Today I had more Korean class, as usual, during which I learned one form of the word "and," the word "not" and its correct usage, and how to ask when someone's birthday is. Exciting stuff.
Camp Fulbright also began today. It is a two week English language camp for Koreans in 4-10 grades held here on Kangwon's campus that basically gives us ETAs a chance to gain some actual teaching experience and receive some feedback before we leave orientation. We each have to teach 2 classes (one each week) and lead a fun activity. I am teaching emotions to elementary students this Thursday and descriptive writing to a low advanced class on Monday. I am actually pretty nervous. Even though I have quite a bit of experience with kids, I've never been completely responsible for teaching something, and now I have the language barrier, too! Why did I decide to do this for a year?!? I think it will probably go fine, though. These are the kids who are actually interested in learning English, so they should be attentive, at least. We'll see how it goes later this week.
Today I led my fun activity in the afternoon. We played some four square and it was really fun. I think the adults in the group had a lot more fun than the kids, but no one cried, so I was happy with the way it turned out.
I also went out for papingsu, a famous Korean dessert, this evening. I had it a couple times before, but I think I must be getting my sense of taste back finally after being sick, because it was a lot more flavorful than I remembered. It's actually a bizarre mixture of things--ice cream, a lot of shaved ice, a variety of fruits, red beans, and a special sauce--which are then mixed together and shared in a huge bowl. It's another reflection of the group mentality I've observed here--no one eats individual desserts, but they share them and order according to group size. These dessert places are also a manifestation of the apparent Korean obsession with all things cute. They are typically adorned with flowers and pastels and have swings instead of chairs. It's almost too much.
Tomorrow we finally hear about our placements. There really shouldn't be many surprises for me, since there are only 5 elementary ETAs and 5 schools to choose from, but I am definitely looking forward to at least knowing exactly where I will spend the next year so I can become better acquainted with it.