Frostbite

Well, I'm in Indiana and it isn't nearly as cold as it could be. It is still cold though. My body went into shock only hours after arriving in Sacramento. I woke up the next morning with peeling skin on my suddenly frozen hands. It has been fun here in Indy. I ended up absconding with my grandmother and she's out here with us. We are trying to get her to rethink the direction of her life and take care of herself. We truly are so so worried about her. We'll see. She's damn stubborn.

I was shocked to go grocery shopping today and discover that everything was so cheap. It would be like if Safeway in Hawaii had a 50% off everything sale. Crazy! Lots of fun times to be had still yet. And only a day and a half to have them! ...

Guess who needs glasses?

If you are going to see me over break, you should ask to see my new glasses. I had my first ever eye doctor appt today and found out that I'm a bit nearsighted and so now I have my very first pair of eyeglasses. How strange is that? Mat in glasses. Not that I'll wear them that often, but oh well. It is in my blood to wear glasses. I hope my eyes don't get as bad as my sister's and I have to wear those thick bifocals. Noooooo!!!

If these numbers mean anything to you, you can judge how bad my eyesight is (not too bad, I think), and then explain to me what the numbers mean:
Right: -075 sphere -025 cylinder 135 axis
Left: -100 sphere DS cylinder

Winter Plannings

So I was thinking we should have a Mat Movie Night sometime when I get back. I have a few movies I'd love to watch/share. The main one is Sex with Love (the Chilean comedy that I adore), but also Lilo and Stitch among others. So yeah. Maybe I'll even cook some enchiladas and Spanish rice (now that I'm an expert) and/or apple crisp. :) What else?? I don't know. But if you think of other things we can do together over break, let me know. :)

Holiday SLS Fun

If you are bored and want to learn what the life of an SLS student is like, check this video out from our holiday cooler where we performed the christmas carol The 12 Days of SLS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEotU6JDSCU

Here are the verses:

On the first day of classes my department said to me...We're the very best in the country.
On the second day of classes HATESL said to me...Pay your yearly fees.
On the third day of classes the seniors said to me...Drink some beer.
On the fourth day of classes my landlord said to me...No shoes inside.
On the fifth day of classes my advisor said to me... FIVE CORE CLASSES.
On the sixth day of classes a decision came to me...SP or thesis?
On the seventh day of classes somebody said to me...Read TESOL Quarterly.
On the eighth day of classes my best friend said to me...How is Hawaii?
On the ninth day of classes my classmate said to me...Moore Hall is freezing.
On the tenth day of classes a thought occurred to me...I can't drop classes.
On the eleventh day of classes my research needs of me...IRB's approval
On the twelfth day of classes my professors said to me...What were you thinking?!

Last Day of the First Semester of Class in Hawaii

Well it is actually getting a bit chilly. As girls are prone to do, a few of my friends felt cold tonight while we were checking out all the holiday displays downtown. And why shouldn't they be? After all, it has dipped into the brisk winter temperatures of 70 degrees and with the wind chill it feels like 69 at least.

Oh...I'm going to die when I get to Indiana! Well, I'll be there rather soon. I can't believe it. I still have to finish this big term paper (which now has a topic), but I'm looking forward to it all being over. Today was the last day of class and it is tradition to present leis to our professors. I like that tradition. Actually, I really like the tradition of giving leis for special occasions in general. I think I'll adopt that if I can actually find inexpensive [real] leis in Sacramento or wherever I end up. Anyways, I took my only final exam for my linguistics class and now I am off to work on my paper.

By the way, I'm really really REALLY excited about the prospect of spending time with all sorts of my favorite people whom I haven't seen in far too long. It will rock! I think my break will be beautifully hectic. Bring it on. Although, I was also thinking today that I feel so lucky to have made some great friends here in Hawaii already. I remember it took a long long time when I first arrived in Nashville before I felt like I really had made any real friendships. I am also really looking forward to next semester. Here is a preview:
-Besides teaching 2 writing classes...
-Bilingual Education (an undergrad class which I hope will be easy and fun and interesting)
-Second Language Acquisition (should be a lot of reading and a big project, but also useful/interesting and its with my favorite professor, Lourdes)
-Language, Literacy, and Culture
-Beginning Volleyball (cool?)
-Poetry in English after 1900 (should be fun! hardly any writing or homework, most of grade is based on showing up and talking about poetry...perfect! i won't have time for extra homework)

Sound crazy??? YUP, IT IS!! At least that's what everyone is telling me. But you all know that this is comparable to must of the situations I work myself into and I'll find a way to manage and enjoy myself. I can't wait!!

Two weeks ago...

Wow. I'll be home in less than two weeks. Hard to believe. Harder to believe: I will finish my 600 lit review paper in less than two weeks. I should get started sometime soon. Oh well. I'm not going to let it get in the way of my fun, family, and friends (the 3 f's). It has been a while since I wrote (2 weeks to be exact), here's what's happened:

• I finished the play! Retrieved a life, but have managed to spend more time with friends so it doesn't seem like I have a ton more down time.
• Birthday parties for Leejin and Jin.
• Thanksgiving was very yummy and I was surrounded by my new adopted family here with Ellie and Pam. Unfortunately, my friends were having a dinner party and wimped out by 8pm so I never got to see them. Still, a few of them came over to my house for some of my yummy apple crisp. Mmm!
• I've observed some of the ELI classes and I'm so ready to teach next semester!

Still to come:

1. Tonight I'm celebrating December by going out with some friends. They have the First Friday (not Second Saturday) art gallery showcase tonight which we might visit.
2. Saturday is Salsa Fiesta Day!! Ay ay ay!! I just went shopping and it should be yummy.
3. Monday I register for classes for next semester.
   
4. Next week is the last week of class. Thursday I have a final in my linguistics class and then I'll be done with 2 of my 3 classes.
   
5. Next Friday we have a Christmas party for our department. I think I might also invite some friends over to do some baking and maybe do a gift exchange and watch my favorite Chilean movie (Sex with Love). You will have to watch it with me some time. I'm bringing the movie home with me.
6. That Saturday I will need to get serious about this paper.
7. Then I will do some Xmas shopping.
8. Then I will get ready to come home on the 13th.
9. Hopefully I will turn my paper in by the 14th.
10. And on the 15th I fly to Indiana to spend some quality time with my sister and her family. And to lose my tan in the blisteringly cold Indiana winter.
11. I'll return to Sacramento on the 19th and try to visit lots of people (hopefully some of them will feed me) and also try and read some of the textbooks I'll be using with my writing class. Writing textbooks...what fun!
12. Then I have a class reunion on Dec. 23, I'll try and track down Lissie when she comes up to SF, and holiday parties with families. Plus, it wouldn't be New Year's if I wasn't spending it with Joey.
13. Things will calm down just as I leave on January 6th and start school on January 8th.

Whew!! Wish me luck. :)

And love. :)