Imajuku Campout

If you're wondering why you haven't heard from me in a while, it's because I was busy last week getting ready for a middle school camping trip to nearby Imajuku (though not as busy as coworker Maureen, who  pretty much had to plan the darn thing herself, on top of preparing sub plans and making up for two days of missed planning periods).

I have to admit, I was a bit wary of the trip going into it: after a long string of 60-hour weeks, the prospect of spending 24 hours straight on the job was a little wearying. But the trip ended up being a blast--hot dogs, ghost stories, lots of dodgeball . . . ! Well worth the cost in terms of sleep deprivation and planning time.

Anyway, owing to student privacy concerns, I don't want to post too much about the trip. But here are a few photos of the campground, sans students.

The view from the hill. We had to walk all the way up from the train station down by the water.

For our meals, the kids made these cute origami bowls for us to put our grub in.

The middle schoolers planned the meals, so it's not surprising they consisted mainly of hot dogs, chips, and sugary drinks. (Though Maureen did try to sneak some fruit into the mix.)

The steps leading up to our cabin, #4.

The cabins were nice--clean, dry, with tatami bunks. Nothing like our Korean camping experience, though, which basically consisted of sleeping in a two-star hotel that happened to be next to some woods.

Here's cabin 3 in the morning, with the hills behind.

The weather was really nice the first day (I even got a sunburn), but the second day was drizzly. I came prepared with an umbrella, but Kevin (the science teacher) was forced to fashion this stylish poncho out of a trash bag.

Nice.