It's official, I'm legal, at least until June 1, 2008. I was hoping for June 16... but I don't know how to complain in Chinese anyway. The immigration offices here are almost exactly like a giant DMV, complete with number dispensers, and jumbo sized 3 digit red LED number signs that blink your number above each station, rows of semi-comfortable chairs facing the giant LED number signs, and bored government officials behind each station. I pulled a number 724, the highest number blinking was 685, so I took a seat and started to watch a dramatic Taiwanese made-for-TV movie playing on the flat screen hanging from the ceiling slightly higher than the blinking red LED number signs. The movie was about a Taiwanese couple with a 4 year old little girl, they seemed to be having problems. The first part I saw was actually the end of the movie, that apparently was on some sort of repeating loop. The end involved a deep looking conversation between this man and woman in a car, then when they looked particularly stressed she got out of the car and walked away crying, he stayed in the car crying. That was the end of the movie. The rest of the movie was about living in a nice apartment in Taipei somewhere, smoking, being drunk, hitting the wife, and having personal puppet shows at lunch. I think the puppet show what supposed to be part of their happy stage in life. Taiwanese movies, made-for-TV, are pretty much the same as American movies made-for-TV. Once my number was called I sat down, he spoke Chinese, then switched to English, gave me form to fill out. I had to go back to my chair to fill it out, but I didn't have to repeat the take-a-number-and-wait process. We didn't talk much, but I kind of wonder if the 45 day extension was punishment for not having the form already filled out. I will almost certainly have to fly off of this island at least once before I leave. Which is actually kinda cool anyway, I was half hoping I'd "have to leave and come back" anyway. But now I'll have some time to think about where I want to go. (edit 311) Permalink