lost--the tv show

i have been totally anti-lost for a while.  i never got into it.  the few episodes i had seen were pretty cheesy and far fetched in my opinion.  after much persuasion, paul has talked me into "trying" it again.  he really enjoyed it and thought the way it was all wrapped was genius.  i am still watching but with a lot of skepticism.  paul assures me that i will change my heart, but i am still not so sure.  we watched episode six or five earlier.  i am on the fence and the verdict is yet to be handed out.  we will see....

going au natural

today i went to get my hair colored here in PP.  i went back to the same salon and had decided after much thought that i would just go natural for a while to give my hair a rest.  i kept having second thoughts, but i did it.  here is the end product---

the front had to be a bit darker to cover up the red well and look good.  so the back is pretty natural....kind of a dark blonde like color.  the front bits are dark brown/black.  sokun, the guy who did it, said that next time i could make the front lighter to match the back if i wanted.  i might just go with it like this since dark colors on the whole are not as rough on your hair.  surprisingly, i like it.  i was worried b/c last time i had dark all over i was not a fan, but that was in my first year in korea.  paul likes it too which is always an added bonus.  

here are some more pics.....

off to try to get into more episodes of "lost".  i am pretty skeptical, but paul thinks i will like it at some point.  i am not so sure.

a rocky start....

this week has gotten off to a rocky start.  every monday we have late start which means the kids do not start school until 10am.  during 7:30-9:30 we have collaboration meetings and professional development.  today, i realized that God is teaching me to be patient.  around 9ish i began to freak out a bit since i needed to print some pictures for my writing activity that was to kick start our first (my first as well) unit of inquiry.  i did not have access to a color printer in the time frame i had free.  some colleagues and i came up with a brilliant plan B using my class projector and the images i had saved to my usb drive.  yeah!  then when i returned to my classroom, the power kept going on and off.....there is nothing like teaching in the dark.  the nice side to this is that the kids are used to it, so they just keep working regardless.  we have been working outside some too.  i began to worry about my plan B since the power was being twitchy....i definitely needed power to use the projector and computer.  after about an hour of solid power, i felt confident that all would work out.  until about 10:45am when i got the kids back on the mat, set up the activity, handed out paper, talked about what we were going to do, plugged in my usb, and pushed power to the projector-----nothing.  yes, the projector did not turn on at all.  zip, zilch, nada, zero.  this came to be a very teachable moment of flexibility--my kids totally understood and we went on to plan C.  i think God was really trying to remind me to be flexible and patient--not my students.

pray that i can continue to be patient and flexible as the week continues.  quite a few new meetings to attend, ideas to be shared, and planning to be worked on before friday rolls around.

took the plunge....

well, i did it. i have been itching for a trim for a few days, but was not sure where to go and if i would be able to communicate what i wanted well enough to avoid disaster. all day we were out running errands and had the super itch to just do it. we had lunch, ran a bunch of errands, and then went to dinner. we ended up walking home from dinner which was quite fun since we got to see lots of cool stuff along the way. we rounded the corner of street 108 and sisovath quay and there was a small hair salon. i stopped paul and asked if i should at least inquire how much. some of the ladies in the shop had cool, trendy do's, so i figured it was worth asking. what?!?! only $8....well, okay....what is the worst that can happen? really, i mean it could be disastrous, but i was in a risk-taking mood. i asked about paul's too since he was also due for a trim. only $6...what!?!?! we checked to make sure they could trim it without cutting it all off. he was okay with it, so we said yes. it all began with a shampoo which was a bit much for both of us. lots of shampoo and massaging, but neither one of cared for the craziness. a little too much ear rubbing for both of us. ugh. then under the shears we both went. the guy, sokun, who cut my hair is the owner of the shop and has been trained in singapore by a french lady. he seemed quite knowledgeable and cautious which eased my anxiety a bit. i honestly felt like i was violating some hair cutter's code by having someone else cut my hair other than lucy. it was the oddest feeling. he did a great job though. i am quite happy with how it ended up. i need to let my fringe (bangs) grow out a bit more. paul was quite happy as well which does not happen often when he gets his hair cut. all in all, we think it is a great place. i am thinking about making an appointment next weekend to tweak my color. not sure what i will do yet. the many colors i have is kind of irritating here b/c some many locals stare and comment. it is okay, but it gets old. i might go natural all over, but keep my streak of bright color or i will bleach it all again and keep the front the same. not sure....what do you think???

well, one step closer to make PP our home. we are working on getting our house in order. we have set a goal for the end of the month to have it sorted. we bought an official alarm clock today and some lamps for our bedroom. it is slowly coming along....

new country, new blog

after four years in korea, paul and i are now living in phnom penh, cambodia. since my first blog was started when i was single and chronicled my adventures while living in seoul, i am now making a blog for us and all about our journey while living in asia.

so, with all that, welcome to the falgouts in asia!

we have been here in the penh for about six weeks now. it has been an adventure already. we have set up our apartment, bought furniture, found some great places to eat, had our first overseas visitor, been to siem reap, seen the ancient temples, dealt with communication issues, had curtains made, learned about the local markets, sweat quite a bit, started back to work, meet my students, and managed to keep our sanity. it has been great! we are loving living here and find the people quite friendly. it has been affirming to be here knowing that God has a plan for our lives.

we hope you will join us on this journey that we are on...
stay tuned for more.

--mandy