Random Ramblings

So...I'm full of randomness today...well, all week really! Okay, all the time! haha

Since returning from Singapore and Indonesia (which I'll post about soon as I gather all the necessary photos), I have turned into a glorified island bum. Not wearing make-up was absolutely heaven on earth, so I decided not to wear it upon returning to Seoul. Wonderful and scary all at once...my poor co-workers and students! Today, I arrived at school with wet hair (At least it was clean.) and no paint on the ol' barn. Totally freeing. I have come to the conclusion that my beautifying efforts are not truly appreciated or noticed anyway. Let me explain...

Several weeks before I left for Singapore/Indonesia, I kind of quit wearing make-up in order to get more sleep, b/c my poorly controlled diabetes was draining me. Well, I expected to get all the usual comments that I got in the States if I dared to show up to work make-upless, "Are you sick? Are you feeling alright today? You look really tired. There's something different about you." Much to my surprise, noone said anything...UNTIL I showed up wearing make-up for our field trip. My students were like, "You're wearing eyeshadow today. I love that color. It's so pretty." I usually don't wear eye shadow even on make-up days. Anyway, I told them that I hadn't been wearing make-up, and they were like, "Except for the color on your eyes, you look the same with and without make-up." Of course, at that very moment, they became and always will be my favorite kids on earth!!!=) Later that morning, this parent that kind of grates on my nerves showed up for the field trip and greeted me with an overpowering smile and, "Good morning. Oh, my! Do we have sleepy eyes today? You look tired." I almost knocked her flat out!!! j/k It did annoy me though. Since then, she has greeted me with the same "kind words" 2 or 3 times---both on make-up and no make-up days!! Go figure.

Most popular quotes this week, "Miss Van Dyke, you didn't get tan at all on that trip to Indonesia. How do you stay so white? Not fair." None of the students over here, especially with Asian backgrounds, want a tan. They all want to be white as possible. The students who got quite a bit of sun on the trip were afraid to come home fearing that they'd be in trouble for getting too dark. This is hard for me to get used to since tanning is such a desirable thing in the States. My friends and I used to have races to see who could tan the fastest. Of course, they mean their comments to me as a compliment. However, it kind of makes my pasty self sad! One day, I'll be bronzed and beautiful (maybe with sleepy eyes), but bronzed and beautiful nonetheless!!

Today, my class was taking the reading comprehension portion of the SAT. My sweet little Japanese student raised her hand and said, "I don't understand this word. What is a duff?" She pointed to the word "dough" as she spoke. She accidentally pronounced "dough" like "enough". How cute is that? I immediately thought of my D.U.F.F. in college, Kimberly, and almost started laughing uncontrollably. For those of you lost, a D.U.F.F. is... You'll have to email or message me to find out! Great reason to smile though! haha
On my trip to Indonesia, my small group of girls and I bought silly cartoon shirts. I got a shirt that said, "Little Miss Chatterbox" on it. No one seemed to understand that description of me or find a connection. If only they knew the real AUDIE or should I say the old AUDIE. Kind of funny and sad all at once.
Some truly insignificant things in life can throw the flow of our world right out of whack. I often wonder why that is. It happens to me at times, and I currently find myself being overwhelmingly affected by something truly insignificant, and in the big scheme of things, unimportant. It's kind of like a needle in a haystack...seemingly insignificant and unnoticeable unless you're the one who gets poked by it. After you get poked, it's all you can think about, even though you wisely tell yourself how stupid it is and to get over it. I think that girls struggle with this a bit more than boys. I try to view myself as tough and unaffected by the small things in life, but I have an overactive, overimaginative mind that sometimes has a hard time putting things to rest. I'm ready for the sensation from this recent "poke" to subside.

Okay, I'm going to stop rambling. Email, message me, or leave a comment! I miss all you people!
Love and prayers,
Audie
P.S. More to come soon---important stuff that is!