South Korea or Bust...

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Well, the good news is... we finally received our Visa Issuance Numbers late last night.
The perfect gift to close out a perfect birthday! ooops! did I mention I turned 36, yesterday!

Either way, life is grand!
Now all we have left to do is pack up our bags (again), post a box (or two to the new address in Seoul), buy a couple of plan tickets (to San Fran & Vancouver), get a couple of "good moral character" interviews at the Korean Consulates in San Fran & Vancouver, Have another waiting period there, Get our Visa Stamps into our Passports and buy One-Way tickets to Incheon International Airport in Seoul, so we can start working at Gyeonggi English Village!

Our Soon to be Postal Address

Gyunggi English Village Paju Camp
Bup heung-li Tanhyun-myun, Paju-shi Gyunggido
zipcode: 413 -780
Telephone: [phone]

Obviously, we aren't quit there yet... we still have a list of documents to gather and bring to our interviews starting with;

1) Passport
2) Application for Visa
3) 1-Passport size photo
4) $45.00 (money order only, NOT personal check)
5) Visa Issuance Number
6) Consul's Checklist
7) Health Statement
8) Copy of Diploma
9) Sealed Transcript
10) Copy of Driver's License

Plus you must answer all the following questions during your "Good Moral Character" Interview at the Korean Consulate;

Employer Name, School Address, School Phone Number, School Section Number, School's Blood Type, What kind of people you will be teaching (pre-school, middle school, jr school, high school, teenagers, adults, university students, elderly, etc), Head Teacher's Name, Name of School, Private or Public

Your College, Universities, Dates Attended, Degrees, Diplomas Received, Home Room Number, Head Teacher, Telephone Number, Address, Faxes, Blood Types, Personal Information, Student Number

Your Current Occupation (unemployed) Your Current Address (Box 15, Site 303, RR3, blah blah, AB Canada) Your Current Telephone Number (ummm....) Your Current Employers Name (see above) Your Current Drivers License (ha ha different address, in Canada, this is Fun!) Your Current state of Health (alive, breathing & kicking... some crying too!)

Reason You Chose Korea (good climate, pay, cost of living, love and peacefulness) What Do You Know About Korea (you keep fighting with your neighbor) What Do You Know About Korean Language (Ya-Ba-See-Yo {excuse me in a friendly manner}, Ah-Yan-Haa-See-Yo {are you peaceful today?/a form of greeting like 'Hello'}) What Do You Know About the Korean Culture (bibimbap, adventure land, Jasmil Stadium is where the Doosan Bears play baseball, KLeague, 2006 FIFA World Cup, Kimchi, panchan and Chesouk) Why Didn't You Arrive Sooner and Are You Suitable For Korea

Health (didn't we cover this already?) Are You Addicted to Mental Health, Proactive Health, Massage Therapy, Acupuncture, Illegal Drugs, Cigarettes, Alcohol, Herbs of a Greener Nature, Natruopath, Do You Have Mental Problems, Dyslexia, STD's, or Chronological Pain (besides this repetition of questions? no.)

Once you have passed all the questions of this pre-formal nature, and were dressed as though you were going to work (in our case, like you were going to Church on Communion Day because we've heard via our pen-pal that teachers were flip-flops, shorts & t-shirts, to work!)

Then they pull out their wicked stamping procedures, copy & paste down your visa into your Passport, slap a few stamps onto it, date it, sign it, pass it along to the next dater, signator, stamper and then one more just to make damn certain that the visa was properly stamped, affixed, signed and given the Grandest of Once-Overs!

And finally, ask you to come back the next day, to pick it up...

Then,
And only then...

Are you admitted into the Elite Group of E2-Teaching Visa, South Korean ESL Teacher Club/Organization!

Now all you need to do is buy a One-Way Economy Class Direct Flight to Incheon International Airport, don't forget to let your School know when you are landing, so they can send a non-english speaking driver with a sign that has your name on it, to pick you up at the International Terminal and drive you, your 2-checked bags, one carry on and a "personal item" to your new home only a mere One Hour Twenty-Two minutes from the Airport...

This is when the TRUEST of TRUE fun experiences will begin...

but until then, we are still hanging tough at the in-laws retreat 45-minutes North West of Edmonton!

And I'll let you know who wins the grand battle tomorrow night between the
Edmonton Capitals and Yuma Scorpions as they face off at the Teleus Mobile Stadium in downtown Edmonton, Alberta Canada

What a great send off... Minor League Baseball...

If all goes my way, I'm going to try and catch a San Francisco Giants versus Anyone else at Candlestick Park while in San Francisco, chasing my E2 Visa around the Korean Consulate Office!!!

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