It's the middle of June, and I haven't seen my passport in 2 weeks. This is a source of consternation, because I am going to be leaving the country on June 26th.
With about seven days to go before departure, I demand to have my passport back. The reason for this demand? The 'helpers' have said that they are finally going to get off of their asses and take our paperwork to the local security bureau to get our residence permits re-upped. This will take an inordinate amount of time, so much so that my passport will only be given back to me (assuming nobody loses it, gets drunker than usual, or just decides to take a 'me day') on the early afternoon of my departure day, some 2-3 hours before I am to leave the city. This is unacceptable, so I ask:
"Is it a question of me spending 2 hours in an office now, or two hours in an office in the fall? Is this going to matter in any way?"
"No no it's the same, it will be no problem!"
The director of my program having assured me there would be no problems with me re-doing my residence permit in the fall, I confidently re-acquired my passport with a smattering of time to spare before I fled this wretched berg. I'm sure eeeeeverything will turn out just fine, and no directors will lose their jobs as a result. The china, everybody!
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