World Cup?? What's That? Korea's Gone!

Well...watched the game last Saturday morning with the Haeundae boys. This is the scene where we watched it. You can see everyone standing for the Korean national anthem...Korean soccer star Park Ji Song (of Manchester United fame) can be seen on the screen.

This is the only thing the fans could use to dull the pain....good ole soju. Just read about it on wikipedia...soju is made of ethanol, water and flavouring....yummy!!!

Soooo....Korea is out of the World Cup. Switzerland completely dominated them for 90 minutes and walked away 2-0. I stayed up til 6am to watch the match. As I left the restaurant where I watched the game to go home, it felt like a funeral! Ever since that night, it seems that Koreans could no longer care less about the World Cup. A self-professed soccer nation, since they were knocked out, you'd never know it. The only people in Haeundae who seem to care about World Cup now are the foreigners. Jeez...a ten year old kid in in my class last night told me that he hates the Swiss. I've heard that from a few students. Talk about taking it the wrong way! Joga Bonita...The Beautiful Game....keyword "GAME". I suppose it would be to harsh to call a child a "sore loser". I slapped down on him with one of my classroom rules..."You aren't allowed to say bad things about other cultures or ethnicities." This rule is commonly broken by my students...it's unfortunate.

We moved schools and are now in our new location. We are no longer Namcheon CDI, we are Gwangan CDI. Apparently we are very close to Gwangali Beach, but I can't seem to see it from the school. It's new, smells like paint, computer doesn't work well yet, but it's a lot nicer than the old building. It's actually 2 subway stops closer to my apartment so that's something as well.

I've decided that it's time to really get into my running again. I realize it's getting hot now in Busan, but I want to take my running more seriously again. It'll be good for me. It'll give me the motivation to "not" go out to the pubs so often. I'm going to try to get some coworkers together for some light and easy runs. When I get more fit and the Fall marathoning season rolls around, I'd like to run some 10k's and maybe a few half-marathons. I may try to get a foreigner running club together. I ran some races in Seoul with Seoul Synergy last year and it was always a lot of fun. I'm not hardcore like some of the Synergy guys...I'm thinking of something more serious than the Hash House Harriers, but no Ironmen around to intimidate regular runner folks.

Tonight is another Ol'55 open mike nite. I'll shimmy down there soon with my drum sticks. I usually show up and play a few tunes. Recently the crowds have been thin. It's been basically a bar full of musicians for the last month and it's sometimes frustrating cause sometimes people will try to hog the stage. Last week I got to play a short, yet sweet set with some of the boys. I haven't been playing drums as much as I would like to recently. Seems as a lot of local foreigner musicians have just been lying low. A lot of folks said they'd be coming out tonight to the bar, but we'll see. Hopefully I can play a few tunes early and leave early. I'm not interested in a late night. I wanna go for a good run in the morning.

Til next time....toodles!

Do or Die...Saturday morning!

A 10 year old Korean artist's rendition of me. More flattering than most I've seen!

It's do or die time for the Korean National Team. They have to beat Switzerland in order to advance to the next round. if they don't, they'll be packing it in and heading back to Korea. The game is at 4:00am Saturday here. Looks like a lot of my peeps will be heading to the stadium in Sajik to watch it. Sounds like it'll be fun, but will I go? I dunno yet. I do have to teach a class tomorrow afternoon. BUT....if Korea wins, the street party will be amazing! Problem is that I'm lazy and it's on the other side of the city...did I mention I'm lazy?

Kind of a crappy week at work. My last week as Head Instructor and I'm looking forward to just being a teacher again. Life was easy as a CDI teacher in Seoul. I worked with great people and there was no stress...aside from the day to day living in Seoul. The rat race caused stress for me....too many people wedged into one city can freak a boy from small town Canada out! Don't get me wrong, I love living in Busan. Living by the beach and playing music have totally helped me deal with the stress of life, but new stress formed. Being a manager and often, scapegoat for those above me have caused more than a few sleepless nights. Lots of drama as of late at a few of our locations....it's almost as if they want senior instructors to quit or move back to Seoul. Life as teacher and a teacher only will be great. I love being in the classroom, it's all the meetings, memos written and other things outside the classroom that cause ulcers.

What's up with me this weekend? I still have no idea.....

Wear Me Eraser????

