Monday, June 7, 2010

this just in...i am a total idiot.
tell us something we didn't know, right?!

when i first came to korea 4+ months ago, i had minimal ability in reading korean. in each of our rooms, we were set up with the bare necessities, including huge costco size bottles of shampoo & conditioner. i took my best guess of which bottle was which, then never bothered to look back once i got into a routine. when i showered, i used the brown bottle first as shampoo, then the white bottle as conditioner. but over time my hair has become unmanageable. i used to have beautiful, stick straight hair. it is currently in a frizzed-out, 100% unable-to-be-tamed state. i didn't know what was wrong. maybe a change in water? change in environment? change in hair products? i was contemplating paying for professional straightening or treatment because it was so bad. and then on saturday, i actually read my shampoo and conditioner bottles. and saw that the "conditioner" i was using was actually shampoo. so everyday for the past 4+ months, i have been shampooing twice and using no conditioner. what the heck?! no wonder my hair freaked out. moral of the story: learn the language before you go to a foreign country and fry your once-great hair.

i had a busy week last week catching up with friends. all of their english is progressing so well...i'm really proud! i won't get to see many of them this week, though, because of final exams. (they already have final exams for the semester that just began in march!) after that, KNU will be a ghost town because all of the students will return to their hometowns for summer vacation. :( it will be so sad!

last entry, i mentioned that i decided to crack down and really study korean. i have thus far been able to stick to that, and i am amazed at the improvement i've seen in just a week. it's been very rewarding and motivating. so these days, i spend less time on facebook, and more time studying. i'm still really horrible at it, but it's coming along little by little. and when i have studied til my brain can take no more, i "rest" by watching korean tv. i'm pushing myself hard to really try to get the hang of this.

contrary to popular belief, a lot of koreans are really tall. so unfortunately, i still can't fit in a lot of the clothes here! yesterday, i went to a tailor shop to get some pants hemmed. and i'm glad to report that it costs less than $3 per pair. hahaha. i love how cheap everything is here!

i have become so aware lately of how really, really fortunate i am. coming into this experience, i had no idea what to expect...and really anything could have happened. but my program is great and treats all of our teachers absolutely wonderfully. and i made a ton of really good friends so quickly. i have had a lot of bad days at work, but i am always with friends in the evening who can cheer me up without even knowing it. i am so, so thankful.

my 6th graders are on their way, so i'd better run. everyone take care and be well!

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