I'm finding myself incredibly busy, anxious and excited as I prepare to leave Korea next week.
As I noted in my last blog, I needed to return to school on Monday and Tuesday of this week for my last days of work. Those days were preparation for the new school year, so the faculty were cleaning out their desks and moving their things to their new spots in the office. Several of the new Korean teachers had arrived and were getting to know the school and their new co-workers. I, on the other hand, was simply a hold-over from the last school year with nothing in particular to do for the new school year.
I cleaned out my desk, removing several years of junk left by previous native teachers. I photocopied documents and made a pretty long list of things I needed to do before I left Korea, and another list of all of the documents I still needed from my school. I removed the small Canadian flag I had at my desk for two years. The next native teacher is an American.
If I could describe the school administration of the past two years, I would stay it was haphazard. I never knew when things would be completed or communicated to me, save for the fact that I knew it undoubtedly be last-minute. However, when it comes to my access to the school system, I was unceremoniously removed. My digital person at the school was deleted from existence. I discovered this when I tried to log on. "What was the problem?" I asked my Korean co-worker. No problem on her computer. She would investigate. Shortly, she returned and said, "You were removed from the system to get ready for the next school year. Don't be embarrassed."
At that point, I decided it was time for me to start looking forward as well. I spent the remainder of my two days working on my job applications and preparing for an online interview I would have later in the week. I ignored the hustle and bustle of the faculty room, except for the nice lunch, and said my goodbyes to the vice-principal and English teachers and walked out the door for the last time.
I learned the name of my replacement and tracked him down online. I introduced myself as his predecessor in Busan and offered some information about his new placement. We had a video call and I gave further details and reassured him that his new home and job were quite good. I had a good experience over two years and I'm sure he would as well. He has some previous teaching experience but he noted that this was the first time he would leave his country. Pass the torch so another can have the adventure and our students can get exposed to another native teacher.
I'm spending much of my time cleaning the apartment and clearing out some of the junk and old clothes that I won't be taking with me back to Canada. I regret not doing this sooner so I could take more time to enjoy my last week rather than spend it cleaning. But I hope to be done with these onerous tasks soon; my apartment is a single room after all. I still haven't figured out if my stuff is going to fit into my suitcases. Somehow, I doubt it.
I've been gradually saying my goodbyes to friends over the past few days. For the select few, I'm giving the quintessential Canadian gift of maple syrup sent to Korea via sea mail direct from my parents back home. My friends are very excited to receive the gift, save for my older teacher friend who asked, "Is this alcohol?" He kindly gave me some fridge magnets and a traditional drum replica to "help me remember Korea." There have been too many kind and friendly people that I've met over these two years that I feel a little guilty that I can't fully express my appreciation to them all.
One of the many administrative tasks I need to do is visit the National Pension Office. Canada, and a few other countries, has an agreement with Korea that allows those working in Korea to cash out and refund their pension when leaving the country. I collected all of the required documents, as well as my Canadian banking information and travelled 30 minutes to the office with my Korean co-teacher. She would act as interpreter with the pension official.
When we arrived, we entered some information into the automatic ticketing system and received a numbered ticket that simply read "foreigner". Before long, we were called to the desk and started the tedious process of form-filling, signing, waiting, checking, and waiting some more. They were very strict on knowing the exact date of my departure. If I were to change that date, I would need to return to the office and repeat the process of applying for my pension refund. Assuming it works as it should, I will receive two-years' worth of Korean pension about 30 days after I arrive in Canada.
Complicating all of the running around I need to do before leaving is the severe COVID-19 outbreak in Korea. Just last week the cases per day were around 50,000. Now, that number has doubled to 100,000. The omicron variant is running rampant in Korea, and I pray that I can escape without getting infected lest I'm prevented from flying out on the 26th.
Hopefully, this time next week, after two years, I'll be in Canada.
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