For the last three weeks the biggest thing on my plate has been deciding if I feel like sunning myself at the beach or the park and what pub I fancy a beer at later... so it's quite an odd feeling to think that this time in 2 days I will be on a Korean Airlines flight about to land in the country that I am going to call home for the next year.
After months of waiting around - waiting to find the perfect job in Korea, waiting to get my degree at the extremely boring RMIT graduation ceremony, waiting for said boring graduation ceremony to end (felt like years), waiting for DFAT to put silly stamps on all my original documents, waiting for the immigration department in Korea to process my visa application... my visa authorisation number finally came through early last week and my world was put into a spin!
Here's how last week went.
- Tuesday 8th: Visa authorisation number arrives in my inbox. This makes all this Korea talk real. That's a scary thought. I consider pretending I never received the email. I decide I have talked it up too much to turn back now.
- Wednesday 9th: Send passport and application #2 to Korean Embassy in Canberra. They tell me I will be contacted the following week for a phone interview and that it will take at least 5 working days to process the visa after that. I am relived at the thought that it may take a while to process.
- Thursday 10th: While trying on clothes in Myer my phone rings. It's the Embassy calling to conduct my interview (wasn't that supposed to be happening next week?). In luck that would only befit me, my visa interview is conducted as I stand half naked in a change-room. I am told to expect my passport back by the middle of next week.
- Friday 11th: The doorbell rings at 8 am. It's the postman with my visa. Again, I thought this was supposed to happen next week. I begin to think I'm onto the joke about making me think I have time up my sleeve before I go. Apparently it's not a joke.
- Saturday 12th: I check my emails. My inbox reveals an e-ticket. The departure information reads Saturday 19th January, 9.40am. I shit myself.
Since then I've been running around in a buzz of excitement (ok, so it's been more of a dazed frenzy if there is such a thing) trying to get organised enough to move away for a year. Oh, did I mention that I'm moving to a winter of well below zero averages?? (-14 degrees the other day I believe... mmm toasty). Boots, beanies, scarves, thermals - I've got them all... now if only I could find a way to fit them in my case.
So that's where I'm at. All that's left to do is go buy a years worth of deodorant (yes deodorant... I'm told that you can't buy it in Korea... apparently the Koreans don't sweat... or smell.... or something), finish off packing, go drink with my friends tomorrow night, jump on a plane hungover and navigate my way from the airport to Suwon! Piece of cake!
Catch yas all from Korea!!
(Oooh yeah, I'm gunna make a great teacher with english like that!)
