From Suncheon to still in Sherburn...

"Aren't you supposed to be somewhere abroad by now?"

In a word, yes. We're supposed to be here. In Suncheon, South Korea, and should have been for the past two weeks. We should have been beginning our Asian adventures, settling in to our new jobs as English teachers and explaining bonfire night to adorable Korean children.

But instead we're still in the UK because of a tiny stamp required on the back of our documents.

Unfortunately the 24-48 hour service provided by the Legalisation Office ended up being a 24-48 day service when they couldn't get hold of the solicitor that signed our documents. When they finally told us this, we were able to call said solicitor and get him to contact them and have the documents released the same working day. Why they didn't let us know sooner and only have a 'help-line' that is answered by people with no access to our records or the ability to pass us through to those working on the documents is a mystery to us all.

However, kindly waiting a month before telling us this meant the school we were supposed to working for decided to take on a couple already in Korea as they were concerned we would not have our visas in time. Understandable from the school's point of view but frustrating none the less. Particularly as we've now spent around £180 on getting the documents.

So the panic set in. We had left our jobs, apartment and life in Cardiff to come spend a couple of weeks with my parents in Sherburn before flying to South Korea. But now we had no job, no home and dwindling funds. So it was back to square one, back on the job boards and frantically trying to arrange job interviews for first thing in the morning due to the time difference!

I do however believe everything happens for a reason, although Andrew may refuse to speak to the next person that says this to us (especially as nearly everyone we've spoken to so far has said some variation of this). Apparently it's like being told there's plenty more fish in the sea when you break up with someone, and you know it's true, you just don't want to hear it when you wanted that particular cod. 

Things have turned out for the better though. We've now been offered a similar job in Hebei Province in China with much shorter working hours and lots of extras such as free Chinese lessons, gym pass, kung-fu lessons and bikes for us to get around the city. The city, Cangzhou, is also host to a yearly International Martial Arts festival where Jacky Chan and Jet Lee are regulars #声名鹊起!

So it's now back to the visa process for a different country. I'll post an update in regards to the school/city soon.

Proverbs 3:5-6“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.”