Don't read this unless you want to hear someone rant...
I don't know if I can actually muster up enough emotional energy to rant but it made feel better writing that warning anyway. I had such a bad day today. I can feel the stress-induced blood rushing through the veins in my neck when I think of certain episodes today and my back is aching. Just chill out Joyce... I feel like crying and I feel so frustrated. I don't know what's worse: that I have to pay another fine for a string of visa problems that no one quite understands and definitely no one is going to take responsibility for or that I lost my cool at the immigration office and raised my voice at the immigration workers with tears in my eyes with statements like, "This was not my fault and now you want to take more money from me! I paid 500.000 won to go to Japan (to get a new visa) and now this!" All this being said as I mindlessly counted the money and threw it on the counter. And then one of the immigration workers started raising his voice at me saying, "It's your fault! You should know Korean immigration laws!" There is some truth to that. But the problem that started all of this is the big mystery and that's why we started getting upset about it because somebody made a mistake (for a long time I was pretty sure the immigration office made the mistake but I failed to noitce it until it was too late) but it's not clear who. And the one thing I'm sure of is that I just did what I was told, they said "bring this paper" I brought it "ask for this" I asked for it. It's true I should have checked more, been more aware of the process but I was new to it all and trusted that my school would watch out for me. That's where I was wrong. I guess the word on the expatriate scene is "always watch your own back because your school might not" What has cost me is not what they told me but what they omitted. Now I'm learning the hard way what I should have known but was never told.

Anyway, I need to get this in perspective. I wish my friends were here (they are all gone on vacation) so I could go on and on about how upset, frustrated and helpless I feel. Pray for me about this that I'll let it go and act decently when I see the immigration workers again. (probably tomorrow)