Where Is Joey Today?

Why did I tell you I was going to Shanghai?

After a fair amount of consideration I have decided to postpone*, not cancel, my trip to China. When I initially had the idea of going to the olympics in Beijing (it was just after Torino in 06) I thought it could be like Barcelona in 1992: city changing, memorable, potentially infamous, and an all out party to celebrate China's entrance on to the world's stage. Unfortunately for China, the earthquake and the Tibet crackdown (of course, they had control over that one) are taking the shine off a bit.


China is also cracking down on visas much to the chagrin of businesses and would be tourists. They are terrified of massive protests with the world watching. More and more applicants are getting denied for somewhat arbitrary reasons. Me being a 25 year old student going solo would almost certainly raise an eyebrow or two. Additionally, I would be VERY reluctant to buy a non refundable airplane ticket when it is possible my visa would be rejected which in turn may make them more likely to reject my application. The visa isn't cheap either (roughly $200) and nor does it appear to be refundable.

As I did a little more research, I got equally excited about seeing the Yellow Mountains, Guillin, roaming around the Bund in Shanghai, soaking up the Cantonese sardine can of Hong Kong, taking a boat down the Yangtze to Chongqing, and even possibly seeing Tibet. A lot of those areas are considered to be malarial zones at this time of year. Touring China during the summer is the worst time to visit (much like Florida).

So the question became, how important was seeing the games? It went from being a major reason to visit to just a reason. I came to the conclusion that I would rather do this trip in April or May than July and August. The one remaining question mark was, "Will I have another opportunity to visit China for a prolonged period of time?"

Saying that I can do it after I start working as a few have said was, in my opinion, way too optimistic. One advantage of having worked in the real world is that I recognize how much anguish people (well, Americans anyway) go through to take 2 consecutive weeks off. This is especially true if you are married with kids. Between coordinating your schedule, her schedule, the kids' school and making sure you insulate yourself again possible "emergency deadlines", going on vacation can be exhausting. When I went to Japan, it was only for 10 days, which is pretty short considering how long it takes you to hop the pacific. If this the only time I will have a month to travel, then my saddest-words-of-tongue-and-pen weltanschauung compels me to seize the day... but I don't believe that to be the case. After grad school, I will likely be able to arrange a month off before I start work full time or possibly I will be able to do it between semesters.

That doesn't mean my backpack will be collecting dust for too long, I may be leaving elsewhere fairly soon.

--Joey

*much to the relief some in my family