Dear Mr. Ambassador

A couple of days ago I phoned the Bangladesh Embassy in Seoul about getting a visa.  More organized people would have gotten the visa BEFORE the plane ticket, but I got my ticket weeks ago and just got around to the visa now!  Since the embassy is in Seoul and I have to take time off work to go there I thought better to call ahead and find out the details for sure, right?? 

I checked out the embassy's website.  Lots of information there, and I just wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing - boss hates it when I take time off, and while he's pretty good about it (when you're immune to nagging the way I am!) I'd rather not take advantage of the whole situation!  Embassy man on phone told me (twice, because I didn't really quite understand everything the first time and I had to call again!) what I needed to bring with me (travel itinerary, eticket, passport, alien card, application, and 2 photos) and what time to come (between 930am-11:30am, as early as I could be there).  He said they'd have it all back to me in 3 business days, which means the day before I leave - pleeeeeenty of time, right?

One small thing:

Him: "You need to bring you invitation from a person in Bangladesh."

Me: But I don't know anyone in Bangladesh... how do I get an invitation?

Him: "You need to bring you invitation from a person in Bangladesh."

Me: Um, I don't have an invitation.
Him: "You need to bring you invitation from a person in Bangladesh."


Me: (I got this) Ummm.... I don't know anyone from Bangladesh... is there something else I can do?  Another way I can apply for a visa if I don't have an invitation
Him: "Ok, bring your travel itinerary and your Korean ID card and your passport before 11am."

Me: So, I don't need an invitation to visit Bangladesh?

Him: "Bring your travel itinerary and your Korean ID card and your passport before 11am."

Ok, need it, don't need it, I have no freakin' idea but off I go!!  :)  So I told the boss (on Tuesday) that I needed to go, and needed 3 business days - Friday he says.  Okay, Friday it is!  That, would be today.

So, armed with the items embassy man said I needed (and NO letter of invitation) I tromped down to Itaewon's embassy row with the scribbled instructions and map I'd taken off google maps (god I love that thing!) and managed to get myself right there.  I walked pretty much directly to the front door with little to nothing in the way of drama, it was great!  I also found the Cambodian ambassador's house and the something-or-another from Tunisia, and the embassies of both Nigeria (which had really big gates!) and Lebanon.

So I step inside the embassy, which is quite plain and normal looking on the main floor (though honestly I always thought embassies were these posh places... I've since been reeducated!).

[Enter Embassy Man #1]

Me: (handing all paperwork over including the handwritten itinerary of places I'd like to visit sans dates that I'd jotted down on my way out the door) I'd like to apply for a visa to Bangladesh starting March 3rd.

Him: Nodding without looking up and shuffling through my papers, "I need your invitation from Bangladesh."

Me: I don't have an invitation.  I called twice and spoke to a man on the phone and he said I just needed my itinerary and stuff, and that it was okay if I didn't have an invitation.

Him: "Where you called?  You called here?  No, no, it's not possible.  You need an invitation from Bangladesh."

Me: Umm... okay, I understand I need an invitation.  I don't know anyone in Bangladesh, so how would you suggest I get an invitation?

Him: (after a big sigh and much shuffling of my papers, and some yelling back to someone else in the office in a language I didn't understand "Okay, wait a moment please." [exit stage right]

[Enter Embassy Man #2]

Him: Nodding without looking up while shuffling through my papers "I need your invitation from Bangladesh."


Me: I just explained to the other man, I don't have an invitation from anyone in Bangladesh.

Him: "I see.  Okay.  You need an invitation from Bangladesh."

Me: Umm... right... but since I don't have an invitation, is it possible to go to Bangladesh without an invitation?

Him: after a big sigh and much shuffling of my papers "Take this paper to the bank and transfer the fee for the visa"

Me: So I can get a visa, even though I don't have an invitation?

Him: "Take that paper to the bank and transfer the fee for the visa." 

I recognized that the universe was playing with me and decided to just smile and say thank you and walk to the bank like I was told, cuz what the heck else was I going to do... I did my little thank you bow, smiled at the nice man, and walked the 10 minutes back up the hill to the bank to make the fee transfer. 

Conveniently, rather than the 150bucks I'd have to pay out of Canada, I only had to pay 60 being in Korea, so THAT was a nice change - especially because I didn't know whether or not it was actually going to GET me a darn visa, lol.

Back at the embassy man number 1 had returned to the counter.  I set my bag down again in the corner and returned to the counter armed with my stack of papers and my shiny deposit slip.  He smiled at me and did his own little bow...

