Pension Scheme in Korea for Foreign Workers

So, if you teach in Korea, your company will take money from your pay, as at home, and deposit it and a matching amount into your Korean pension fund. Depending on your country of nationality, at the end of your contract, you have different options. Some countries automatically roll that amount from Korea into your pension fund at home; others force you to forfeit that money. Americans can get it refunded to us in cash; not just the portion that we paid, but the whole thing! Woohoo!

(* Due to new rules, I do not know how to handle this if you are re-signing with the same company.*)

In order to make that happen, you must go to the pension office before you leave Korea to apply for it. (You can do it from home if you forget to do it here, but it's a lot more hassle.)

You will need:
* passport
* Korean ID card
* airplane ticket home
* bank book for deposit information

In Daegu, the main office is just outside the Beomeo subway station, at exit 4.  It's in the LIG building, so you can either use exit 4, or go up the LIG escalator. Go to the glass elevators, and up to 11F. Turn right from the elevator, and it's the first office on the right, "NPS" or National Pension Service.

A woman helped me, and we had no problems with communication. I just had to fill out some forms and show her my documents, and she told me how much and when to expect my refund.  The whole process took about 10 minutes. I chose to have my refund deposited into my KEB Easy-One account. This account automatically transfers any amount that I put into it to my account in the States. There is no fee for this account, so I will leave it open when I leave Korea. At the end of June, I will receive more-or-less one month's salary. Yippee!

My First Last Day of Work

So, at the end of my first class today, my kids started crying and hugging me, which made me cry, which made them cry harder, and I couldn't stop.  I tried to go to the bathroom to calm down, but it was full of concerned students, and when I turned around, word had spread that I was crying, so there was a whole academy of students staring at me, which didn't help. By the time I got to the teacher's room (to 8 shocked and concerned teachers and my replacement, a nice introduction, I'd say *rolls eyes*), it was nearly time to get to the next class to show the new girl what I1 is like. Luckily, the rest of the day was far more composed...

Work Going Away Party

The effort was appreciated, and a couple even seemed sincere, but for the most part my "Going Away" work party was a bunch of people sitting around bullshitting each other. "Good luck," meaning "Good riddance." I sure hope the new girl is "their kind of people" and doesn't feel as unwelcome and harassed as I have felt. 2 more days.

우리동네, A Must-See Korean Movie!

I'm watching a really good, creepy, gritty murder mystery movie in Korean. I'm still putting it all together, but lots of twists! (It would help if there were subtitles!) If you ever feel like looking up 우리동네, it's well worth it!

My Last Night Out in Daegu

I had the most amazing goodbye night out last night! It was absolutely perfect, and I couldn't have asked for better friends in Korea. Gorging on Indian at Maya (both the owners hugged me and wanted pictures, said they would miss me and loved me~I think I go there too much!), game room craziness!, Cold Stone at midnight, 3.5 hours at noraebang singing until we were all hoarse, and a sleepover (and I made them take freebies home with them...less to donate!)...Thank so much to Jaz, Sergio, and Rob for coming out to celebrate with me! You're the best, and will be sorely missed.

And the word of the day, kids, is Coq!

Well, that's certainly a big ~~!!!!

PK, the owner of Maya, and I

Miriam, PK, and I at Maya

If they use the "M" in McDonald's font to sell water ("mul" in Korean), is it McMul?

What do you see here? We saw two potentially unfortunate protrusions from her undercarriage...

Sergio striking a striking pose.

According to a guy I know, this is Tanuki, a Japanese raccoon dog. They're a type of dog that looks like raccoon, common in Japanese folk lore and known for their large testicles. And boy, does he have those!

The Plan

So, my time in Korea is quickly coming to an end. (7 more work days! Woot!) After, I have many plans. (This will be a very busy next few months!)

I finish my contract on April 29th, Friday. That weekend I must finish up packing and cleaning, and will move out of my apartment by early Monday morning.

I will go to Seoul to sightsee and friendsee for a few days.

Then Friday, May 6th, Jazmin and I will travel to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. A few days there, then on to Siem Reap, and the Angkor ruins for a few more days.

When we tire of ancient ruins (is that possible?), we'll head for Koh Chang, Thailand. We're not sure if we'll need to go to Bangkok first. If not, we'll go beaching/jet-skiing/relaxing in a hammock/massaging for a week or so, then go on to Bangkok. Somewhere in there is a day trip to the Ayutthaya ruins and the tiger temples.

Late Saturday night, May 21st, we head back to Korea, arriving at dawn on the 22nd. A couple of days more of sightseeing in northern South Korea.

