The last few days I’ve been thinking about writing again. In high school and early university I very seriously tried writing a novel, but was never happy with it. I thought that my plot and descriptions of location and surroundings were good, but my characters were very flat, two dimensional and not very engaging. A couple of years ago I tried again, but didn’t have any clear direction re: no plot or storyline so gave up after a short while despite having plans for a novel of epic proportions.
Here I am again. I’ve been thinking on this for a few days and have decided to start writing again. I’ve got some of my world outlined, character bios started and a basic plot completed. I’ve also completed the first 600 words of chapter one, though clearly that will need a rewrite sometime in the future.
I’m in the middle of getting all the paperwork in order for my wife’s visa application to Canada. One thing that we haven’t done and keep forgetting the correct Korean word for is the police check. You can find out the procedure for your country here for Korea go here or you can just follow these instructions which I’ve copied from the web site.
You should request a Criminal History Information Record – Bumjoi Gyung-ryuck ·Soosa Gyung-ryuck Jo Hoi Hoibo-seo (범죄경력 · 수사경력조회 회보서) – from the nearest police station. Please note that all police certificates must indicate that all records have been searched, including any lapsed records.
Last week from Thursday through Saturday myelf, and my wife & kids went down to Kyunju (yes I know my spelling is different than wikipedia, but there are about 4 different English spellings for each Korean placename and I use the one I like best), one of the cultural meccas of South Korea.
We drove down early Thursday morning, stopping for a great lunch after we arrived in the city and getting to our hotel about 30 minutes before check in time. After check in we went to the pool for the kids – it was blistering hot and walking around touristy places at this time would have been dreadful with young kids. On Friday we also took an afternoon break from 1:30 to 4:30 at the pool.
In the evening we started our travels around Kyungju. Over the entire trip we went to the Bulkuksa, Soekuram, Royal Tomb Complex, Choemsongdae, Kyungju National Museum, and Anapji among others. I was last in Kyungju 10 years ago when I visited most of these places but wanted to go back for myself as well as to bring my kids to one of the most important historical sites in Korea before we move back to Canada next year.
Hope you enjoy the pictures.
On the way to the Bulkuksa
Inside the entrance gate to the Bulkuksa – 10 years ago these guys weren’t so beat up looking. Think it’s time for a touch up job.
The main building of the Bulkuksa
Another angle of the same building, this pic was taken with my camcorder
More photos in the individual entry – go check them out.
Back in February I wrote about Visa Sponsorship but have just now seriously started the process. I guess procrastinating has won, but I can’t afford to wait any more. My friend Ed has told me several times that filling out the forms and getting everything together will take about a month – I’m hoping I can keep it shorter than that.
There are multiple forms to fill out and the guides (yes there are three guides ranging from 10 to 33 pages long) are quite helpful, but still there are some areas that area little ambiguous. The multiple sections about dependant children have me confused. It seems to imply that my children will be applying for visas as well even though we’ve gotten Canadian citizenship cards for both of them. At this point I’m unsure if I should include them in the application or not, or make a special note of this.
another example on the form I’m working on for my wife (she needs to complete it, but I’m filling in all the info I know)
You must provide teh following details about each of your family members, whether they will be accompanying you to Canada or not. You must include your spouse or common-law partner, if applicable, and all of your dependent children, and those of your spouse or common-law partner, who are not already permanent residents or citizens of Canada.
the last bit about “who are not already permanent residents or citizens of Canada” seems to suggest not including me, but is rather ambiguous in wording – does it refer to anyone not a permanent resident or citizen or only dependent children? Wish it were more clear.
Related to this, should we get Canadian passports for the kids and use those when we fly to Canada or use their Korean passports which they already have?
Back in May I posted pictures of my trip to Andong. I’ve finally got the video edited. There are some shots of my family but for the most part you will be able to see the Culture and Tradition center of Korea. Hope you enjoy the video, even with my really off key singing at the beginning.
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Inside the entrance gate to the Bulkuksa – 10 years ago these guys weren’t so beat up looking. Think it’s time for a touch up job.
The main building of the Bulkuksa
Another angle of the same building, this pic was taken with my camcorder
