First of all...

...apologies for the week-long hiatus. Preparations for the weekend vacation and the beginning of Camp Fulbright took up a lot of time last week. The orientation schedule is still packed with Korean language classes but the next couple of weeks are primarily dedicated to the camp that started today on campus. About 150 young Koreans have invaded the university to participate in a 2-week, intensive English class and so far, the campers seem really excited, eager, and energetic. I taught my very first lesson today to a group of 11, advanced-level, students ranging from elementary to high school age. The campers are grouped into their English classes based on ability and those of us with prior teaching experience were encouraged to sign up to teach the highest ability levels. The kids were great! Not only did they laugh at my corny jokes and antics - great confidence booster as a teacher - they were motivated and excited to learn at 3:00 in the afternoon after a full day that started at 7:30 in the morning! Korean kids are used to operating on very few hours of sleep and often stay at their schools or hagwons until 11 or 12 at night. Not exactly the ideal day for a typical American student but it's the only way Korean students know.

Fulbright is really into sending us out in the middle of nowhere and this weekend at the temple was no different. We stayed at a tourist hotel down the hill and got our first legitimate day off in 2 1/2 weeks - not before hiking up a mountain in the rain to visit Haeinsa (one of the 3 Jewel Temples in Korea). Our visit on Friday was one of our only scheduled activities for the weekend but it proved to be pretty adventurous. Even though we got poured on up and down the mountain, the temple itself was breathtaking. Our tour guide, a practicing monk at the temple, mentioned a "strong and pure" energy that you could feel throughout the complex and I'm serious when I say he wasn't lying. The monks safeguard over 80,000 wooden blocks on which the entire teachings of the Buddha are preserved in traditional calligraphy. It's really a sight to behold when you stare between the hallway at all of the engravings.

Our living accommodations rivaled those of the monks in terms of simplicity. Traditional Korean hotels have pads that patrons spread out on the floor and sleep side-by-side without mattresses as we know them. Needless to say it wasn't the most comfortable two nights of sleep, especially with the cold I picked up on the air-conditioned bus while I was soaking wet from hiking in the monsoon. Saturday was low-key and a welcome day of relaxation. Per usual at Fulbright, we were thrown right back into meetings on Sunday but this one turned out to be one of the most useful: by Friday we're required to submit an online form indicating our placement preference for the coming year. Fulbright Korea likes to give us a chance to make a case for an area of the country we'd like to work and study in but obviously they can't always accommodate everyone. At this point, I'm still very undecided about a preference so any suggestions/advice before Friday would be welcome.

Happy Monday.