A Year Later

..almost!

This past Tuesday our school held it's graduation ceremony. It was really neat to see the parents of my students (some look JUST like mom or dad, some a good combination of both), as well as their dreams! As each student had their named called by their homeroom teacher, their picture, dream job, hobbies, and such were displayed on the screen behind them.

I'm going to miss them. I really will. They better come visit! Haha

But in March we will have new sixth graders. New third graders, too! The new third graders are going to be adorable~ I can't wait!!

The end of the year means one more thing for me: the extension of my sojourn for my VISA/ARC. I only set it up to last for one year when I first requested my ARC (Alien Registration Card)... But the process is super easy! I got to the Incheon Immigration Office early and no one was there so I was able to be helped right away.

If you need help with your VISA, or any other such questions, I recommend www.hikorea.go.kr because it has an English option and is very useful! You can actually log on to this site (to make a profile you need your ARC first) and make a reservation just in case they are busy. It guarantees you a time. It also states everything that you must bring to renew.

Let me quickly list it here:
A signed copy of the new contract (signed by you and the school)
Your school's certificate (the school will provide this)
Your passport
Your ARC
An application (can be printed from the site or filled out at the office)
30,000won
 - AND, if you made a reservation, print a copy of the reservation page

 * The 30,000won will be used to purchase stamps, which can be found in the lounge down the hall. It is best to have the stamps ready and your application filled out because then all you have to do is hand everything to them, have them check that everything is there, stamp new dates on the back of your ARC, and then you are done. You are free to leave.

It is one of the simplest processes I have ever come upon.

Getting there is simple, too. However, the 1601 is not something I would recommend for the return trip. I waited for 20 minutes at the stop as TWO 1601 buses sat 50 yards away and the board constantly showed the bus being eight minutes away. Nonsense. I ended up going back the same way I came.

Because I had just missed the 1601 on my way to the immigration office, I took the subway to Incheon City Hall and then took bus 33. Exits 7 and 8 are closed until summer of next year, so you can take exit 6 and walk to the bus stop for the 33 (near exit 8) or catch the 45 (exit 2, I believe). From there it's about 30 minutes.


ALSO... I sent money home today :D! I hate student loans! :D
I also learned today that you should still have your passport on hand even if it's not your first time sending money home. Even more important, it seems, is that you have the receipt from the first/previous time with you, too. Each time you send money home, they give you a receipt. KEEP IT. Thankfully, I had the old bankbook with me, and I found the transaction record.

It was quite a trip. I didn't speak the appropriate Korean for this, and they didn't speak enough English to communicate with me completely so we worked through a telephone language service and broken Konglish. But everyone was smiling and laughing (myself included) by the time I left, so it wasn't too bad!


Ooh, that reminds me. I just took my first exam at Sogang University. I didn't arrive to the exam room until two minutes till the exam started through some hilarious turn of events (and solid smoothie results), so I was a little flustered. I've learned (again! wow.) that I am a bit anal retentive and I need to be in the exam room to chill out several minutes before the exam will take place. The written portion was easy, but I'm not sure how I did on the interview. Man, I am really awesome at botching interviews.

"When is your birthday?"
 - " 21/20"


Fuuuu~ We'll see! I should get the results via email sometime next week. Here's to hoping that the woman giving the interview somehow knows I don't usually believe there are 21 months. And that I am actually capable of stringing together basic sentences. In Korean, of course ;)

So, yes. Now I am resting. Resting and preparing myself for the next year of adventures I will take.

On Monday, the new teachers will come and we will all go to dinner. We will say good-bye to those leaving, and hello to those coming. I'm sad to see them go... This next year will be quite different, I think!


**Saturday is the FIRST ever Buchies (Bucheon Awards), and I will surely post on that as it is one of the last get-togethers with some awesome people who are leaving ever so soon... D:


I hope that you have all been well and will continue to stay that way.
Thank you for reading my blog and sharing in this adventure with me!
<3