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July 20, 2005
Visas, Lonely People & T-Shirts
Here I am, back in Kyoto! Why, I hear you ask? Sit down while I tell you a tale.
I am in Japan again because my Korean tourist visa ran out, and I didn't have a work visa yet because they required my actual, real diploma, which of course I didn't get until the day before I left Chicago. And on top of that the office manager guy is quitting, which is something I should've taken into account when he said, "Sure, I'll have those forms to you by this [now last] Friday." Of course I still don't have the forms, despite having confirmed with him three times that they would be ready before I left.
As it turns out, my visa application (through the company, to the government) was rejected because the gov't wondered--you're gonna love this--why the JoongAng Ilbo is hiring so many foreigners. Never mind that it's a western-style English-language newspaper. So long story short, they had to resubmit the forms with assurances that I'm not a refugee sitting in a corner sewing shoes together, and I'm stuck here until the gov't sends the JoongAng the forms, and they FedEx them to me.
Which is great, because this is probably the longest vacation I'm going to get, and I love spending time with my host family. And it's only when I woke up in this wonderful quiet suburban Uji neighborhood once again that I realized how much the aggressive urbanness of Seoul was starting to grate on me. It's like a load is off my shoulders, just because I can see a few trees here and there. It really makes a difference.
Of course it also means a) no kim chee b) warm showers c) an actual bed to sleep in instead of three blankets on the floor (I brought an empty suitcase so I can buy a futon while I'm here). And trips to Kyoto again! I'm probably going to steer toward Arashiyama, where I didn't spend nearly enough time two years ago.
Two nights ago a gay Korean guy tried to pick me up. He walked up when I was walking the two blocks home, we did that language-negotiation dance and realized we both spoke Japanese. Then he said I had a cute face, and asked if I realized that it's possible for men to have sex with each other. I was just kind of dumbfounded, so thinking I didn't understand he went into a more detailed explanation. He said, "Do you hate men?" I told him that wasn't it, I just wasn't interested, and he left me alone. I took a roundabout route home and glanced behind myself a few times anyway. Surprisingly it didn't really freak me out all that much, though. Maybe it was because he was just so matter-of-fact about it. Or maybe it's because it's not the first time gay men have tried to pick me up.
I saw someone in Seoul the other day (a Korean) with a shirt that read, "These words are faded to make it look like I've worn this shirt a lot." Great stuff.
Korean language progress: I now know how to ask for three bananas and tell people my birthday. By the time I leave I figure I should be able to advance to, "Sorry, I'm not gay."
Posted by b-applegate at July 20, 2005 10:12 PM
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Comments
Well, well, if it isn't Mr. Ringomon. I just got off the phone with Dave, who informed me that you were chilling in Kyoto 'cuz of a visa mixup and that you had a blog I needed to check out, so I did! And I likewise informed him that, since I'm moving to Yokohama in like t-minus one month to go to that crazy language school thingy, that at some point in time I will be required to come and chill with you in Kankoku...quite possibly as my own visa is being sorted out come June or July. So consider this your warning! Enjoy yourself, eat lots of Kim-chee, and take care, a'ight? I miss ya, buddy!
Posted by: JTapp at July 30, 2005 7:55 PM