My Punctilious Spouse recently did a home study for a waiting family. They sent their dossier to China in spring 2006, and have been told by their agency that they should expect a referral in about eight months. That's eight months from now.

So, if wait times have really stretched out to three years (?!!), then there's obviously a grave need for things to do while you're waiting. Of course, reading this here blog would be one thing to do, but after plumbing the, uh, archive, then, um, well... you'll need something else.

Why not immerse yourself in stories?

Stories of hope:
Have you already been waiting long? Are you starting to experience that weird mixture of yearning and loathing for that long-desired DHL van bearing documents? Well, here's some proof that they can be downright sweet, too. Be of good cheer.

Stories of survival:
You might have heard of the recent floods in China that forced 1.4 million Chinese people to evacuate their homes. But you might have missed the frankly amazing pictures of a disaster on a scale Americans don't often see. And if that's not inspirational enough for you, dedicate some time to reading about those poor trapped miners - not the ones in Utah (or West Virginia), but the Chinese miners who did what it takes to survive. File under "moxie" (no, not the soda). And now they're bracing for even more trouble from Typhoon Wipha....


Stories of old China:
Go download and listen to the Project Gutenberg audiobook of China and the Chinese by Herbert Allen Giles.
Why should you do this thing? Here's why. Giles was a diplomat stationed in China in the late 1800s and became one of America's first Chinese studies professors. He did many of the first authoritative translations of the classics of Chinese philosophy, and helped make the old Qing Dynasty cultural system comprehensible to Westerners. The audio book is a collection of Giles' public lectures on China - it's designed for anyone who's interested in China to learn a thing or two about the country's language, history and culture.

Plus, it has bonus helpings of that turn-of-the-last-century language with which certain humble typists are unduly enamored. And it's free. So check it out!


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