Frequent readers may remember that a few weeks back I went through the ordeal of renewing my passport and the residence permit. The process itself was a bit challenging at times but the end result was good - a shiny new passport. I realized at that time that Raili's was also expiring soon. Now "Soon" has arrived.

This week, David prepared all the necessary documentation for the application and made an appointment at the Consulate. Check. Raili needed pictures taken and we had to dig up her birth certificate. Check, check. We had arranged plenty of time to get to the location ontime (bold letters on the website state that if you are late, your appointment will not be honored) and the car was waiting for us as we emerged from the apartment tower ready for the challenge.

We thought we were ready.

First, we hadn't included weather in our scenario planning and that morning we realized it was pouring rain. Not just sprinkling but pouring. Which usually means that the traffic comes to a hault. I'm actually not sure why this happens (the cars do come equipped with wipers out here too), but it just does. We had no umbrella so we just had to run to the car and the long, long journey begun.

Half an hour later we had made it two miles from our house. Our poor driver was trying to find alternate side roads but those were just as crowded or flooded. Luckily, one of the interesting skills this driver, Mr. Chen has is cutting line. When he initially started driving us, I was quite puzzled at his style but not until I heard that he had previously driven BMWs for Gillette, did I understand. The nicer the car, the less you queue anywhere in Shanghai. The poor guy still has the mentality of a master driver while being stuck inside our minivan.

So with only half an hour to go for our appointment, Mr. Chen shifted on second gear and started passing others. At times we were on the bike lane, other times staring at the oncoming traffic only inches away from our windshield. But in the end, we made it in ontime. One for the hometeam.

Second, we parked in the garage below the building and took the elevator to the first floor as instructed by the parking guard. On the first floor, green signs and white arrows pointed to various directions to guide us to the consulate. The only problem was that it felt like an amazing race. We were running through narrow, poorly lit corridors, taking sharp corners and ducking from people coming the wrong way. As we approached the last door, we felt accomplishment. Finally. So we pushed the door open into the light and as the it slammed behind us, we realized we had just been dumped right outside into the rain. What the he@#$%?

"Go around the corver, go around the corner" instructed the next guard whose job was probably to stand in that exact spot and tell all the silly foreigners who inevitably end up on the sidewalk looking for the consulate to keep moving. As we ran through the pouring rain without that nice big umbrella that we hadn't packed along, we discover a snaking line of people five layers deep waiting outside of the building. Oh, no... David walks up to the front of the queue and ask in Chinese if we can go through. Yes, yes. Different line for citizens. Thank goodness.

Inside, we discovered that we were now in the same exact spot where we started the run through the various corridors. The same elevator that took us to the 1st floor from the garage could have taken us all the way to the eight floor where the consulate was located. Argh!

After we made it inside the consulate, it was much less eventful. A government office anywhere in the world seems to look and operate the same exact way whether it is in Shoreview or Shanghai. During the passport interview, Raili was asked a couple of questions (a few tense seconds passed as she paused to give her name. No, we are not trafficking her...) and then it was all over.

In two weeks we should have her new passport in hand and ready to hit the Chinese immigration office for a new residence permit.

To be continued...