Homesick @ English Camp 2K10

Day 1 - Decided to leave the iPod and DS at home this year. Just two things that I won't have the time to use. • Good group of kids. Not all of them are totally into English, but they try in the classroom and follow directions outside of it. Not too much more you can ask for. • I forgot to pack deodorant. That's probably the single worst thing that I could have forgotten. • No shower in my room, so I use the large public bathing area in the middle of the night after everyone has gone to sleep. I'm not ashamed to admit that this is somewhat frightening.



Day 2 - There's apparently a typhoon approaching, which is bad news because all of our activities were meant to be played outside. • I don't mind the rain so much, but this wind keeps blowing the screen doors off their hinges. • There's a 6th grader here that speaks really perfect English with a British accent. It's really adorable, like having a tiny Harry Potter character around all day. Turns out that she studied overseas in England for a year, which explains a lot. • Who doesn't love Twister?



Day 3 - Nothing like playing table tennis against elementary school kids to make you feel like you're much better at it than you actually are. • We're doing a lot of dancing this year. Times like these, I wish I went to one of those schools where the students actually learned the "Electric Slide" in P.E.





Day 4 - The weather finally clears up. • The facility this year has no gym, so we walk 45 minutes or so to the community rec center so that the kids can play some volleyball and basketball. • Forgot my gym shoes again, so I play ball for a good hour in my socks. I promptly proceed to open up all the blisters that I got last night from dancing "Cotton-Eyed Joe" with the kids.





Day 5 - Aya accidentally calls me "Dad," which is kind of depressing. • Some of the junior high boys engage in an impromptu session of hallway bowling, using a basketball and a bunch of plastic bottles as pins. I should probably stop them, but I opt to bowl a few frames instead. • The students are playing tag when Ryo - who is as tall as I am and probably weighs about 175, 180 - takes out one of the younger elementary boys with a shoulder. The kid stays down on the ground for 5 minutes or so, but he'd eventually be okay. I talk to Ryo and the junior high boys about how it's their responsibility to be looking after the younger kids, not hurting them, which is something they already know, but also something that I'm obligated to say when people start getting hurt. Ah well, we almost managed to make it 4 and a half days without an incident. • I walk into the recreational room and see Ryo teaching some table tennis tricks to a couple of the elementary kids (including his victim from this afternoon). You can tell that it isn't necessarily his idea of fun, but he makes the effort nonetheless, which makes me really proud.





Day 6 - ULTIMATE FRISBEE. • Dai falls asleep in the middle of the afternoon, so everyone goes to town on his face with stamps and stickers. I'd step in, but it's not like they're sticking carrots up his ass or anything. As long as it washes off or peels off before class, it's fine by me. • Hide shows up at my door in the middle of the night because he's having some sort of a panic attack. It's kind of hard to discern what is actually bothering him because his eyes are constantly darting around the room and he isn't particularly good about answering questions. Hide is actually one of the few students attending camp from my school. I really like the kid a lot, but he's always falling down and getting hurt, or losing his glasses, or seeing spirits, or something. Maybe I'm overstating our relationship because I see him at school every day, but it's kind of like having a really weird nephew.





Day 7 - If I were a Sesame Street character, I'd apparently be Grover. • Ultimate frisbee again, because it's the most fun shit ever. • The kids learned that World Cup song "Wavin' Flag" in class, and the damn thing has been stuck in my head for the past three days. Maybe I should have brought my iPod after all. • Loco Moco for dinner, which makes me a little happy. A lot of the kids are happy for me, which is kind of cute.



Day 8 - Aquarium day, which the students are excited for because they get to look at fish and not study English for a change. • Usually the kids fall asleep on the bus ride back, but everyone's knocked out on the ride over this year. • I'm looking for a nice little memento at the gift shop, when Kurisu shows up next to me with blood shooting out of his nose. That sort of sums up what my entire week has been like.







Day 9 - Breakfast, last class, graduation, lunch, goodbyes. • I take a nap as soon as I get home, and fittingly, I dream of screaming children. • ESL camp. Nothing quite like it.