Day 22

I wake up today a bit earlier than usual- 6:20AM. My tired body doesn't recognize my alarm clock at first and doesn't get up, but I get the point at 6:25AM and actually wake up. I get ready in a daze, feeling so tired. I wash up and then bring my homework into the living room. I work on it and nearly get through all of it. This morning, my family went to the hospital around 7:00AM. So, I was left alone to do my homework and eat breakfast.

Listening to music and doing homework, my time started to run thin. I ate breakfast late again-- this time at 7:40AM. I usually begin to leave at 7:40AM. I scarfed down a breakfast while listening to IU sing a song about Christmas and then ran out the door, feeling bad for leaving dishes in the sink.

Walking down the street while listening to some upbeat Russian music, I was thinking about my busy day. I had to go to school, do homework, review vocabulary, create more vocabulary card sets, review THAT vocabulary, study the grammar points for the test on Thursday, do my supporter project, plan out what I will do for the project, etc, etc, etc. As each week passes, the workload accumulates into a horrific mass of 'stuff.' I study hard, but that leaves me no time to study, and then I can't study things that I should study because I don't have time to study as a result of my studying. What?

I get to school feeling exhausted because today was slightly hot and humid, plus I was carrying my large laptop in my bag so I could work on my supporter project later today. I usually don't think my backpack is heavy because I'm used to the large load, but today, my backpack was basically a bowling ball or two with straps to carry them with.

At school, I go to the vending machine and purchase two drinks I had never tried prior: a pink peachy, milky drink and a blue, carbonated, 'healthy' drink. They were both way too sweet and I did not enjoy drinking either of them.

I went through class quickly, beginning to feel very tired during the second class and losing focus. I had to really push myself today to pay attention in class, and the material that we were learning felt a bit complicated to me. We learned about Noun이/가 Noun+보다 더/덜 Adjective, and Plural Noun 중에서. My tiny mind had a bit trouble comprehending this while also feeling sleepy.

Today, I felt like I understood less that 75% of what was being said. I need to study more, but I need to study before I can study and then I have to work before I can study to study. Whew. Class ended and I felt relieved. I went to a convenience store with Anna, Emma, and Sophia to get lunch. I got some strange popcorn chicken thing, tuna kimbap, a free pororo chocolate drink that came with the chicken thing, and a whole big box of chocolate pies. A box of two chocolate pies costed about $2 while a box of 12 pies was only $4.80. How does this make sense?

Anyway, we ate our lunch on some tables right outside of the college entrance (yes, we had to walk up the hill again and up the stairs under the hear) and talked about stuff. Future plans, travelling plans, school, just stuff. Afterwards, I went with Emma to 설빙 because many support groups (including both of our groups) were meeting at that location. I met with my group today and got a Jeju orange drink.

In our supporter groups this time, we role played being at a store and having to return something while giving a reason for our return, and we also roleplayed making a reservation at a hotel and choosing what room and how many people we will reserve the room(s) for. At first, I couldn't understand one thing, but as time went on, I was once again able to catch onto the speaking patterns and I could understand more and more. It was a bit difficult at first, but with more understanding, it actually became pretty fun. The only kind of grievance I have is that its a class with its own homework while we also have regular class with regular homework, so it's a bit killer. I was hoping that being with the supporter would kind of be like a vacation where we go out and see Korea, but I was disappointing. I mean, having another class is nice I guess, but the work is honestly a bit suffocating, which is not good in this context because I'm not experiencing Korea when I'm stuck studying all day.

Afterwards, I went to a cafe with some of my friends and we worked on the powerpoint for our supporter group. It was based on explaining high school life in America. We all collaborated and made a general outline for the outline. Then, we went to a mandu place, but I didn't get anything because I was full. If you get the chance to drink black milk bubble tea, do so! It's really good. Anyway, I came home late from studying and started working on the powerpoint design this time. On top of this, I was trying to download my songs onto my ipod (which I successfully did after some tinkering!), look for content for the powerpoint, work on the design of the powerpoint, and talk to my group about our plan: I do the general design and put my content in and then we meet up the next day and edit the powerpoint, adding their own perspectives of school and smoothing out the minute differences as we go. School in America is very different depending on where you live, so it's very important that we bring attention to the relevant and large differences and also the similarities.

In Korea, time goes by so quickly. Working on homework, the clock suddenly skipped through 3 hours and before I know it, it was already almost 12:30! I had finished my design and brushed my teeth and headed to bed, feeling very tired. Working non-stop with something kind of interesting that required thinking, I didn't have a moment where I felt REALLY tired. However, I just slowly felt more and more tired as time progressed.

It's morning now because I had no time to write this blog yesterday, i'm super tired and have to leave my house for school or else I will be late. Yes, I have a lot on my plate, but I will be fine! I'm a diligent worker when the motivation is in the right place and while my brain is getting a bit overloaded and i'm very tired, i'm still having a great time and am learning a lot. In times of stress, it's important to look at the positives and remember that the most beautiful of gems form under the most greatest of pressure.

For now, I will say bye. I hope everyone is having a great time. I love and miss everyone back at home~! Ciao



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