In all of this visa mess I've had a lot of driving/thinking time.
I am so thankful for
~ my boss for being flexible with time and allowing me to make all of these drives
~ my friends for being supportive with whatever happens with this whole process
~ my reliable car (and it's ability to just go when I needed it to)
~ the fact that I DID NOT get any speeding tickets. Which is probably a miracle, considering every time I drove someplace to take care of something, someone mentioned how quickly I arrived.
~ a little extra money from my side job to pay for all of this
~ my family, for everything
I drove down to Emporia this morning, picked up my transcript, drove back to KC and straight to the FedEx office. Everything is off. Hopefully it will be taken care of. I am at the point in this process that if it doesn't work out, it wasn't meant to be.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
How to get a Korean Visa....or not?
Did you know that getting a Korean visa is more complicated than filling out your taxes? For those of you who might be interested...here are the steps.
Here are the steps to get a C-4 Visa to Korea:
1. Apply for an FBI Background check (For me, this was done in the middle of March). This will take at least 2 months...if you are lucky. Cost: $18
2. While you are waiting, get a passport photo taken for your visa. Cost: $9
3. Fill out visa application. Keep waiting for background check.
4. Background check arrives. Drive to Topeka to get your background check apostilled (that's a super fancy official notarization). Cost: Gas - $20, Apostille - $7.50
5. Call the Consulate and check to make sure you have everything that you need. You are told you also need to have your diploma's apostilled.
6. Get a money order from the bank for the application fee. Cost $47.50
7. Drive back to Topeka. Cost: Gas - $20, Apostille (2) - $15
8. Check to make sure you have everything (including passport). Head to the post office. Spend 20 minutes working with the nice lady at the BS post office to get everything paid for, and in the correct envelope. Cost: $28.50
9. Get a surprise phone call from the consulate. You need to send in the correct visa application form, a special form from the University in Korea, and your official transcript.
10. Send in the correct visa application via email.
11. Email Korea asking about the special form.
12. Fax ESU to try to get transcript. Transcript must be Fed-Ex'd to Chicago. Cost: $28
13. Realize that your fax won't be read until May 31st. You are screwed since you were to leave for Korea on June 12th.
14. Freak out because you don't have a passport or a visa.
15. Realize that you can't do anything about the situation and let it go, and drink some beer. Cost: $3.50
So, here I am almost three months after I started the process, without a visa. And unsure if I'll actually be going on this fantastic trip. So far I'm out $197.00
Here's to you Korean Consulate.
Here are the steps to get a C-4 Visa to Korea:
1. Apply for an FBI Background check (For me, this was done in the middle of March). This will take at least 2 months...if you are lucky. Cost: $18
2. While you are waiting, get a passport photo taken for your visa. Cost: $9
3. Fill out visa application. Keep waiting for background check.
4. Background check arrives. Drive to Topeka to get your background check apostilled (that's a super fancy official notarization). Cost: Gas - $20, Apostille - $7.50
5. Call the Consulate and check to make sure you have everything that you need. You are told you also need to have your diploma's apostilled.
6. Get a money order from the bank for the application fee. Cost $47.50
7. Drive back to Topeka. Cost: Gas - $20, Apostille (2) - $15
8. Check to make sure you have everything (including passport). Head to the post office. Spend 20 minutes working with the nice lady at the BS post office to get everything paid for, and in the correct envelope. Cost: $28.50
9. Get a surprise phone call from the consulate. You need to send in the correct visa application form, a special form from the University in Korea, and your official transcript.
10. Send in the correct visa application via email.
11. Email Korea asking about the special form.
12. Fax ESU to try to get transcript. Transcript must be Fed-Ex'd to Chicago. Cost: $28
13. Realize that your fax won't be read until May 31st. You are screwed since you were to leave for Korea on June 12th.
14. Freak out because you don't have a passport or a visa.
15. Realize that you can't do anything about the situation and let it go, and drink some beer. Cost: $3.50
So, here I am almost three months after I started the process, without a visa. And unsure if I'll actually be going on this fantastic trip. So far I'm out $197.00
Here's to you Korean Consulate.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Belize Pt. 3
Day 12 -
We woke up the next morning to see that the rain that had begun the day before continued. Today was a “resting day.” We spent the morning on a hike into the jungle.
We saw all sorts of trees, plants, and some really pretty butterflies. On the walk, I ended up going slower than most of the group, but faster than the photographers. I was walking through the jungle by myself, thinking about how scary it would have been to be lost. How it would be horrible to have to hike in the dark…and how many eyes were probably watching me that I didn’t even know about. This was about the time I fell down the path and almost ran into our guide Pedro…who was chopping bamboo for famous bamboo chicken. As we were hiking the sun came out.
We ate lunch and then played in the water for the rest of the day. We paddled our kayaks under the waterfall to see who could hold on and not get pushed out. We also played water polo. It was a “modified version” in which any rules go. We played for several hours and were exhausted.
We then got out of the water, dried off, and decided to entertain ourselves by braiding hair (don’t really know why we felt like this was the best idea ever, but we had a great time.) We had fashion shoots, and acted pretty much like we were all twelve years old!
Day 13 - We packed up everything, tents included, and headed down the river. This was to be a travel day. We paddled down the river to the next take out point, pulled all of our gear out and set up our tents. After we had our camp set up, we had some “team bonding” drinking and answering questions such as first car and first album bought with your own money. It was a great day!