Him: "We are to be doing something very special here.  We are making a very special situation for you, because you are a woman and we respect you.  We would like for you to visit to Bangladesh, so we will do it for you, only.  Do you understand?"

Me: Woohoo (yes, I really said 'woo-hoo!'), thank you!  What do I need to do?

Him: (Handing me a blank piece of A4 paper)  "You must write a letter to the Ambassador asking for permission to visit Bangladesh"

Me: You want me to write a letter to the Bangladeshi Ambassador?

Him: (handing me my scribbled itinerary note) "Yes, and make sure to outline your travel plan as well."

Me: Ooooookay, you got it!

So, I handwrote a very nice letter to the Ambassador respectfully requesting his permission to visit his beautiful country for 2 weeks in March.  I left them with all of my paperwork and let them know that I would return the following week on Wednesday to pick up my passport.

Mission accomplished, I think... but stay tuned   :)

Minor Rerouting

I got my new passport!  Sure, I look like a sweet little thing that's white as a sheet with smooth smooth wrinkle-free skin (thanks to the Korean photographers' collective love of Photoshop - yes, even in passport photos!), but it's much better than the criminal-like photo on my last passport! 

So the path of my upcoming little journey has changed a little... Turkey, Greece and Egypt have been taken out of the equation, and I'm spening more of my time in Bangladesh, Nepal, India and Sri Lanka instead... here is the updated route map with a few dates included (see mom - I told you there was a plan!).  While many dates are changeable, my route is set now - E X C I T I N G!!!!!

If you click on the map below it will open in a new window... you can make it bigger if you need to by holding "Ctrl" and pressing "+" a time or two ("Ctrl" and "-" make it smaller!) in that new window - you might want to do that if you're trying to figure out what on earth is going on when I hit Thailand, lol...


Me on the Map: March 3rd through July 30th(ish) 2011

 The dates are tentative except for the 4 flights I have booked; I'll come and go as I please otherwise in the destinations in between. 

On Friday morning I'm headed to the Bangladeshi embassy to uncover the mysteries of getting a visa to their country without an invitation from a private citizen, a public company, or an educational institution... I'm not sure exactly what's up with all that, but I'll find out when I get there!!!

Health and travel insurance, that too... I'll take care of that on Tuesday next week (thank god for the internet) before it's time to go while I'm moping in my hotel room.  Oh, and in case you're curious, the Canadian missions and embassies in each of these countries know when I'm headed into and out of each country, so I will know if there's any reason I shouldn't go, or should leave (like the part of Bangladesh I had to replan around for reasons I'm not going to discuss here in case mom is reading, haha!).  I am as informed as I can be, and I will continue to be so throughout my travels.

7 days and 10 hours to go... wow...

The Dwindling Days

I have 2 more days with my babies, and 3 with most of my afternoon kids.

W. o. w.
How long have I been talking about this?  Feeling this?  Long time, long enough to know that it shouldn't be a surprise that I'm about to say goodbye to my kids, but as the time creeps closer and closer I'm sad about it.

I said goodbye to my 2 girls last night, and it sucked.  I came back sullen to my apartment and just laid on my bed staring up at the ceiling until tears came.  Shortly after that I was rescued by a friend wanting to go for dinner, saving me from being sulky and sniffly all night.  I woke up happy and glad to spend the day with my kids, but that farewell hangs over every "this is the last time I'm gonna" that I go through in a day.  Tonight Ana, the mom of my sleepover Sandy came over to pick up a couple things I had for the girls, and she was crying when she said goodbye and left, which left me crying again when I closed the door.  I hate goodbyes.

Goodbye is the farthest thing from easy.
Tensions are running high at work these days between the overstressed and overstretched Korean management and the teachers (particularly those of us who are leaving).  There is much crankiness, and a lot of the parts of working with and for someone from a different culture (for us and our Korean counterparts) are being taken personally and made into things much bigger than they truly are.  I'm sad that things are ending on more of a rough note for the school; I've loved my job there this year and hope that in the last few days everyone can just relax a little, unwind and enjoy the little time we have left together. 

Kids are coming up to me in a constant stream through the day (because my boss has yet to tell everyone which teachers are leaving next week) to ask me if I will be their teacher next week... I hate seeing their little faces get all scrunched up when I explain that I'm actually leaving the school after Monday and they'll have a new exciting teacher coming... it's not fair to have to deliver that message over and over and over again because boss doesn't want the moms to be upset about us going: HELLO, they're GOING to find out on their owwwwwwwn even if you don't tell them!!  Grr....

