So this is a day late, and that will be fine.
During my time teaching English in Korea, I did a few camps. Camps were fun. I had some incredible experiences teaching at these camps. They were all different cities, so that was exciting too. I lived in rooms that were sometimes smaller than dorm rooms, or maybe even as big as dorm rooms. Once at a Winter Camp in Pohang, Korea, were didn't even have heat in the dormitory where were staying for the entire month. As you might imagine, I slept pretty well bundled up at night.
Due to its location, Pohang wasn't exactly the city where you would expect to see much Winter weather. As it turns out, we played witness to most snowfall "Steel City of Korea" had ever seen. This was like that snow that Memphis may get every ten years. Yeah, you know what I am talking about. Those are the moments where the Northerners always point and laugh at us. Due to the location of the Winter Camp (it was on a college campus that was on a hill, kind of like WKU), the buses had to come and pick the kiddos up off campus, and we shut down early that first day.
Imagine going to camp in Winter, and BOOM, gotta go home early. That's the way it was back on this day. We couldn't even have classes for the next two days. Most kids in other countries probably wouldn't be excited about being in a camp where you spend time learning and practicing your English skills. These kids definitely were though.
Camps are fun and at the same time they can be a little intense. We had times where we played games, went to market (with play money in USD), did crafts, and even made her own snacks as well. You might wonder, and I will answer your question for you. Yes, all of this was done in English. There may have been one student in every class out of ten or fifteen that had trouble, but Koreans were always there to assist us.
In one of my groups at this particular camp, I had a student chosen to give the speech at the ending ceremony. It was fitting that I got to read the teacher's speech during the event, but in Korean. I needed assistance typing it out in Korean, but I was and still am pretty darn good at reading the language. Needless to say, I was very proud of this little girl, because if I remember correctly, she prepared the speech herself in English. This was the little girl that was sad and cried at the end of camp as well.
The last day or two have been kind of rough. A large majority of it is related to my work, and my loyalty to what was once a family business. As my good friend Mark reminded me, I must remember what Joseph in the Old Testament went through. There will always be a light to overcome the darkness, no matter what that darkness may be.
In life we are all teachers. Every day of our lives we have the capabilities to influence someone or something. Our thoughts, our actions, our words can impact so much. To be honest, I was going to write about this city - Pohang, and how it is the home of one of the fourth largest steelmaker in the world, along with light houses and a big fish market. Sometime told me to dig deeper though. Remember the meaningful moments.
I recall teaching those kids to sing that funny little song - "Under the Sea", from Little Mermaid, I think. I recall some of the kids were so well behaved and so willing to make me proud that they would wait outside of the classrooms before I arrived in the mornings. I recall the super gifted little girl who cried because camp was over. I recall all of the times I picked kids up and twirled them around or arm curled them. Those are thoughts, those are the memories, those are the actions that will have a much bigger impact on us than a random mistake at work that has no harm whatsoever. More important that those things that may be said behind your back, more important than those awards given to the office manager that result more from adjusting to dire situations than teamwork, unity, hard work and having a true impact on the local community. Remember what got you to where you are now. It is no coincidence at all. Goodnight and God Bless.
Here are a few pictures from that January nine years ago in Pohang, Korea. Perhaps one day I will share more. A little summary of the pics - Korean kids rarely see a bald guy around, so they loved having me as their picture as you can tell from the "rolling paper
", which was done as an end of camp thing. Each class represented an English speaking country. We were all American, and well, I go to be the "American" teacher. We had two groups of kids that would come on different days. One, I believe was MWF, and the other was TTS. The two different groups you see are the different classes I had during that camp.
During my time teaching English in Korea, I did a few camps. Camps were fun. I had some incredible experiences teaching at these camps. They were all different cities, so that was exciting too. I lived in rooms that were sometimes smaller than dorm rooms, or maybe even as big as dorm rooms. Once at a Winter Camp in Pohang, Korea, were didn't even have heat in the dormitory where were staying for the entire month. As you might imagine, I slept pretty well bundled up at night.
Due to its location, Pohang wasn't exactly the city where you would expect to see much Winter weather. As it turns out, we played witness to most snowfall "Steel City of Korea" had ever seen. This was like that snow that Memphis may get every ten years. Yeah, you know what I am talking about. Those are the moments where the Northerners always point and laugh at us. Due to the location of the Winter Camp (it was on a college campus that was on a hill, kind of like WKU), the buses had to come and pick the kiddos up off campus, and we shut down early that first day.
Camps are fun and at the same time they can be a little intense. We had times where we played games, went to market (with play money in USD), did crafts, and even made her own snacks as well. You might wonder, and I will answer your question for you. Yes, all of this was done in English. There may have been one student in every class out of ten or fifteen that had trouble, but Koreans were always there to assist us.
In one of my groups at this particular camp, I had a student chosen to give the speech at the ending ceremony. It was fitting that I got to read the teacher's speech during the event, but in Korean. I needed assistance typing it out in Korean, but I was and still am pretty darn good at reading the language. Needless to say, I was very proud of this little girl, because if I remember correctly, she prepared the speech herself in English. This was the little girl that was sad and cried at the end of camp as well.
The last day or two have been kind of rough. A large majority of it is related to my work, and my loyalty to what was once a family business. As my good friend Mark reminded me, I must remember what Joseph in the Old Testament went through. There will always be a light to overcome the darkness, no matter what that darkness may be.In life we are all teachers. Every day of our lives we have the capabilities to influence someone or something. Our thoughts, our actions, our words can impact so much. To be honest, I was going to write about this city - Pohang, and how it is the home of one of the fourth largest steelmaker in the world, along with light houses and a big fish market. Sometime told me to dig deeper though. Remember the meaningful moments.
I recall teaching those kids to sing that funny little song - "Under the Sea", from Little Mermaid, I think. I recall some of the kids were so well behaved and so willing to make me proud that they would wait outside of the classrooms before I arrived in the mornings. I recall the super gifted little girl who cried because camp was over. I recall all of the times I picked kids up and twirled them around or arm curled them. Those are thoughts, those are the memories, those are the actions that will have a much bigger impact on us than a random mistake at work that has no harm whatsoever. More important that those things that may be said behind your back, more important than those awards given to the office manager that result more from adjusting to dire situations than teamwork, unity, hard work and having a true impact on the local community. Remember what got you to where you are now. It is no coincidence at all. Goodnight and God Bless.Here are a few pictures from that January nine years ago in Pohang, Korea. Perhaps one day I will share more. A little summary of the pics - Korean kids rarely see a bald guy around, so they loved having me as their picture as you can tell from the "rolling paper
", which was done as an end of camp thing. Each class represented an English speaking country. We were all American, and well, I go to be the "American" teacher. We had two groups of kids that would come on different days. One, I believe was MWF, and the other was TTS. The two different groups you see are the different classes I had during that camp.
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