Malaysia #2: Tourist or Teacher?

Okay!!!! first of all, I'm really jealous that we missed the Hawksley concert. but we listen to him every day!!! <3 <3

Second of all. We are currently in Malaysia (so if you've tried to call us that's why we haven't answered. There is no phone service here for some reason?). We are here for our second visa trip, which means... that it's been 6 months away from home ? yup. 6 months. wow! Here's a funny "thai-style" story for you!!!

My visa was going to be easy. I have a degree, and my company was supposed to get me a work permit which would allow me to easily stay in Thailand for a year. They left it to the last minute (OF COURSE) and so I was unable to go this easy route. I didn't mind so much though, because we already had a confusing and difficult route due to Reffa's non-degree. Whatever she does, I do as well, so I figured we might as well get our visa's the same way so that if there's a problem , we're in it together. Life seems to be more fun the hard way.

So, the lady who is capable of helping us aquire a new 3 month visa, her name is PL. She is in charge of many businesses, and she is a very busy lady. We both do a lot of work for her and earn her a lot of money (for the past 5 months) so she didn't mind when we asekd for her assistance. All she had to do was print off 6 pages from her computer with our names and then off we go.

She promised to give them to me by monday (the 9th of March). I was weary of this promise, since everything else she ever promises is late, cancelled, delayed or changed in some way for some reason -ALWAYS.

So I wasn't surprised on monday when I showed up to get the papers and no one was at the office and there were no papers and her phone conveniently wasn't connecting and her daughters' phones weren't working. UGH. This is why I told her I needed them on Monday- because I ACTUALLY needed them on Tuesday night. SO I showed up on Tuesday morning to see if they weere ready- I cornered her in her office when she thought I'd be teaching somewhere else. She looks at me sheepishly and says "ooh... please come back to the school tonight and I will have them for you.. I promise"

NOW I'M NERVOUS. I ACTUALLY need them on Tuesday night- and she promised they'd be there on Tuesday night. her promise means the exact opposite, that they actually probably won't be there on tuesday night!!!! ahhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!! we are going to get kicked out of Thailand and it's going to cost 2398095834 baht and we're not going to be allowed to teach!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! dammmnniittttt!!!!!!!!!!! - -- this is what's going through our minds.

So Tuesday night, we go to the language school as she asked, at the time she asked and not only is the door locked, but the large garage door is pulled down overtop of the whole building- meaning no one's going in or out for the remainder of the night. We sit and wait, and call every one of the 13 phone numbers which we have saved as her name in our Thai phones and only ONE is available. It's her eldest daughter. she says "helloooo yes my mother is market" (at the market) " she call to you in 5 minute" . so we wait. and we wait. and 30 minutes later we try the number (all all the other numbers) AGAIN. no one answers. we call over and over and over for an hour.

We make new friends accross the street, and eat with them (as is the Thai way..) and we tell them why we're waiting. they laugh- because misfortune is funny, not frustrating in this country (which sometimes makes it MORE frustrating..) . We decide ,after 2.5 long hours in a dark downtown street to head home and give up and perhaps we will have to just pay the extra 1000 baht for a late visa *SIGH* . we get home and use our friends' phone for one last attempt at contacting PL and they ANSWER (because we call from a different phone number grrrrrrr....) and she says "oh yes hello leefa and Jazy, I put already your papers in tha taree at my sakool" . HAHAHAHAHA me and reffa breka into a tired hysterical laughter. our important paperwork which determines our future in Thailand is IN A TREE DOWNTOWN SURAT THANI. in a tree.

our paperwork was in a tree.
so we go downtown to where she says, and sure enough, there's our immigration papers, addressed to reffa and Jessica, in a TREE. hahaha. this country... it kills me.

now we are in Malaysia. when we handed in our tree papers, the lady said one was missing. in one hour we find out whether or not we are allowed to work in Thailand for the next two months because our tree papers are faulty. UGGGHHHH. tomorrow, Reffa and I may officially be Thai tourists rather than teachers because the lady we work for is a flaky Thai BUFFALO. (when people are stupid, afriad, annoying etc etc you call them a buffalo- or KWAAIII in Thai.... ) . she's a BUFFALO.

verdict: Malaysia trip #2: tourist, or teacher?!