Who knew clicking a simple “submit” button on an online application to work abroad would launch me onto an emotional rollercoaster ride of endless identity verifications, academic authentications, and immigration legalities, all the while working under Murphy’s Law: Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.
My initial recruiter didn’t speak English, my fingerprints were too fine to actually print, the FBI, THE FBI, forgot to sign my background check before mailing it back to me, my start date was pushed up a month, my payments to notarize and apostille my degree were withdrawn but lost in PayPal-land, neither the US or Korea could agree on who I belonged to (this must be how Obama feels), the perverted gatekeeper at Window 5 at the embassy in D.C. wanted me to jump through a couple extra hoops and finally, my visa was lost in the mail, even though, of course, it was guaranteed. Such is life.
But it’s aaall settled. I have my visa, IN MY HANDS, it is real and I am really going to Korea!
