Tuesday 16 October 2012

Chill out...

Hey everyone, it's DiMitri!

So this is my very first post on the blog! (it took me long enough...)

One thing that I don't think a lot of people know about us NSLI-Y students is that we're pretty stressed out right now.  Yes, it is October, and yes, you would think that we would have already completely assimilated into Korean culture; however, that's not the case...not yet, at least. It's going to take a lot longer than a month and a half for any of us to feel completely comfortable being here. 
The view from school

Because of this whole adapting thing, each of us is pretty stressed out in different ways. We study Korean, we go to school, we have to work on our relationships with our host families (believe it or not, it is kinda difficult)...all of these things pile up on us and really exhaust us. Not only is it physically taxing, but it is really rough on your emotions too.  The W-curve is real. It's SO real. 
Personally, I was having a rough time emotionally.  I'm going to school from 7:30 to 11:30, going to Korean class from 2:30 to 6:00, making it home for dinner with my host family before 7:30, and then going out until late at night for dance practice.  Then, I have to study not only Korean but also French because it's my major at my high school.  Making the effort to learn French in Korean may have been one of the worst decisions I've ever made, but I have to deal with it. Additionally, one of my close friends here just left for the Korean army yesterday for his mandatory service, and that made me really upset. A lot of my friends back home have asked me when I have time to sleep. Frankly, I really don't. I sleep a maximum of 5 or maybe 6 hours on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Tuesdays and Thursdays I take the time to just relax, but it never really leaves me feeling any more refreshed than I do on any other day.

I think all of us are reaching or have reached the point where we feel like we're going to explode for some reason. We get angry or we get super sad for some reason, and we feel like we want to lash out...but we can't.  So we keep the emotions bottled up, and eventually we're gonna burst. 

BUT! And this is a very big but! (HAHAHAHA)
Each of us needs a outlet to relieve our stress. Each student needs to do something throughout the week that just relaxes them and makes them happy. It can be journaling, taking a walk, or just being alone for a little while.

To relieve stress, I work out on Tuesdays and Thursday for a little while, study for a bit, and then I just read and relax for the rest of the night. I also make sure that I get to bed really early on those nights so that I can relax and recharge for the following day.  For me, simply being able to sit down and do absolutely nothing is the best stress reliever in the world.

Ask my mom. When I work hard, I work hard. There's no stopping until some sort of goal is achieved. I mean, yeah, that would be a great trait if I was only working on one thing at a time, but I have so many things to do that I'm wearing myself thin.

A major part of adapting in life is finding a balance. For me, I've pretty much found the balance between work and relaxing.  The people around me notice when I'm energized and notice when I'm burned out. It takes a lot to do what we do here. So...

As a goal for this month, I'm challenging all of the NSLI-Y kids to just...chill (not exactly what you'd expect for a "goal", but they need it). Do something that relaxes you...because I think you guys have all forgotten what that feels like to be relaxed. Have a cup of tea, take a stroll around your neighborhood, read a book, sing a song in the shower, do SOMETHING light.

Well, that's enough pep-talk for now.

Pictures for all you folks back home!


First concert I went to

Dance School!
My Birthday Cake

The view from my bedroom window


And that's all from me.

-DiMitri

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