yay! i just got a visa to stay here through december. i don't know if i'm staying that long, but now i don't have to live in fear that i'll get kicked out of the country. it's multiple entry too, so i can come and go as i please. i guess it's hard to explain what a pain visa stuff can be if you've never lived in a country where they're a big issue, but its just this terrible cloud hanging over you. and now the sun is shining. metaphorically, of course. in actually the sky is very gray, beijing style.