So long, for now

I'm headed to Beijing tomorrow for a conference and (hopefully) some sightseeing. I'll be there the 13th-20th. Unfortunately, a draft of my dissertation is due to my co-chairs on the 20th, so I may spend much of my time in Beijing working. It's really terrible timing. I feel resignation more than any other appropriate emotion--excitement, perhaps?--at the prospect of visiting China. I feel sad that this is one of the places that I have most wanted to visit for a very long time, and yet, I am dreading the trip and feeling completely overwhelmed by the thought of writing a dissertation introduction and conclusion, editing three chapters, attending and presenting at a conference, traveling for 30+ hours, and being in a foreign country all in the next 11 days. If I felt I had the option to not take this trip, I would stay home.