Amanda Takes Off...

Yesterday I went and played paintball.

What a huge mistake. I am suffering from a cold and it was nothing like last year. Last year it was the older boys, just a few of us. This year the oldest boys were in middle school and we had 30 kids plus 30 kids from Haan Dong Studio.

Master told me to take charge of the six girls. I told them to speak slowly, Master said, "No, she's Korean, don't worry. She speaks Korean very well."

It was a long day, terribly disorganized (not Master's fault, the organization's fault) and I don't really want to rehash it. (Waiting more than 2 hrs in one place to play paintball, a 2 hr ride home in a chartered bus with 60 screaming kids, and so on.) So instead, some photos.

We're Ready to Go!

I love the goofy look on the kid's face. He's a sweet kid.

The student below became my partner for everything. None of the other kids wanted to partner with him. I'm not sure why, as he's a nice kid, he's not a bully at all. I think he might be "slow" and that's why the other kids don't want to play with him. He speaks amazingly good English. He suddenly started speaking English at me rapid-fire. Shocked me!

My Little Brother

Foreign Hair

My mask amused me. Part of it was Made in America, part of it was Made in China, and it was Assembled in Mexico. I pointed it out to Master and he said, "Amanda! World mask!"

Master Listens While a Child Intently Tells a Story

Tongil Trifecta

Paintball Guns

Fall Flowers

Blue Mushrooms

It wasn't all bad. On the way home, the boys behind me on the bus were talking about me. A snippet of their conversation went like this.

"Where is Amanda Foreigner from? America?"

"Yes, she's American. But she's lived in Korea a long time now."

"She speaks Korean very well!"

"Yeah. She always speaks Korean!"

Now, it's one thing for face-saving adults to compliment you, but quite another for 11 year old boys to do so.