I hate goodbyes.  I don't care that they're inevitable and that they're a 'normal' part of life.  I hate them.  My Grandad always used to say "never say goodbye, just say see you soon, or talk to you later," but sometimes you really do say goodbye in life... perhaps it's goodbye with an I hope to see you again someday, but it's still a goodbye in case I don't ever get to see you again.  Once upon a time in Korea leaving only meant 'see you later' because part of me knew that I'd be back.  This time, it's different.

Some people I'm not going to be able to see before I leave because I've waited too long, and not everyone is where I am.  Others I've already had the chance to say that last goodbye, even if it was early by my schedule, knowing that they were going to be gone when it was time for me to leave and they won't be returning until I've already gone.  Didn't make it better, or easier.  Just longer.

Friday night I have to say goodbye to my friend of 4 years and hope that we'll cross paths again when she comes back to Canada... Saturday afternoon I'm going for lunch so I can say goodbye to all of my young Korean-teacher friends (the ones I still work with and the ones that have come and gone over the year, I am still friends with them), and then Saturday night I'm saying goodbye to the girls in Seoul that I've been hanging out with at random dancing and drinking weekends... they aren't all close friends, but they are still people I'm going to miss who are part of times I am going to miss... Sunday morning I have another goodbye brunch with a mom and daughter I've been friends with since my 2006 job... Monday all day I say goodbye to all of my kids, 40 little faces that have changed my life.

Goodbye.  Goodbye goodbye goodbye goodbye and more goodbye...

Yuck.

Sleepover!!

Watching the CareBears Movie
(and totally ignoring teacher of course!)

 Sandy (the most energetic 5-year old with ants in her pants that you have EVER met) and Margaret (grown up for her 6 years, loves to be the centre of attention), the two little girls that I teach at home on Tuesdays came for a sleepover on Friday night.  Their moms can't remember the last time they had a night at home without their kids, so I invited the girls to come to my place for the night.  Sandy has never spent the night away from her mom before, but she is fearless so we weren't really worried. 

When mom dropped them off it was hilarious, because she was in my apartment yelling "teeeeeeacherrrrrrr!" while I was the only one hanging out saying goodnight to her mom.  Poor mom, I think it was sad for her to leave without her daughter tugging at her pantlegs to stay, lol... when it's time for our class she is usually shoving her mom out the door with both hands with a "see you later mommy, it's my classtime now, bye!!!!"... This, from the little girl who in March took one look at me and screamed for her mom to stay - she's so grownup now!!

 



Margaret's favourite thing is the new cell phone
her grandpa bought her to start elementary school with!



The girls and I had a great time, really!  They were in their jammies before I even came in from the porch and saying goodnight to mom, they were so excited.  They came over when I finished teaching Friday and we made spaghetti together... not much to that, right?  Of course I forgot to take photos because I was too busy making sure they didn't burn down my kitchen, but we had lots of fun!  There was spaghetti sauce EVERYwhere, but that's just what I consider a consequence of those under 4 feet tall being in the kitchen!  :)

 After dinner we made some pictures for their mommies with stamps and markers and cutouts (they love to draw of course) and then we watched the Care Bears (which was a little creepy, when compared to what I remember them looking like when I was a kid!).  The girls loved the movie, and it was all I could do to get them to EAT once it was on, lol... they were very cute...



Sandy rolled around on my floor like
a human mop, lol, she loves ballet - I think
this was the snake ballet!



Once the movie ended we put away our dishes and I put on my jammies and we all brushed our teeth.  We did manicures (very grown up, that is!) and played Guess Who together, and then we had a mini dance party (because man Korean kids looooove dance parties!) to some good ole' dance music. 



When it was coming on midnight I figured I should probably start getting them wound down into bed.  We did the toothbrushing facewashing routine and the three of us piled into bed - it was just like I remember sleepovers with all the giggling and silliness.  After about 20 minutes they were quiet enough to start falling asleep, and I was pretty impressed.  I had promised pancakes in the morning, so that got them quiet (ahhh, successful bribery - yay!). 

