TO SHA SHA CAMP! ah ha! you thought that title was some cool punk song from the 80's or something didn't you? oh no. it's the never ending soundtrack to my life for three days of my summer break. I'm not really sure what I smoking when I signed up to teach at a summer camp during my precious free time, but the results look something like this...
That's counselor dan. He's really excited to greet the parents as they enter the gates of the miniature castle school that we taught at. I don't have any pictures at the moment of the tiny campus, complete with tiny sinks, tiny toilet stalls and tiny chaise lounges...but suffice it to say that it was tiny. Tiny and freakish. Freakishly tiny and freakishly disturbing.
Actually Daniel and D'Arcy, the visiting camp counselors from America (and sibling/friend of my friend Emily) saved the experience. We were fast friends and I honestly couldn't have asked for funnier, better cohorts. I got to seem really cool and well versed in Korean culture and language and they got to experience spaghetti that looked like spaghetti but was actually... spaghetti in BBQ sauce. I think it was a pretty fair trade.
We took some very funny pictures of the trip home on the KTX (the french train that goes like 150 miles and hour and gets you to Busan in 2/3 the time it would take on a traditional train) and laughed so hard that I almost threw up (no joke).
Since no summer vacation is really complete without an amusement park, Daniel and I went to Eb ah land uh (that's Everland if you're translating) on Friday and had too much fun at this funny Korean version of Disneyland. We got there just in time for the Summer Splash Festival in which Russian water nymphs (seriously, amusement park entertainers shipped in from Russia and nary a Korean in the act) shooting at us with large firefighter pressure hoses and singing delightful songs in Korean. From the webpage:
"The biggest thing to see from the festival is the "Splash Parade" that uses 20-tons of water that is something different from anywhere in Korea including Everland. Splash Parade has the idea from splash where it uses the water that the guests are directly under the massive amount of water."
Doesn't this family look like it's having a blast???? Evidently the russian water nymphs spray acid, because they hand out protective clothing akin to that worn at a nuclear reactor meltdown...
ahhhh Korea!
I jumped right into the action but D stood back a little and was able to comment that he had never seen so many soaking wet, crying, traumatized children in one place ... And then there was America Land...a big tribute to all things american including apparently, easy women (all the drawings were of large-breasted, come-hither eyed ladies of the evening), fatty fast foods (the only eating place was burger barn or something like that)` and the suburbs (moms in high heels pushing baby strollers?).
Ebahlanduh signaled the end of all that is good and wonderful about being a teacher. Here in Korea, the summer break lasts ONE WEEK. sigh. Monday it was back to work and I've been in a bit of a rotten funk ever since. Partially it's because I really loved hanging out with Daniel and D'Arcy...they reminded me so much of home and all my friends...they live in SLC too, so if you don't know them, you should try. Partially I am in a funk because I am trying to turn 30 at the end of this month. It's going to happen regardless, but I'm really trying to do it in a way that won't freak me out. I think all that over the hill stuff is outdated...30 really is the new 20, but I'm surprised to find that I'm still a little weirded out by the prospect of leaving my 20's. Meh.
Can you believe it's been a year since Australia? So wild.
3 comments:
I wish the Koreans would import me to spray people with fire hoses. Summer + flying water = whee!
Here's how I dealt with the ol' 3-0. I pretended that I was actually 39 and that I had been allowed by the goodness of a benevolent genie to turn 30 rather than 40. It works great if you have a good imagination. I have ten more years to spend! Look how young I look! Only 14 gray hairs!
I'm sorry about the short vacataion and the funk. Consider yourself hugged. Here come the hugs.
O O O O O O O
We will forever share Sha Sha...William (I will mention him on every comment I make on your blog), water wearing jumpers, near death on the train, and remember, the guy on the commercial, releasing the white dove into the atmosphere....
Daniel told me, "KaRyn took us to the parts of Korea that helped me love it." Does that count spaghetti in BBQ sauce, I don't know. But wow, what a compliment to you!
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