Kinda Like Tom Hanks in the Terminal here....

Greetings from Seoul, South Korea! However, all has not gone well here and I find myself stranded with both time, money, and options being very limited.
Since the Chinese government put a stop to getting visas in Hong Kong, I needed to go outside the country to get my Z visa. I was told by SAFEA (the gov agency that handles foreigner issues) that Korea would be an acceptable alternative however when I went to the Consulate this morning, I was denied entry because my paperwork was not done through a Korean travel agency. This protocol has been in effect since mid 2007, but was shocking news to not only me but SAFEA as well. Seems to me, a major change like that would tend to get noticed by them before 2 years, but apparently not. So, in order to get the documentation that I need for the travel agency, I need to get a form from the Korean government which will take 15 days to get the paper, plus an additional 2-4 days for the visa paperwork to go through. Not good.
Many thanks go to Doro and Jackie for helping me here and Jessie for assisting on the Chinese side and discussing what options i do have. One would be staying here in Korea for 15 days at this hostel and trying to find my way around the city in that time, the other would be to get SAFEA to resend the paperwork to my home in the US and then go through this whole fun process in the US, where I have the advantage of being fluent in the language for a change. However, I do not have the money for either option, so I am working with SAFEA to see if they will finance me seeing as though it was their mistake. Please pray that this whole situation can be quickly and finally resolved.

Sunday

We made it South Korea safe enough and since the embassy doesn't open until Monday, we spent the last two days exploring the city a bit. It's a very nice city but very expensive. Things are about 1.5 to 2 times American prices, which is quite a sticker shock considering in Beijing, things are about a tenth the price. It's a little bit weird to be an environment where nothing is censored or restricted again.

Things I Learned Today

-Just because mass transit is only 1 kwai, doesn't mean you should do it.
-You can fit an amazing amount of people on a public transit bus. More than you'd think.
-And then you can fit even more.
-There is absolutely no concept of personal space. Especially on a public bus.

-12 yuan haircuts are a good deal.
-My hair causes a great deal of entertainment to people when blow dried.
-The 20 something guy cutting my hair who looks like Rufio from Hook takes a very long time to cut hair.
-If he asks you if you want to keep something, like sideburns, front curls, any answer you say will be translated to him as "Yes, please cut it. or No, I don't want it. Please cut it."
-I have a gray hair.
-Free scalp massages in hot lemongrass water are very relaxing.


-Taxi drivers spend a great deal of energy to get your business and would promise to take you anywhere if you would choose them, maybe all this energy exerted is why they get tired 90% of the way and drop you off a half mile away from campus.
-They also have a terrible memory, that is why they say 15 yuan in pre-deal negotiations, but then say 25 when you get out. Their memory improves significantly and rather rapidly when a mandarin speaking person is also a passenger.

-The Chinese staff make a great barbecue, but they are not to be trusted with charcoal in their hands.
-Charcoal doesn't wash off of my face and arms very easily.
-Revenge is a dish best served cold ;)

Graduation

Today was the graduation ceremony for the May session and my third session overall. It's usually a very formal affair with too many speeches that are mostly Chinese, but it's also a time for goodbyes and plenty of pictures. This country is really good for my ego, because I feel like I have my own personal paparazzi during ceremonies like this. Usually a dozen or so Chinese students will bump and jostle each other to take pictures and then try to crowd in to take a picture with me or have me sign something. My class also gave me a very nice gift. A large tapestry, about five feet high, and 18 inches wide with a traditional painting in the center of a serene landscape. Very ornate and very expensive. I was most appreciative. Some of the students have expressed interest in coming back for future sessions as administrative assistants to help out us facilitators and we would definitely appreciate their help and their company once more.

In other news, on Saturday, I fly down to Korea and hopefully end this whole visa saga.

Saturday

Saturday I had a small class in the morning on Teaching English to Speakers of other Languages (TESOL) that started out chaotic but ended pretty smooth. I was then free for the the rest of the day and not quite sure what to do with it. So 2 other guys and I thought it would be a good idea to go to the village for some groceries and a mutton stick dinner. So as we're walking down the main drag through this tiny village (East Coast readers think Heidlersburg, Midwest: Harrisburg) we instantly become the center of attraction. One of the guys I'm with, Brandon, knows this little bike shop where he can get his bike adjusted, so we head there. A bike is a pretty useful thing to have around campus as it shortens the walk from the facilitator dorm to the classrooms by several minutes and in the course of a day, those add up. Plus, it's also useful to quickly get to the village if you want to buy some stuff. While the guy is fixing the bike, we decide to go across the street to this little diner to get some baoza which is like a dumpling filled with vegetables and meat. Really cheap, really good. They're also really spicy which is why its a good idea to have something to drink nearby and we tried to order a Coke in mandarin which sounds a little different here (bǎishìkělè) After mangling it a few times for the woman who ran the store and doing very amusing hand gestures, she finally got it and said. Oh, Coca-Cola! Score one for globalization, I guess.
After this tasty snack we head back to the bike shop where the guy has a choice for Brandon, tube one or tube two. he explains the differences between the two in rapid-fire vernacular so he might as well have been explaining how to fuel a nuclear reactor. Once again, our attempts at communication serve only as entertainment to the crowd watching. However the guy manages to get across that he can fix the bike, but it would almost be cheaper to get a new one, and what do you know, he sells them too. Brandon agrees to fix it but I wouldn't mind getting one, so i look them over. The first one he brings out is an older model girls bike painted bright pink. Pass.
The next one is a very simple black bike. 1 gear, good chain, good tires, very dusty. He asks if i want to try it, and I do, so with a dozen or so onlookers I bike out onto the main road trying not to figure this bike out while not running over everyone or into anything or being run over. Remember, this a fairly busy village and everything is right on the main drag there, so there's construction vehicles going through, trucks, cars, taxis, scooters, you name it. Also chickens doing their thing nearby large piles of feed or dirt or gravel and kids running everywhere. I take a quick loop and don't hit anything so as I'm coming back to the little shop, I go to slow down and discover that brakes are an option in China...one this bike doesnt come installed with. I manage to stop it with my feet and after more than a few laughs from the crowd, the shopguy takes it back, tightens a few things and gives it back, This time they work. So for a cool sixty kwai,(less than ten dollars) i have wheels.

Friday

I just had an excellent evening with some of my teammates. We had a 2 and a half hour Bible study basically on just a few verses in 2 Peter that was most excellent followed by a great time of prayer. Afterwards, we just talked in the kitchen for over an hour, just talking, laughing, and eating scrambled eggs with pork spice and sausage. I can not imagine a better way to spend an evening or a better team with which to spend it.