About 4 hours later after the 3rd time I got kicked hard in the shin by Margaret (she dreams of soccer I think!), and the 5th time I woke to catch Sandy from rolling off the edge of the bed (she decided to curl up at the end of the bed, lol) I moved my butt to the sofa to sleep.  I didn't really sleep any more between then and when the girls woke up at 8, between making sure Margaret wasn't kicking Sandy in the head, and that Sandy wasn't rolling herself off the bed - I was on watch, lol.



When they finally woke up we watched an episode of Magic Schoolbus all snuggled up in blankets, and then we made strawberry pancakes and my friend Jill (another teacher they know) came down to have breakfast with us.  When I brought out the vanilla ice cream the girls were beside themselves, they thought it was the best thing ever to have ice cream for breakfast, lol. 




They both enjoyed their pancakes and icecream
(and not necessarily in that order!)

 

They had a great time mixing the batter and pouring in all the ingredients and cracking eggs and stuff, and hardly ANYthing wound up on the floor - it was incredible!!  :)  The pancakes turned out perfectly, and it was as though we hardly finished before mom was back to pick them up... I can't say they were well put together (I hadn't combed their hair or done anything more than getting them into their clean clothes), but they were in one piece, and they were so happy.

Me too, what a great way to start my weekend!!  I'm going to miss Korea, a lot.

The Long Way Home

So I've decided to take the long way home.

I've done a bit of travelling this year... summer vacation I went to the Philippines, Korean Thanksgiving I went to hang out with Mom and her friend in Hawaii (ooh, I forgot to write about that!), and I've seen a lot of Korea.  Still though, there are lots of places I want to see.

My friend at work has been planning on taking a trip on her way home (with her cousin, who is joining her from the US), and now I've decided to hop in here and there and tag along with them in spots, coming and going with my own plans and destinations as well. 

The orange route is in the event that Egypt doesn't solve its own problems in the next 6 weeks (which I'm holding out hope for that they will... Egypt, pleeeeease stop destroying your country and killing your own people - stop! stop! stop!)

The plan (in very short form) looks like this...

(yes I know some of my dots (stops) are off for city locations, but I couldn't stand to erase 'em and put 'em all back even ONE more time!)

I'm visiting some old (already visited) countries in entirely new places (India, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and the Philippines), and visiting some entirely new (to me) countries in old places (Turkey, Greece, Egypt, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Laos).  If Egypt isn't possible then instead I will check out Bulgaria, Albania, and Macedonia. My friend and her cousin are going to visit Dubai, Malaysia and Indonesia, and a few places I've already seen within some of the countries we'll visit together, so while they do that I'll be off on my own doing my own thing... I can't wait...

I'm hoping to take a meditation class in Nepal, a Thai Massage class somewhere in Thailand, overnight on the water in HaLong Bay, and get my Shark Diving Licence in the Philippines.  Depending on cost, I'll also try to dive in Greece, India, and Vietnam, and somewhere along the way get a new tattoo (or maybe 2).  Other than that the plan is to try and do as many free/low cost things in each country as possible, so I can still go home with enough money to move and pay for a semester of school... sounds possible anyway, lol...

Where I can I'm travelling by land (bus or train) between cities and countries... for example, we will land together in Mumbai (old Bombay) and all take the train down for a week in the lovely Goa... then we'll part ways (they're reversing the route I did in 2005 up through Rajasthan to Delhi) and I'll take the train and bus upward to eventually get to Kolcata (Old Calcutta), a bus from there to Bangladesh for 9 days, back to Kolkata and then another bus up to Kathmandu (a place I've wanted to go since I was a nerdy little kid playing Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego on the olllllld PC in the basement!) for 10 days in Nepal; then I'll fly to Bangkok (a cheap enough regular flight out of Nepal!)... bus/train travel is so much cheaper, and I can afford the time since I have 4 1/2 months!

So the route by country looks this way...

Plan A: Korea > Turkey > Greece > *Egypt > India > Bangladesh > India > Nepal > Thai Islands > Cambodia > Vietnam > Laos > Nothern Thailand > Philippines > Mom's house.
Plan B: Korea > Turkey > Greece > *Albania > *Macedonia > *Bulgaria > India > Bangladesh > India > Nepal > Thai Islands > Cambodia > Vietnam > Laos > Nothern Thailand > Philippines > Mom's house.
Notice how both routes end in Mom's House, and there's no death and dying along the way? 

We 3 promise all to be good little travellers and mind our Ps and Qs (what the heck does that mean, anyway... Please and Thang-Q?) to avoid all trouble.  I have gotten myself a little netbook (eventually it'll get here) because I canNOT pack around this gargantuan laptop of mine so I can write and stay in touch.  I will register my travel plans with the Canadian Embassy, so they will know to reach me if there are problems (which there won't be!), so no worries.

