I made the trip to Immigration today in Seoul to get my 'Alien Registration Card' and multiple entry visa. Who knew I was an alien?? I know I'm tall and kind of funny looking here, but still...
The working visa that I got in Japan gets canceled if I leave the country, so I had to pay another $50 for a 'multiple entry' which means I can leave and come back as many times as I want. Sounds like a money maker to me.
And, now that I'll be getting my ARC card I'll be able to get a cell phone! Apparently foreigners can only by used phones and pay as you go cards, but all incoming calls are free. So for anyone who wants to call... 7-Eleven has 'call home to Asia' cards that are super cheap, around 7 cents a minute I think. I have a headset finally too, so if anyone has a headset and msn or Skype we can talk for free!
Nothing exciting about the trip today, it was about 2 hours on the subway each way so I'm exhausted. It was definitely strange being the only white person around, most Koreans don't stare but there are always a few who look me up and down and watch me. I guess if I were in their shoes I would do the same thing. Who is this very tall girl with pale skin and blue eyes?? I'm tempted to challenge them to a staring contest, but the subways are so dry and my contacts get sticky so I would definitely lose. Haha! Walking around in a crowd of people where you're taller than everyone else is interesting too. Everyone power walks, and I swear it's as dangerous as driving a car. Koreans have no problem shoving you out of the way. And I have to check my blind spot if I walk diagonally so that I don't take anyone out. The last thing I want to do is hip check a little Korean woman by accident. It's no wonder Korea is number one for auto fatalities in the world... if these people drive like walk the roads are no place for the faint-hearted. Actually, I've noticed that cars will drive right through red lights... and I've been told that everyone drives like that. It's not 'oops that was a red light', but 'I'm in a rush so I'm going to speed up through this red light and cross my fingers that I'll make it'. I'll take the subway, thanks.
Yesterday and today's classes are parents day at school. The parents (usually moms) can come to class and watch for half an hour. You'd think they want to see how their kid behaves in class, but I think it's more about watching me and making sure that I'm up to their standards. I had the moms in my first class yesterday (there are 13 kids and were about 10 moms there) laughing for the whole half hour, so I figure that's a good thing. The other class there was no laughing, but the kids are at a senior level, and the parents are much more worried about their son or daughter passing thing TESOL university exam (and English exam they have to write to get into an English university) than actually having fun in class. No time for fun, study study!
We'll see how today goes, I'm super tired... but all I can do is all I can do (right dad?? ;) )
Love
Ashley
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