Chicago: Two Megabuses, Two Starbucks and One Visa

After finally deciding to go to S. Korea I needed to complete the process of getting my visa. This required me to fill out some paperwork, travel to the S. Korean Consulate and hand over the paperwork and my passport. So, the plan was: to work the opening shift on Tuesday (6/16), take the overnight Megabus to Chicago, go to my 10:30am appointment with the consulate, and get on the 3pm bus back to Minneapolis.

The ride down to Chicago was just fine. There was hardly anyone at all on the bus. However, there was a mother and baby sitting in front of me and that made me nervous. Of course my experiences with children and babies has soured me, possibly permanently, so badly that simply being around them annoys me. (And yes I am going to teach English to children but don’t worry my attitude towards small children and my future job are only contradictory or troubling if you think about it…so stop). Needless to say I was incredibly nervous about the whole baby within 10 feet of me situation. I assumed it would make ungodly noises the whole time. However, to my great surprise, it was about the happiest baby I have ever seen and it did not make a sound the entire trip. I was blown away.

We pulled into Chicago at 5:50am, which felt really early. I walked around until I found a Starbucks and sat there, nursing an iced tea, for a good two hours. I then changed into my suit (thank you Starbucks for your bathroom, and I am sorry to the bald guy who had to wait to use it). I caught a cab over to the consulate and only had to kill another hour and 10 minutes. Another Starbucks, another iced tea and an hour later I walked back over to the consulate. I quickly and awkwardly put my tie on in the elevator, and arrived at the 27th floor. After some awkward questions about the paperwork I had filled out I handed over my papers, some cash and my passport. I was called into an interview and asked some odd questions and then told I could go. It was the late, late hour of 11am and I decided it was time for lunch. After lunch I decided to go kill time at the Art Institute of Chicago. It was delightful.

I then headed back to the Twin Cities via the Megabus. This half of the trip was incredibly aggravating. A family of approximately 18 members, who constantly bickered and swore at each other, surrounded me for the entire trip. Luckily, my iPod was charged and I had the humorous writings of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. These two things alone kept me sane. Now I am waiting for my visa to be delivered to me.