The Middle Kingdom

Middle Kingdom or Middle Country, Mandarin Zhongguo, is the Chinese name for China. It dates from c.1000 B.C., when it designated the Chou empire situated on the North China Plain. The Chou people, unaware of high civilizations in the West, believed their empire occupied the middle of the earth, surrounded by barbarians. Since 1949, when the Communists took power, the official name for China has been Zhonghua renmin gongheguo [middle glorious people’s republican country] or, in English, the People’s Republic of China. -- The Columbia Encyclopedia.

Have you ever had the experience or feeling of being alone in the world, like a dream? You're dropped off by a taxi in an anonymous strip mall and silently signaled to go in a particular direction. You slowly walk down a long, barren street where there are no cars or people to be seen. Barriers direct the way. Identity papers must be presented. The only guidance is from uniformed guards who are more likely to gesture than to speak. Noise seems to fade into the background. Walls are topped with barbed wire. Finally, across the street from the Bulgarian Embassy, you find your destination -- The American Citizen Services section of the American Embassy.

It is difficult to explain the bizarre feeling of isolation when all one is doing is trying to find the embassy. No longer are you, or America, the center of the world. You are now in the Middle Kingdom. There are no signs or flags heralding the embassy of the most powerful nation on earth. Of course, this is for obvious reasons but a little disconcerting when trying to find the comfort and security of your own country.

The purpose of my visit was to renew my passport. When I recived my visa for China, I didn't realize that my passport needed to be valid for at least six months after my re-entry to the U.S. I don't know the reason for this but I wanted to get my passport up to date so that I don't have any problems.

You never know what to expect when venturing out into the world and my visit to the embassy was no exception. While waiting to get called for my passport, there was a Chinese woman who was apparently trying to get a visa or a valid passport to the U.S. She had been there before and was trying to go back. However, she could provide no contacts in the U.S. When asked what she did there, she said she was a teacher and her students had funded her previous stay. The embassy representative kept telling her she had to provide 3 names of people she knew in the U.S. but she didn't have any names or phone numbers of students, friends, or colleagues. However, she insisted she wanted to go to the U. S. and had her airline tickets. Not only that, but she insisted she wanted to go to San Francisco, not to Houston where she had been previously. When asked where she was staying in China, she said she had been staying at her father's in a different province but now she would stay in the airport until her visa came through. She said she had $200 and could use it for taxi fare to get back from the airport to the embassy the next day.

This drama was going on intermittently while my passport renewal application was being processed (and I thought I had troubles!). Unfortunately, it's not for us to know the outcome of this story, although I was tempted to stay and see it play out for the rest of the day. Somehow, I got the feeling that there would be no satisfactory resolution for this issue and it was better left to the imagination.

For me, the whole process went very smoothly and in a week or so I should have my new passport. So don't worry, I'll be home in April.