30 Day Tourist Visa/To Work Visa/ Marooned in Hong Kong!!

One of the interesting things about a big school like Suzhou Singapore International School is that it has a budget for dealing with all aspects of teacher's visa needs.  Because I had arrived so late and because the principal rushed me to the school they used the quick route, a tourist visa, to get me into the country.  But, what that meant was that I would need to leave after 30 days, leave the country, and then reenter after obtaining a work visa with documentation which I had received through the human resources department of SSIS.

I was actually excited with this prospect because I do love to travel by plane, no matter where the destination might be.  For me the destination out was the same for entry, Hong Kong.  So, the school had booked a flight and a stay at the same hotel in Hong Kong.  Once there I would again go to the Chinese visa building and this time give all the documents needed and within a few days return and have the Z work visa necessary for the rest of the year.

So, I was driven to Shanghai's Pudong Airport by the school's hired chauffeur and got on the flight for Hong Kong leaving a day prior to the end of my tourist visa.  I arrived in Hong Kong and again took the train, and then the taxi to the same hotel that I'd used one month earlier.  This was like a little vacation for me.  I was even getting paid for this trip as well as all the expenses, so why complain?

The next day I went to the Chinese visa bureau and again went through the long line, as I had in October, early in the morning preparing for giving the documents to them and returning the next day to receive my work visa.  Everything went well as it had one month before and I returned to my hotel to wait for my visa the following day.

Shenzhen train station

                                                                                                        
I took the extra time to search out a special purchase for a friend of mine who told me a particular skin cream was much cheaper when purchased in Hong Kong.  I was only happy to get this item since I was in the district of Hong Kong where it could be obtained easily. Duty for certain products are very excessive when purchased inside China.  Also, that evening I made plans to visit a friend of mine who had just moved to Shenzhen, right over the border from Hong Kong.  It was merely a short train trip away.

That next day I went to the bureau and was very happy to pick up my work visa and I was on my way.  No one explained anything about the visa to me, but I figured I was secure in using it for visiting my friend that evening, in Shenzhen.  I was now the holder of a Chinese Z visa.

That evening I took a train to the border of Hong Kong and China at Shenzhen.  At this station were lots of shops and restaurants and my friend and I had made plans to have a little bit to eat and a cup of coffee.  At the border all the trains passengers had to go through customs in the normal way you would as if  you were entering China for the first time.  Of course I had my visa now and I was confident as I passed the guards and officials en route to where my friend had told me to meet him.  Actually, it was a little more complicated than that.  I had to call him when I arrived and he came to me.  We spent an enjoyable couple of hours talking and sharing since we hadn't seen each other since our time on Guam together.  Then, as it was getting very late I left and reentered Hong Kong and took the train back, followed by a taxi ride to my hotel.

The next morning I checked out and made my way to the Hong Kong airport once again.  This time happy that I now had my work visa and would now spend the next good part of a year without that to worry about anymore.  I strode up to the China Airline counter and took out my passport and ticket information.  Then came the shock of my life!

                                                                                                     
The China Eastern airline counter woman said, "I'm sorry sir, but you cannot fly today. You do not have a valid entry visa!"  I stood there absolutely stunned.  What was she talking about?  I had just gotten my work visa yesterday.  I remember another man being asked to assist me as I felt like I was going to have a heart attack or something.

What was she talking about?  I showed her my visa once again.  She said, "you used this 'once only' visa last night at the border going to Shenzhen, sir."  OMG.  It was a one use only visa and I had used it to see my friend for coffee and small talk.  Now what?

The airline assigned a young clerk to me to help get myself organized.  I really think that I was about to have a heart attack.  First, they said they would honor my ticket for days to come, so that was OK.  But, now what?  The clerk took me to a travel agent on the floor of the airport beneath the level where we were currently.  I went to the desk and they said they could get me a tourist visa into the country within 24 hours.  So, I paid the fee and gave them my documents and set out to spend one more night in Hong Kong.  This was Thursday and I would return on Friday to this counter, get my visa and get back to Suzhou.

Meanwhile I got back on the train and headed back to the hotel that I'd stayed in.  When I arrived I asked for a room only to find that they were full up and now I would need to find another hotel.  So, I sat down and thought a while for my next move.  The hotel was actually very good at finding me another hotel that would be reasonable for my extra day.  I decided on a Ramada Inn and so the hotel doorman flagged down a taxi and I was on my way.

The evening was quite uneventful accept for my contacting the school in Suzhou to tell them of my dilemma.  The school's human resources woman changed the flight to the next day for me and I was relieved to think that I would soon be on my way "back home."  I did economize on dinner by buying a few inexpensive fruits and Chinese foods (like a bao) which were quite tasty.

I got up early, paid my room fee, and again took my things to the airport via taxi, and train.  When I arrived I went directly to the counter where my visa was being processed.  The woman who had helped me the day before wouldn't look me in the eye.  She looked everywhere but at me and said, "sorry sir, but we cannot get you a visa."  I was furious!  I had waited 24 hours and given them this job to do and now what?  Was I not going to be able to return to China at all?  Again my mind returned to the evening with my friend and thought, "was that worth it?"  It was still morning at this time, so if I hurried I could make it to the visa bureau before the end of the working day.

