I got my intinerary today and found out that Im leaving one day earlier than I expected. I'm leaving tomorrow! I have a 7:35am flight with US Airways to San Francisco (5 hrs and 43 mins). Then a noon flight on Asiania airlines from San Francisco to Seoul(12 hour flight).I will arrive in South Korea 5:45pm Wednesday (South Korea Time) which would be 3:45 AM (Eastern time). I am going to be so tired when I get there. I think I'll just crash without unpacking.
I still don't have a power adapter or a transformer! I'll have to find one soon so I can use my appliances like my laptop and my hairdryer/straightener/alarm clock.
Today I had my interview with the Korean consulate. I hated having to drive to Atlanta. I didn't hit any traffic at all on the way up here.(I'm scared about the way back!) I left at 5am and arrived at my destination at 10:20am. I could have gotten here earlier if I didn't make some wrong turns. I was on I-20 for a long time and I was suppose to get off at I-75/I-85S..well I did but it was below where I needed to be...I needed exit 249 and when I got on it I was already down at 242 (the directions they gave assumed you were already on I75/I85S and not having to get on it from another interstate..ok so I turned off and got back on I75/I85N to go back up to get to that exit...well there is only 249B and D on the North Side..you can only access the 249A from the South so I had to get back on 75S...and I finally made it here...I had to park in a parking garage thats going to cost an arm and a leg because of circumstances I will list later....
While I was waiting to have my interview a girl came in for an interview and she didn't have what she needed so they sent her home. She was upset and telling her mom that they wasted her time. Another guy came in who was also there for an interview and his documents weren't there yet so he has to come back later for his interview.
ok so I go in and have the interview at 11am..he asked me a few questions..He wanted to know how I found out about teaching in South Korea, did I have any experience, etc..it lasted about 10 minutes.then I went to ask the woman at the front desk when my passport would be ready...she said tomorrow and I said my flight leaves in the morning...you usually get your passport the next day...so now I have to wait around till 4pm to pick it up...
Now my car will be in the parking deck all day long..I'm not getting out into the city cause I have no clue where to go so the maximum price for parking is $16 so thats what i'll be paying since I'll be in there about 6 hours...
Right now I'm just wasting time in the Hyatt hotel lobby in the Peachtree mall. I sat in a chair and just rested for a whole hour and now Im checking email and blogging on my sister's computer. I found an outlet in the lobby.
so I'll pick up my passport with the visa stamp at 4pm...then drive almost 5 hours...finish packing..I think I'm going to take 2 suitcases..Im flying on 2 different airlines so I dont know which one I'm suppose to follow for the baggage allowance...I emailed my recruiter so I'll find out....so after I get home I'll have to pack and then go to bed and get up super early since I want to be at the airport by 5:35am...
This was not a good experience. Its not worth driving 10 hours in one day for a 10 minute interview.
1 comment:
Hi Valerie!! Good luck tomorrow and for the next year! I can't wait to read all about your experiences.
Don't know if you've flown internationally or not, but here are a few pointers just in case...
TAKE YOUR IPOD/MP3 player - the headphones alone are worth it, especially if small children are on board.
When you go through security, you have to pull your laptop out of it's bag...remember your shoes have to come off, and the last 5 times I've flown I've had to fit all my carry-on liquids into a zip-top bag provided by the airline. This is a pain in the butt to say the least (I'm always scrounging around my carry-on for a random tube of chapstick - and I got searched last week b/c I missed one little thing of lip gloss!!).
Smoking is allowed on some international flights if the airlines are out of countries other than the USA, most of the 'goodies' are free...grab them! And if they have room for you to change seats, get as far from the bathroom as humanly possible (Had to sit in front of the bathroom on the 8 hour flight to Gatwick...not pleasant).
I hope you have a blast and I can't wait to read more of your adventures!
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