A legal Alien

Living and working in a foreign country can be a giant headache sorting out long term visas and work permits. Thailand is no exception. I was fortunate to secure a 90 day visa in the US, but it was about to expire (crazy that I've already been in Thailand for almost 90 days!). Unless I wanted to do frequent border runs, it was imperative for me to get my work permit and visa extension sorted out by my expiration date. I had no choice but to put my faith in my school and my agency and hope they finished all the paperwork in time. And when I say paper work I mean paper work. The amount of documents involved to be granted a work permit/visa extension is truly absurd. When you factor into consideration how slow Thais are at accomplishing tasks, it's a miracle so many foreigners even live here.
Luckily, my agency came through and processed all my paperwork in time. Being the classy organization that they are, they picked me up from school in a private town car and escorted me flawlessly through the labor office and immigration. As I was sitting at the desk in immigration waiting as they looked through my paperwork to decide my fate, the radio was blasting the Too Close song that goes "baby when were grinding, I get so excited...". This was then followed by "I don't see nothing wrong with a little bump and grind". All perfectly acceptable music to be playing in a government office. I couldn't help but to laugh watching this serious immigration official dressed in his proper uniform oblivious to the sexual music filling the room. Only in Thailand. A few minutes later, he added about 12 new stamps to my passport and I was on my way. I am legal until November 19.

No, I did not completely loose all sense of fashion, the labor office photoshopped the suit in. Apparently the shirt I was wearing was unacceptable. They also preferred my hair to be more red