Chris and I received some distressing news last week. We can’t go to China until mid-September now. Curse you Olympics! We had bought tickets for August 14, 2008. Silly move, I realize. Remember for next time: wait until you’re absolutely positive the government will allow you into the country before purchasing plane tickets that are more than $1,000.
I checked my email at work and there it was: a friendly, apologetic letter from our employer explaining the situation. Due to the Olympics, the government is restricting entry to the country– that includes us. I scurried to the bathroom to stave off a flow of frustrated and heartbroken tears. Not the first time this steaming ball of stress has collided with me and I’ve had to hide in the bathroom to collect myself. I sniffled, dabbed my eyes and began the process of accepting that we would now have to wait six or seven more weeks to leave. That pinprick of light I had glimpsed only a week ago receded further into the tunnel and now I can barely make out the glow.
Surprisingly, I handled the news quite well. Yes, I coward in the bathroom for ten minutes, but that was just my brain adjusting to the new circumstances. BUT. It’s not completely terrible. Sure, I’ll lose out on a month of pay since I’m moving in with my parents for the several weeks until we leave. My mother did have a point though. It’s not always about money. I’ll have time to read, write, sleep in, relax, go kayaking with my father and shopping with my mother and then panic that I still can’t hear the difference between the third and fourth tones.
Waiting a little while longer isn’t so bad. I’ll even say I made my piece with it. But it super blows that Chris and I will be apart for a month and a half. The Olympics will be my distraction. I habitually glue myself to the TV screen, threatening to cut off anyone’s hands that dare switch the channel to non-Olympic programming. This can go on until the wee hours of the morning when lame things like…like…hmph. I can’t think of an Olympic sport I won’t watch. Even the Equestrian. Sure, in normal life who cars about a bunch of horses leaping over pond. We’re not in Victorian England chasing foxes! But it’s the Olympics! The Glory! The Honor! Ah…I remember the 1996 games in Atlanta (of which I attended with the family) where I ogled the TV screen for glimpses of super hot Blaine Wilson. And then fantasized about running into him in the Atlanta streets. Sigh…
That’s a big bummer! I was just going to email you to see if you got your visas. Well, if you want to do a road trip in between, you’re welcome to stop by!