Visa Interview Trip

As I expected, everything sort of started happening at once. That's good in a lot of ways, I suppose. I got the visa confirmation number from the Korean end of the paperwork, and the next step was setting up a visa interview with the Korean consulate in Atlanta, which is the closest one and the location that services the southern states in the USA.

When I called the consulate via a phone number I found on a website, the person answered in Korean, and I hesitantly asked to speak to someone about a visa interview. She immediately transferred me to another lady who informed me with a chuckle that she wasn't necessarily in visa matters; she was the person you get sent to when you start speaking English. Regardless, she was very helpful, and sent me a detailed email with forms attached, info on how to fill out some of the more confusing lines and boxes, extremely detailed instructions on how to get to the consulate, and also questions I might be asked in the group interview. Yep, group interview, with other teachers applying for their E2 visas.

And she said, also with a laugh, that the embassy website was awful and horribly out of date, but all the info she was sending would actually work to get me there and to send my passport to correctly. That's good, since I was nervous about mailing my actual passport away for a few days--I'd hate to have gotten the address wrong! I guess that particular consulate only schedules interviews for M-W at 3:00pm, and since I was calling on Wednesday, Feb. 9, that gave me time to get my forms ready, ship them out via FedEx, and have them arrive in time for me to get an interview time on Monday, Feb. 14.

Several months ago, I had asked my mom's cousin if I could stay with her when it was time to get my visa, since she lives only about 30 minutes from Atlanta, whereas I live more like 3-4 hours away. That was fine with her, and since Monday is the day my mom has off work every week right now, we just decided to both travel together on Sunday Feb 13 for this big interview, since I was a little leery of trying to drive in Atlanta on my own while stressing about a big interview. It was an exhausting, 24-hour round trip whirlwind, but it was nice to see my mom's cousin, the cousin's little girls, and my mom's aunt on the trip. More family visiting before I had to leave, yay!

We set out for the consulate the next morning, with me dressed in "business casual" as recommended. Traffic was as expected for midday Atlanta, but the emailed directions from the consulate were phenomenal, and we had absolutely no trouble finding the International Tower or its impressive 21st Floor. Stepping out of the marble elevators, we were confronted by a pair of imposing, heavy oaken doors, and the words, "Consulate General of the Republic of Korea" in impressive letters overhead. Too bad we didn't think to take a picture! Entering through the doors to an antechamber, we spoke to the receptionist who immediately redirected me to a visa counter in the next room. VISA was the only English word I saw over all five of the glass-paned windows, and all the rest of the customer signs were in Korean. That was sort of a game-changer moment for my mom and me. Yikes, that's what I'll be seeing everywhere in less than 2 weeks, and I'm still SOOOO slow at reading it!

Anyway, the receptionist at VISA gave me some reading materials about Korea (including a magazine that talked about Taekwondo and online gaming as important aspects of Korea's culture), as well as a booklet containing travelers' tips and some expired travelers' coupons, and we sat down to wait. Only one other non-Korean seemed to be in the room, and we guessed (correctly) that he was also there for the group visa interview.

In the consulate email, they had given me instructions to arrive 30 minutes early, but the interview actually began about 10 minutes late. The other teacher and I exchanged quick introductions and greetings as we nervously waited for the consul to arrive. The other teacher is heading out this Friday! As it turned out, the consul had quite a sense of humor. He entered and began the interviews after glancing over our forms and passports briefly. We were in a strange little corner conference room, and a loud, rattling/whooshing sound occurred with alarming regularity. The consul looked at both of us and asked if we knew what the sound was, which of course we didn't. "It's the elevator! Just great isn't it? At least I only have to spend about a half an hour each day in here! I guess you can think of it sort of like a lullabye...." Nice...

He interviewed the other guy first, starting with, "It says here you're single?" "Yes, sir," he replied. The consul asked about his educational background (marketing) and teaching experience (none yet), whether he spoke Korean (he doesn't yet), the year he was born (listed on the form), whether or not he was traveling with anyone else, which he wasn't, and about how he had heard about the school that was hiring him (a hagwon/private school recommended by a friend). The consul also asked about the location, and the teacher mispronounced it, so the consul corrected him with a chuckle and of course the teacher looked a little embarrassed. The consul asked several other routine questions too.

Then it was my turn. First the consul asked how to pronounce my surname, which I explained. He asked if it was English, or...? And of course I told him it was German, so he wanted to know if I was German or...? And I explained that I was from the US but my ancestors from a long time ago had been German. Then he asked, "It says you're single?" "That's right." "And why is that?" he asked with a grin. I grinned back (somewhat incredulously) and said, "Ya know, that's a good question! Guess I just haven't found the right guy yet," and the consul continued, "There are so many nice men in the world! You should be married! What about him?" and he pointed at the staring teacher across the table from me. Happy Valentine's Day, indeed... :P

Next he moved on to ask me about the southern dialect and what I had to say about that. I wasn't quite sure what he wanted to know, so I mumbled something about its origins from English and Scottish dialects and how the isolation in the mountains had helped preserve the dialects, and blah blah blah, stumble, stutter, mutter, but he was actually wondering about specific pronunciations. Apparently some girl had come in for her interview and talked about the "hwaht" house (White House) and he was just baffled by her accent. We talked for a few moments about it. Additionally, he asked if I'd ever traveled to an Asian country (I haven't, though I mentioned going to Africa years ago), and he looked over my contract and asked me how much I was making. The latter he asked with a decidedly straight face, so I hesitantly replied, "Uh... Well, um, with a master's degree, it's..." "It's a secret! Hoho!" he interjected with a twinkle in his eye. I think this guy must really enjoy his job...!

He asked if I liked sushi and raw fish (sounded more like "sussi and law feese" to me), but I couldn't understand the question the first three times he asked it until the other teacher kindly whispered it in better English to me (whew!). Apparently the area where I'll be living has great sushi. I did ask at the end how to pronounce the city where I'll be living and I butchered it about 4 times repeating it after him before he finally gave me a grin that looked more satisfied than amused. Apparently you practically have to be smiling through the whole word? It has non-English vowels.

After all these shenanigans, he told us we would both be getting our visas and he signed the documents in front of us. As we left, I had the presence of mind to thank the consul in Korean, and he was duly impressed that I could "speak Korean," yay! That all went nothing like I could have imagined it would. Just... wow.

I started this post on the 14th, but finished it on Feb 17th, so since starting the post, I have actually received my passport with visa back already! It's pretty cool looking, and oh, so official! The trip back from Atlanta was wearying but uneventful, and I appreciated the time to visit with my mother some more. Good times.