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Matthew met us in Philadelphia for the travel meeting. We found out that we should be traveling to China somewhere between 2/23 and 2/25. The next step is getting the travel approval from China. They said it takes about three weeks from the date they receive my acceptance letter. Despite the directions stating you had to Fed-ex the acceptance by 1/4 for receipt no later than 1/5 some people did not send them right back which delayed the entire group by a few extra days. I think we should get the approvals around the 1st week of February. I did get my renewed I-171 in the mail today so once the approval comes in they can get me a consulate appointment. I guess one of the drawbacks to being in a group of 26 children is that you have to wait for the paper on everyone.
We will be staying in Hong Kong for a night at the beginning and at the end of the trip, 7 nights in Changsha (Hunan capital) and 5 nights in Quangzhou (US government portion of the visit). Unfortunately since we will be in the south we will not see the Great Wall or the terra cotta soldiers. However, the climate in the south is similar to Florida so we don't have to carry winter clothing.