Yes, that's right folks, I have lost my passport. I realized this after being here for a week. Naturally panic mode set in and I tore my room apart looking for it going through every pocket and item I own. Nothing. It took me a few days but I finally had the courage to tell my director that I couldn't find it. She called Korail which is the company we rode the KTX from Seoul to Ulsan in but they hadn't found it. She also cheked her van that we rode in from Ulsan station to my apartment. Nothing.
So this is what I remember. I remember putting it into my back pocket of my jeans after customs at the Incheon airport and because I didn't sleep well on the plane and had been up for almost two days after everything was said and done my memory is a little foggy. I think I might have put it into a pocket in my suitcase which was later open but can't be sure. Finally I called the Canadian Consulate in Busan and asked them what my next steps have to be. First of all I had to go to the police station and report it lost. Thankfully Jenny offered to take me since I didn't know where it was and knew conversing would be difficult. Then I had to get new passport photos because the ones I have from when I was applying to teach in Korea are too small. This was a mission too because they gave me the wrong size initially and I had to go back the next day and get the proper size. This meant that I had to venture there by myself before work. I mean I'm a big girl and can travel to places on my own, but it was more the directions and trying to remember how we drove there haha. Eventually I found it without getting too lost.
The paperwork that the Canadian Consulate emailed me was first the declaration of a lost or stolen travel document, and second was an application to get a new passport. I was hoping that I could simply fill out the renewal form, but unfortunately I have to go through the whole shebang as if I were getting my passport for the first time. This actually makes sense but means that I had to fill out the paper work and send it to Canada where my parents get my doctor or dentist to be a guarantor and fill out the application form and sign the back of one of my photos. From there my parents sent everything back to me and then finally I can go to the consulate to apply for my new passport!
The director of my school was kind enough to offer to drive me to Busan because she thought it would take too long if I tried by bus or train. We got lost a little bit but it turned into a tour of Busan. My first impression of Busan while driving into the city over the bridge was WOW. Busan is really beautiful and BIG. I would definitely like to go back to take pictures and wander. As much as I liked Busan, when we returned home to Onyang, I was really pleased. I had a wave of relief and the feeling of "home sweet home". This was the first time that feeling came over me and it felt nice. Driving to Busan and back was also a good amount of time for me and my director to talk and get to know each other. Everything is all set with my passport now, just have to wait for it to arrive and then go to immigration to get my visa all sorted. We are going to see if I can open my bank account and get my medical check with just a photocopy of the passport I lost. Otherwise I have to wait another three weeks for my passport to arrive which is a couple days before my winter break. Making things a little tight as I do want to go on a trip during that week so a bank account is necessary. All in all, I think I am on the smooth sailing part of the process.
Now that this is all said and done, it seems simpler and not a big deal, but the time that I didn't have my passport was rough and really ate at me. I didn't like the feeling at all. BUT that's in the past! :)
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