Camp Rocks

Happy New Year!!!!
I've been so busy planning camp that I've barely had time to do much else. I am right smack in the middle of teaching my kids the basics of movie making- and I am completely loving it.

I am teaching totally alone for the first time: my co-teacher is on vacation on a beach in Guam, probably loving every second of it. It has been intensely difficult without her- there are virtually no other teachers here (no one who speaks English anyway), and I'm dealing with a broken computer and frozen pipes (no running water at school for eleven days!). I arrive to an office that is kept around forty five degrees: I can see my breath, and the water in the toilet tanks is frozen. Every day is a total zoo- I teach eleven high level thirteen year olds and one super low level fifteen year old (I discovered yesterday that he can't read!). The kids are mostly out of control and wild, but they are actually enjoying the material I'm teaching: and I have to say, as corny as it sounds, it makes everything else a cakewalk. I don't really mind that I can't really feel my toes, that there's no lunch, no working toilets. My students make me laugh so much, and for the most part, are really understanding what I'm saying to them. It has been amazing to finally communicate with them, without the crutch of my co-teacher translating everything for them. The days are flying, and though I'm beyond excited to begin writing scripts and filmng next week, I'm kind of sad for camp to end.

My New Year's celebration was nothing short of fantastic, just as I knew it would be. (Coming Soon: Pictures) I went to Busan with my friends and had a blast. This weekend is going to be much more low-key (I hope) with a "temple food" (vegan) dinner on friday and a boardgame night on saturday.

With the beginning of a new year, I've been forced to finally think about what my future holds, in terms of returning home to Buffalo, staying in Korea another year, or going somewhere else. I feel so uncertain about everything, and extremely conflicted. I know that September is still a long ways away, but with the way the last four months flew by, it will be here before I know it. I'm determined to enjoy every minute of my time here, and so far it has been beyond amazing- am I willing to give this up?

More soon: pictures too!
<3M