Almost There

Well, my next to last step on my journey to Korea is now done. Last Wednesday, I traveled down to Hot-Lanta (aka Atlanta) to make a visit to the Korean consulate. I had to wake up pretty early to make it all the way down there before 11:30. I woke up at about 4 and left the house around 5. The trip was long, but it was ok and uneventful. Traffic wasn't that bad, and I found the MARTA station pretty easily.

I rode a MARTA train into Atlanta and made it to the consulate's office at about 11. I turned my paperwork in and waited for my interview. This Korean guy comes and takes me into a conference room. This is where it went downhill. The first thing he does is point out that I am wearing flip-flops (sandals is what he called them); he obviously did not like the fact that I was wearing them. He said it is not appropriate to wear them in a consulate. OK, made a mistake there. I thought it would be fine since it wasn't like a job interview or anything...more like a character reference. He then tells me that he is the one that makes the decision whether a visa will be issued or not. That's when I got a tad bit nervous.

He goes on with the interview with an agitated demeanor about him. He really did not like me. He asked me if I was a drunk, took drugs, or anything of that nature. Of course, I said no. He went on how he couldn't understand why I wanted to do this with an accounting degree and with no teaching experience. He wanted me to explain why I chose Korea and wanted me to explain everything about Korea in a few seconds. He's still not in a good mood. He finally looks down at my paperwork and sees that I had previously been to Korea. I explained to him that I had a few friends there, and I spent the month visiting them. The air about him changed entirely at this point. All of sudden he liked me. He talked a little bit more, didn't ask me any more questions, and told me to have a good time in Korea. After the interview, I apologized again about the flip-flops; this time he didn't seem to care at all. Oh well, it's over at least.

I drove back home after visiting the Museum of Design...another long journey, and I then met up with some friends for a farewell dinner. Today, I got my visa in the mail so I'm now ready to leave as soon as I get my plane ticket from my school (and I get packed, of course).

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