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