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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsUpdate on my wife and our separation due to COVID and her Green Card part 3 (Thx BtA)
Well, it's been quite a few days.
Tuesday, I left Hong Kong, got my 10th COVID test in seven days (overkill much?) and bored my Cathay Pacific plane from HKG to Nanjing.
I was terrified because of the fractured relationship between the US and China, I would be denied entry into China the same way my wife was denied in Seattle. I didn't sleep for two days except for an occasional short nap that I was jerked awake in cold sweats.
I get the immigration counter. They take my passport and start asking questions, like why I have a Q (family) visa instead of a Z (work), X (student), or L (tourist) visa. Thank God I can speak fluent Mandarin.
I told them I went home because of family and health issues. My wife was denied her American Green Card three times and about what happened at SEATAC. I told them I just wanted to return to the wife I hadn't seen in 26 months.
They were shocked at what I said, told me my Chinese was amazing, asked me if I would be staying with me wife, and if I understood the quarantine policy. I answered yes to all their questions.
Then the entry stamp came in and they stamped me in. I exhales relief. They handed me back my passport, smiled, and told me to enjoy my time with my wife in a week.
I walked in, got my bag, walked into the bathroom and sat in a stall. I pulled out my passport, looked at the entry stamped and openly sobbed for almost five minutes. I was back. . .and it was only a short time before we were back together.
I am now 40 miles from her in quarantine. They put me in an apartment and, respecting my Kosher and diabetic concerns, have gotten me my three squares a day. It is currently day three of seven. The meals are Chinese and are more than I can eat at one time. Today I had Lan Zhou La Mian, which is all beef, lamb, or chicken and Halal.
Four more days and I am done with this. I go back to my wife and prepare for our move to Beijing where I will be a social studies teacher at one of the most posh and prestigious high schools in the country, run and sponsored by the #1 university in China, Tsinghua University. This school is a place Americans are told by the embassy to send their children when they are in China and is 50-50 Chinese/Foreign mix, with students from 26 countries. They will give me a two bedroom condo on campus, a base pay of $75K a year gross, and almost $15K in benefits, including gifts for my marriage and childbirth, performance, longevity, retirement plans, health insurance for my entire family, travel, relocation, and shipping allowances, and opportunities to publish my novels as there is a publishing company through Tsinghua.
It's all over. Thank you, BtA, for updating DU. My next post about this will be reuniting with my wife and pictures of our reuniting.
DU has helped me more than I can say. You've helped me get back her and get back my sanity. Words cannot express my undying gratefulness for all of you.
JCMach1
(27,556 posts)Good luck in the rest of your journey...
peacefreak2.0
(1,023 posts)Wishing you and your wife much happiness in the future. ?️💐?️
YDogg
(6,682 posts)I have followed your saga here and wish both nothing but the best. Enjoy every moment. 😀
magicarpet
(14,144 posts)Very soon now.
judesedit
(4,437 posts)Love is a very strong motivator and your determination and tenacity have paid off. Blessings for you both. Keep us posted 💖
Ford_Prefect
(7,886 posts)Response to AZLD4Candidate (Original post)
Ford_Prefect This message was self-deleted by its author.
colorado_ufo
(5,733 posts)niyad
(113,257 posts)next texts and pics. Here's to a wonderful new chapter in your lives.
liberalla
(9,237 posts)I'm so happy for you! I wish you both the best!
p,s, The job sounds fantastic!
NBachers
(17,099 posts)wendyb-NC
(3,321 posts)Look forward to your next update and pictures of you and your wife at long last together. Peace and Blessings to both of you.
bobnicewander
(803 posts)And best wishes for continued successful progress until you and your wife are together again.
karin_sj
(808 posts)So happy for you and your wife.
FakeNoose
(32,628 posts)Also I'm ashamed for the way your wife was treated by our government. Possibly Covid fears were the reason for her treatment, and maybe that means she'll get better treatment in a few years. I hope so!
Stay well my friend.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)Remember, our fellow DUer has claimed 3 serious mental illness diagnoses in one thread, including schizophrenia and antisocial personality disorder, and a second, overlapping set in another.
Sincere sympathy and best wishes for both him and his wife do not require assuming we know everything or believing everything. Or running the risk of doing possibly grave injustice to the people who've processed their various applications. And, back to why I'm posting, possibly causing yourself inappropriate angst.
We can also be glad that he's able to be a DUer from China and remains safe. That may not always be the case.
It's probably okay to respond with expressions of shame about the U.S., but always remember that China still maintains prisons around the country where people who express the wrong attitudes are sometimes sent. From what I've read, conditions have been very harsh in the past, and the government is reportedly tightening up again after some years of loosening. We don't know what could cause trouble -- or not -- but for that very reason we should always be careful to stay away from delicate subjects while he posts in a community where people are in the habit of saying whatever they want in perfect safety.
littlemissmartypants
(22,631 posts)momta
(4,079 posts)Can't wait to see the pictures!
erronis
(15,237 posts)Just imagine being given that reception when/if you and your wife come back to the US. No, I can't imagine it either.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)Freedom to pursue our happiness is not the same as central state planning.
We can just be glad they'll be together and wish them well.
moonscape
(4,673 posts)catrose
(5,065 posts)But I'm so sorry for what we've lost from the horrible way your family was treated.
Grumpy Old Guy
(3,158 posts)Congratulations!
BigmanPigman
(51,584 posts)No wonder the emotional relief hit you hard. Congrats!!!! You deserve an A+ for effort alone.
calimary
(81,210 posts)shrike3
(3,572 posts)virgdem
(2,124 posts)Wishing you all the best in the future. Can't wait to see the pix.
onecaliberal
(32,822 posts)people
(624 posts)Looking forward to seeing the pictures.
Pacifist Patriot
(24,653 posts)Tree Lady
(11,449 posts)And you will be reunited. Our immigration laws need to be worked on. My husband told me he was friends years ago with a guy who for some reason couldn't bring his wife over from Vietnam so he ended up staying there. That was back during the war.
crickets
(25,962 posts)All the best to you and your wife in your new life.
renate
(13,776 posts)With a fairy-tale ending!! Were so happy for you and your beloved!!
Meowmee
(5,164 posts)Wishing you both the best in your new life 🤗
ChazII
(6,204 posts)elleng
(130,864 posts)Karadeniz
(22,499 posts)Behind the Aegis
(53,949 posts)I am glad things are going "well", or as well as can be expected. Can't wait to hear your update when you and your wife finally reunite.
Mazel Tov!
DFW
(54,341 posts)I'm sure fluency in Mandarin helped smooth your way back in. I can't tell you how often fluency in local languages has facilitated my work and travel. As one who respected a spouse's wishes to live in her country, I know there are adjustments to make, but determination and understanding will eventually solve most or all of that. Welcome home.
Roy Rolling
(6,911 posts)Glad you were up to the task. Keep us posted.