I need at least two more hours in every day

I have to be very brief again this week because I don't have enough time for life.

Starting mid this week I'm loosing 75% of my breaks during the school day which means that now I basically have to do all of my class prep and grad reports outside of school.  On the plus side, this also means that my paycheck will be quite a bit bigger.

I'm still chugging away on my grad school application stuff.  Such a pain in the butt.  And I'm so lazy.

I am still poor and will be for two and a half more weeks.

My lip is not a swollen mess anymore and I can actually smile again which is awesome.  It's still a bit sore but it is getting better.

I have been here for a third of my time already and it's kind of freaking me out.

I have almost no time to study Korean right now and it makes me sad.

Chiaki coming for a visit in ten days which should be quite fabulous.  Unfortunately, I have to work for most of the days that she is here. :(

Korean character of the day:  ㅕ - sounds like 'yuh' but with slightly more 'o' sound
Korean word/phrase of the day: 꽃 (go-ch) - flower

Brief update....

and then back to my grad school application writing.  Yucky yuck yuck.

1. A taco place opened up down the street from where I live and it's not half bad.  It also appears like it might have live music at night on the weekends.  Booya.

2.  I have stitches in my lip.  Again.  They didn't the junk surrounding the cyst the first time around so they had to go back in.  So half of my lower lip is all puffy and swollen and lovely shades of bruised.  Needless to say this makes eating awkward as well as talking, smiling, showing large emotions with my face and not drooling.  I'm sure that there have been a good number of people who's first thought has been "Oh wow, she has an abusive significant other, poor girl."  I would much rather have them think that I am ridiculously clumsy or that I got into a fist fight and beat the shit out of the other person and was left with this small bruise.  I really hope they got it all this time because I really don't want to have them cut me open again.  I mean really, it shouldn't take three surgeries for educated doctors to get all of a small cyst on the inside of my lip.

3.  Healing from minor surgery makes me very, very tired.  Lots of sleeping has been happening.

4.  I ran out of crunchy JIF.  Le sigh.  Back to your not as good substitute, Super Chunky Skippy for $7 a pop.

5.  Massive amounts of grad school application writing.  It is very hard to get myself to just sit down and do it considering that it has been more than a year since I've written and academic paper.  Must focus.  And shell out large amounts of cash for application fees.  GAH.

Ok back to work.

Korean character of the day: ㅌ - t sound, aspirated
Korean word/phrase of the day: 사과 - apple

こんにちわ 日本! （Hello Japan!!)

Finally getting around to my Japan update!!! I know it has been two weeks, but I couldn't really write while I was in Japan and I have been on vacation withdrawal ever since.  I was also the end of the month and I had a bunch of paper work.  But anyway, JAPAN!

Got in to Tokyo super, super late two Mondays ago to a Miss Chiaki Mugita waiting for me at the airport.  We almost missed the last train to her house because it was so late.

We spent the next five days cavorting around Tokyo.  I saw the Meiji Shrine, Harajuku, Shinjuku, the mini statue of liberty and ate all kinds of goodies.  One of my favorite parts: conveyor belt sushi.  It is kind of amazing.  Basically a dollar (900 yen) for a plate of two, all you can eat.  Sushi is so expensive in Korea that I was extremely excited.  It was also extremely good.  They need to have suish-go-rounds here too.

Another of my favorites: Japanese hotsprings/bath house.  People in America have such weird hold ups about being naked, and while people in Asia are more concerned about how much upper body skin they show when they are wearing clothing, they could give a rip in locker rooms, bath houses and around friends.  A Japanese or Asian bath house is a fantastic and relaxing experience if you can get over the naked thing.  I got to wear a traditional Japanese robe, a yukata, and eat delicious breaded pork katzu and sit for hours in mineral hot tubs of varying temperatures.  Unfortunately they charged extra for massages and the little fish that eat the dead skin off of your feet but still amazing.

Overall I had a fantastic time in Japan.  A very large part due to getting to see Chiaki.  Japan is very different from Korea, but also the same.  It's very weird.  As soon as I got out of the airport I noticed that the people looked different, more real maybe.  They had more skin imperfections and they didn't dress as much the same or have similar hair cuts.  In Korea, most people have the same sense of style, get rid of all of their skin imperfections through surgery and mostly have dark brown or black hair.  It was totally different in comparison.  I think I liked it better because I didn't feel as much like I had to look as nice all of the time.  I would definitely like to go back, but I'm not sure when I would have a long enough break.

It was super nice to relax for a week.  I came back to the end of the month tests and grade reports.  Seriously  miss the relaxing part.

Korean character of the day:  ㅖ - sounds like 'yay'
Korean word/phrase of the day: 일본 (il-bone) - Japan