![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
*Screaming*
Jun. 9th, 2022 02:18 pmOkay. So. It is hurry up and wait time.
Due to my late hire date, the vagaries of the visa process, and the amount of time things take to get processed returned, there is no possible way that I'll be able to make it to my new school in time for the start of the contract date. I haven't seen a calendar for next school year, but I read something in my contract about a pre-year camp, so I'm hopeful that I can at least make it to the first day of school. If not, well, I've taught online before. When I started in Minsk, I couldn't get here until a month after the start of school. Four weeks of teaching in the middle of the night was awful! At least if I have to teach from the US for a bit, the time zone difference is better.
I'll have to go to one of the TECRO offices in the US to apply in person for a residence visa, but only after I get the work visa. From there (probably San Francisco), I'll fly to Taipei, which means I'll have to pay for any excess baggage twice. I think I can get my stuff down to 3 suitcases now, after 4 years of living overseas experience. I didn't have to do any in-person visa applications when I went to China or Belarus. It's annoying because I live so far away from any major cities when I'm in the US. But I'm trying to be sanguine about the whole thing.
The process isn't my fault. I was hired late in the year. I'll get the paperwork when I can. I'll spend a small fortune on overnight delivery for paperwork. I might get to spend a little extra time with my family.
UPDATE: I got the school calendar, and classes don't start until August 15, so there is a possibility that I won't miss much besides staff inservice and time to set up my classroom. This will be rough but not the end of the world.
One of the nastier little brain weasels I'm dealing with is that I will somehow get into trouble for taking so long, when it is the bureaucratic process. I wish things could be handled with e-copies and mailing. But each country has a right to process visas how they see fit. There are glaring inequities in most systems that do not, by and large, affect me as an American passport holder, and I am immensely grateful. But I still am certain that I will Get In Trouble. If you've never seen the stand up of Paul F. Tompkins, I recommend it. But this bit in particular captures what I mean when I say I'm worried about Getting In Trouble. (Tompkins was raised Catholic, as was I, so I think it's safe to say that good old Catholic Guilt rearing its ugly head is the root of my anxieties around this.)
Anyway, I hope PFT makes you laugh. Until then, the only way out is through.
Due to my late hire date, the vagaries of the visa process, and the amount of time things take to get processed returned, there is no possible way that I'll be able to make it to my new school in time for the start of the contract date. I haven't seen a calendar for next school year, but I read something in my contract about a pre-year camp, so I'm hopeful that I can at least make it to the first day of school. If not, well, I've taught online before. When I started in Minsk, I couldn't get here until a month after the start of school. Four weeks of teaching in the middle of the night was awful! At least if I have to teach from the US for a bit, the time zone difference is better.
I'll have to go to one of the TECRO offices in the US to apply in person for a residence visa, but only after I get the work visa. From there (probably San Francisco), I'll fly to Taipei, which means I'll have to pay for any excess baggage twice. I think I can get my stuff down to 3 suitcases now, after 4 years of living overseas experience. I didn't have to do any in-person visa applications when I went to China or Belarus. It's annoying because I live so far away from any major cities when I'm in the US. But I'm trying to be sanguine about the whole thing.
The process isn't my fault. I was hired late in the year. I'll get the paperwork when I can. I'll spend a small fortune on overnight delivery for paperwork. I might get to spend a little extra time with my family.
UPDATE: I got the school calendar, and classes don't start until August 15, so there is a possibility that I won't miss much besides staff inservice and time to set up my classroom. This will be rough but not the end of the world.
One of the nastier little brain weasels I'm dealing with is that I will somehow get into trouble for taking so long, when it is the bureaucratic process. I wish things could be handled with e-copies and mailing. But each country has a right to process visas how they see fit. There are glaring inequities in most systems that do not, by and large, affect me as an American passport holder, and I am immensely grateful. But I still am certain that I will Get In Trouble. If you've never seen the stand up of Paul F. Tompkins, I recommend it. But this bit in particular captures what I mean when I say I'm worried about Getting In Trouble. (Tompkins was raised Catholic, as was I, so I think it's safe to say that good old Catholic Guilt rearing its ugly head is the root of my anxieties around this.)
Anyway, I hope PFT makes you laugh. Until then, the only way out is through.