Weekend's finished and so is my Monday. Uneventful weekend. Lots of fun Saturday night. It was a duel birthday party for Bailey and Jessica. Lots of foreigners sitting on Jordan's rooftop somewhere near Busan Station. We all then made our way to Kyungsandae and to Cuba where Jordan was dj'ing. Small crowd, but nonetheless a good time.

Sunday was beach day as usual. The weathers getting warmer and warmer. Loads of foreigners crawling around at the beach. So many folks are making their way down from places like Seoul, Ulsan, Daejon and Daegu. Soon it'll be time to move over to Songjeon Beach. Oh yeah....There was the big 2 on 2 beach volleyball tournament at Haeundae this weekend. There were some very good matches, but I left before the final match, so I'm not sure who won.

Last night was pub quiz night at Starface. It's become a regular thing for me. it starts around 8pm and since Starface is a short walk from my place, it's a great way to spend a Sunday night relaxing. The usual suspects were all there, but this week Marty was hosting . It was a good time. I teamed up with Aubrey and Liz to come a "strong" third from last place. We were holding last for several round, but eventually pulled ourselves out of the ditch and held our heads high in the valley of mediocrity!

While working this afternoon I was snooping around the CDI message board and found an amusing post. A CDI teacher somewhere in Seoul posted this. This teacher recently had cute experience with some bizarre grammar and a funny situation.

Post was as follow:

" walk into class and see that a student is sleeping with pieces of eraser in his hair and shirt. He wakes up and seems a little confused. He then looks at me and asks "who damage me eraser?" i thought it was hilarious. but then again i do have a weird sense of humor..."

I think that's some funny stuff.

Korea played France at 4:00am today (Korea time). I had no intention of staying up to watch it, but all Koreans sure did. I was fast asleep when I jumped out of bed, nearly crapping my sheets...Korea scored against France at about 5:36am and the streets were filled with Koreans watching the game on big outdoor screens. They were screaming and cheering...and Kevin left his window open so awake I was. I saw the Switzerland vs. Togo match tonight at a big screen across the street from my apartment. Korea has to absolutely beat Switzerland on Saturday morning if they want to advance. A lot of Koreans weren't too pleased with the results of tonight's match....lots of Korean profanities flying through the air.

In a few hours....GAME 7....Stanley Cup Finals.....Go Oilers...I was so surprised that they won game 6!

Was asked again today (for the 15,000th time since coming to Korea) if I had a perm. I explained to my students that it's common for non-Asians to have natural curly hair. Usual response..they didn't believe me. They of course love to give me shit about having grey hair. "only old people have grey hair...only grandfathers!" Many Korean men do, but they just dye theirs. This is of course a cultural that values superficial appearances more than anything. If you are a Korean applying for a new job, the fact that you may have a grey hair could actually be the deciding factor when you "don't" get the job. I mean, you do, literally, have to submit photos of yourself when applying for a job. I once had a boss of an English academy in Ilsan who disregarded job applicants on their appearance alone. he wouldn't even read they're resume. I sat in his office with him as he looked through foreigners pictures...."Too fat...too old...not fun looking....too short.....I don't want any of these people!" True story.....

Korea Wins...Hangover Causes Me T#o Lose...

Happy co-workers dressed to support Korea. Last night Korea won their first World Cup 2006 match defeating Togo2:1. I was at BEXCO watching the game (huge outdoor plaza), but there were too many people....I couldn't see the screen. I ended up hooking up with some co-workers at a huge Chinese restaurant in Jangsan, close to my apartment. i got there at the beginning of the 2nd half.....that's where I met these jolly folks.

It's Drew (new coworker) and of course....me! Drinking draft beer and watchin the footie match!

How do some people celebrate their country's first match in the World Cup????? They watch a strapping Korean man...dressed in a tight white dress....wearing a pink wig...caked in makeup...singing kareoke....in the street!!! I'm not joking...there was a crowd of at least 100 people gathered around watching this freak show...meanwhile...the game was goin on! Shows that most people come out for "Joga Bonita"...while others are there for the side festivities!

My coworkers sit ....looking stressed...Korea is about to make a penalty kick...they got it!

The Chinese restaurant in Jangsanwhere I watched the Korea:Togo game....at leats the second half. it was a great atmosphere. they will show every korea game there. I also have beer tickets. teh next match will be against Switzerland at 4:00am...on Saturday. i can go to this bar and watch it...if possible...physically possible...i will try.

