Getting My ARC

The Alien Registration Card (ARC) is an alien's ID during an extended stay in a foreign country, and it allows me to work.  I went to immigration today to give the paperwork that is required, and I will be getting my ARC in 10 days.  Paul, my immediate boss, told me that Topia arranged a taxi to pick me up at 10am this morning.  I woke up at 10:03, and was out the door by 10:04.  Daero, who was also going with me to get his own ARC, was actually just about to knock on my door, so we went downstairs to the taxi.  The taxi driver then asked Daero (in Korean of course) where he was going.  We were a little confused because  we were told that the school had arranged us to be picked up, and part of that (we thought) was they would tell the taxi where to go.  The driver showed Daero the text message he received from his boss and it said "pick up foreigners by bank"...that's it.  So Daero had to call Sydney, the Korean equivalent of Paul, on his own phone and give it to the driver and they talked for a few moments.  The driver then hung up, and Jin, Paul and Sydney's boss, called Daero back, who then passed the phone to the driver.  It was at this time that the  shouting began, and I saw my life flash before my eyes.  An irate taxi driver, in Korea, with a phone in his hand, was weaving in and out of traffic with me in the back.  Apparently, Jin told the drive that just because they're (me and Daero) foreigners, doesn't mean you can screw them and take the scenic route.  He got quite upset at being accused of conning us, and thus the yelling.

Well, after quite some time, we arrived at Immigration and the taxi driver asked if we were going to pay.  We said no, the school is, so he wanted to see Jin.  We told him that the deal was for him to take us, wait, then take us back.  That's not what he had been told, so we had to pay him (Topia reimbursed us), and send him on his way.  Jin was under the impression that we were given an envelope of cash to pay the driver, and then catch a different cab on the way back, but we weren't.

So, it took me about 30 minutes of waiting to hand in the paperwork, which isn't bad, and then we were out of there.  We found another cab who took us straight back to Topia, and the fare was half of what it was going to immigration.  So after all that yelling that he wasn't a con man, he did screw us.  Jin called the cab company and told them that they were failures at their job, that the driver didn't know how to get there, he was rude and cussing, etc.  So, fun stuff.

The weirdest thing was that Topia was going to send me alone, but Daero got his stuff together last minute and went with me.  Daero was born in Seoul, if you remember, but spent most of his life in London so he knows the language.  Had Daero not been with me, I'd probably still be somewhere in Suwon, crying, poor, and hungry.  

School is enjoyable, I've found my rhythm and really like the kids (though I'm careful never to tell them that).  I've decided to get a cell phone, but I need my ARC first.  Grace is going to help me get a phone.  I think I'd like to do a pay-as-you-go with a phone that can also work in America, basically one with a SIM card.