My Journey Part 3

My Journey – Part 3

In Dubai there was another Starbucks so I indulged in a caramel Frappuccino with cream on the top. Oh it was definitely heaven in such a hot place. I had 3 hours to kill to I took my drink to the gate I would be leaving from and I decided to do some writing in my notebook. I would have slept but I was too excited and nervous to relax. This time the plane was full, every single seat was taken up.

I found myself seated next to two other English people who were also flying to South Korea to teach English for the first time. Their names were Richard and Callie. (I forgot to mention that on the last flight I watched a Korean film called The Sword With No Name which was absolutely fantastic except they cut out all the really violent scenes) On this flight I decided to watch Carriers which scared the crap out of me! And also the film Avatar which I actually really enjoyed. We had two meals on this plane, but I cannot be bothered to type everything from the menu so to cut it short, the first meal was an omlette and fresh fruit and the second meal was some chicken and rice in a cream sauce with a kitkat. I didn't sleep a single wink for the full 8 and a half hours. Our second flight from Dubai was delayed because somebody had to be removed from the plane along with their baggage. Instead of arriving in Seoul at 4.15 like it said on my ticket, we got their at 5.30pm.

After watching my suitcase go around on the conveyor belt for the fourth time, I finally decided it was actually mine and collected it on the fifth time round. (Lmao – I wonder what the guy stood next to me thought when I kept looking at it everytime I saw it then finally collecting it 15 minutes later.) I made my way to the front of the airport in Seoul where Hwan (my contact) was going to pick me up. There was a row of around 50 people holding signs and I walked past everyone of them at least twice, making sure I didn't miss my name. I got in plenty of peoples way and when I got barged into for the millionth time, I decided it was best I just stand to one side.

Luckily Hwan must have seen this amusing sight and thought to put me out of my misery as he walked over to me and asked “Rachel?” I got really giddy, laughed in his face and replied “Oh yes he he he, that's me!” Luckily the Koreans have a sense of humour!

It took me and Hwan three hours on trains to get to the bus station I needed to be at. During this time we discussed how he calls women with fat legs – elephant women, how he knew more about London than me, and also the various countries we had both visited. It was a very comical journey and made me feel comfortable straight away. By the time we got to the bus station, the next bus to Geochang was at 10pm. As Hwan needed to get back to Seoul before the last train, he ended up leaving me in the bus station next to Dunkin Donuts and a toilet.

I was highly amused by my new environment and everybody stared at me like the foreigner that I was. After about 4minutes of constant attention I decided it would be best if I escape to the toilet.

And what an adventure that turned out to be...

To be continued...

My Journey Part 2

My Journey – Part 2

I walked into the airport and spotted a check in desk straight away called Emirates where nobody was queuing. As this was the name of my flight airline, I walked straight over and deposited my suitcase and got my flight tickets. I then slowly made my way through the security checks, it was funny when I was taking my shoes off and depositing my valuables through security as my sister decided this would be a good time to call me, so I had Road To Hell by Chris Rea playing all the way through my check – he he.

I had a couple of hours to kill after this as most of you already know due to my texting and calling while waiting for my gate to open at 1pm. I noticed a HMV so decided to have a browse... yes you know me so well! I bought Snow Patrols album that I've been wanting since Xmas because it was only £5.95. I then went to Starbucks and got a tall caramel skinny latte (I didn't know if they did these in South Korea so thought I best get one just in case) I also had a steak and cheese sandwich and a piece of blueberry swirl cheesecake! Yummy. At 1pm I finally made my way to the gate I needed to be at and once I checked in, I had the luxury of sitting near the windows and watching planes land/take-off. I even took a picture of one plane wandering around the airport :D

At this point I met a woman named Ye Keun Jin who is also flying to South Korea with her husband and little girl. She was from South Korea and had been living in Wales for the last 13 months while her husband studied at University over here. She was very interested in my venture to South Korea and we talked until it was time to get on the plane around 1.30pm. My first flight was to Dubai and I was amazed to find I had a full row of seats to myself. There were only around 10 other people in the same cabin as me. I immediately checked through the films and there were over 200 to choose from including all the great classic Disney films, the latest films out and some foreign films. I decided to watch The Frog Princess to start off and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This was the lunch menu I had -

Appetiser – Greek salad – classic Greek salad with marinated feta cheese, black olives and cucumber.

Main Course – Yoghurt chicken – tender chicken marinated and cooked in a yoghurt Zorbian sauce, served with basmati rice and sweet and sour eggplant.

Dessert – Strawberry cheesecake – fruity strawberry filling topped with a buttery biscuit crumble and encased in a cream cheese mousse.

Plus – Cheese and biscuits, tea or coffee and chocolates.

It was all delicious! This flight took around 6.5 hours and in Dubai it was midnight when we arrived there.