Went to BEXCO...it was too crazy. Had to come back to a location closer to home. I have to admit that the "jaded" part of Kevin was somewhat cheering for Togo. Too many years surrounded by "ultra-nationalsm" can make even the strongest of people frustrated and as I mentioned...a wee bit jaded. I thought this, but I was happy when Korea won. 4 years ago it was such an amazing time. Korea were hosting the World Cup...everything was fresh, new, excitin, and absolutely CRAZy. I have to admit though, it was a lot of fun to be in a restaurant surrounded with euphoric fans. As a Canadian....someone who can't truely connect on a soccer level...I assume it must be like when Team Canada won gold in Salt lake City in 2002...I suppose.

Oh yeah..I just got cable TV....first time I've had TV in almost a year. Cable Tv in Korea is sooooo much fun.....I've been watching the Cosby Show, Knight Rider and Miami Vice tonight.....it's crazy!!!! I feel like I'm 8 years old again.

Weekend Be Gone! Korea....game 1....

As per usual....I was at the beach yesterday...it being a Sunday. Great weather ....just the kind crazy people need to come out and share their lunacy with the world. I have no idea what this guys deal was....he spent about 2 hours sitting on a mat taking apart and cleaning a trumpet. He drank a pile of soju while doing it. Then he eventually (close to dusk) got up and sarted to cheeer on the volleyball players. He really couldn't play the trumpet, but damn....he knew how to make a lot of noise. Guys like this make life a little more interesting!

Normal Sunday scene.....people chill at the beach. This is a bit later in the day so the crowd thinned out a lot. Foreigners usually chill on the sand. The top row of the steps is usually reserved for dozens...sometimes hundreds of Koreans who observe the foreigners in awe....snapping pics and generally discussing the behavior of us wild and crazy "non-Koreans". I personally think that the sight of atheletic women playing sports really throws them for a loop!

Volleyball time!

Good weekend....aside from working Saturday afternoon. Went out to U2 on Saturday night. It was BFunk's last gig. Their frontman and sax player is moving to Japan.It's a shame...they are such a great band. They know how to get a crowd up and groovin. Same kinda night as usual...lots of beer, dancin and of course a late-night kimbap run.

Sunday.....did nothin....went to the beach....sat in the sun...talked to people....tanned....played with sand....

Sunday night....trivia Night at Starface (pub name). My team won....I personally wasn't any help. My rule of thumb is to make friends with the truely smart folks in town so that on pub trivia night they invite you to be a memberof their team. Then....even though you've contributed nothing intellectually....you can still feel like a champion when they call your team name out as the winner!

I just heard that Japan lost to Australia 3-1 in World Cup action...I was sitting outside my building having a beer with a coworker and I could hear people screaming cheers out their apartment windows all over the neighborhood. I suppose they were Korean folks cheering that Japan lost....Koreans loathe the Japanese.

Tomorrow night is Korea's first match of the 2006 World Cup. They are playing Togo. It's Togo's first go at a World Cup. Many of my young students actually told me today that they think Korea won't win. Maybe they realize that Korea isn't hosting it so they won't have the ultra-biased refereeing like they did in 2002.....if you saw the matches against Spain and Italy you know what I mean!! Bothy Italy and Spain were were absolutely robbed....now the playing field has been evened out a bit.

Well..anyway...tomorrow night we're closing the school an hour early so the kids can go home and watch the footy match. I think it's a great idea. I'll go to BEXCO (Busan's World Trade and Convention Centre) to watch the match on giant outdoor screens. I'll wear a red Korea supporters shirt. I wanna do that primarily to make my students happy. I always consider Canadian "Football Orphans"....we really have no one to cheer aside from other countries! I have Wednesday off too so I thinksome beer may find its way into my backpack! I certainly won't have the fun I did 4 years ago, but hopefully I'll have a little bit!

Canadians and World Cup 2006 Eve....

I've viewed this advertisement in awe for weeks. It's in the subway station near my place of work. I've often wondered what the deal is with this horribly constipated little fella....he's havin a rough go of it! he's sweatin and his butt is indeed a shade of rose. I snapped this pic today and showed it to a Korean coworker...apparently it's an advert for a clinic that deals with hemmroids and constipation...groovy!

