Waydaldo is a small island off the coast of Mokpo that has a decent beach for swimming. It’s roughly a 50 minute ferry from the Mokpo Ferry Terminal and you can get a return ticket for 8,000 Won. One of my favorite things about the island (aside from swimming at the beach) is the sign. I took this picture back in May but only recently found it on my computer at school.
Monthly Archives: November 2009
The Waydaldo Sign
Lesson: Phobias
I did this lesson last week with my high schoolers. I began the lesson by asking them what they have a fear of (spiders, insect, mouse). I then gave them a brief definition of a phobia and told them three phobias I have and asked them to try and guess what they are. I then gave the class six examples of phobias and showed them some youtube clips of fear factor. I then asked them to work in groups and create a phobia and explain it to the class. The lesson went pretty well and got some interesting phobias. I posted the lesson Waygook and the lesson can be found by following this link.
PS. You must join waygook.org if you want to download the lesson to use. Waygook is a great resource site and has a very active community. It’s well worth checking out.
Lesson: Protests
Several weeks ago I did a lesson with my students about protests. I started the lesson by asking them what NIMBY (Not In My Backyard Is) and they certainly knew it. I then gave them a definition of what a protest is and asked them why people protested (money, work, freedom, safety, etc). Students were given examples of protests to watch on youtube then I asked if they knew what a protest chant is. I gave students an exmaple of a scenario protest (students protesting against me) and the protest chant the class had to should was “Go Away Zach! Don’t Come Back!!!” Students were then asked about NIMBY and what things they would not want near their homes (garbage, nuclear power plants). I then gave the students their worksheet and a scrap peice of paper to make their protest sign on. Students would choose one thing to protest, give me a reason why they are protesting, and had to say their chant as a group and hold their sign high in the air for all to see. The lesson was real successful and most classes had some really interesting things to protest. I have postes the lesson on Waygook.org and the lesson can be downloaded by following this link.
Here are some of the protest signs some classes made.
Brown Scent
Sometimes the name you may want to name a business should be checked to make sure it’s not funny or odd. Brown Scent is one example. What do you think of when you hear someone say Brown Scent?
Halloween Monsters
This is late but better late than never. For Halloween this year I talked with my kids about horror movies and monsters and set them loose on making a monster in groups of four. They had to do a write up on their monster. They had to tell the class the name of the monster, the age, where it came from, the background story on the monster, what it looks like and what weapons it has, and how the monsters kills its victims. The lesson worked really well for both grades at my high school. I have posted the lesson on Waygook.org and my lesson can be found by clicking here.
Here are some of the monsters.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2557/4116555007_24de87ecbf_b.jpg
SATS, Practice SATs, and the weather
The seniors ar high schools across Korea wrote their university entrance exams (SAT) last Thursday and are now nearing the end of their high school lives. Hopefully they will go on and achieve great success. They celebrated the near end of school by throwing their books into a giant pile outside infront of the school entrance. I wish I had a camera to take a picture of the pile. It was massive. The first and second grade high school students today are writing practice university (SAT) exams to prep them for what will await them in third grade. This also means a day off for me since there is nothing I can do on days like this.
It also has been COLD the past few days in Mokpo. It’s around 2°C here right now and it’s supposed to remain cold till the end of the week. The cold is here to stay though.
Happy Peppero Day!
Happy Peppero day!! What is Peppero day you ask? I’ll let Wikipedia answer your questions.
Pepero Day is an observance in South Korea similar to Valentine’s Day. It is named after the Korean snack Pepero and held on November 11, since the date “11/11″ resembles four sticks of Pepero.[3][4] The holiday is observed mostly by young people and couples, who exchange Pepero sticks, other candies, and romantic gifts. Lotte denies starting the holiday and instead states that they noticed a bump in Pepero sales around November 11th and after continued popularity they decided to then encourage the holiday with special gift boxes and other promotions.[2] Some consider it to be a contrived holiday and some teachers have encouraged children to exchange healthy snacks to help combat obesity.
According to one story, Pepero Day was started in 1994 by students at a girls’ middle school in Busan, where they exchanged Pepero sticks as gifts to wish one another to grow “as tall and slender as a Pepero”.[5]
In Japan, a similar Pocky Day was started however it has failed to gain traction.[2]
Korea Chrysanthemum Festival in Hamypeong
Some friends and I made our way to Hampyeong on Saturday to check out the Hampyeong Chrysanthemum Festival. In Korean it is the 대한민국국향대전 and the festival runs from October 22 to November 22. The festival takes place a few minutes away from the bus terminal at the Expo Park. There’s really not much more to say about it so I will let the pictures I took do most of the talking.
The gate was extremely beautiful.
Hell Comes To High Schools Across Korea Next Thursday
If you’re a senior in the Korean high school system, hell comes November 12th. All their time spent studying in high school builds up to that very day. On the 12th, university entrance exams will take place across the country. My kids have been extremely stressed, spending every waking minute hitting the books and not getting enough sleep (high schoolers already don’t sleep enough). These exams determine what university they can attend and are a big deal. I feel for the kids who are sick with swine flu at my school who have to write the exam.
Home Plus, E Mart, and plastic bags…
Plastic is sadly a huge part of our lives. It’s wraps most things we buy, we use to it store things, and we sometimes toss it away without thinking about where it will end up or the effect our action will have on the ecosystem. Plastic packaging is excessively used in Korea and is often just tossed on the ground as something for someone else to deal with. Plastic bags are also everywhere too and are often discarded. However there seems to be changes being made to try and curb the use of plastic bags.
There have been changes in regards to plastic bags in both E Mart and Home Plus (I don’t know about Lotte Mart). I went shopping at Home Plus last week and the cashier asked me if I brought my own bags (which I always do). She then took off 100 Won from my overall bill because I brought my own bags. Home Plus just started this policy to try and encourage more people to bring their own bags and (hopefully) cut down on the number of plastic bags being used.
E Mart has an even better idea. What they are doing at the store is instead of giving you a plastic bag, you are given your groceries in a garbage bag. This is a better idea, gives you something you will use, and is one or two less plastic bags that would have been used otherwise. I don’t often shop at Lotte Mart because it’s across town from me but if anyone can tell me what they are doing in regards to plastic bags, I’d appreciate it.
Now if only we as a civilization could do more right now to ensure our survival.
