The Journey to Korea Part I
“OMG Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?!”
Well… because I didn’t know if it would happen…
About two years ago I planned to come to Korea to teach, something I wanted to start about 10 years ago! Yeah, I don’t know how many people actually put this much thought into it. Two years ago everything was ready to go: paper work done, visa good to go and I backed out… why? Well, I wrote this, but never published it:
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| Isa in my arms |
About a month ago my baby girl (dog) died and it basically shattered me. She was my whole world; and when someone attempted to tell me otherwise after her death, I politely removed their comment from FaceBook as they obviously did not know my life.
I had been planning on going to Korea for... YEARS. I was SO %$@#$#CLOSE!!! I found THE PERFECT PLACE. I was preparing. I was going to work with my wonderful friend, I was going to be near my best friend. I was going to see people I missed. I was I was buying time-something was wrong. I wasn't excited, I was concerned, I wasn't sure what. I took Isa to the vet- an enlarged heart. Okay meds. She'll be okay. We'll see how this goes. It wasn't going well. She had a seizure? No something else. A heart attack. I went down to get my paperwork for my visa. Everything went wrong while there. I was trying to book a flight in business class, so we could enjoy a flight. The next available flight would be too late and the Teacher cancelled everything. I didn't argue. Everything FELT WRONG. I got my job back, here, and Isa went to work with me, just like she loved to do. Everyone loved her at work. One night and after we got home, she died. If I HAD gone to Korea, she wouldn't have made it across the Pacific. She most likely would've died on the plane... or waiting here for me, or alone in an apartment in another country. All things considered, this was the best possible outcome, in all my heartbreak I can at least recognize that. I got to spend her last months with her. She was in my arms in her last moments, and that's where she ALWAYS wanted to be.
Here I sit in quarantine in South Korea, as I write this two years later ...
Anyone who
remembers when I went to Korea University (2015) may remember the experience of my
luggage being lost, no clothes for about 3 days, the issues with my
registration and housing… this has been a more interesting journey to say the least.
I filed paperwork starting August, 2020, and then had to wait for the apostille, sent in October usually, 8-10 weeks, according to the company I went with. The apostille has to
be routed through Washington DC and because of protests and other political ….
stuff the typical process that may normally take a few weeks (apparently some companies only take 4 weeks!) it had now turned
into over three months. Because of this the Bossman about called everything off again
and suggested we try again next year. I called the apostille to see what was
happening, After several days of no one taking me seriously and being hung up
on repeatedly I was finally put through to the manager of the office. That’s
when I found out that the current
political situation in DC was holding back my paper work. They said there’s
nothing to be done. I got it a week later in the mail and asked if we could still make this
happen. Bossman proceeded with the process. At this point we were getting into
January, and we had a date to get me here. We were aiming for early February. South Korea has a two-week
quarantine for anyone incoming from the US – not sure about other countries,
but from the US for sure. Once the apostille came through (which must have been
about mid-
January) we got the OK from
Korea and I had to contact our US consulate in Seattle. They demanded a COVID-19
test within 42 hours before they’d allow me to come to the consulate and wanted
an appointment. Well, no one in the region would give me one without symptoms
and results would take 5 days minimum. Oh, and the next date for an appointment at the consulate was 5 days away. I was on
a time crunch. Thankfully they let me mail it in. I overnighted the paperwork and a day later got an email saying two paged unsigned
ARGH!!!! Okay overnight those back. Email saying something else was wrong (not
something in my control) ARGH again!!!!! Okay fixed that! The next hurdle is
getting a Covid test for the flight. They want the result within 72 hours of flying. I’m
must've I called 30 places in the region to test me; something I’ve been doing for weeks at
this point. No one in the region will even see me without symptoms. I called the local "covid center" which was our local hospital. They just reiterated that no one would test me without symptoms, not even
for a flight ...
... they did suggest two places Walgreens or Rite-aid. Okay I call and see what I can find out. There's no humans to talk to it's all automated online only. I set up the appointments and I go and get tested twice in one day. One got my results back that night, from Walgreens- okay good, because I leave Monday, and it’s Friday. As of the time of writing this the other place still hasn’t sent a result.
Monday morning, at the airport. We arrive super early
because of weather, a winter storm had just hit our area. It was a good thing too. There's about to be another hurdle ...
Ohhhh it gets better Part II to come
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