Apples to Apples

So, if I were going to be 100% honest…and I try to be…after my wild weekend I was not entirely up to teaching Monday morning.  Thankfully, I had order some games and things for my class that had come in before I left for vacation.  I decided that Apples to Apples required the least amount of prep work, so that was what I would do in class last week.

If you don't know, Apples to Apples has "red apple" cards that are nouns and verbs and "green apple" cards that are adjectives and adverbs.  The game is to pick a red apple that goes best with the green apple that was picked.  So, if my green apple was "happy" you find the red card that you feel is the most happy and be able to explain it.  Pretty simple…and I have a lot of faith in my students.  So, we play.

Some highlights:

"Courageous"
     -We chose The Avengers because in the movie they save the Earth from aliens by fighting *points to word written on the board* courageously.

     -We chose "having a baby" because it is hard and lots of things can go wrong.

"Honest"
     -Recycling, because honest people recycle *mimes sorting trash* honestly and bad people do not.

"Lucky"
     -The Middle East is lucky because they have all the oil.

     -We choose Daniel Craig because in the zero zero seven movies he survives many impossible situation, so he is very lucky.

"Rich"
     -The Royal Wedding because they have the important guests, flowers, food, the dress, ring, the media.

     -Foie Gras because it is one of 3 perfect food.  (So the best part of this one is that they then act out   
      foie gras with one boy being the goose, one cutting out his liver and the feeding it to another.)

     -Cholesterol because you get it from eating too much rich food.

"Sweet"
     -Vomiting because if it is because you have eaten all the sweet foods then maybe it tastes a little sweet.

"Inspirational"
     -Global Warming because it is taking away the polar bears' home and polar bear tears make me want to do something.

And maybe the best one was "Exciting"
     -Honeymoon.
     -Why is a Honeymoon exciting?
     -The kid starts grinning and his friend bursts out laughing…
     -Never mind.  Don't answer that.  I don't want to know.


It was so much fun…I really enjoyed seeing the way my students think and letting them be creative and clever.  We will play again during the year…and not just because they beg for the green card (uh, they get the green card if their answer is best) or tell me "Oh, Teacher, I love you" or "Teacher, you are beautiful" when I give them the green card.  But because these students are so smart and clever and they work so hard and it is wonderful to be able to let them be creative and have fun.


Edited to Add:
"Scenic"
     -Student 1: Teacher, this word.  What is meaning?
     -Me: When we say something is scenic we are usually referring to nature.  It means something is nice to look at.
     -Student 1: Oh, like Teacher.
     -Me: Laughs
     -Student 1: Kidding…kidding.
     -Student 2: No, really.

EPIK 365 Day 138: Here be Dragons...

A little more photo magic for you…courtesy of the Trick Eye Museum.

EPIK 365 Day 137: Step Through Time

I just love the contrast of this!  This is at Gyeonghuigung Palace near the Seoul Museum of History.  One second you are in an ancient palace, the next you step through into modern Seoul.

EPIK 365 Day 136: Because Koreans Love Technology

We found this great little cafe in Seoul that specializes in Kona coffee.  And even cooler than the faux Hawaiian decor was the fact that there are iPads in some of the tables!  (By the way, that is Krista.)

Seollal in Seoul

So, with my newest “partner in crime”, the fabulous Krista, I went to spend Lunar New Year in Seoul.  Mostly because it’s a family holiday so most people leave the city and go to their hometowns.  This means Seoul is A LOT less crowded...to the point where you can get a seat on the subway.  Ok, yeah, a few things were closed, but it was a fair trade-off.

Anyway.

We met up a Seoul Station.  I took the usual city bus in, but Krista lives far enough away that she has to take the train in to make it in a reasonable about of time.  From there we headed to Hongdae, near Hongik University, where we had a hostel room booked.  Walking through Hongdae at 3 in the afternoon is not making our little trip look promising...the area seems all but deserted.  But we are going to persist.

We kill time until time to check in and we can “take a rest”, as the Koreans say.  Eventually, we head out into the area, which has come alive by then.  Hongdae is definitely a “night life” area.  We ended up at Club FF, a great little bar for the K-indie scene.  Saw a great Korean band, a mediocre band with a white guy fronting, and then an great French band.  Yup, French.  We also picked up the French band’s cd...because you should support independent artists.

Day two, actual Seollal, we headed to the Seoul Museum of History.  We wandered around Gyeonghuigung Palace for a bit, and met a nice Chinese family, who took their picture with us, and an elderly Korean man who told us that there would be special events at the museum that day.  We wandered through the 700+ years of Korean history at the museum before taking a break and watching some Korean dance and musical performances, both traditional and contemporary.  We headed back into the exhibits and finished up the last 4 decades or so before heading back to our hostel.

The next stop(s) for us, were the Ice Museum and the Trick Eye Museum.  So, we hadn’t planned on the Ice Museum, but it was included in the admission to the Trick Eye Museum so why not?  Not bad, the ice sculptures were nice, but nothing just “oh, my god” fantastic.  The Trick Eye Museum was a completely different story...shameless fun!  Simultaneously so cool and so cheesy.  There are all these great works that look weird on the surface, but once you pose and take your picture look 3D and super cool.  From there we grabbed a couple of “bagged drinks” at this little booth...and I mean alcoholic drinks, not Capri Suns.

We rounded out our day by going to Cocoon night club.  I wouldn’t consider myself a “club” kinda a girl, but then again, I realize that the club scene where I am from falls a bit short.  Anyway, a couple a shots of tequila and I was ready to dance in the smoke and strobe lights to some techno.  So, maybe not my permanent scene, but a lot of fun and I would most definitely go again.

The next day was rainy, so it kinda ruined our outdoor plans of seeing palaces and neighborhoods, but it was nice to relax and chill for a bit.  Headed back to Club FF that night to have one last night out and listen to a couple more really good bands before heading home to our quiet little country towns. 

EPIK 365 Day 135: First Edition

Some of my best students are on the school's first ever English newspaper staff.  I am not faculty advisor, but I helped with editing their articles.  They brought me a copy of the newspaper today and I could not be more proud of their hard work!

EPIK 365 Day 134: Bag Drinks

So, and I feel like I say this a lot here, is uber-cool.  This little place sells bag drinks…as in mixed drinks, not Capri Sun.  Not the best Cape Cod I have ever had, but it's the novelty of it.