GETTING DEPORTED

k...now i've been Canada for a week now. Bet you're all wondering what went wrong in Korea and why am i home. Well, it's a very long story that i'll try to make as short as possible. I'm publishing this story here because honestly i am getting sick of telling it...so here it goes....

It started about nine days ago when my notarized copy of my degree was finally mailed from Canada and arrived in Korea. It landed on my recruiters desk and he then proceeded to take the steps to get me a working visa -- something that i had been without since i started this journey in Korea. Anyways, the school called immigration to apply for my visa and a big red flag came up on immigrations computer. The computer said that i was an illegal immigrant in the country from Australia! Immigration believed that i had entered the country illegally on an Australian Passport and was wanted by the government. Of course, my school freaked on me and kept questioning me. I insisted that i wasn't Australian and that i had never even been to australia! BLah blah blah nobody at immigration would believe me because they're all so stupid and programmed to believe everything they read on a computer screen. I went down to the Canadian Embassy to plead my case and then to the immigration office with all my documents. While i was trying to sort this little problem out, the Immigration office also noticed that i already had an application for a visa pending. My previous employer from Masan had applied for a working visa for myself but didn't cancel it once i left. Both immigration and Pagoda (my school) were on the phone with Mr Park in Masan trying to get him to cancel the visa application. He was being a complete asshole about it and refused. In the end the immigration officer i was dealing with said that he could no longer help me because the rest of his office new that i had already been previously employed and that i'd broken Korean law. He also told me that i should leave the country as soon as possible before he has to physically come and arrest me. The immigration officer could not help me with my "australian" problem and told me that they could only remedy the problem at the immigration office at Incheon airport. Does this sound a little ridiculous to you? It sure did for me...let me clarify....i was been forced to flee the country to escape Immigration from arresting me but, the only way i could get out of the country would be to go to the immigration office at the airport. Needless to say i was kinda worried about going to the place that was looking for me. oh well, i got out without being "officially" deported and fined so i guess i'm happy.

All this happened within two days....it was nuts....i don't think that korea and i were meant for each other...but...i have been on the phone to Japan and i think that i will be in Osaka before the end of the month...at least i hope....n e ways, until next time.

Well, this is my very first entry. I suppose it is kind of ridiculous starting my journal this late into my trip but better late than never right. So, for those of you who have not had the opportunity to talk with me, i will try to summarize all of the craziness that has defined my stay in Korea thus far.

When I arrived in Korea I started working in a city called Masan which is about 40 minutes outside of Pusan. The first week was hell as I was extremely jet lagged, dealing with a little bit of culture shock, and working with little kids for the first time in my life. I quickly adjusted to being in a classroom with kids aged 3-13 and began having a lot of fun.

On September 14 a typhoon hit the coast, wiping out a lot of Pusan and Masan. It was the craziest experience of my life. A little terrifying as well as exciting. The typhoon however did not stop us from working. In fact, we walked to school on monday dodging debris and walking in ankle deep water. None of us slept for a couple of weeks as the pumps flushing out the city ran 24 hours a day. After the pumps had finished flushing the city out, generators were intalled to give the city basic electricity. Our apartment building was without water and electricity for almost a month. Craziness, I'm tellin ya.

At the end of October I left Masan and headed towards Seoul. The school I was employed at in Masan turned out to be a seedy company who used their employees and screwed us all over in pay. I found myself a good job in Eastern Seoul and began working there at the end of October. Everything was great there until I got pulled aside by my boss a week before Christmas and was told that he could no longer afford to employ me. So there I was, a week before Christmas and unemployed. I was upset and furious but went out and found myself yet another job.

On January 1st I began my most recent job at Pagoda Language Academy. So far it seems great, but I have to withold judgement as I have been batting zero so far in Korea. I hope that this time I made the right decision.

Linx

Typhoon, South Korea



Pictures of Typhoon

Hey everybody....well, i thought that i'd give this method a try instead of spending hours writing dozens of emails to everybody. I'm hoping that you will check in every once in a while and read up on what life is like being me.