Swimming In Paperwork

China. T minus 2.5 months. Excited and nervous...but mostly a bit frustrated by all the paperwork right now.

The process to obtain my Chinese Work & Business Visa is only mildly complicated. A few forms, a passport photo, a check for a decent sum of money, and mailing off my passport. Not too bad.

The Chinese medical license on the other hand...

Back in Swaziland, when I was frustrated by trying to get my Swazi medical license, I remember Dr. Pons saying, "You do realize, that this Swazi medical license you obtain will actually by the easiest medical license you ever obtain..."   Oh, and truer words have never been spoken!

The process is long, it's complicated, and it is pricey!

Step 1: I need to gather the necessary documents...my original (yes, original) diplomas: medical school, ophthalmology residency, and my Oklahoma Medical License. (Originals as in: usually these particular items are framed and hanging on one's wall in his/her office.)

Step 2: Take these documents to the Notary Public here at Dean McGee. The notary will kindly put his/her stamp and signature on the front of my (original) diplomas.

Step 3: take the (original) diplomas to the Oklahoma State Capitol, where they will be then certified that the notary who signed them is, in fact, a notary. At this point, a small brass "brad" of sorts will be put in the corner of the diploma, effectively punching a hole in it.

Step 4: Take these (original) documents to the post office and mail them to Houston. In Houston, a company will (for a fee), take them to the Chinese consulate to have them validated.

Step 5: The company in Houston will mail them back to me, and I, in turn, need to mail them to China.

Step 6: Cross my fingers and pray.

As one can imagine, after dedicating an entire DECADE to my post-graduate schooling and being in mounds of school debt, I am not too keen to have my diplomas essentially "defaced". So, for a "small" sum of money, I have reordered all "new" originals from my respective programs. As one can imagine, this takes time.

So, I wait. And soon, I will have them all in my hand and the US and Chinese governments can stamp and hole-punch away!

And, yes, Dr. Pons was very right. The Swaziland license was incredibly easy compared to this...