to help me with last minute cleaning. She carried both pieces of my heavy luggage down 4 flights of stairs (two trips). This was so nice because it's so hot and humid and there's nothing like being sweaty before a long 24 hour + trip. Mr. Bao (my hired airport driver) took me and my friend Bethany to the airport. Along the way I was rather sentimental thinking back on past trips to the airport when I travelled to other places in China as well as Thailand and the Philippines.
Once we arrived in Beijing we had a very short layover, so we made our way to the gate. Once arriving at the desks where you show your VISA and departure card, the lady at the desk looked at me and said in minimal English - your VISA has expired. My heart started to pound faster. In my mind I'm thinking, "What? no way! I'm leaving China!" She then ushers me over to another desk in which another lady says, "Your VISA expired." I wait while the officers talk. Then a man says to me, "Your VISA has expired." By this time I'm thinking, "Hello people, I know already, tell me what I need to do so I can make my flight in 10 short minutes!" I'm at this point trying so hard not to cry and seem like I'm a wreck. The one severe looking lady then says to me and NOTE I will NEVER EVER forget this moment. She says, "We will punish you!"
My brain starts to think, "Punish? What kind of punishment - jail and a a beating with a bamboo stick?" Then the other man says, "You will have to pay a fine." I ask how much to which he gives me an estimate - no 'rule' for how much anyone would have to pay if their VISA expires. He says that it will probably cost 3,000 yuan ($500-600), and so I asked where an ATM machine is. He says there is one at the front of the airport - mind you this is THE Beijing airport - no small place. HUGE - so big they had to take the earth's curvature into consideration when building it because it's that long. I start running and sweating of course because they barely run the AC...lugging my laptop and loaded purse. I have no cell phone and of course no Chinese money on me - I was LEAVING with no intention to return. At this point I'm debating with myself if there is any possible way I'll make it back to the exit to catch my flight. I knew I wouldn't deep down, but I sure wanted to 'try.'
After getting money out - I realized I wouldn't make it for sure because the ATM lets you withdraw only 2,500 and I needed 3,000. I made my way (still sweating) to one ticket counter asking in Chinese how to change tickets and explaining my circumstance. I did this several times at different counters until I found an angel at one counter. She helped me and finally explained how the rules for a VISA expiration work. Basically you get 10 free days (mine had expired May 23rd). Then after that they charge 500 yuan per day. She told me she could change my flight to the next day but that would cost 800. So on top of the change I would have to pay about 3,000 to leave the country. Nothing like paying to leave a country! Thankfully she let me use her phone and PTL I had kept a staff contact list. I called my former principal for a friend in Beijing's number. Got a place to stay with some great girls...lost power and water that night...typical. :) Then the next day made the long flight back to the States. PTL that the next day went so smoothly. I could tell people were praying - what a crazy 42 hours or so!
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