When I have the city-by-city plans ironed out (remember my exquisite set of procrastination skills?) I'll leave them here as well, and if anyone has ideas for what to see/do that shouldn't be missed in ANY of these countries, please DON'T be shy - SHARE!!!  :)

More soon, details, details details (you don't get to know everything all at once you know, where's the fun in that!?)... I'm starting to get excited!!!!

February Update

For anyone who may pop in and be curious, I am still happily whiling away my time in Korea. After the first couple of months mom was less worried, and things were less 'random and strange' and more like home, so I found that I stopped writing. Cheeky, because I meant to, but - well, I didn't! :)

It has been a great year overall.   I LOVE THIS JOB!!  Time has gone by far too quickly, and I'm now in my final month. FINAL month. Insanity!

School, has been amazing. I have loved watching my little ones grow and learn and change. The write, they read, they only speak en English now, they're amazing and I'm so proud of them! I do wish I'd taken more time to write about their growth and changes through the year, but it will nonetheless be something I will always remember.

In June one of my little girls moved to America and her seat was filled the next day by another lovely princess; In August another little girl left and was replaced by a lovely prince. Both of my new babies were almost silent for their first couple of months, smiling but shy, lovely and hard-working and excited and so, so sweet. At the end of October my 3rd student left completing my hat-trick of replacements. This newest princess was crazy-talkative and a liiiiittle bit nutso, but she's a sweet little thing so I just try to channel her energy into things other than scratching and hitting (imagine!). She's learning... I've got one more month!

So yes, my 10 little dolls are lovely, and in the past 11 months they have become self-sufficient little monkeys. They speak English in every class, they use their manners (see Mom, I passed that on already!), they laugh and joke and tease and play, and they're happy about every minute of the day... which makes me one happy teacher.

Korea this trip has been much like the other trips. I got settled into my new little space, bedecked it with some recycled furniture, and got myself more of a routine. I went to yoga and the gym a lot (wow I love hot yoga, wow! wow! wow!), and left my apartment at every opportunity. I never once hooked up my TV, and even my very-celebrated Wii is still in its box from my arrival! I met a couple of really great new friends, and spent time catching up with some old ones. I traveled through much of the country that I hadn't seen before, I picked and roasted green tea, I made wood block prints, I visited museums and memorials, I stayed in a Buddhist temple and made paper lanterns, I ate HEAPS of Korean food, I learned to cook some Korean food, and I even found places to shop where everything was not sized -4 through 6. It's been one hell of a year.

I thought, when I first arrived, that I would probably stay here for 2 years. Grad school is expensive, the money here is good, I'm still (still!) paying off student loans and credit card debt - 2 years and I could be in the clear. A few months ago though it became clear that this year, this one year that I'm contracted for, is going to be my last year in this country that has stolen my heart. I didn't save any money, I only paid for school and paid on my loans, and I'm going home about as well off financially as I started, but sometimes it's about more than just the money.

The past year has been wonderful, and amazing, and beautiful. I've had lots of days where I was frustrated or lonely to tears, and far more when I was laughing and smiling in glee and happiness. But, it's time to go home, time to move on with life now.

That is something about living overseas in a foreign country. The rest of your life? It goes on pause. Teaching is not my job at home, it's not my career, so while I love it and it makes me very happy, it is not making it easier for me to have a life at home by being here, it is in fact making it more difficult the older I get. I have the last bit of school to finish (I need to be home for that part), and then my internship (which I tried like crazy to negotiate here, but I couldn't sort it out), and that's one more thing that can be officially crossed off my list.

It occurred to me late last night that I have not taken any time to pick up souvenirs from Korea to take home with me.  This weekend I'll go to my favourite old neighbourhood and see if anything calls my name, though it could be that after my year I'll be going home with photographs and memories, and that will be that.  If so, that's fine, as those are really the things that are most special to me anyway.

So, 16 more teaching days, 25 more days until my contract ends, and 27 until I say my final goodbyes to this country, starting my way on my next short adventure before the return home (but I'll write more about that a bit later). 

Where, has the time gone? 

Passport Renewal Overseas

3 words that struck fear into me from the moment I realized I was going to have to figure it out, in this, of all places.  I've tried to find the Canadian embassy once before.  I know where the US Embass is, this huge building near one of my favourite arts centres that is sevear stories high and constantly surrounded by Korean and American soldiers who are armed to the hilt.  My first problem in looking for our embassy was having that image in my head, and the second was not using google maps (JEEZ I *love* google maps!!!). 

