The English Camp Marathon Concluded

Oh, and what a wild three weeks it was! I can't believe that I actually survived! Three weeks of working 7 am-9 pm everyday is way too much! Here's a brief re-cap:

My week 2 class was extra special. They were so amazing. No class in the entire three weeks I was there bonded as much as they did. The girls were so sweet; the boys were hilarious. And when it came time for them to go, they cried. I wrote earlier about saying goodbye to them and I truly meant what I said. They were special. They made the whole last 5 months worth surviving.

We had so much fun playing games too! We had one event called Mini Olympics where all teams competed to win snacks. One of the games was a pin-pong ball relay. The kids loved it. That week, my team won. :)

Meanwhile, when they weren't playing games, the students were studying for the big skit performance at the end of the week. It was great fun and I'm happy to say that week 2 my kids took 1st place and week 3 my kids took second. Snow White is not so Bright was a big hit!!

Another part of Mini Olympics was a whole team relay. One student would run to the end of the gym, run back, pick up another student, and run to the end again. Repeat. The kid above, Kepler, from week 2, was the first runner in our team relay. He had to run the length of the gym 20 times! Yikes!!

But the teachers had fun too (especially during Golden Bell)!

Tug of war anyone? This kid was so smart! His English name: Candy. LOL! I can't believe his teacher named him that! Wahahaha! He didn't mind though. By the end of week 1, he was some sort of camp super star for his smarts. He won lots of prizes!

This is my team week 3. They were so funny. I almost lost it with this girl on the bottom right. She refused to uncover her face and refused to look up at the camera.... Now, I don't believe in corporal punishment, but by week 3 my patience was really thin (due mostly to exhaustion), and she almost made shake her. Seriously, as a photographer, I go crazy when kids put their hands in front of their faces and EVERY girl here does it!! Oh, how it drives me nuts!!

The kids week one were so troublesome save this one girl--Cleopatra (a name she chose herself, mind you). No one would participate in class, no one would get excited about English at all, no one would even smile--except Cleopatra. She has a dear spot in my heart. Since week one concluded, she's been emailing me regularly and lives only a couple towns away. Before school starts, I'm planning to meet her again (along with a couple other kids from her town) with two other foreign teachers who live close by. It should be lots of fun!

Some fun experiments with my camera! Looks like this kid is floating right?

This is King Alex. He played the kind in my Snow White play week three. What a sweety! He was so quiet all week but then really opened up on the last day. Just before we went home he gave me a letter and told me not to open it until I got home, and with a hug, he left. Here's what it said:

"To Kortney. Hi, Kortney. This is Alex. Thanks for four days. I was so glad to see you. I wasn't energetic student because I was worried about talking with foreigner. But now I think it's better. (Now.) I will remember you and Team Boom! It is very special days in my life because this kind of camp is first to me so I think you will understand me (about feeling shy and not active). If I have one more chance I can do better. Well, thanks for four days, Kortney. So thanks. And thanks for the role of the king. -Alex"

Sweet, huh? Then, when I returned home, he added me to MSN Messenger and we talked for an hour and decided I would be his pen pal. He is so sweet. I'm so privileged to have had him in my class!

And this little lover-boy! Oh my! We had this one game--the Bae Bae Ro game--which is played with one boy and one girl. The girl holds the cookie stick (kinda like a Pockey Stick) in her mouth and the boy must eat it. The object is to make the stick as small as possible without touching. However, I think this boy, Bryan, was seizing the day! Earlier he had confessed to us teachers that he had no friends at school which completely baffled us because he was so animate at the camp! At any rate, if he has no friends, he probably has no girlfriend either and this seems to have been his moment of glory! I was their judge and I must say that their stick was the shortest! Now, I'm not sure if he really kissed her or not. When she pulled away with the tiny piece of cookie in her mouth, I didn't think they had touched, but the pictures told a different story. I guess only they will know... :) Just a little camp romance! (I guess there was also a couple instances where the boys and girls were caught sneaking into each other's rooms at night in the dormitory.)

This little guy (literally) is Billy. I named him so because the name Simon was already taken. Simon Birch anyone? Yes, he's a dwarf. Perhaps one of the cutest kids in the whole camp.

And my week two boys. I will always remember them.

This camp was exhausting and challenging in so many ways but so worth it. What will I do now? I have the next three weeks to waste before I o off to Thailand. Three weeks to recover. Three weeks to sleep. :) Tonight my Filipino friend is coming over to stay the night, then I'm lesson planning all week, Friday another friend is coming to stay the night, and Saturday I'm off to the Taebaek Mountain Snow Festival. Should be fun! After that, I'm heading to Seoul for the DMZ tour and to meet a new friend. I'll probably just stick around and lesson plan after than. Maybe visit some friends in other cities but nothing too special. Just a lot of sleep.