Run, Run, Run Away! Part II.

Running away from your job is just how it sounds. All the horror stories I heard and discounted prior to coming here were true. I secretly bought plane tickets out of the country. I secretly packed everything I owned and had acquired, and at the end of the week (they didn't know I wasn't coming back), I secretly loaded all my things into my friend's card in the dead of night, and left. My landlord and his son are friends with my boss, so there was an ever-present fear that I was been seen by one of them, and caught. It was more nerve-wracking that I can describe.

The next day, I moved the dog to my future coworker's house, whom I didn't meet until that day (my friend Amanda set it up for me). I stayed with my friend Kayla (who stored my stuff while I was gone) that night. The next day (Sunday), I went on a day trip to the Maehwa (Apricot Blossom) Festival, which had been set up weeks before I knew I had to leave the next day. Two of my Korean teachers went with me, Kate and Erin, and it was awful to have to lie to them, and not include them in my plans. I knew that on Monday, my boss would ask them where I was, and if they knew anything about this, and I didn't want to put them in a position where they would have to lie. So I didn't tell them.

Sunday night I slept for about 2 hours before I had to make my way to the train to Busan. I got there way too early for my flight. In fact, I had to sit in the darkened airport for nearly two hours with the janitors watching Korean t.v. until the lights were turned on. Another 2 hours later, I was the first to check in for my flight.

I went throught security, and on to customs. I was told that to cancel my contract, I had to leave and turn in my Alien Registration Card (ARC) at the airport, and that sometimes they didn't want to take it. I was shaking as he asked me if I would be returning and I said no. (My ticket was round-trip, so he could've easily not believed me.) He said, "I'm going to have to keep this (ARC)." I said, "Okay." And that was it. He told me to have a nice day, and we were finished.

I walked about 10 feet and burst into tears. I was finally free. All the stress and crap and anger and shouting and guilt was replaced with a wave of warm relief. It was over. My visa had been stamped cancelled, and my ARC taken, so even if they came running to the airport at that moment, there was nothing they could do. It was really over.

Six hours later I landed in Thailand.