To be continued...

My Journey Part 1

My Journey – Part 1

Okay, my journey began in Doncaster where I caught the train Monday afternoon to London Kings Cross station. I had a very tearful goodbye with my sister Kerry, Jenna Duffy and Megan Wainwright; two of my best friends. The goodbye wasn't as emotional as I wanted it to be as I got on the train due to some useless family who stole my thunder! Yes that is right, some silly girl got on the train and her friend was also suppose to get on. She decided to leave it until the last minute when the train conductor blew the whistle – THEN she decided to meander across the platform to the doors as they were shutting. There was a massive outburst from the girl inside the train as well as the family and friend being angry on the other side. At this point all I could do was stare at the family in shock that they would actually be angry when it was their own stupid fault. I was at the station 30 minutes before my train was due in and 10 minutes before it arrived I was stood waiting on the platform.

Anyways – back to me :D

So, we were all watching this family and did not get our sad waves goodbye in. The train left and I went to find my seat. I walked through the carriage with my large, hefty suitcase and was happy to find my reserved seat was at a table. But when I got there, there were a couple of people already sat there in my seat. I explained to them - “It looks like you're sitting in my seat.” The woman looked at me gone out, as if I was talking in a foreign language. I saw the seat next to her was empty and I then said, “but it is okay, I'll go put my case somewhere and I can sit there.” I wasn't going to be picky at this point, a chair is a chair. I still had tears streaming down my face and I just wanted to sit down.

I got to the end of the carriage where the luggage racks were and to my dismay, they were full. There was no other holders within the carriage which would mean leaving my luggage somewhere else where I could not see it from my reserved seat. Sighing, I made my way to the passage where the doors to the train are. There was a seat attached to the wall so I sat there with my suitcase for the next two hours to London. When I arrived at Kingscross, my Uncle picked me up and drove me to his house where I stopped for the evening. I went to bed around 10.30 and slept like a rock until 7.30 which is when I woke up to get ready for my journey out of the UK.

At 9.30 I waited for the taxi to come to Camden Town to pick me up and take me to Heathrow airport. This journey was the most nerve-racking and left me feeling anxious and sick. It took a full hour to get to the airport and when I arrived there, I needed to wait a full hour before my plane even came up on the board to tell me which entrance to use.

To be continued...

Flights!

I now have my passport back with my Visa inside, I have my flight booked for Tuesday the 27th leaving England in the afternoon, stopping off in Dubai and then 18 hours later I should be in South Korea! I can hardly wait :D

Delayed

Yes... I know... I should be there by now dammit!

Would you believe I first applied for this job in January? (It's now mid-April)

Okay, so I sent my passport off with my Visa number, the Korean Embassy rang me up yesterday and told me that the number isn't valid!

So I've had to mess about trying to contact the school to get a valid one, the Korean Embassy told me to call them back on Monday (which means it might take longer for them to send me my passport back) and the school have told me to tell them to hurry up cause the old English teacher has left and they desperately need somebody to replace them.

Only thing is... now this bloody earthquake has gone off in Iceland, it shouldn't really affect me too much, but currently there is no way I can get out of the country. Hopefully by Thursday, the ash that is high up in the atmosphere which is what is preventing planes from take-off should have cleared. Now though they are saying there is another volcano behind this one which due to these most recent events... could also be triggered! And this could go on into the middle of next week!

So...

I'm delayed unfortunately. Hopefully not for too long, perhaps I might still be able to fly on the 23rd?! We'll have to wait and see!

Visa

Ahhh, good news!

I now have my visa issue number and my passport has been sent off with the issue number to the Korean Embassy in London so that I can now have a document stuck inside the passport saying I am allowed to stay in South Korea for a period of 12 months. This should take about a week to complete!

I have also had an email from Hwan asking me if the 23rd is an okay date to fly? I've told them yes, I already know I'll be flying from Heathrow, let us hope it isn't too early because otherwise I'll have to get to London the day before (which is when I expect my passport back!)

It all seems like a mad rush now! I have everything I need, as soon as I know what airline I'm with I need to contact them so I can double check my luggage weight and any rules regarding hand-luggage and food!

Not long now!!!

The Waiting Game!

Okay...

So I thought I would be there by now, everything is taking so long and there is so much paperwork to go through! Currently the documents to support my Visa are over in Korea at their foreign office, I am waiting for them to be processed! I have signed my contract and that is also in their hands. I got an email from them yesterday saying I need to contact the Korean Embassy over here to find out how much my visa will cost, then I have to send some more paperwork to them along with a money order to pay for the visa. Which has confused the hell out of me because I thought the school was paying for my visa!

So... now I am just waiting for some number to be sent to me so I can write it on the top of my Visa application and send it off. It's all just a big waiting game!