Monday, January 12, 2009

Frustration riddled with excitement = overstimulated...

I know it has only been a couple days since I have been here, but I am already starting to miss my creature comforts back in the US. It's nothing major, just a little unsettling for me.

1. My hair sucks here!!! I LOVE my hair because it is the best hair ever. I feel like I have a lot of pride wrapped up in my hair, and I feel like God is stripping that away from me. The humidity here makes it so no matter how much I try to look nice, two minutes after being outside my hair is back to the nasty wave it naturally has without straightening or curling. I also got a terrible hair cut before I left - dang you Lauren at Dolce!!! But my bangs are too short and blunt and I can't try to fix them yet because then they'll just be shorter.

2. Rain here is different!!! It seems like it emanates from all around me and possibly from within me. In AZ the rain falls from the sky... or slightly to the side. Here, it is everywhere... which makes it pointless to have a "brelly" (umbrella) at all when its a drizzle. I'll save my brelly for actual rain.

3. Royal Holloway isn't completely wireless!!! ASU is all wireless which I LOVED because in class or anywhere around campus I could look up my email or check facebook or the internet. R.H. is not all wireless, which makes me feel even more disconnected from people back home because I can't check my email whenever I want and respond promptly.

4. SKYPE is being evil!!! I think it has a lot to do with the onset of students that have arrived in the last day, but since yesterday SKYPE has been disconnecting my calls, and the conversation has a two second delay and a horrible picture, which puts me in a very bad mood to try and have a conversation.

5. I miss it being quiet when I go to sleep!!! The girls in my hall are all first years (18 years old) and so they are relishing being away from home for the first time. They arrived last night and like all young college girls should they took their computer out into the hallway in front of my door, turned on some music and the 6 of them had a dance party. I was exhausted and my foot was bothering me (I strained it walking around london - I'll post all about that in the next couple of days), or else I would have joined them. I was getting some reading done and then finally turned out my lights at midnight. As soon as my light went off I heard one of the girls say, "she's gone to bed, we probably should go into a room." I thought that was really awesome, but all the same, I could still hear them slightly through the wall which made falling asleep a task.

6. It's weird not having a car!!! I already miss driving. I love driving. I need to run down to the shops to grab some essentials (clothes hangers, snacks for my dorm, etc) and I'l have to walk down there instead of drive. It's a 15 minute walk, but it's raining and my foot hurts... so i'll have to go probably friday when it's not raining).

But, so this post isn't all negative, there are cool things I've picked up already:

1. Queue - line up, "The queue starts over there" or "excuse me, are you queuing?"
2. Uni - University, "my home Uni is ASU"
3. sales tax - it's factored into the cost of the object. So what you see on the price tag is what you owe
4. Dr. Pepper and Snickers - They're here! and the school sells them. And they taste the same. (still have not found sunflower seeds, but I'll keep looking).

So all in all, it's wet, communication is limited at this time, I'm tired and still feel unsettled, but, I am assimilating slowly but surely, Dr. Pepper tastes like Dr. Pepper, Snickers taste like snickers, and "the snozberries taste like snozberries". Thank you.

Continue praying for me... and pray that I would rely on God completely and fully.

P.S. London was fantastic!! Most amazing day ever!! I'll post about that probably wednesday when I have all the pictures and time to post.

4 comments:

Jeannette's Blog said...

I have always been jealous of your hair!! If I was there with you I would look like Monica on Friends when they went to the Bahamas. Just be thankful you don't have Jeannette hair!

Angie in AZ said...

Jeanette has fantastic hair so you should both be thankful! OK, now about the hair. My hair is naturally part curly/wavy and part sorta' straight in spots. This is my recommendation to you. Do you know what "jaw clamps"are? (I can e-mail a photo if not) Put some light weight gel in your hair after a shower. Scrunch up sections of your hair and clip it up with jaw clamps. 3 or 4 clamps are enough for this. Leave them in and let your hair partially dry... not all the way. Eat breakfast, do make up, get dressed... all that kind of stuff while it's drying. When partially dry, take the clips out and use your blow dryer to finish scrunching it up. You'll also want to get some hairspray that is not water soluble but is shampoo soluble. Joico makes one called Ice Mist. This is strictly a finishing spray as it is pretty heavy duty but your hair will not budge due to damp weather. Go with the curl instead of fighting it. Trust me. Life will be easier! Learn to work with the curl you have.

Skerrib said...

Cool about the Snickers and DP (if you are into that sort of thing =), but please oh please, once you're settled remember to branch out into the good British candy. They have some yummy treats over there.

Arizona Sports Fanatic said...

I liked the reference to Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. (Which, might I add, is the ONLY worthy movie version of the Roald Dahl classic novel.)

Also, could you send us your mailing address? Myra and I would like to send you a package.