Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Hong Kong ID Card...Part 2
So if you read an earlier post, you may have
noticed how important it is to have a Hong Kong ID card. It is basically your
license and most prominent form of indentification. The other thing is that you
are supposed to get your ID card within 30 days of getting here. This past
weekend, when Andy and I went to schedule an appointment, that left us this week
to get it done. Yes, nothing like a little procrastination. We also really
wanted to get an appointment in Fo Tan, which I am familiar with and only about
20 minutes away instead of in Kowloon, where Andy got his ID card. So, as we
sat down to schedule the appointment, it was a little disheartening to see the
earliest Fo Tan opening was next week, after my deadline. Then, when we went to
check openings in Kowloon, there were only a few on Friday, during my children's
parent-teacher conferences-so that wouldn't work. It seemed our only option was
to try and walk-in. "Walking-in" could add a couple hours of waiting, and oh
yeah, I was bringing my children since they had off school and Andy was leaving
for a four-day trip. So we went back to the Fo Tan site, deciding that if I was
going to walk-in, I was going to walk-in at Fo Tan. Then...MIRACULOUSLY, an
opening at 9:15am on Monday. Someone at that precise time decided to cancel
their appointment. I immediately said "Take it!" not really thinking through
what that meant, but knowing it had to be better than the alternative.
The next morning, my children weren't exactly excited about making my 9:15am appointment on a day they could have slept in, but they rolled with it. We got out in good time, and actually found the immigration department easily, and a little before 9:00am, when it opened. But, what we found were easily over 100 people waiting in lines. Not sure which line to get into(nothing marked), I asked someone who looked like they knew, showing my appointment time. He put me in a line that didn't seem too long, but it was hard to tell. Josh and Abby asked for their goldfish, which I hesitated giving since I wasn't sure how long we would be waiting, but said, "when they're gone, they're gone," and handed them over. It wasn't long before they let our line in first, breaking us up into three different lines leading to people behind windows. They also ushered my older children into a waiting area where I would be joining them as soon as I saw the person behind the window to give me a number. You might think that this was unsafe, but here in Hong Kong, I have never felt more safe, or feared for the safety of my children. I could also see them from my line. After being in line for about 10 minutes, I received my number and waited in the area with my kids, who were now onto their hand held electronics. I waited about 15 minutes before my number was called, and went to someone at a desk. This was the part I was most anxious about. Andy said they were very critical in checking the paperwork. As the woman looked at my answers, she asked me some questions, and I could understand her pretty well. She also smiled at my sleeping Sarah in the front carrier. Then, after being fingerprinted, she asked if I had someone with me who could hold the baby since I had to get photographed. I was kind of hoping she would make it work since Sarah was low enough, and since she was sleeping, but not to be. I went back to Emma, Abby and Josh (Grace was at a friend's house) and handed Sarah to Emma. Of course, Abby started to have a fit because she wanted to hold her and I tried to appease her with a promise that she will have a turn later. This didn't do much, but that's all I had time for. I went back to the woman to get my pic taken, hearing Sarah's cries and Abby's appeals for her turn...imagining in my mind what was taking place...
Finally, after 5 minutes, I got back to them and placed Sarah back in the carrier. I waited another 10 minutes before getting called back again, checking my fingerprints and then they handed me my temporary card. And not a moment too long because Abby decided that she had had enough. We were out of there in five minutes...thanking God that we did not have to walk-in, as we walked past over 100 people in a separate waiting area, hoping that they would get called. Isn't it amazing when the Lord answers prayers that haven't even been spoken yet, or that we didn't know we needed. This was definitely one of those times...one of many we have already had, and I'm praying there are many more to come!
The next morning, my children weren't exactly excited about making my 9:15am appointment on a day they could have slept in, but they rolled with it. We got out in good time, and actually found the immigration department easily, and a little before 9:00am, when it opened. But, what we found were easily over 100 people waiting in lines. Not sure which line to get into(nothing marked), I asked someone who looked like they knew, showing my appointment time. He put me in a line that didn't seem too long, but it was hard to tell. Josh and Abby asked for their goldfish, which I hesitated giving since I wasn't sure how long we would be waiting, but said, "when they're gone, they're gone," and handed them over. It wasn't long before they let our line in first, breaking us up into three different lines leading to people behind windows. They also ushered my older children into a waiting area where I would be joining them as soon as I saw the person behind the window to give me a number. You might think that this was unsafe, but here in Hong Kong, I have never felt more safe, or feared for the safety of my children. I could also see them from my line. After being in line for about 10 minutes, I received my number and waited in the area with my kids, who were now onto their hand held electronics. I waited about 15 minutes before my number was called, and went to someone at a desk. This was the part I was most anxious about. Andy said they were very critical in checking the paperwork. As the woman looked at my answers, she asked me some questions, and I could understand her pretty well. She also smiled at my sleeping Sarah in the front carrier. Then, after being fingerprinted, she asked if I had someone with me who could hold the baby since I had to get photographed. I was kind of hoping she would make it work since Sarah was low enough, and since she was sleeping, but not to be. I went back to Emma, Abby and Josh (Grace was at a friend's house) and handed Sarah to Emma. Of course, Abby started to have a fit because she wanted to hold her and I tried to appease her with a promise that she will have a turn later. This didn't do much, but that's all I had time for. I went back to the woman to get my pic taken, hearing Sarah's cries and Abby's appeals for her turn...imagining in my mind what was taking place...
Finally, after 5 minutes, I got back to them and placed Sarah back in the carrier. I waited another 10 minutes before getting called back again, checking my fingerprints and then they handed me my temporary card. And not a moment too long because Abby decided that she had had enough. We were out of there in five minutes...thanking God that we did not have to walk-in, as we walked past over 100 people in a separate waiting area, hoping that they would get called. Isn't it amazing when the Lord answers prayers that haven't even been spoken yet, or that we didn't know we needed. This was definitely one of those times...one of many we have already had, and I'm praying there are many more to come!
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