People keep telling me I'm jammy git. Let me clarify. I get back from 9 months having the time of my life in Africa, get a job in Waterstones, have one job interview for teaching in Korea, get the job and prepare to bugger off. Well they'd be right, I am jammy. But let me tell you how much bloody nonsense I have had to go through to get this job....
1. Get a copy of my passport and driving license stamped and signed at the police station. Cost: nothing.
2. Send those documents and an application form off to the police so they can send me a piece of paper 30 days later saying they hold no information on me (which is interesting as 2 months later when I left my purse in a public toilet they had my number within 4 minutes to call and tell me. NO information? Really?). Cost: £10
Cheshire Police....what do they know!?
3. Get my new criminal record check and a copy of my degree signed by a solicitor. Cost: nothing (thanks to a willing family friend).
4. Send off my signed criminal record check and degree to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to have some bits of paper attached to other bits of paper. Cost: £55
5. Find a job i like. Apply for it, get an interview and get the job. Though this sounds like the hardest part it took a total of 3 days. Oh ok, jammy.
6. Send all above documents, application forms and clear medical history forms (cough) by DHL to Korea. Cost £55
7. Wait for the school to submit these documents to the Korean immigration authorities and get my visa number.
8. Submit more application forms, passport and university transcripts to the Korean Consulate in London. Cost £35
9......? They might ask me for an interview, they might not. But considering I am supposed to leave in 12 days time lets hope not ay!
So yes I may be jammy but its taken a lot of faffing around and money and stress. Several people have seen me pulling my hair out among other stress relieving actions in the last few months as well as stubbornly refusing to believe anything will go right. I still don't believe it. But...as long as the Korean Consulate don't hate my hastily completed paperwork....whether I believe it or not I'm leaving in less than two weeks. Wow. I should probably get packing.
Gwangju, my future home town courtesy of Google.
