36 Hours and Counting!

I went last Thursday for my interview at the Korean Consulate in Houston. I made it down there in 2 hrs and 45 minutes. Not the best way to spend a morning, but it could have been worse. Worse came on the way home as this was right at the beginning stages of the Hurricane Ike evacuation. If you have ever been in the midst of people fleeing for their lives, you know it was a tangy situation for me returning home in that mess.

But back to the "interview" with Consulate Min. I was ushered into his office by an American lady some where around my age. She had on a nice sun dress complemented by extremely scabby, white trash legs. You know the kind you get when you are out camping or at the lake and get bitten by flies, mosquitoes, ants, and anything else that comes along? After I sat down, Min asked me several questions and appeared to make notations on my visa application, all without even looking up at me After about about 3 minutes of this, he told me I could go wait in the "salon". I inferred that the "salon" was the standard government issue waiting room that I was in before being called to his office.

I then spent about a half hour in the "salon" watching updates on Hurricane Ike situation. I finally asked if I could leave, as I was not planning to hand around until 4 pm to await the return of my passport/visa. I'm still not really sure why I was sitting there in the first place.After the lady checked to see if I "passed" my interview, I booked it out of there to face the Ike madness. As I had included a return Express Mail envelope with my original application, I anticipated having my passport/visa in hand the following day (Friday). But Ike didn't allow for that did he? I spent a few fearful days not being able to track my package and being told that the post office in Houston did not know when they would be starting deliveries again after the flooding and destruction from the Ike storms. Luckily, I received the visa in the mail today so I don't have to worry anymore (at least about having my visa returned to me).

And speaking of worrying , all of the new airline baggage restrictions really make it difficult to pack for a year-long stay. I am limited to two 23kg (50 lbs) bags for. It's not really very much, considering one of my suitcases weighed in at 7kg (15 lbs) just by itself. Those of you who have ever traveled with me or had the pleasure of me being a house guest know that I do not travel light, as a rule.

So I had a couple of options: 1). I could pay $110 for an extra piece of luggage 2). I could pay $330 to have an overweight piece of luggage 3). I could get a very large, lightweight duffle bag for $40 at REI and shove whatever I could into it. I went for the latter of the 3 options and am still trying to arrange and re-arrange everything so that I will not exceed the baggage limits.

I will be leaving Austin at 7:3o am this Friday morning and connect in San Francisco. After a 5 hour layover, I will then make the 12 hr 30 mi flight to Seoul. This should give me a little over a day to "prepare" for my first day of teaching on September 22 (coincidentally my mom's birthday).

The next time I post, I should be 14 hours ahead of you (if you are in the Central Time zone).