It being World Cup Eve...I dug through my photo archives and found a few pics of me during the 2002 World Cup here in Korea. You can see me at the far left (wearing the Korea hat). This was in a Seoul subway car.....sometime shortly after Korea beat Poland in their first game of the Cup. It was a massive party....don't know who the Korean guys are though...happy, drunkenstrangers I suppose.

A crew of us from Ilsan (where I lived at the time), hopped a train to Ulsan to se the Denmark vs. Uraguay in Ulsan. We all stayed in a suana for the night...only about $5. I'm the happy-go-lucky tart in the middle.

World Cup Eve is here. It all begins tomorrow in Germany. As a Canadian, I really don't have a lot of interest. I'm more concerned with the Oilers being trounced 5-0 in last night's game against Carolina.....but as that may be....I am in Korea for my second World Cup. It is the undisputed "largest sporting event in the world". When I first came here in 2002, little did I realize that I was going to have the best summer of my life. When Korea hosted World Cup 2002, it was a party unlike any I'd ever experienced...my liver aged at least a decade in one month alone!

Many of my students ask me about Canada and soccer. i just tell them one thing.....HOCKEY!! Here's a sample dialogue...

Student:"Kevin Teacher...why Canada no World Cup??"

Kevin Teacher: "H...O...C...K...E...Y"

Actually, Canada's best soccer player doesn't even play for the Canadian Team. Owen Hargreaves of Calgary actually plays for England. His club side is Bayern Munich.

Here are some interesting "Canadian" soccer facts I pulled off the CBC website....check it....

1) Where does Canada rank as a soccer nation?

At best, we're a middling force. The latest FIFA world ranking places Canada's national men's team at #83. Chant it together now, sing it out from the highest hilltops: "We're Number 83! We're Number 83!" Togo, the lowest-ranked team to qualify for this year's World Cup, is #61. That's right. Togo - with its population of 5.5 million people - is 22 spots ahead of us.
Still, not to worry. We're only two positions behind Panama (#81) and one behind Oman (#82). And we completely outshine Iceland (#99), Luxembourg (#152) and Guam (#203). Besides, if push came to shove, I really think we could take Oman.

2) Why isn't Canada in the 2006 World Cup?

The short answer is, we flamed out of the CONCACAF (a.k.a., North and Central America) regional semi-finals in spectacular fashion, winning just one match out of six against Costa Rica, Guatemala and Honduras.
Canada's first two games were particularly soul-crushing results at home - early indicators that the World Cup qualifying process would, yet again, end in heartbreak.
First, a 2-0 loss to Guatemala in Burnaby. Losing to Guatemala at home isn't really the best way to convince anyone that you belong in a showcase of the world's soccer elite.
Then, in Canada's second game - a disastrous 1-1 draw against Honduras in Edmonton - a dubious call against defender Mark Watson enabled the visitors to equalize on a penalty kick in the 88th minute. In the final seconds, an apparent winning goal by the home side was nullified because of another questionable foul.
Balloon deflated. Hope vanquished.

3) Has Canada ever qualified for the World Cup?

Once. The Canadians lost three straight games in the 1986 tournament in Mexico, and went home without scoring a goal. The 1,000-to-1 longshots scored a significant moral victory against France, holding the legendary Michel Platini and his teammates scoreless until the 79th minute. After his side's 1-0 win, Platini confessed, "We were doubting ourselves a bit after the first half. We knew that Canada had nothing to lose." He was right; Canada proceeded to lose 2-0 to both Hungary and the USSR. Twenty years later, the match with France remains our sole World Cup highlight.

4) Do Canadians even enjoy watching soccer?

There is massive interest in soccer in Canada; there just isn't massive interest in the Canadian national men's soccer team.

5) Who is the most famous Canadian soccer player of all-time?

Probably Owen Hargreaves, the Calgary-born midfielder who plays for German powerhouse Bayern Munich. Due to his parentage, he could have chosen to play internationally for Canada, England or Wales. Despite spending his formative soccer years on a junior team called Calgary Foothills FC, Hargreaves decided in 2001 to suit up internationally for England, not Canada. Perhaps this was the right decision; he's now a member of England's World Cup roster.

Am I getting Married???

