Easy I English Camp Revisited

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Ok, so it's been just over a week and i'm sufficiently recovered to start remembering and writing about our experience in Korea at Easy I English Camp.
For those who didn't receive emails from me cursing and bemoaning the state of affairs at the camp i'll fill you in on what went on....Basically the camp was completely disorganized and was run so shambolically that we thought it was going to be shut down after the first week! Let's see, where to start the list of things that went wrong....um, how about not having textbooks til the 3rd day of classes and the ones we did receive were utter shite and completely inappropriate as they were to be used with students in the UK and the books were filled with loads of slang and references to things only UK students would grasp (not to mention the layout of the books themselves, they had no structure or flow to them); apart from the books there were no teacher resources (i.e. photocopier, handouts, resource books, crayons, markers, etc...) until we all complained and finally in week 2 we got a Teacher's Room with supplies; one computer with internet access and printer among 20 teachers!; and most of all the living standards for both students and teachers were completely appaulling...no toilet paper in bathrooms, 4 kids per room with no fan in high 30's heat, no general cleaning staff, toilets overflowing daily, etc....they were so terrible in fact that by the beginning of the 2nd week more than 40 kids (and a teacher!) were rushed to the hospital, enraged parents began showing up at the school to pull their kids out of the camp, local media coverage of the kids in the hospital, and government health officiers showing up to oversee the camp to see whether to close it down or not. And the scary mind boggling thing is that this camp has supposedly been operating for 10 years!!
But in the midst of all the chaos and concerns over our health, and the daily frustration of last minute schedule changes and cancelations of events for the kids us teachers were brought closer together and bonded in our resentment of the camp administrators. Incredibly, we all got along well and there were no fights or incidents (bar being woken up every morningby the most annoying song ever conceived of....thanks Derrick!) and every evening after work we hung out on our teacher's floor and watched C.S.I and had a laugh. For 20 random adults from different parts of the world to be thrown together in such confined and trying living/working conditions for a month and not have any troubles....that's something! Great friends and memories were made amongst the teachers at the camp.
As too were great times had and shared with the students. I can't believe how much i ended up cherishing the little ankle biters! I went to the camp with great cynicism about being around kids for so long and having to deal with brats day in and day out but by the end of it i couldn't get enough of'em....maybe some paternal instincts came out or something, i don't know...but i liked them, they the students, along with the fellow teachers, were what made the camp special.
Thoughts on Korea? Well they are commonly referred to as the Irish of Asia and i can see, loosely, the essence of the comparision. I found Koreans as a whole kind and compassionate people with a wonderful sense of humour, somewhat irreverent like the Irish, and a lust for drinking....again like the Irish! All i can say is that from what i saw i liked and i am anticipating going back to get more familiar with Korea in the near future.
For now though it's back to Thailand for a couple of weeks on the beaches and then off to Oman for a week before setting foot on UK soil again. Then it'll be time to decide on what's next.....but that's still weeks away and now bring on the sunshine, Thai massages, and Mai Tais!! X

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Photos

First day of class...
Just look at the kids' enthusiasm!

More campus views
(had to walk up to the dormitory on the hilltop innumerable times each day)

First night out for Korean BBQ
(I ate rice.)