i started out this past weekend feeling a hint of homesickness. i think it had a lot to do with the fact that i had a chance to talk to sam, and she was talking about the upcoming halloween weekend. it made me sad to think that i was going to miss another madison halloween. it's just always such a great opportunity to hang out with all your friends, even the ones that have moved away, and just run around state st amid all the chaos.

i ended up having a lot of fun this weekend though. it was 3 peoples birthdays (all on oct 31) this weekend, so there was a lot of celebrating on friday and saturday nights. on saturday night, all three parties somehow ended up at the same bar and it was crowded as hell, but that made it all so much better. and there's no bar time in korea, so most nights-out end sometime the next morning. everything seems like a blur now... lots of good food, good friends, an 'almost' fight with some random strangers on the street (koreans have some nasty nasty tempers when they're drunk... well, i guess when they're sober too), and just a really great weekend in general. it made me feel not so bad about missing halloween... i mean, what'd i miss really? possibly a riot, maybe a few small fires on state st, a couple of broken shop windows and a lot of police standing around.

today, i went to the immigration office for the second time. i went last friday and arrived before they opened, so i had some time to fill out all my paperwork and i ended up being 6th in line, which was unexpected. when i actually got to the window, the immigration officer told me that i was missing a paper and pretty much shut me down. i guess i needed a receipt from yonsei university stating that i had paid my tuition. it wasn't really a big deal since i figured i would be missing paperwork and would need to come back. so i went back today with everything i was told to bring, and the officer (the same troll as before) told me that i needed ANOTHER document in order to extend my visa. what the hell? would it have been so difficult for her to tell me that when i was there last week? i feel like every time i go now, she's going to tell me one more item to bring. i'm foreseeing the rest of my afternoons here in korea spent waiting at the immigration office.

and i can't even travel outside of the country with the visa i have now. if i decide travel in november (like i planned on), i have to go to the immigration office in that country and file for a visa there. HOW DOES THIS MAKE ANY SENSE? if i want to go to china or thailand for four days, i have to spend one day at the immigration office there... and my visa application wouldn't even be processed in the time i would be there. so they're basically telling me that once i leave the country, i won't be getting back in any time soon. this is all kinds of retarded and makes me so frustrated just typing it out. i guess it's my own damn fault for letting someone else take care of my visa application back at home instead of doing all the paperwork myself. maybe then i wouldn't be stuck with this useless peice of crap c-3 student visa.

then it started to rain freezing acid rain on me while i stomped and pouted my way back to the subway station. it's a good thing i love this country so damn much...



election day is tomorrow (today?)! i'm nervous for the results, but i have a lot of faith in humanity, so hopefully bush will go down in flames. just thinking about the possibility that bush might be reselected (as jason so nicely put it), makes me want to hurl. i almost want to skip class tomorrow and watch the results on tv because i think i'll be too antsy to sit around and wait until the afternoon...

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 02, 2004 at 11/02/2004 03:23:00 AM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.