Freedom

I got canned on Friday. And I couldn't be happier. I don't have to show up to Tsinghua Experimental School in Shenzhen anymore. I even went out with continuing staff that night to celebrate with sushi and sake... and then tons of beer at Green until about 2:30am.

My girlfriend has been more than helpful in trying to find me a new home and some private students to give me an income. I figure I have about 3 and a half months of livable money saved in my account here. So, I'm not too worried about money. This gives me plenty of time to sit home and write and possibly make real money.

The only difficulty I have is that the school wants my passport so they can cancel my Residence Permit and replace it with a 30-day L visa. Now, from what I've read online, they don't have to cancel it and they must have my passport in order to do so. But I also need my passport to find an apartment, move my internet access, set up a phone, change bank accounts, and possibly go to appointments outside of Bao'an if/when they check IDs at the SEZ checkpoint.

Anyone an expert on the Z visa in China? I really could use some advice here. Otherwise it's another 1000 kuai for a business visa plus expenses to Hong Kong.