San Francisco

Here I am Wednesday morning, sitting in the baggage claim area of San Francisco International airport, watching taxis line up at about 5:00. As you may notice, I have not slept in nearly 24 hours. After landing at about 11:30 the previous evening, I spent a very uncomfortable night in an empty concourse. I was unable to sleep due to the airport being extremely cold and damp. I had changed in the bathroom prior to taking this photo (a remarkable feat of balance, if one is committed to keeping one's stocking feet from touching the floor).


The Korean consulate, to my surprise, is situated in a mostly residential area. I had some time to kill after the taxi dropped me off nearby, so I spent the time walking around the neighborhood. I had only been to San Francisco once before, but I was struck once again by the quaint town houses that characterize the city.


I was also struck by the fact that a shop owner would be so forthright concerning his or her political sentiments Then I realized that, being in San Francisco, they're probably not too worried about losing all their conservative clientele.


Promptly at 9:00 I walked into the consulate an announced that I was there to apply for an E-2 visa. I was told to sign in, and got in line behind two other applicants at what looked like a payment window. While I waited, I spoke with the other two applicants (whose names were Jose and Anthony), and discovered that Anthony is also going to be teaching in Changwon. Knowing that Changwon is relatively small, I thought at first that he might be working for the same school as I, though this turned out not to be the case. While I waited I met another applicant, Eric, who had recently flown in from -of all places- Colorado. It was fun, not to mention informative, to talk to everyone about their experiences applying for and accepting teaching positions in Korea.

After paying my $45 application fee and surrendering my passport, application, photos, and sealed transcript to the cashier, I was directed to sit in the lobby. As I waited, the small handful of applicants gradually turned into about 20-25 people, all anxiously awaiting the unknown. After some time, a man entered the room with an armful of books. He sat them on a nearby table and instructed us to each take one, adding that they were "free". Much to my surprise, the little book turned out to be a high-quality, thickish volume entitled "Korean Fact Book". It was filled with full color photos and truly informative material. I, along with the other applicants, was very imrpessed. A short time later the same man entered the room again, this time with a stack of different books and poster-sized travel maps of Korea and downtown Seoul. Again, we all eagerly accepted our "swag", feeling now, perhaps, a bit more at ease.

Eventually we began to be called in for our interviews. I had been the third person to sign in, and therefore I was the third called to be interviewed. I was led upstairs to an office, where a very nice woman met me and introduced herself. She spent about one minute asking me general questions about the purpose of my trip to Korea, and about four minutes telling me what a wonderful opportunity this would be for me and how much she had admired her own foreign English teachers. She was unbelievably kind and sincere, and after the interview my business at the consulate was finished.


Here is the consulate which, as you can see, doesn't look very much like you'd expect. I wasn't sure I was in the right place until I noticed the Korean flag on the pole out front. After my interview I took a taxi back to the airport, where I was able to get on standby for an earlier flight than the one for which I had been scheduled. I was exhausted, but (thankfully) I was told my visa would be express mailed to me on Fridy.