I've known since September that I was going to have to renew my passport if I wanted to do any travelling on my way out of the country.  I have avoided it mostly because at the same time I thought (a) it was going to be super easy, not a big deal, and I'd just do it when I was closer to leaving, and (b) I was positive it was going to take for-freakin'-ever and be a giant hassle so I just avoided it.

In the spirit of getting it all done, Monday night I went down to the department store Kodak counter and got my photo taken for my passport.  I LOVE that I can get my pictures done here because no Korean worth his salt believes in leaving ANY photo unedited, so they do their best to make you look like a model - oh it's for your passport?  No problem!  No problem! 

This is the picture he slipped in with the rest:

Yah, that's right... I love Korea, hahahaha...

Now, where was I...

Realizing only now that there are visas I need before my trip, and that said visas have to go INTO my passport that expires in exactly 6 months from my date of departure from Korea (which means some countries won't let me in, for fear that I'll be countryless in an airport somewhere when it expires?), I dragged my butt down to the Embassy offices today to get it all sorted out. 

I found it all quite easily (I said, I love google maps and the way they even tell me which buses to catch!).  In typical government fashion it took 4 hours, when it could have taken 20 minutes.  I arrived at 830 and didn't leave until 12:30.  With minimal grumbling (hey, I had my fabulous e-reader with me, I just hung my legs over the side of my armchair and waited - might patient of me, wouldn't you say?? 

Around 8:45 I had gone in to the interview room and given over my first set of forms, only to be given another set that wasn't available online and told to go back out to the waiting room and fill it out.  I did, went up to the service counter with my number to let her know that I had finished and needed to go back into the little room again.  "Ok, you're all finished with the forms right?  Ok, yes Miss, I put your number back in the system, please have a seat until they call you again."  I assumed, being my embassy and all, that everyone had a good command of English and I didn't need to use my usual combination of Konglish and charades to make sure I had been understood. 

To assume is to make an ASS out of U and ME... right...

After nearly 90 minutes of just sitting there, nearing the end of my book and noticing that several people have come in and finished in the same time I was about to close my book and go check in on what was happening when they called me to the front counter again.  "Miss, did you complete your forms?" 

Me - Straight-faced "are you f'n kidding me - did I complete my forms?" expression on my face complete with an attitude that was threatening to leak through her protective cover and SHAKE her violently where she sat.... silent and approaching furious.

She - Blinking at me, head cocked to the side and perfectly manicured then painted-on eyebrows raised, chastising look on her face wondering exactly what kind of slow I must be to not have finished everything yet. 

Me - composing myself, taking in and holding a very deep breath and counting to 10 slowly, just blinking at the woman behind the bullet-proof glass before I decided it was safe to open my mouth to remind her that this was not the first time we were talking about my FINISHED paperwork. 

She - "What miss?"  The realization slowly coming onto her face (which turned to shocked look of embarassment in the next 8 seconds) that I had told her OVER AN HOUR BEFORE that I was done...

I went and sat back down again while the other waiting folks shooke their heads and tsk tsked at me in sympathy.  Good thing I like my book, and I was playing hookey being there. 

10 minutes later I was back in the interview room (the staffer had called the front desk wondering if I had left or was ever coming back again with my second set of forms), I handed in the rest of the paperwork my pictures, my $200FreakingDollars, and said goodbye to the very nice security man that didn't end up having to restrain me (yay!).  I can start calling in 2 weeks to pick it up so that I just might have enough time to get the appropriate visas before I leave (including a two-week extension on my current working visa for Korea!).

Sigh of relief.

By 12:30 I was too late to make it back to school for my 1 o'clock kindergarten wrap up so I wandered around in the sunshine in Seoul and picked up a couple of things for my upcoming adventure.  It was a beautiful afternoon, sunny, warm enough to have my jacket open, and I could have whistled I was so content to be out enjoying the day.  I got myself a coffee and meandered back in the direction of the bus, arriving back just in time for afternoon classes. 

Nice way to end the week before Year of the Rabbit vacation time... very nice!!

(Friday I'm wandering into the old part of town to see what fun I can find for what is probably my last Lunar New Year in Korea... I won't say last LNY in Asia, because you never know what the future holds, but probably my last for Korea... so stay tuned!!)