Visa Hassle and First Day

I arrived in South Korea 2 days ago anxious to see my wife who I haven't seen in almost 3 months although it wasn't until an hour before we landed that I allowed myself to get excited. I had spent all of Monday running around Vancouver trying to get my work visa issued in 1 day (which they don't normally do) as I had to leave on Tuesday. I started the day by going to the wrong FedEx location to pick up my visa document at 9:00 AM. I picked up my documents at the right location at 9:30 and headed to the consulate. Once there I was told I could not get my visa done in a day...well maybe if I showed them my plane ticket they could make an exception. Since my ticket was an e-ticket, I didn't have my ticket with me...so back to the airport I went (the same airport I flew into at 7:45 that morning) and got my ticket. I woke up at 4:00 AM this morning so I was feeling quite tired by this time. I fell asleep in the back of the cab for several minutes on the way back to the airport. When I awoke, the cabbie was looking at me through the mirror in a strange way...I think I was snoring with my head tilted back, mouth wide open. Finally I returned to the consulate at 11:30. The clerk there gave me a phone number to call later in the day to see if my visa would be ready for me to pick up. By this time I had spent well over $100 on 6 cab rides so I spent the next 5 hours in Vancouver kicking around waiting to pick up my visa, which thankfully did get processed.

So I finally landed in Incheon Int. Airport and waited for a long time at immigration. Some guy who spent 20 minutes yelling at one of the stewards on the plane spend another 20 minutes to get through the immigration man and he happened to be in the same lineup as me. Finally through, I came out into the waiting area and saw my beautiful wife for the first time in almost 3 months. This was the happiest moment for me since...probably our wedding 3 months ago. Her mother was there with her and I gave her a hug too, although it was a bit strange as the last time I met her mother my wife and I were just co-workers without a hint of romance in sight.

The bus ride to Jeonju was about 4 hours and my father-in-law picked us up at the bus station. I had never met him before. He taller than I expected and more handsome and charming than I pictured in my mind. He brought me pink flowers and a vase, which seemed a little strange but at least it was a positive response (I had had scenarios running through my head as to what I should do if he brought a shotgun instead of flowers). We all then went out for dinner, ate some kalbi (BBQ pork ribs) and told each other how happy we are with my wife translating between the in-laws and myself.

Later we went to the apartment to which the in-laws brought 4 bags of groceries containing water, milk, orange and grape juices, several kinds of kimchi, pork, peaches, plums, grapes, bananas, apples and rice. My mother-in-law said that she was very worried about us and that she wishes that she lived closer so she could take care of us. Then the next day they came again while my wife was at school, proceeded to clean up the apartment, do laundry, prepare and freeze meals for the next week and make lunch for us. My mother-in-law is a great cook and she made bulgogi (spicy pork) and japchae (noodles made with sweet potato I believe mixed with vegetables and chicken....maybe pork). With about 5 side dishes of kimchi of course too.

While my mother-in-law was cleaning up, I was not sure if I should help her or not. I felt torn as she cleaned and brought us fruit while we watched a documentary on soybeans. Finally she said that she was ready to go and that I should hang up the laundry when it is finished. I agreed, finally feeling like there was something constructive I could do...but then while she was taking off her apron, my father-in-law said "washing no... you no touch...my daughter do". I smiled and said "ok" even though I planned to do it since my wife wouldn't be returning for another 3 hours. I cracked a smile, almost burst out laughing because it seemed so absurd. I had a whole day off while my wife was at school so I figured the least I could do would be to hang up laundry. Before he left, he said once more, "No touchie".

Yesterday morning we were woken up by loud banging noises at 7:00 AM. There is new construction in the lot next to us so I expect I won't be getting up late on weekdays (even though I don't work until 2:00 PM) for the next few months. Of course we also have something of a beer garden right below our apartment so it's likely that Friday and Saturday nights will be noisy too. The nice part about being in this area on the other hand is that we have many shops close by. The last time I was in Korea, there were only a handful of shops close to my apartment (and most closed before 9 PM, the time I finished work) but there were many businesses open even at 10:30 last night when we went for a walk. We even passed by the school I'm going to work at, which is only about a 15 minute walk from the apartment. I will go to the school for the first time tonight and find out what to expect as I start work on Monday.