Feeling Pretty

This morning when I found myself still sweating post shower, post run, I decided that make-up was at the bottom of my to do list. It's not that I didn't have time for it, although that happens a lot in the morning, rather I just didn't feel like putting anything on my face.  As I walked to school (knowing I have some mascara and eyeliner there) I anticipated the comments i'd receive from staff and possibly students.  Already earlier this week I was told that "Are you okay, you look unhealthy" and that was with makeup on.

Shortly after settling into my desk Anna (my main co-teacher) walked into the office and said good morning, immediately followed with a shocked "Oh you look different" ..here's how the rest of the conversation played out: 

Me: Oh yeah, I don't have any make-up on today
Anna: Oh wow, really!?  **fits of laughter**Me: Yeah, I just didn't feel like it
Anna: Wow, you look very different
Me: Yeah my eyes? My eyelashes are really light without mascara.
Anna: Yeah, there is a big difference without make up, I think you had better wear the mascara

Conversation #1 of the day, winning.

Thankfully, and much to my surprise that was the only comment of the day regarding my looks.  Well a few students told me how tired I looked but I don't think that had anything to do with my lack of make-up. This entire week i've been drained, enough to even take a nap in my classroom yesterday.  I think it's that time of the year/semester, plus the heat.  Really I feel terrible for my students, if I feel this way on a decent amount of sleep I can't imagine how they feel...studying for finals they're up until 2 or 3am, possibly later.  Maybe that's why they're all walking around like zombies lately.

Oh, also of note and related to this post; I finally took the plunge and got the "Magic Straight"  about a week ago.  When I first came to Korea I heard about this wonderful thing but then hemmed and hawed over getting it done for over a year.  Some days I wake up and really love my wavy/curly mess of a hair-do, but then there are the days that it absolutely drives me crazy or looks more like a birds nest than anything else. I also knew that getting the perm could significantly damage my hair so wasn't sure if it was worth it. Well, the summer heat came once again and with it my frizzy do so I took the plunge and made the change.

Thankfully I had an awesome stylist at Lee Joon salon in Gumi, she spoke near perfect English, knew western hair and had a great sense of humor. All of which came in helpful as the process takes over two hours, can damage your hair, and needs some level of communication.  Anyway, long story short, it worked and I love it. My hair is A LOT flatter but that's to be expected without the curl.  The first time I washed my hair after having it done I was expecting it to bounce right back to it's frizzy ways, but to my surprise it was stick straight!

 So I go to school the next day, and although I've straightened my hair before tons of teachers and students were commenting on my new hair style.  Teacher so different, straight hair? Oh so beautiful!  Honestly this went on for the next few days, with most comments centering around how beautiful I was, some even crossing the line to sexy.  So there ya go, why do most women with curly or wavy hair desire the straight styles of their counterparts? Image. As much as I hate to admit it, I feel prettier with straight hair. Is it because of a celebrity image, the comments from other people, or something else? Honestly i'm not sure and i'm not saying I did this so I could be prettier, it was mostly for the ease of styling, especially with the summer heat! But hey, those compliments aren't a terrible side effect. ;)

Sorry for the lack of pictures ~~ you'll just have to believe me that I didn't look like death today and that my hair actually is straight.

DAM

A few weeks ago the country celebrated 현충일, also known as Memorial Day, and thus I was granted with a day off school.  It had been a while since Sara and I had seen each other so we decided a Daegu adventure was in order.  Our first thought was finding a good park or outdoor area to relax but upon noticing that the temperature were going to be in the high 80's we opted for a place with aircon.  The night before I was checking facebook and came across a post on the Daegu Art Museum and just like that we had a plan for the next day. 

한국에서 야구

Sometimes people are perplexed when I tell them i'm not good at sports, my co-workers especially, "but you can run".  Well trust me, there's a lot more to organized sports than running.  Sure I can put on my tennis shoes and go lose myself in a run for a few hours, but throw a ball at me while doing so and we're talking about a whole different ball game (sorry that was lame).  Not only am I not an athlete but i'm also not particularly knowledgeable when it comes to sports, sure I know the basic rules of pretty much all of them, but dont' ask me the specifics, names, statistics, records, etc. Nevertheless I love going to sporting events, I guess i'm more of  a social fan than anything else. Some of my co-workers were surpsied when I told them I went to a baseball game, oh you like baseball, I think that's boring.  Well yeah, the games can get boring, but I think of it more as something to do and time to spend with friends. So if you're looking for a play by play on the Samsung lions record, statistics or any particulars related to baseball you might want to go look for a new blog.  

Welcome to Lions Stadium 

I Came Here to Eat ~ and Maybe Drink a Little Too

Two weekends ago my friend Caitlin was looking for volunteers to join her on a trip to Seoul as she had a wedding to attend.  Considering I hadn't been there since winter and was in need of new clothes and good food I was more than happy to volunteer.  Caitlin has to work late on Fridays (so lame) so we waited until Saturday morning to head up, bright and early I might add.  Arriving in Seoul around 11:30 our first mission was lunch, i'm telling you this weekend had two goals - clothes and food, both of which were successfully executed. 

The beautiful Han River