it's almost been a month...

since my last post.
how to describe the time that's passed:
ups and ups and down down downs.



let's see...there was summer camp - which we all dreaded, but actually turned out to be a couple of my most enjoyable weeks here. it was a nice change from the usual, with some new classes and the odd mid-weekday off here and there. it seems disorder suits me.



after the first week of camp, a group of us went to firebox in hongdae for the tattoos we've talked about since i got here. i wasn't sure how to prepare myself, or what to expect when i heard the first zzzzp zzzzps of the needle.

ink met skin, and for the first ten seconds or so i was like, please - not as in please. stop. but as in, i'm tough and this is nothing. then...the burning. whatever. it was bearable. once it was done i was excited, but i'd imagined this tattoo in this spot for so long, it almost felt like it should have been there all along. so instead of, yes! wow!...the finished product was just, yes, ok. next one.
anyway, here it is.

and here we are at firebox, sometime during our five hour stay.


there was a cocker spaniel in the studio. we learned its name was cola. because it's not uncommon to hear "coke" pronounced "cock", so it makes sense the name seemed fitting for a coker spaniel. he was cute, and helped keep us entertained while shanda got star arms and nick got the world on his delt.



here she (he?) is
with her (his?) new friend,
collin.

after tattoos we got mexican at dos tacos (because that's what we do when we're in hongdae), and came home, ready to start summer camp round 2. it went well. not as well as the first, but ok. and that was followed by summer camp round 3, which was even worse than the first, but still ok. mini-olympics and swimming with the kids was so much fun!

coming up:
camp pictures, end of camp staff party, hongdae all-nighter, Cats, rafting, and nanta.