On Tuesday, May 24th, my vet will bring Hayes up to the airport to meet me. We leave Incheon at 5:10pm on the 24th, and arrive in Detroit at 5:40pm on the 24th. :D:D:D

(Korea is 13 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time, and the flight is 13.5 hours, thus the LONGEST 30 MINUTES OF MY LIFE.)

I will stay with my friend Cindi in Detroit overnight, and my dad will come up and take me home on the 25th. I will likely sleep the rest of that day. ;)

Over the summer, the plan is to:

*go to Lake George as much as possible
*see family and friends
*go through and purge most of the stuff I have in storage
*help my grandmother and mother each find their own apartment or condo
*help each of them purge, pack, and move everything they own
*visit my friend Tami in Montana and see Yellowstone NP
*enjoy the many festivals in Columbus this summer (Pride, Comfest, etc)
*visit my friend Amy in Boston in August

Then, by mid-September, I must make my way to my new home in London! More specifically, Kingston-upon-Thames, where I will begin my Master's degree in Human Rights in late Sept. It's a one-year program, and in the summer of 2012, the summer Olympics will be held in London, as will World Pride!

Beyond then, who knows?

Last Out with Kate

When I abruptly left my first job, I couldn't tell my coworkers. I was afraid that they would be blamed for knowing about but not stopping my departure, and I wanted to keep them from needing to lie. I felt so guilty at the time, but I thought that was the best thing to do. After I returned, we were still waiting for several weeks for my visa and new ID card, and there was still a chance that my former boss could stop it from coming through. After all that was finally settled, we were all just busy. So, a year later, we finally got time to meet up again, just in time for my final departure.

It was really great to see her again. I hadn't realized how much I missed her! Catching up was great, and she filled me in on how my "running" had affected the old job and bosses.

So, I guess they found out that I wasn't coming because I was really late. They actually didn't notice, but my co-teachers did. Someone went to my house, and found us and my stuff gone, save a bag of stuff I forgot. They were angry, of course, and blamed my friends, the other teachers. But they didn't know about it, so it was okay, more or less. In the year since I left, they have had FOUR other foreign teachers come AND GO. The most recent girl just "pulled a runner" last month.  All of the Korean teachers that I worked there with have gone except for Kate, who will leave next month, in theory.

I was told that each teacher has complained about the amount of work and ridiculousness, and with each teacher it has been reduced. My bosses have now decided that I was the most responsible and hardest working, and they screwed up by treating me so badly. (I think that's a major WIN for me!!!) One of the Korean teachers that started after I left stood up to the boss-man about his incessant shouting at everyone, telling him that we are adults, and there's no reason to shout at everyone all the time.

One of the teachers that I thought would be there forever, Kelly 2, told them that she was moving away, then opened her own academy. Right in front of the apartment complex where my old bosses live. And all of her GnB students quit on the same day, and followed her to her new academy. :D:D:D If that's the biggest F-U I've ever heard of, I don't know what is. I couldn't be more proud of her. :)

All in all, it was delightful to see her again. I wish we had done it sooner, and more often.

"Nuclear Rain"

So, apparently today we're getting "nuclear rain" from Japan. The kids were so freaked, and didn't even want me to open the window. We then had a brief discussion about gravity and how rain falls DOWN, not SIDEWAYS through the window. (It's not really all that harmful, just hysteria.)

My Dog, the Red-Handed Idiot

I love my dog. If you know us, or have reading for a while, you know that is not in question. But he can be an idiot. (As can we all.)

When I came home tonight from work Hayes didn't meet me at the door. Usually he comes running when he hears me. The only time he doesn't meet me is when he's been really bad, tearing things up or getting into something. So, when he didn't come running tonight, I wasn't all that surprised.

I looked around the corner from the entryway and saw some torn up trash. I called, "Dog?" but no answer. Not a peep. I walked into the bedroom. "Dog?" He wasn't in his bed, or anywhere that I could see in the room. Laundry room? Nope. I was starting to get worried. "Hayes?"

I heard the faintest whimper behind the bathroom door. When I opened the door, the scene was clear.

Apparently, sometime after I went to work (and after wedging the bathroom door closed to keep out bored dogs), the dog broke through it. While throwing around the trash bin to empty all its contents, the bin pushed up against the door and locked him in. When I freed him, he looked seriously disheveled, hot and sweaty, and eager to get out.

I couldn't help but think that it served him right, his craziness getting him locked in a small room all day. And any hope he might have had that I wouldn't have known it was he who had destroyed my house (he's the only one here during the day) was totally lost when he was caught red-handed.

WINNING!

Yesterday, one of the Korean teachers showed the Korean version of the attendance sheet to Chris and asked if he could read them. He struggled through a few. I was surprised when she didn't ask me, when she said (as if in response to my thought), "I know you can read Korean." :D:D:D