Week Off

Last Friday I finished Winter English camp with a review game of Powerpoint Jeopardy.  I was able to download a template from download.com, thanks Google for helping me find this.  I had a problem with the first presentation because I edited and saved it with Open Office (a free set of office tools similar to Microsoft Office), so some of the macros must have not been saved.  It was still a good review for the students, none of the students had ever seen the real Jeopardy and I could tell that they enjoyed what was essentially a test for candy.

So I learned my lesson, and did not use Open Office to prepare the next two games.  The result was a game with a customizable timer, questions that disappear from the board, and a built in score keeper (I used poker chips in the first game).  The kids really enjoyed getting to pick which question they wanted and developing their own strategery.  The 2nd and third games took me only about 1 hour each to make, and that translated to about 50 minutes of class time per game and covered the six of the nine categories from my English camp.  I felt like it was worth it to make the lesson interesting for the kids.  What's better, is one of the older English teachers saw how prepared I was for the lesson.

After my last class she told me that since I was done with my classes, I would not have to come into class for 10 days, meaning I will be off for my birthday, January 28th.  I was only expecting to have 20 days of PTO, but I am getting 10 additional "work from home days" where I am not given any additional work.  So I will be on Skype around the evening Pacific Time.  My Skype ID is brian.j.coughlin if you would like to have a free internet call with me.  Even if you don't have a microphone, I can still talk while you type.

On Saturday I went to Yongsan train station in Seoul.  This train station has some 47" TVs for the passengers to huddle around.  BTW I took this picture with a camera I bought here.  Thank you Dad.

Inside the train station there is an eight story mall for electronics.  It is made up of many small shops, and the salesmen really like to haggle.  I am not used to this, but it seems like you have to do it a lot here.  I was able to get a Panasonic DMC-FP8 digital camera plus a small case for less than the American price, thanks again Dad.  I was surprised, because most of the time the cameras are about 50% more than the American price.

Here are some more pictures I took with my camera on the way home and also on Sunday.

This is a Daewoo/GM showroom also inside of the train station.  The Korean car companies are competing with the Japanese ones for market share.  I know the company wants you to buy a car for Christmas, but what's up with the wooden robot?

The Korean subways are really cheap.  For the 35 minute train ride it costs about $1.20 each way.  They also  have a tradition of giving up one's seat for the elderly, as well as red seats where only the old, sick, and pregnant sit.  Plus this one had heated seats =).

This building is where my friend has his kebab shop.  He is excited because a new company rented out the fifth floor, so for him that should mean more deliveries.

Here is a sign from inside a nearby Korean pizza shop.  You can see some of the Korean ingredients like shrimp, corn, and potatoes.  They also eat pizza with pickles on the side.

This small batting cage and pellet gun shooting range is next door to the pizza shop.  I tried it a few times, but then some of the pitches started going next the the fence instead of over the plate.

I had some left over squid, so I got some buchimgae (Korean pancake) mix, and tried making Korean pancakes for the first time.  It is a good dish for cooking leftovers.  I have eaten it a lot this week.

I have no idea why this is  across the street from me on top of an office building.  It looks like it belongs at a mini golf course.

I hope you enjoyed the post.  Congratulations Grandma and Grandpa on making it 50 years together!