Good luck! I hope everything goes well!!!

At the moment, we’re going to talk on the phone later tonight. I’ve figured out the cost for changing the ticket versus a visa run. It’s about the same. So we’ll see what they agree to.

Playing the waiting game…

This stinks! Is your school paying for your flight over? If they are, could your school or you change the date of your flight so that you’d have time to get your visa? The penalty, if there is one, to push back the departure date would be cheaper for the school than a trip to Japan or a new ticket. Also, you may be able to negotiate to have them pay for the penalty fee.

My fiancee has had a situation before where he was coming over from Canada and his new school didn’t understand that it was going to take 3-6 weeks for him to get his visa. They wanted him there in 2 weeks. He said that he just had to be very firm, tell them that he was sorry he couldn’t get there on time, but there was nothing he could do because it was just the way the system worked in Canda, he couldn’t make it go any faster. They put up a fuss, but they wanted him there. That seems to be the way things work in the hagwon system here, from what I’ve seen. Things have to be done ASAP, depending on your boss. A general rule here seems to be “빨리빨리” (balliballi), which means “quicklyquickly.” But, at the same time, everything in negotiable, as long as everyone (or at least your boss ~lol~) can save face.

It’s cheaper for your school to get you there, however it can happen, then for them to go looking for a replacement and pay for a new ticket.

if you decide to come on a tourist visa and do a visa run in japan on your own dime, my fiancee just went the end of january. his ticket was around 420,000-450,000 won and the hotel was about 100,000 won a night, but there are cheaper hotel options in Fukuoka. if you go this route, it would be good to get the school to start the E-2 visa process as soon as you get there, and then have them pay you in cash until you go to Fukuoka. supposedly if your school has started the visa process, you can legally work even if you don’t have the stamp yet (what my fiancee’s school told him), but it may be good to have them pay you in cash, just in case, until you get your visa. rules change overnight here.

also, this is probably too late, but korea has good dental care. the cleanings aren’t great, but anything else is really good. i can recommend a place my friend goes to where the dentists were trained in boston.

anyway, i hope this is helpful. whatever you decide to do, you’ll make the right choice for you.

*SMOOCH*