very little relaxation

I know it has been a while, I apologize. Let me try to sum up the past 6 weeks.
















Contract issues stemming from a very stubborn Gyeongbuk POE (Provincial Office of Education)

Regionalism
















Awkward sexism experiences where men don't do something because women are expected to do it for them.

Roman candles
















I purchased a ticket to vacation in Thailand in January

Most recently, the various sleeping men and the half japanese half korean girl on the very crowded rides to and from Seoul station.

I am in a long distance band thing, and I made an album cover for the cd we are most likely going to release, it is below:

I feel like I should try to explain the contract issue that is affecting me, as it sounds obnoxious if I simply describe the Gyeongbuk POE as stubborn. The truth is, they have policies that cannot change just because I want them to. Where it gets sketchy is, those policies were designed to cope with issues that plagued the POE in years past, and my situation is very different, but their still policies, policy, policy, policy.

The duration of my contract is March 26 2009 - March 25 2010. This contract starts and ends a month later than English teaching contracts with EPIK typically do. I'm not exactly sure why they did this, but it has made my life quite difficult over the past few months. I am interested in teaching again in S Korea next year, for sure. But I am not interested in staying in this province. Sure, in this province there are nice coastal regions where the air is cleaner and there possibly might be some wildlife.

An indisputable fact is the fact is that I didn't choose to be placed in this province. The choice was made for me by EPIK. I acquiesced because I wanted a paying job, because I wanted to leave the USA, because I was ready to do a year anywhere in Korea, and after that year I would switch provinces to somewhere where I wanted to be in the first place. I signed up for the English Program In Korea, not the English Program In Gyeongsangbuk-do.

If I renew my contract in this province, then the ownership of my E-2 Visa will transfer painlessly into the hands of the next school that I teach in. But, if I switch provinces, than I will need a "Letter of Release" (LoR) from my current province in order to start a new E-2 Visa with another school and to get on a normal contract duration (feb-feb). This is where the Gyeongbuk POE is being very unhelpful. They have a policy that states "NO LoR, NEVER", to protect themselves from people who leave early, and to prohibit those people from continuing to work in Korea afterwards. I am not one of those people, but since they have that policy, I am SOL.

What are my options? Keep on struggling with these people, and the language barrier, use whatever insight into the Korean mindset that I have gained during my 8.5 months of living here, keep writing emails and making phone calls. Try to figure out how to deal with this, so that I can have some kind of a job when my contract ends, so I can satisfy the needs of the relentless beast that calls itself Sallie Mae.

Or, go back to the USA from March 25th until mid-August, at which time I can begin a new contract with EPIK and be placed in a province where I want to be placed, that is, if I get my paperwork in quickly enough.

Or, move to another city in this province and stay for another year, and cross my fingers that I won't run into a situation like this again. Apparently, starting next year, the Gyeongsangbuk-do province won't be so "policy, policy, policy" about LoR's.

One thing that is a huge shame is that, thanks to this experience, my friend Micah and I are being separated. He was the very first person who I sat next to on the bus on our way from the airport to orientation, he and I bonded during orientation, then it turned out that we were going to the exact same city and we live in the same building. He hails from Flagler Beach, which is up the East Coast of Florida from Jupiter. It would be a little depressing if we were to have to do next year without each other, as we have grown very close and I feel like the friendship that we share is something very special.

We had the idea of trying to be placed in another province next to each other again next year. (Insert here the whole Gyeongbuk POE business). Micah has agreed to take a job in this province next year, and I did not. That is not to say that he caved and I didn't, he is moving to a different city, possibly more beautiful. The difference between us is that I am not willing to do another year in this province, no matter where in this province I am. I don't like cold weather.