After five years and four months, it is time to say adios to Korea. I'll be leaving on January 3rd, and Steve will be leaving on the 14th. My contract with the school ends on the 1st, so this is my last week of work. Steve's contract also ends on the 1st, but the original plan was for his contract to be extended until the middle of March. That would allow for the baby to be born here, and to give us time to get his paperwork together before we went home. Unfortunately, there was a step missing in the background check, and we were unable to extend the contract. That would have been the end of it, right? Wrong.
The 3rd is the last day I can fly with a doctor's note, and so there was no other option as far as my flight went. But because the school felt like Steve violated a verbal contract with them/they're just saying stuff to suit them, they are forcing him to stay until the 14th. Otherwise, they threatened to not give him his severance pay or his flight home. We can't afford to do that, so that's why he has got to stay those extra 11 days. Actually, based on the law here, the school gets a two-week grace period after a teacher's contract ends to pay the severance. And they actually aren't obligated to provide the return flight home (even though it is written into the contract, which the owner signed!).
So needless to say, it has been a stressful week (all of this went down in the past week). The absolute last things I wanted to happen were to fly so late in the pregnancy and to be apart from my husband, even for one day--much less 11 days. It hasn't all been bad, though. Steve and I always have a plan. We had three different plans as far as our futures after we went home to visit in March. Because of how things have changed, we have created a couple of new plans. We are really happy with these new plans, and it'll be good to change things around.
These events have also made us realize even more so that anything can happen. It wasn't meant for us to stay here in Korea at this time. Even the most perfect plans have a way of changing at the last minute, and we can't depend on stuff happening for sure. So although we have plans A, B, and C now, we know that they can change and we aren't counting on anything.
The thing that bothers me the most out of the whole situation is the fact that I have to fly so late in the pregnancy (leaving without Steve comes a very close second). I am trying to stay positive and have faith that everything will be okay, but it's hard. We had our winter break this week, and it has been a rush to start getting packed up. Really, more of a rush for Steve to start getting me packed up, since I get tired/start hurting so quickly. This break was supposed to be a time for relaxation and getting excited for my last week of work. We won't really be able to pack up stuff during this coming week, more so because I come home so exhausted from work. But it has to be done. I'm trying to look on the bright side of things and get excited to go HOME. But until I am safely there, I won't be getting too worked up.
We didn't choose to do things this way. We were pretty much forced to, under the circumstances. I have no hard feelings towards my boss, but I am a bit irked at the owner of the school. Although I do understand where he is coming from, I can still be upset at the situation and his hand in things. Just as Steve and I want to look out for our family, he has to look out for his business.
To cut this long story short, this is why I'll be going back to the States a week from Tuesday.
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