May

Where did May go? I blinked and it's suddenly gone! Now it's June and the Korean rainy season has come early. It's not supposed to start until late July/early August but it's been raining for 4 days straight and showing no signs of stopping. Last weekend was a blast. My friends and I had the opportunity to watch a soccer match between South Korea and Jordan. The match was held at the World Cup Stadium in Seoul where, as the name suggests, many of the World Cup games were played back in 2002 when Korea and Japan co-hosted the competition. This particular game was a qualifier for the next World Cup which will be held in South Africa in 2010. The stadium is huge, it holds 68,000. It was the biggest sports event I've ever been to. The best part, which we didn't realize until we got there, was the we had front row seats, right behind one of the goals. It was an incredible view. Here are some pics from the day...

We went for lunch on an outdoor patio in Hongdae, the university district. After lunch we played cards for a while and enjoyed sitting in the sun. These are two of my British friends, sporting Korean soccer jerseys, and looking excited about the game.

Not much beats a relaxing game of cards on an outdoor patio in the sun.

Outside the stadium we saw this crazy fan: His top half is painted and he is wearing a Korean flag in lieu of...pants I think. How very patriotic!

My best friends and me. Do you like my Team Korea t-shirt? It says, "Again Dream!"

A Canadian and an American in Seoul...

Hopefully you can tell how close our seats were - front row...No one in front of us!

During the Korean National Anthem the fans hoisted up this giant Korean flag over all of these fans. It looked incredible.

A close up.

Pre-game huddles. Korea is red, Jordan is white.

Korea had a 2-0 lead in the 2nd half but Jordan came back to tie it. There were so many excited Jordanian fans running around after the stadium. One older Jordanian man ran up to me after the game and asked where I was from and if I like Jordan's soccer team. I had to say yes, of course, and he was so excited he picked me up in a gigantic bear hug.

So that was last weekend. But the fun never stops here in SoKo... this weekend my friends and I are going to the next province over for some white water rafting. I've never been, so I'm nervous but everyone says it's so much fun so I'm sure I'll enjoy it. Pics from that will be up next week...

Teaching continues to be wonderful. I can honestly say I love love LOVE my job. Teacher's Day is a holiday here in May and basically just involves students giving gifts to their teachers. A brilliant idea if you ask me! I received many presents including several pairs of socks, vitamins, beauty products, chocolates, flowers, and (of course!) a variety of rice cakes.

Well, not much else to report. I promise I'll blog next week about my white water rafting adventures.