Anyways, class was pretty good. Considering I woke up as the most tired person in the world today, I got through. We have learned lots of stuff, and I'm pretty sure (if I can remember what the words actually sound like) I can have a pretty good conversation.
I can say things like:
I'm sorry but I can't come to class today, due to the unbearable stomach pains I'm having right now.
However, if you go to the beach later, I would love to go with you.
No, I don't have my homework. I was too busy watching American sports at 3 in the morning.
The streets sure are crowded today. Let's take the subway instead, it's way faster anyways.
So yeah, my Korean is coming along swimmingly I think. Those above sentences are really all you need anyways, right?
After class, we had lunch and I headed out to the lab. The lab always makes me walk away with a new feeling every day. Today, it was a mixture of frustration and amazement. Frustration because I can't really talk to the guys in the lab well enough to ask questions about why stuff is happening, and also because the reaction seems to not be working so well. Amazement, though, because with just a few words, my professor has given me a little hope and made me want to come back, yet again, tomorrow, and test my skill at chemistry.
When my professor told me at first he wanted to be a real father figure in my life, it was a little off putting. I got past that point, though, when I learned in culture class that in Korea, when you develop a good relationship with a teacher they really become like another parent. It's the whole Confucian thing again I think.
Now, though, it seems like (and as I imagine a father would often do) he can just come into the lab, say five words, and give me hope again. As ridiculous as it sounds, he has the best one line sayings ever (even better than David Caruso [<---The 'lead man' on CSI Miami who always gets to say the cool lines, like, "You don't spend a thousand dollars on clothes.... that you're never going to wear." see also http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sarYH0z948]). Take for example, today.
He came in and I told him what was going on. He looked at my reaction stuff, looked at me, and said, "Chemistry is like making bread. Sometimes you follow the recipe and it tastes great. Sometimes, though, you follow the recipe and it comes out burnt on one side or doesn't taste good. We'll succeed, just give it time."
How do you argue with that? You basically have no choice but to have hope. The motivational speech had everything you could have asked for: dramatic pause at the beginning, parallel story you can relate to (I really enjoy bread, by the way), and a pick-me-up line thrown in at the end.
I came back to the room because it was time for none other than table tennis! Unfortunately for me, when I got there, I found out my club was once again not meeting due to midterm tests. It was all pretty good, though, because I basically got to kill two birds with one stone (and that's like 4 birds altogether, as long as two in the hand really are worth two in the bush) because I got to play with some professor type guys (on a university campus in Korea, you pretty much have to assume they're professors if they're old guys) ad I got to practice my new playing style. It's way more fun for me, so I am willing to put time into it.
Afterwards, I came back to my room and had to come to terms with a terrible realization. It can be summed up in 7 short words: Eating plus not working out equals fat.
Yep, so, being as I am in a good mood it didn't bother me that much to figure it out. I am definitely going to make more of an effort to both eat less and work out more, because that's the formula to get rid of the fatness.
Homework done,
Table tennis played,
I could be wrong,
but I think I've had a good day.
For Now,
Aron Huckaba International Vagabond
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