I again took the train into Hong Kong and went directly to the visa bureau.  I got in line and waited and waited.  Time seemed to move very slowly.  There was a  special line for problems and I met what seemed to be the main visa bureau officer.  I pleaded with this man to give me another 30 day tourist visa, after I told him my story about using the one use visa to go to Shenzhen.  He laughed at me which did not endear him to me.  But, I hid my anger the best I could and waited his next best deal.  He told me that he would give me a seven day tourist visa and that was the best he could do.  What could I do?  I knew that wouldn't do the job, but I had to bet back to Suzhou.  I took my chances and said, "yes, give me the seven day visa."

Ramada Inn Hong Kong

                                                                                                                  
This was now the end of the day and I couldn't come back to pick up the visa until Monday morning, so I left once again to return to the same Ramada Inn for the weekend.  I felt truly marooned in Hong Kong.  I took long walks around the hotel district where the Ramada Inn was located.  I got to know that area of Hong Kong quite well.  There were lots of shops for all kinds of food, clothes, and Chinese herbal medicines.  I liked walking through the side streets and seeing the daily life of these people.  From my hotel window I had a great view of the Hong Kong harbor which has constant movement from sampans to large ocean going vessels.

Finally Monday arrived and I made my way once more to the visa bureau to pick up my visa and catch the plane.  YES!  The seven day visa was ready and again I made my way to the airport by way of taxi and train.  I was finally on my way back to Suzhou. I caught the plane and Hong Kong was in the past.

Leaving Guam for Suzhou, China

What is it that makes people do extreme things?  Sometimes life gives us few options.  We work as hard as we can to stay in the status quo.  The status quo is safe.  We know it....it's happened before and we can have it go on and on.

But, God doesn't always allow us to keep doing the things we want.  Sometimes we try and try and try to fix problems but it just can't be fixed.  If that occurs then maybe it's time to walk away and start something new. 

You've reached the top in your particular job and still what was good in the past is somehow not accepted by those who are around you.  You can beat up on yourself and take it, or you can say, "that's enough" and start in a new direction.

That's what happened for me.  I worked at a school in Guam, thought of as the best on Guam, and perhaps it was, at one time.  But, people from the outside, who had no idea about the traditions of the school and further, did not respect those traditions came in and started chopping off heads.

I was NOT one of those who had their head chopped off.  I was a cooperative man who could adapt to new ways, if necessary.  But, the decline in the school had already been set in motion.  So, my friends disappeared in quick fashion.  Of 60 teachers, 26 disappeared, either forced out or sympathetic to their co-workers' plights.  The following year the school's student population fell and with it the income to the school.

By the end of the second year of this new administration the school was now  monetarily driving on fumes.   One day in the spring of the new administration's second year I accidentally found in the trash, next to the copy machine, notes that the headmaster would be using for the board meeting.  He had been given the job, by the board, of eliminating those teachers who had been found to be superfluous.

But, the layoffs did not happen.  This new administration's third school year began with all 60 teacher in place.  Within one month "financial austerity" was declared to the assembled teachers by the headmaster and immediately 7 teachers were laid off.  This was too much for me, especially since I had been privy to the memo from the springtime which stated that the headmaster must act.  But, he had waited until the school year began and then had laid these teachers off.  I felt this was beyond cruel to have taken someones signed contract and throw it away one month into the new school year.  For me this was writing on the wall.  I needed to find a job that would meet the same income standards that I'd had at this school, and do it NOW.

Most of my friends, who had left, but who had taught at this school had gone to international schools in the Asian area.  This seemed like the best possibility for me also.  I had been checking international school hiring websites for the past few months and had found a job opening at a school in Suzhou, China where a friend of mine had previously worked.  That's what I needed!  This would be a natural departure.  

So, it was time to prepare for going to China.....a lifelong interest of mine.
I had always been curious about China since I was a child.  My parents had a travel encyclopedia which I had pored over and China had been of special interest.  Asia was so much different from what I had seen growing up in Portland, Oregon.

Dave Janssen's Music Online
 "Hafa Adai" in the classroom, Spring 2010

My beginnings with Suzhou Singapore International School were from a listing that I'd seen for an elementary music specialist position which I'd seen listed in early September of 2010.  This was a lucky break for me because usually international schools advertised in December and January prior to the beginning of the school year.  So, this was an opportunity that I was lucky to have found.

As a part of being hired I had talked to the elementary principal, a director of PYP (a system of study in many international schools), an elementary music teacher already in place, and the head of the arts department.  The interview was done by telephone which surprised me.  I thought they might use Skype in a face to face conversation.  


24 hours later I received word that I had been successful in my interview and my move began in earnest.


I needed to pass all my important papers to the human resources department so that they could begin the process of my Chinese work visa.  This was one of the most important aspects of moving to China.  For me,  I had not been hired in the normal fashion so the school did not have adequate time to get my work visa, which usually takes a few months.  The principal wanted me there immediately so they were going to us other ways to start me out.


As it turned out the music teacher that I replaced had come to the school the first day of school, turned, and left without returning.  So, the second music teacher had been under a double work load for the past month and a half and wanted out of that circumstance as quickly as possible.


The solution for the school was to land me in Hong Kong, get a 30 day tourist visa, and then make my way to Suzhou in haste.  What this meant was that I would have to leave the country after 30 days of work at Suzhou, to return again to Hong Kong to obtain my work visa.  But, that will be written of in a future instalments, at length.