Spa Valley and Yes
The short version (of my day at Spa Valley with 125 kids) -
Oh, no!
Oh, gods!
Oh, well!
Seriously. We got there...125 kids and 19 adults (11 teachers and 8 Korean staff members). Within the first 10 minutes, all of us teachers realized there was NO way to corral the kids into their groups of 10 students all day. There was minor freakout on all our parts. Then we realized that, with the waterpark's layout, that the best thing to do was for us to fan out and just keep an eye on the ones we found. We also discovered that it doesn't occur to Korean kids to a). take off and leave the waterpark or b). not show up at the appointed "check in" times.
Once we let go of any semblance of control, it all seemed to work out.
The Yes List:
1. Lauren and I's insistence that there be bus lists (which kids/groups went on each one). This may seem like common sense, but the other 2 field trips I've been on since I got here -- there wasn't one and there was chaos.
2. Outback for dinner. I didn't care for the meal/main course, but the appetizer breads and cheese fries and fountain soda....nom nom.
3. Free cheesecake. 3 of us teachers went up to the bar to order takeaway dessert. Because it was almost time to go (and because the manager wanted the 135 of us out of his restaurant), he gave it to us for free.
4. I've been here 2 months and don't hate it. There's some drama going on, as none of us current teachers are willing to let the bad/hard stuff happen...but different folks have different ideas of how to fix it. Regardless, I'm 2 days from surviving intensives.
5. There is rumor (confirmed by the lead coordinator) that we only have 3 groups next week, as the other 15 groups (all from one school) came down with some flu. This rumor means I should have a day or 2 off next week (after a month straight of crazy hours). I'll be able to go to the bank, the post office, and maybe even sleep in one night.
Oh, no!
Oh, gods!
Oh, well!
Seriously. We got there...125 kids and 19 adults (11 teachers and 8 Korean staff members). Within the first 10 minutes, all of us teachers realized there was NO way to corral the kids into their groups of 10 students all day. There was minor freakout on all our parts. Then we realized that, with the waterpark's layout, that the best thing to do was for us to fan out and just keep an eye on the ones we found. We also discovered that it doesn't occur to Korean kids to a). take off and leave the waterpark or b). not show up at the appointed "check in" times.
Once we let go of any semblance of control, it all seemed to work out.
The Yes List:
1. Lauren and I's insistence that there be bus lists (which kids/groups went on each one). This may seem like common sense, but the other 2 field trips I've been on since I got here -- there wasn't one and there was chaos.
2. Outback for dinner. I didn't care for the meal/main course, but the appetizer breads and cheese fries and fountain soda....nom nom.
3. Free cheesecake. 3 of us teachers went up to the bar to order takeaway dessert. Because it was almost time to go (and because the manager wanted the 135 of us out of his restaurant), he gave it to us for free.
4. I've been here 2 months and don't hate it. There's some drama going on, as none of us current teachers are willing to let the bad/hard stuff happen...but different folks have different ideas of how to fix it. Regardless, I'm 2 days from surviving intensives.
5. There is rumor (confirmed by the lead coordinator) that we only have 3 groups next week, as the other 15 groups (all from one school) came down with some flu. This rumor means I should have a day or 2 off next week (after a month straight of crazy hours). I'll be able to go to the bank, the post office, and maybe even sleep in one night.