One Month Anniversary

I can't believe that it has been one month! In a lot of ways, it seems like it went by so quickly, and in other ways it seems a lot longer than one month. We are still chugging along in our "training program" and as far as we know, we are set to report to the English Camp on April 30. We have begun work on our own lesson plans and I am finding I really like this. I love being creative and it is fun to think of different ways to teach English through activities. The English camp is set up with 16 learning stations. Each week, a school will arrive on Monday afternoon with 120 students. Classes begin Tuesday morning where groups of 12 students will go to a different station for 50 mins. This happens through Thursday, so that each group gets to visit each station one time. The stations are: clinic, broadcasting, around the world, games, art, Korean culture, drama, computers, outdoor activities, science, bank/post office, supermarket, kitchen, restaurant, music, dance and library. Each teacher will be assigned to two stations for two weeks. Then we switch. This way, none of us are stuck teaching one lesson the whole year. (since you teach the lesson 10X every week, it could get pretty old fairly quickly) Outside of the classroom time, we will also have club activities to do with the kids (mine is drama) and also be involved with an end of week talent show and various nighttime activities. I think it is going to be a lot of fun for the kids as well as for me! The kids who will be attending the camp will be from some of the lower income areas of Seoul where kids don't normally have opportunities for private English education. Wealthier families send their children to private academies for English education every night after school. It is quite common for a Korean student (beginning in 3rd grade) to attend class all day (9-3) and then go to tutoring (called a Hogwan) from 4-9 or 10). There is a HUGE emphasis placed on education for a lot of these kids. A lot of pressure. They are not graded on English until their exit exam in High School- where they cannot pass with out an acceptable grade in English. I don't know that I agree with the methods here, but it is a different culture than what I know.
It is still pretty cold here in Seoul (40s for the highs) but I think the cherry blossom festival is this weekend, so we may have some signs of Spring soon. I can't wait. Seoul's weather is much like Washington DC (same basic latitude), so when Spring hits there- it should be hitting here. There are rumors of 60 degrees on Saturday, but I will believe it when I see it!
We did celebrate on Friday our one month anniversary with a cake. We are all big fans of the cakes here, so are working to find reasons to get a cake each month. No birthdays in April, so we may have to get a cake for Korean Election Day.
Hope everyone is well- I will post some more pictures next time. Thanks for the messages from everyone...keep me in the loop!!