Day 14 - We had an early wake up call, tore down our camp, and begun paddling to our takeout point. We did not have any drops this day, and the water reminded me of paddling down the current river….except there were tons of iguanas! Valencio climbed a tree and scared an iguana. The iguana jumped in the river (did you know iguana’s swam?) and then Pedro jumped into the water and caught the iguana. We passed it all around and took pictures. Valencio then let the iguana go.
We continued down the river until we got to the bridge.
As we exited the local children from the village showed up to help us cart all of our materials from the river to the van. The children helped us, and then we gave them treats, gum, cookies, pencils, and magazines. It was a difficult experience because I wanted to organize and make things “fair”.
We walked from the river to a store where lunch was waiting. It was similar fare, but I ended up eating rice and beans. It was just so tasty! We loaded up the van and drove back to Dangriga after lunch. We went to the Island Expeditions office where we were able purchase some souvenirs and get the rest of our luggage.
We were then driven to the airport, where a private puddle jumper was waiting to take us back to Belize City. We boarded the plane and took off for BC. It was the SMOOTHEST puddle jumper flight I’ve ever taken. I thought we were going to the international airport, but we landed at the municipal airport. The runway ended a few feet from the water.
It was quite the landing! We were then transferred to the hotel and were able to rest. As a last finale, we ended up having a final dinner together. It was quite the event, and a little sad, as we were all going our own ways the next day.
Day 15 - Time to go home! My flight didn’t leave until later in the afternoon, and two of my trip mates were on the same flight out. We decided to share a taxi to the airport. My roommate got up and left early, leaving me in the room by myself until noon. I slept in, enjoyed a nice breakfast buffet and was able to spend about two hours by the pool before it was time to leave. We ended up at the airport with about a billion students on mission trips. The majority of our flight was filled with these students. It wasn’t quite the restful flight that I had hoped.
Luckily the REI travelers and I were able to rush through customs before the large group, and we had no trouble finding our way around the Dallas airport. I ended up waiting for my flight back to KC watching the KU basketball game with fellow Kansans. Belize Trip Recap Part 1 Belize Trip Recap Part 2
 |
| From Belize |
We woke up the next morning to see that the rain that had begun the day before continued. Today was a “resting day.” We spent the morning on a hike into the jungle.
 |
| From Belize |
We saw all sorts of trees, plants, and some really pretty butterflies. On the walk, I ended up going slower than most of the group, but faster than the photographers. I was walking through the jungle by myself, thinking about how scary it would have been to be lost. How it would be horrible to have to hike in the dark…and how many eyes were probably watching me that I didn’t even know about. This was about the time I fell down the path and almost ran into our guide Pedro…who was chopping bamboo for famous bamboo chicken. As we were hiking the sun came out.
 |
| From Belize |
 |
| From Belize |
We ate lunch and then played in the water for the rest of the day. We paddled our kayaks under the waterfall to see who could hold on and not get pushed out. We also played water polo. It was a “modified version” in which any rules go. We played for several hours and were exhausted.
 |
| From Belize |
We then got out of the water, dried off, and decided to entertain ourselves by braiding hair (don’t really know why we felt like this was the best idea ever, but we had a great time.) We had fashion shoots, and acted pretty much like we were all twelve years old!
 |
| From Belize |
Day 13 - We packed up everything, tents included, and headed down the river. This was to be a travel day. We paddled down the river to the next take out point, pulled all of our gear out and set up our tents. After we had our camp set up, we had some “team bonding” drinking and answering questions such as first car and first album bought with your own money. It was a great day!
Day 14 - We had an early wake up call, tore down our camp, and begun paddling to our takeout point. We did not have any drops this day, and the water reminded me of paddling down the current river….except there were tons of iguanas! Valencio climbed a tree and scared an iguana. The iguana jumped in the river (did you know iguana’s swam?) and then Pedro jumped into the water and caught the iguana. We passed it all around and took pictures. Valencio then let the iguana go.
 |
| From Belize |
We continued down the river until we got to the bridge.
 |
| From Belize |
As we exited the local children from the village showed up to help us cart all of our materials from the river to the van. The children helped us, and then we gave them treats, gum, cookies, pencils, and magazines. It was a difficult experience because I wanted to organize and make things “fair”.
 |
| From Belize |
We walked from the river to a store where lunch was waiting. It was similar fare, but I ended up eating rice and beans. It was just so tasty! We loaded up the van and drove back to Dangriga after lunch. We went to the Island Expeditions office where we were able purchase some souvenirs and get the rest of our luggage.
We were then driven to the airport, where a private puddle jumper was waiting to take us back to Belize City. We boarded the plane and took off for BC. It was the SMOOTHEST puddle jumper flight I’ve ever taken. I thought we were going to the international airport, but we landed at the municipal airport. The runway ended a few feet from the water.
 |
| From Belize |
It was quite the landing! We were then transferred to the hotel and were able to rest. As a last finale, we ended up having a final dinner together. It was quite the event, and a little sad, as we were all going our own ways the next day.
Day 15 - Time to go home! My flight didn’t leave until later in the afternoon, and two of my trip mates were on the same flight out. We decided to share a taxi to the airport. My roommate got up and left early, leaving me in the room by myself until noon. I slept in, enjoyed a nice breakfast buffet and was able to spend about two hours by the pool before it was time to leave. We ended up at the airport with about a billion students on mission trips. The majority of our flight was filled with these students. It wasn’t quite the restful flight that I had hoped.
 |
| From Belize |
Luckily the REI travelers and I were able to rush through customs before the large group, and we had no trouble finding our way around the Dallas airport. I ended up waiting for my flight back to KC watching the KU basketball game with fellow Kansans. Belize Trip Recap Part 1 Belize Trip Recap Part 2
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