from rat trash to headlight.

so here's some pictures of my new do. i went in and said "give me the brightest most craziest blonde hair you can." and she (actually they--there were about 7 koreans working on my hair) did. i feel sort of like a mixture between a punk rocker and an alien and a headlight. the pictures really don't do it justice. everytime i look in the mirror, i stop, gasp, put my hand to my open mouth in a shocked gesture, and then i start laughing. it's so funny! but i know i can make it work. very dramatic eye makeup and bright lipstick will be necessary for the next while. hooray for a little nudge in the style department! lately i've been in this slump of un-uniqueness, mostly due to the fact that i sit on the floor with little kids playing musical games all day long. and also b/c it's so cold in our school and i just want to be warm! those two factors often result in black flowy pajama-like pants and my bright orange wool sweater that could keep a polar bear warm in the middle of an antartic winter. but this hair is not gonna let me get away with mediocre style.


i leave for china on wednesday morning. i'm really excited! i'm doing a few tours--great wall, forbidden city, summer palace, temple of heaven. i also got tickets for the chinese opera one night. and i'm taking an extraordinarily large suitcase b/c i plan to do a lot of shopping! i'm ready to get my bargaining game face on. bring it on little old chinese women!