Bureaucracy, Bread Feet, and my upcoming Salwar Kameez debut

For all of you who can read Korean, or understand how Koreans pronounce English words, this is hilarious. Anyway, I'm sure that's what Jennifer calls him.

Well I'm sorry I missed writing in April, but it was a whirlwind of activity. Between planning the conference, trying to start a Student Government, midterms, starting a new job, and immersion week, I've been impossibly busy. To give you the rundown:

-the conference was scaled down to a one-day affair, with 3 prominent business leaders as guest speakers and only SolBridge students as participants. Here's a link for the website:

http://solbridgestudentconference.info/

-my attempt at forming a Student Government was in vain, but I didn't leave empty-handed. The bureaucratic mindset of some of the people at SolBridge are still not ready to hand the reigns over to students, and are still unwilling to listen to the student body without coddling us like children. I quote, "If you don't accept the format we have made for the student government, then perhaps it's a sign that you are not ready for democracy." Riiiight. I say I didn't go away empty-handed because I've learned that having passion cannot carry you through to success. There are a lot of elements that must come together to elicit change within a traditional environment, and having passion and drive, even having logic on your side, does not guarantee success. It also gave me a chance to understand a little more about the Korean mindset. I've now encountered a potential problem for my career goals if I choose to live here after graduation. American businesspeople strongly believe in open-door policies, flattened hierarchies, and flexibility. Some Koreans find this way of thinking uncomfortable and it makes them insecure and even aggressive. So now I have two options: to try and develop my understanding of this mindset through harmony and acceptance, or to reject it and try to be a catalyst for change. Perhaps as an American in Korea I will have to do both in order to satisfy both my needs and the need for acceptance by my peers and colleagues. Another idea would be to start my own business, that way I can avoid a traditional bureaucracy, at least within the organization I work for.

-I started a new job working with Korean Customs, where I teach business English two times a week and also a pre-intermediate class once a week. It's not completely off my career path but it's teetering on the edge; however I am making the most of this well-paying industry and researching the market to one day start my own business here.

-Immersion week was a great success for my group, and I received a lot of commendation from my peers for having the best presentation. While we didn't win according to the judges, I feel strongly that our group performed extremely well and I was proud of our achievements. I also want to say congratulations to my husband Usman; his team won first place in his division and now we get to shop at HomePlus with a gift card!

Finally, Usman's parents are sending some wedding gifts for us - traditional clothing, jewelry, and sweets from Pakistan. I'll be posting pictures of me and my husband, I'll be in a salwar kameez or sari with mendhi and bracelets. So so so excited! Miss you all. And congrats to my friend Heather for achieving her weightloss goal, you totally rock! Until next time guys!