So... English camp.

[kodalai]

-lasted for 60 hours, of which only 8 were sleep
-only given cafeteria food, most of which was terrible
-in the middle of nowhere, such that there was no place to get more/other food
-because I did not realize we would be in the middle of f'ing nowhere, did not bring nearly enough food
-no air conditioning, and the bug screens were faulty, such that our rooms were crawling with insects
-futons thin enough that sleeping on what was essentially the floor gave me cramps; no pillows
-was by noon of the second day hobbling in agony of having to go barefoot on uneven hard concrete flooring
(Note -- both my mother and my sister have foot bone problems; I never had before, but this seems to have started them off... several of the other ALTs were having similar problems, so maybe the floors were just that bad.)
-sleeping rooms over a mile away from teaching room, and down three flights of stairs
-bruises the size of baseballs on my knees from sitting seiza on said flooring
-spent the majority of the time socializing with other ALTs, including the girl who talked about her constipation problems all the time and the guy who made passes at his female students
-half of the students were there only because they were failing their english class and their teachers made them come for extra credit; I'm sure you can see what that means for their ability and motivation
-still ended up paying them for the privilege of english camp; although we will get compensated for 2500 of the 4000 collected, they apparently arbitrarily decided that the other 1500 was for 'lunches' and won't be compensated; damned if I can see why they compensate dinner but not lunches, seeing as they were the same food.



I am never volunteering for English camp ever again.

Comments

[ayelle.livejournal.com]

Yuck!!!

[kodalai.livejournal.com]

Amen!

[aging-parents.livejournal.com]

Well, just as long as you were having fun. . .

[kodalai.livejournal.com]

Well, there were some fun parts... although they had some obnoxious traits, the ALTs are a fun-loving bunch, and we also played some games with the kids. Totally not worth it, though.

[nekojita.livejournal.com]

I didn't think that you volunteered for this one! I say definitely come down w/ a case of food poisoning if you get your arm twisted into it again.

[kodalai.livejournal.com]

I'm stocking up on excuses already!

[foxglove6.livejournal.com]

on the bright side, IT'S OVER!

[okaasan59.livejournal.com]

Wow, I was cringing after the first item on the list. English Camp sounds like my idea of hell.

[okaasan59.livejournal.com]

Wait, seriously, aren't several things on that list considered torture by the United Nations and Geneva Convention? O_o

[windandwater.livejournal.com]

Ugh. That sounds horrible.

[ainokitsune.livejournal.com]

I always wondered about the mystery of English camp.

Now I know. Ouch.

[kodalai.livejournal.com]

They tell you it's fun! They tell you you get to laze around and play with the kids! DON'T BE TAKEN IN!