Quarantine Woes!

For those who do not know, my 7 year old American Eskimo dog was placed under quarantine because of a missing health document.  If moving to a new country isn't stressful enough, add in a dog (who is overly dependent) and you have one crazy ride.  I was frantic when I left the airport without Trixie, thinking I would not have a phone or internet to contact my parents and get the correct documentation for my baby.  Luckily my co-teacher met me at the hotel and gave me a phone, which I called home from.  I had Dad go to Indy and get the correct documentation and over-night it to me in Yeoju.  Simple enough.  I thought easy I could have her out in less than a week.  Boy was I wrong.  That was just the start of the problems.

For some reason my address or phone number (both maybe) were incorrect and UPS would not deliver the package.  I had no idea what was going on because I wasn't the sender and I could only see so much.  So I called Dad again and had him fix some information.  Well that information was not working (I blame my cellphone for being hit or miss with service).  So finally, yesterday (Monday morning), I had my co-teacher Boyoung call UPS directly in South Korea and see what was going on.  She called and had them deliver the package to the school.  It was only a question of if I would get the package before Chuseok or if I would have to wait until next week.

Luck was apparently on my side!!!!  The package came today and I was on the first bus (after my classes were finished of course) to Incheon to pick up my dog.  After a 7 hour ordeal, with 6 hours of travel because of Chuseok traffic, I finally got to show Trixie our new home.  And a bath.

Needless to say, I now know what exactly I need for my baby to safely travel without being quarantined.  However, I do not think I will ever travel with her again.  At least not to a different country.  We plan on staying in South Korea for a long time, so hopefully I will not have to deal with this painful and difficult process again.

The plus side to this story is it just established the awesomeness of my school.  Yes, I was in love with my school, students, and faculty but this just made them wonderful.  They really care.  From Boyoungs help with calling the quarantine office, and UPS and just being all around the coordinator on this end; to the school principle for letting me leave following my classes (which is about 4 hours earlier than I should have left) so I could pick her up before the office closed.  Most schools would never dream of allowing such a thing to happen and most co-teachers would not go out of their way to help like Boyoung did (although I think most of the faculty at my school would).  This process has just cemented my love for my school and the people in it!

Oh and I GOT TRIXIE BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!