The company we had signed a contract with in Changchun, Jilan Province, China stole our passports. Yes, stole them.
You see, we were asked for our passports, allegedly for paperwork. However, when we asked for them back they refused to give them to us. They refused several times when we asked.
Finally, I had enough of it when I saw a cockroach running around near our bed in the flat where we were at. I wanted a clean safe hotel room so I could sleep. After all, cockroaches freak me out for a good reason that I'll have to explain some other time.
The hotel they forced me to pay money to was the sleazy type where if you pay a bit extra, you can have a sex partner for a few hours. EW. However, it was fairly annoying to be dragged all over the city to find a place where they could use a fake or expired ID to get us into a hotel because they REFUSED to give us our passports. We were tired, so we took it.
Then, in the morning, we called the local police. Told them what happened and told them we wanted our passports back. Good news! The bribed the police officer to help them! -_- After about an hour of this, we managed to get our passports back, terminate our contracts, pay a large fine for doing so, and then getting our butts to a hotel for safety.
The next step, go to the American embassy in Beijing, tell them what happened and beg for a loan to get back home. It is so very stressful. I have to consolidate what little money I have. Luckily, a former professor of mine that is a good friend has offered to help me out, so I think this is good. Now, just to get him what money I can.
While this situation has left me bitter about dealing with the Chinese people on a regular basis, I love the average culture here. The normal people are great. They truly are. I'm just not sure I can live and work here for a while. I would need the visa problems they have to be cleared up so I can work for a university instead of an agency that may or may not be doing things legally. Without the proper visa, we are screwed. The last school didn't give us the proper visa, so now we are definitely screwed.
There has got to be a way out, I just don't know how. Our options are limited. Our money is even more limited. This does not bode well.
I wish you the best of luck. It takes some bravery to deal with this situation, and I couldn't begin to think how worried and freaked out I'd be if I was in that situation.
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Mind Control is Easier Than You Think
Wow. That sounds tough. What sort of agency was it you were working for?
If possible, you may want to get copies of all of your personal documents that may be needed made and when they're needed, instead of handing over the original, hand over the copy. If they won't accept that, going to a copy machine with an employee to make a copy without ever handing over the originals may prevent something like that from happening in the future.
I wish you luck and hope that the asshat agency is dealt with accordingly. Hang in there, you'll get it sorted out!
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Like writing? So do we!
~Fallon~
"If I fall asleep with a pen in my hand, don't remove it - I might be writing in my dreams."- Pace
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To both of you, really. This is a tough enough time as it is. I freaked out as much as I do over anything, which means I get mad, then do something about it to set things right.
I was working for an agency called Jilin Province Education Exchange Service Center Chang Chun Foreign Language Training School. The director of foreign affairs was the shifty one that lied to us all the time.
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