This morning's written test was "kind of difficult," said two spellers -- speller 257, Jessie Ditton, and speller 176, Rexen Venevongsoth. But having a hard test hasn't diminished their enjoyment of the bee.
"It's fun so far," Rexen said. "I thought it was going to be, like, boring."
Rexen did the limbo at the barbecue Monday, and Jessie enjoyed making bracelets and watching the tightrope walker.
It's Jessie's second time at the bee, and while she hopes to win, she's also rooting for some fellow spellers.
"I really also hope Gokul and Vanya wins," she said, referring to 4-time competitor and last year's third-place finisher Gokul Venkatachalam and Vanya Shivashankar, who is at her fifth bee and last year tied for 13th place.