This is Korean actress Kim Tae Hee (flogging soju in this advert). She's quite a beautiful woman to look at and for months I've been joking to my students that she's my girlfriend. They always ask me if I have a g/f so I like to upset them by naming Korean models and actresses as my g/f's.

Here is the artwork of a second grader. She drew this on my whiteboard during a break while I was teaching in Haeundae a few months ago. Yes...again when asked who my g/f was...I said Kim Tae Hee...response...a room full od children booing! Here is my students rendition of Kim Tae Hee + Kevin. It's a fine piece of art work I must add!

This monstrosity appeared on my board the other day. I had an elementary class on Monday night. I went to the staff room for my break and arrived back in my class to see this disturbing portrait of me! Some of my students have a very twisted imagination. (note the Elvis hair and pot belly...classy!)

Sounds like it's going to be another dead night at Ol'55 for the jam session. I just got off the horn with some musician guys I know. I'm still goin to head over there with my sticks. maybe I'll play and maybe I won't. I'll at least kick it for a cold oneand then head back to home base in Haeundae.

Long Time....No Write...Go Oilers...

It's been a long time since I've updated this little thingy. Why...well...I was living the life of a wireless internet leech. That's right, you heard it here first folks...unless you're a member of the Haeundae expat community and then I've probably proudly bragged to you about it over a beer! One of my neighbors, somewhere on my floor had a wireless setup and I was stealing their signal for close to 6 months. Either they got savvy or just moved away...leaving me with no internet for a few weeks. I bit the bullet, realizing my leech days had come to an end and was hooked up this morning by good ole Korea Telecom. Now I'm wired for sound...and video....and text, etc. (you get the picture)

What's been new with me? Lets start with the death of the Shady Play Toys. The band I was drumming in are no more. Many reasons behind it, most of them dramatic, convoluted and worthy of an MTV reality show, but at the end of the day, it was the best thing for everyone involved. I'm on to new musical endeavours at the moment. Personally, I hope they will be more rock or funk oriented...I'm a rocker at heart! I'm actually off to Ol'55 in a few hours to play a few tunes at their jam night. I played there last week, but to a nearly empty bar. Last Wednesday was a national holiday here so most folks went hard on Tuesday night and drank at the beach the following afternoon....leaving them with no desire to head out that night.

Yesterday was yet another national holiday, but I was one of the unfortunate few in Korea who still had to work. It was Korean Memorial Day. Sounds like lots of people were at the beach enjoying the sunny weather. I did however go out to Kyungsun University area on Monday night and saw Mojo play. There was a good crowd there...got home quite late, but who cares...in theory...it was a "holiday"!

Crazy-assed news comin out of Canada this week. "Home grown terrorism" they're calling it...just like in London last year. Wow...17 Toronto area cats arrested on terrrorism charges. Today it was on the news that they even planned to blow up the CSIS HQ in Toronto, take over the CBC HQ, blow shit up on Bay Street and even storm the Parliment buildings and decapitate Stephen Harper! The alleged ring-leader had even been part of the Canadian military for a few years...nuts.

Well...it's almost World Cup 2006. It starts on Friday and I believeKorea's first game will be on the 13th. It will actually been on at a reasonable time in Korea, 10pm. Most of the games will be on while I sleep. I remember being here in Korea in 2002 and it was the best time I've ever had. I remember my friends and I all had plans to meet up again in Germany this year. I suppose we all planned to spend one year here in Korea, go our seperate ways and meet up a few years down the road. Well, of the original 5 amigos...3 of us are still here in Korea. Looks like our plan won't come to fruitian.

So...I'm trying to figure out what to do this Fall. I'm allowed to take a term (3 months) off if I so choose. then I can just come back to my school and continue in the winter. I'm applying to teacher's colleges in Ontario this Fall (for Sept. 2007). I know I can do it from Busan, but it'll be a royal pain in the butt. I may head back to Canada for part of the Fall, do my uni. applications and interviews and then bounce back to Busan and teach til next June. Then back to Canada, university and hopefully, something resembling normality. Not sure about the coming back in the Fall thing yet...pure speculation at this point.

Good luck to the Oilers...sucks that Rolly the Goalie is out for the series. Game 2 comin up in a few hours...I'm not an Oilers fan (my Sens choked again), but they are the only Canadian team that made it....it's now my duty as a Canadian to support them...so....GO OILERS!