junior program summer site : conversations : first session



	steven from south korea (7/10) Steven is a 4th grader enjoying his first summer as a Pioneer at the Junior Program. He loves the freedom of picking trips and activities at Explo, and compares Explo to a zebra: always running wild and free. Do you like Explo? I like it. I really like it. It’s fun! There are fun activities, and on Saturday and Sunday we go on fun trips. And mini-courses are like projects that we don’t have in a normal day, and they’re fun. On normal days we have two classes, which are fun because there are different activities and lessons each day. Which trips did you go on last weekend? On Saturday I was supposed to go to Battleship Cove, but it was supposed to rain so I went to the [New England] Aquarium instead. It was fun. They had sharks, turtles, fish, jellyfish, and quails. They also had penguins. Penguins swim really well! What was your favorite part? My favorite part was watching sharks. They swam. . . they didn’t do very much, but they swam and people took a lot of pictures of them. It was pretty fun. I took many pictures, and I took a picture for my mom, too. Where did you go on Sunday? On Sunday I went to Canobie Lake Park, and I rode many roller coasters. It was fun. There were many bumps and they would go up way high, then down. They were very fun. One of the rollercoasters would spin 360 degrees, and it was fun. The good thing was that there was a seatbelt! What else did they have? There was a horse ride, water slides, a gift shop, and a popcorn shop. Did you get popcorn? No, I got ice cream. What was your favorite part? My favorite part was the rollercoaster that went upside down. What are you taking for mini-courses. In the morning, I’m doing chess. For my second mini-course, I’m taking woodworking. How is chess? Very good. At first I didn’t really know anything, but I’m learning a lot about chess. I had never played chess before Explo. We learned how to catch rooks and how to make a checkmate. We also learned castling. Great! Are you going to try playing it with your friends at home? Maybe with my father. I need to buy a chessboard, though. I got one for my seventh birthday but I lost it when I moved. How is woodworking? Woodworking is fun; it’s fun to make things with wood and cut things with saws. I was surprised when I cut a really big piece! I’m making some kind of souvenir . . . or kind of a shape . . . or a door holder. I have woodworking next, so I’m really excited. Are you excited to go mini-golfing tonight? Yeah, I’m excited to go mini-golfing and eat some ice cream. Have you ever played mini-golf? I played when I was in Korea and Jejudo, which is a little island near Korea. I’m excited to try it again. What have been some of your favorite main events? I loved the magic show and carnival night. At carnival night, I loved getting prizes! I got a Styrofoam plane that was colored, and I got an alligator shape, and a snake shape. I had to beat a game to get tickets to buy them. For example, for one of the games we had to throw beanbags into holes. If you can get all five beanbags into the holes, then you get five tickets. At first I got almost 10 tickets. I was lucky and I got all the beanbags in the hole, so I ended up with 14 tickets. How do you like being a residential student? My residential assistants are Mike and Ratul, and my residential directors are Josh and Sarah. They’re very good and very nice. We play on our hall a lot -- sometimes board games, sometimes card games. We like to play [the card game] “war”. Would you recommend Explo to someone at home? When I see my family, I’m going to tell my sister that Explo is very fun. You can play a lot. I can show her the pictures I’ve taken. If Explo were an animal, what would it be? I think Explo would be a zebra, because Explo has many activities. Just like zebras, we can run free and play a lot. more conversations > first session \| second session