Making like a tree...

So apparently as an update, we're leaving.

We went back in to the consulate today to check on our status for the visa, and apparently they were made ready as we were walking there (or something... Karen tells us they appeared as being available and ready right after we left to walk there and check).

So we have very cool looking visas, and we booked a Friday 10 AM flight... that means we leave tomorrow morning I guess.

So... we'll be out of touch for a few days likely, but more will come now that things are happening :)

Chris

Lions and Tigers and Consulates... oh my!

Well, it's been a bit longer in Toronto than we hoped initially. We managed to get down to the consulate yesterday (the 27th) for our entrance interview. Getting there, we were directed to a waiting area and found there were a couple other people who were told the same 'time' to arrive for the interview. 10 - 15 minutes later we were ushered out to another waiting room with a few more people in it. Shortly after another half-dozen walked in. By this point, everyone was there for a 3:00 PM interview and it dawned on me that this in fact was not just an interview, but Korea's latest reality TV enterprise 'Who Wants to Have a VISA?'

We spent the rest of the day in a series of gruelling challenges, from trying to make fire with kimchi (a traditional Korean fermented cabbage/vegetable dish) to a mountain climbing race up a full scale model of Mt Hallasan made out of red Jell-O. Many people were voted off and went home with a variety of consolation prizes. In the end it came down to Kay, myself and some fellow named John. Fortunately the jury voted for me, and I'll be heading out. Kay's going to have to try again next season though.

Seriously though... the waiting room had lots of people, but by the time they started interviewing it went very quickly. They spent 2-3 minutes with each person (Kay and I were interviewed at the same time) and at the end they told us it would be up to 2-3 business days before we'd get our visas. There's a flight we'd love to take Friday night, so God willing, if we can have our visas by Friday in the day we'll be off. Otherwise we'll be here through the long weekend (as Monday is Labour Day and the consulate will be closed). In the meantime we're still here with Karen, overstaying our welcome and sleeping on a wide assortment of furniture.

And getting sick. I've started to come down with some sort of coughing thing that's not as good, and Kay is recovering from being bitten by some sort of bugs (that we never found) and having a reaction to the venom. All in all we can't complain, our time in Toronto has been pretty good. Kay was able to get a few secret shopper jobs with a restaraunt called the Pickle barrel giving us a free lunch on three different days. We also had a chance to visit with some friends here in Toronto on different days. Still... here's hoping for a Friday flight! :)

Chris

Beginnings

   So, without any ado, our first blog entry:

   We're in Toronto. We are VERY in Toronto. We are SO in Toronto that apparently we can't leave until the end of August. We arrived August 13th after a somewhat arduous bus trip from Fort Frances. There were a few unexpected delays with a bus overbooked and many of us had to wait an extra 3-4 hours on top of the 6 hour layover in Thunder Bay. That being said, it was still a blessing to have woken up bright and early on the 12th to leave to find our visa issuance numbers in our e-mail and a enormous golden sunrise complete with double rainbow waiting for us as we departed.

   Thursday morning, first thing, we went to the Korean consulate here in Toronto. Fortunately it's a hop, skip and a jump away and we were able to see someone right away. After the paper shuffling, filling out of forms and etc procedure we were told that they would interview us at 3 PM... on August 27th. They seem to be pretty swamped there; there was a large stack of applications and passports piling up. So we took our leave and headed back here to e-mail our school the not-so-good news.

   The school was surprised, but they took the news very well. It seems they've looked at pushing back the school year to the beginning of September as we're not the only teachers in this kind of a situation. Some apparently haven't gotten their visa issuance numbers yet, and it's definitely an item of prayer support for the school. Other school surprises include a slight shift in my role in the upcoming year. It seems there is a lower enrollment than anticipated so Mr. Pfister (our superintendent) asked if I would be willing to work at the Kindergarten campus with Kay. He also suggested a possible 'part time' scenario where I'd do some work at each campus, but thinking about it, I'm happy to stick with the Kindergarten for now and work with Kay in corrupting the youth.

-Chris