I'm Alive and Well! Thanks for asking.

300,000 fans cheering in front of City Hall (Seoul) during the Korea vs. Togo World Cup game 

World Cup Fever is ridiculous in Korea! They’ve erected 25 foot statues of their star players near City Hall! And look at the size of that crowd! They love their Korea Fighting.

As a soccer player and fan myself, I’m glad to be in a country that appreciates the sport so much. I wonder if there are any 25 foot statues of Beasley or Donovan anywhere in the US right now… Of course Korea did advance further than we did in the last World Cup, and they are doing better than we are so far this time around, but that’s beside the point, darnit! :)

Watching the US, Ghana and Japan (I pulled Japan in a lottery) lose Monday night saddened me, but I’m optimistic that the US will pull off a victory tonight. Even sporting some red, white & blue for the occasion (Thanks for the Charleston Thanksgiving Shoot Out t-shirt, Pop.).

Thanks for expressing concern over the fact that I’ve neglected this blog and my emails for so long, but rest assured that I’m alright. In fact, as the sign below indicates, I’m loving life right now.


something like: een-sang-uhn ah-ruhm-dah-wah-yo! 

Yup, that’s what I’ve been up to lately. Devoting a lot of time and energy to trying to get a better handle on Korean. I put the characters below on the wall across from my bed in March, and started taking classes in April. I’m far from fluent, but it feels good to be able to read, write and speak a little.


Wall Hangings: Hangul Alphabet & Numbers 

If you can blow up the photo, you should have no trouble sounding out the “Life is Beautiful” sign above. =)

There is SO much more to talk about, but it is World Cup time, so I won’t be writing much more until July. However, I wanted to include a photo of one of my favorite meals. Traditional Korean restaurants always serve a bunch of healthy sides with their dishes. It’s one of the things I like about Korea. Don’t ask me what the sides are. Most of them are vegetables in a spicy red sauce, but since some of them are vegetables I’ve never seen anywhere else, I can’t tell you much more than that.


Healthy Value Meal - sahm chi kui & panchan for $5! 

I sometimes pass on one of the side dishes (tiny dried fish, for example), but I usually end up devouring everything else. It's good stuff. I hit this restaurant at least once a week.

Alright, gotta run. The Czech Republic vs. Ghana game is starting (Go Black Stars!). I’ll leave you with a photo of my soccer team.


Lokomotiv Goyang Football Club 

Thailand (4.29.06 - 5.6.06)

After a month in Korea I told myself it would be best not to travel outside of the country until I could do so without worrying about getting back to work on time. Would it really be worth it to visit another country for just a week?

YES!

I love Thailand! The food is incredibly delicious and healthy! The people are overwhelmingly friendly and helpful! The diving was amazing! And everything was so inexpensive! Even the climate was more to this southern man’s liking than the fickle weather of Korea!

We had a week long vacation. The lure of great food and diving, plus the good fortune of finding an excellent deal on a flight at the last minute made Thailand impossible to resist. And I’m glad I didn’t. I met up with my friend, Nadine to dive Koh Tao for a few days.


Nadine, Grand Palace Grounds, Bangkok, Thailand 

One of Nadine’s good friends is half Thai, so we were blessed to have his family take care of us in Bangkok. And boy, did they take care of us! Nok and her family spoiled us rotten. I’m sure I wouldn’t have enjoyed Thailand half as much if it weren’t for their hospitality. Nok and her sister picked us up from the airport at some ungodly hour (well after midnight) and took us to dinner on our way to an apartment they let us use while we were in Bangkok. The entire family took us out to restaurants with amazing food, and helped us experience Bangkok in a much less touristy way.


Nok & Family, Bangkok, Thailand 


I love Thai food! 

Of course, we did do the touristy things too.


Reclining Buddha, Bangkok, Thailand 

No dive shots this time, but here’s a view from the bungalow we stayed in on Koh Tao.


view from Freedom Beach bungalow, Koh Tao, Thailand 

Reggae Night at Club Aura, Seoul (3.18.06)

Reggae Band #2 - If you closed your eyes, you could be listening to Johnny Holt in a Jamaican dancehall! 

Back in February, my main man, Corey called to tell me he heard about a reggae night happening somewhere in Seoul. Up until that point, many people heard me groaning about being dumbfounded that after 3 months I still hadn’t found a reggae venue in Korea. I didn’t even really need live music. I just knew there had to be SOME PLACE in Seoul where people danced to reggae, and I was frustrated that I hadn’t found it yet!

I must admit that I didn’t have high hopes, but I was pleasantly surprised by what we found. Funkafric Booster was playing when we got there. We couldn’t see the band as we descended the stairs into the club, but I remember thinking to myself, That drummer is playing a real dancehall beat!


Funkafric Booster - The drummer is a BEAST! (translation: she's awesome!) 

Both bands blew me away! As did my man, Francois, the dreadlocked Frenchman spinning everything from dub, Jacob Miller and Dennis Brown to Morgan Heritage, Capleton and I-Wayne.


Ryong & Francois, Club Aura, Seoul 

Unfortunately, I still haven’t found a place that consistently plays reggae every weekend, but any time Francois hips me to a reggae night somewhere, I am there. These are photos from the March 18th Irie Reggae Vibes night at Club Aura in Seoul. Attendance was light, but the music and vibes were indeed Irie.


Myung Mee & Ana 


Julia, Ana & Angela - we had the dance floor to ourselves between sets 


Julia, Corey & Eva - Corey's my main man here 


Rose, Julia & Ana, some of my favorite people