Declaring Myself to be an 'Alien'

I'm starting to see some of the benefits of going to Korea to work with one of the big recruitment companies, now that I've been here a few days. You'd think that upon arrival in Korea, after months of paperwork-gathering, signature-procuring and pocket-draining, it would get easier (and cheaper) from here on in. Not so...

Today myself and a colleague of mine went to the Immigration Office to get our Alien Registration Cards. By all accounts, this card is essential for everything; getting a flat, buying a phone, if you want to leave the country, go to the hospital, and so on and so forth. To get it all done the university made an appointment for us at the office near Anguk station (line 3, exit 6), so off we went. The Immigration Office is a miserable hell-hole; it's hot, stuffy and noisy, people cover every inch of space available, the people behind the desks wave people off snootily when asked any questions and, despite the ticketing system, no one ever seems to get called forward. It's also not easy to navigate - given that we had appointments, we figured we wouldn't have to take a ticket and join the 40min wait for a desk, but could we find the right place to go? Nope. Luckily the ladies behind the copy/print desk were more pleasant and pointed us to the right desk (number 7, though whether that would be the same one next time is anyone's guess. It was a desk with a hand-written sign over it, saying 'reservations'). The lady behind desk number 7 took a vague interest in us before saying we should have copies of our passports ready and to go back to copy/print (200won per copy), and then barely glanced over our application forms before demanding another 10,000won. Then, fingerprints were taken, bits of paper checked, and we were sent on our way with a flourish of the hand and a simple '25' mentioned. 

25.... we looked around but couldn't see a 25 anywhere. At the end of the row of desks, there was a sign for 'Pick-Up' (presumably to pick-up your finished cards) and another paper sign saying that if you were there to collect your ARC you should knock on the perspex window and wait for someone to come. Confused and panicking, we knocked on the window, only to be told that 25 meant the 25th of September. Today is the 11th.... we have to wait two weeks and then come back to collect our cards. To say I'm surprised is an understatement. As with most things so far, I'd expected it to be much quicker (I really should suspend my expectations and start being more pessimistic), especially given that this is the ID card that I'll need to carry around with me in case I get into trouble or need to do anything official-like. 

Next thing on my agenda: getting my medical check. Not for the visa, you understand, but for my university. I really do not like hospitals, and I have an awful fear of needles, so I'm procrastinating with this as much as possible. I've been hoping Yoon will volunteer to come with me (the thought of having someone stick me with needles and ask me for urine and blood without at least a translator terrifies me). My colleague today told me what it involves; taking blood samples, taking urine samples, hearing and sight tests, and an X-ray. What the hell are they looking for?? The X-ray worries me a little, as I have a piercing in what most would deem an inappropriate place, and I wouldn't like to try explain it. But the salt in the wound (so to speak) is the bill (which again I'm footing); this time 110,000won for the pleasure of being poked, prodded and made to feel like a diseased piece of meat. I'll update on that one when I grow some balls to go and get it all done, or when my university drags me there, or when Yoon agrees to do his boyfriend-duty and come with me. *I know I'm a chicken*

The Story So Far

Perhaps I've been a little premature stating that this blog will be a day to day observation of my life in Korea, since actually, I'm still in England at the moment and thusfar, the odds have been completely stacked against me ever reaching Korea. However, tickets have been booked, suitcases have been packed and unpacked and repacked and goodbyes have been said, hugs given, tears shed; in three days I will be leaving the country and venturing into the (sort of) unknown for a new life and new possibilities...

There has been an extremely wide range of reactions to my decision to move to Seoul - my friends, who are used to me flitting off abroad to teach for a year here and there, are very happy for me, my colleagues have been encouraging and support me completely, friends and ex-students in Korea are ecstatic that I've chosen their country for my Next Big Thing - in fact it would seem that everyone is happy for me. There have been only two exceptions: one was the boyfriend that I broke up with in order to pursue my plans, and the other was my mum, who reacted as if I'd done this specifically to hurt her and that in doing so, I obviously didn't care about my family at all. Many harsh words have been exchanged in the past few months, and some things cannot be taken back. But when one makes a decision like this, it isn't lightly done, and there will always be negative consequences somewhere along the line. The reactions of my mum had been triggers, however, for some self-doubt in the early stages of my planning, but not anymore. 

I'm an over-qualified (say some) English Foreign Language Teacher (I have a Masters in TESOL and a DELTA, plus experience in schools and universities in the UK and abroad) and, feeling bored of my language school job and my bog-standard Manchester lifestyle, decided I'd get myself a better job and some new experiences abroad, for an unspecified amount of time. I decided that I really wanted to move to Seoul after I visited in April. I'd spent a week in Taiwan with friends from my Masters course, and then went to Korea to spend a little time in Seoul and go to Busan for a friend's wedding. Taiwan was lovely; but once I arrived in Seoul I decided that that was where I'd be living next. That week in Seoul was something of a blur, mostly consisting of eating and getting drunk (and a few semi-regrettable incidents - semi-regrettable) but I loved every second and couldn't wait to get back. When I got home I went on www.daveseslcafe.com and applied for every university job I could find. I'll talk about the job hunt in another post soon. Long story short, I had two interviews (out of about 50 applications) and was offered both jobs; I took the one that paid best, obviously! 

That's where I'm at now. When I arrive I'll be staying in uni accommodation for a week or so, until Yoon (my recently-new boyfriend/flatmate/translator/guide/godsend) comes back to Seoul and we find a place to move in together. It's going to be an interesting first couple of weeks... and as a basic introduction to me and what I'm doing, I think that'll do for tonight! I promise, more details next time!