A month without kimchi -- woohoo!

After arriving back in Canada I gave myself one day to rest and recover from jet lag, and spend time with my parents.

I then began the task of compiling the THIRTEEN items the recruiting company and Seoul Metropolitan Education Office want me to submit . . .

The first thing I had to do was fax them a signed copy of my contract with a waiver against suing the recruiting company. I thought the waiver was quite amusing and have been trying to imagine reasons why an individual would sue a recruiting company for helping them find a job teaching English in South Korea, lol.

The fax cost me $21.00 . . . I freaked out for a minute when I realized that I wasn't sure if I had to fax my contract to a number inside Canada or if I had to fax it to a Korean number--check out the international fee PER PAGE! I had to fax 14 pages . . .yikes!

I then got new passport photos done because I have to get my passport renewed as it expires in about 4 months. I decided to get 6 made so that I have extras on hand when I need them: the cost? 19.99 fee for taking my picture and first two copies, 9.99 per two copies after that . . . the total? $45.00

While I was in the shopping mall where my mom's bookstore is I later saw outside the building that played a fairly large role in my middle school and high school years for socializing and seeing movies. It was being torn down . . . my sister and I used to go see movies here all the time. The theater showed titles that had been out for at least a year but nobody cared because the ticket prices were 80% less than at the regular theater--you can't beat 2.00 to see a movie on the big screen.

This is a shot of the bus stop outside the townhouse complex where my parents live. They're kind of on the edge of the city although there has been a lot of development and expansion of the area lately--it's always surreal to come home and see massive big box stores have been built while you're gone, etc.

It's amazing how place and memory can be so intertwined . . . this bus shelter has a LOT of memories for me from middle to high school to university . . .

Looking down the street waiting for the bus to come. On the left is the townhouse complex where my parents live (and I used to live), and on the right is a very small patch of forest with a large farmer's field . . .

I took the bus to my university (pictures of that to come later) . . . and I went to the student services office to get new copies of my transcripts. Four copies and $48.00 later I was on my way . . .

I then headed downtown to my city's police headquarters to apply to get my criminal background check . . . however, I found out that I had to show them proof of residence in Canada to apply. They wouldn't let me use the addresses in South Korea where I've been living for the past five years for the blanks on the application where I had to write my addresses for the past five years . . . uhm, okay . . .

When I explained to the clerk why I was applying and where I'd been living she said, "Well then, the Korean government should be doing their own checks" with a scathing tone of voice--I agreed, laughing, and said, "Yeah, expat teachers have been saying that for YEARS!"

Anyways, I go back this morning (it's 4am here, and yes my jet lag has messed with my sleep schedule) with a bill in my name with my 'permanent address in Canada' on it so that I can get my criminal background check done while I wait which is cool cause I was worried it'd take forever to get one done--7-10 business days is too long a wait for me because I need to send these documents in one big package back to Korea to the recruiting company's office who will then send it to Seoul's education office who will then send me a 'letter of appointment' saying I have the job so that I can then go and apply for a new E2 work visa . . . ugh.

One irritating thing about the document gathering process is that I will have to go to the Korean consulate in Toronto (a two hour bus ride plus travel time inside the city itself, bus ticket cost will likely be $90.00) to get a Korean consular stamp on my criminal background check and university degree . . . apparently this is only for Canadians, other nationalities have a slightly different process . . .

Anyways, on a lighter note my dad made my mom and I dinner. Hmmmmm, chicken and vegetables . . .

Note the absence of kimchi and anything red and spicy!

Oh baby . . .

Well, time to go watch some TV--hundreds of channels in English to choose from with hundreds of programs in ENGLISH--oh so many choices . . . oh yeah.

J