A Goal to Remember!

Well it seems like it's been a long time since I've done something spectacular when it comes to playing soccer. Today was a day in which I can say I did something special.

Earlier today I had a soccer game with my new team Bundang FC, and we played against a team that was not only dirty, but they dived a lot. To say the least, it was frustrating to see people do a tuck and roll as soon as you touch them.

Anyway, we started the game with only one substitute, so I got mentally prepared to play the full 90 minutes of the game. In the first half we seemed to dominate the game by scoring 2 goals, one of which was a header from our 6'-4" tall center forward named Stu, and the second goal came from a easy tap in off of a rebounded shot that I took after doing a couple of spin moves past two defenders!

It seemed as though we were going to easily win the game, but the other team scored a penalty kick a little bit later, making the score 2-1 at halftime.

The second half we scored another goal making it 3-1, but we made it a little hard on ourselves by allowing them to score a second goal soon after. Up until the 78th minute, we held them to a 3-2 lead, but one of their players ended up tying the game with a near post shot. Thus the game was tied at 3-3.

It seemed as though we were going to tie the game, despite having played a pretty decent game. But we continued to press on.

In the 89th minute, Evan, one of our outside mid-fielders, won the ball off of a defender and passed the ball to me near the penalty spot of the opposing teams box. The ball came bouncing to me, and I had to make a split second decision about what to do next. Now usually in this situation I would do a couple of things:

1. I would try to take a shot, and probably miss kick the ball and it would go out for a goal kick (or perhaps a throw in).

2. I would try to control the ball and take a more controlled shot, which would usually be a good idea, but it often times gives the other team a chance to try and block the shot.

I chose option 1, and instead of kicking the ball out of play, I drilled the ball into the top right corner of the goal!

Bundang FC: 4

Other Team: 3

I jumped with joy while also running back to our end of the field after the goal, and my teammates followed and cheered with me in celebration of what would surely be the winning goal of the match. In a surprise move, one of the players grabbed my shorts and pulled them down enough for me to in fact moon the opposing team. So to add insult to injury, the opposing team was down by a goal towards the very end of the game, and got a glimpse of my butt as well!

I've played many soccer games throughout the course of my life, but none of the goals I have ever scored will be as dramatic as this one. I'm grateful for having the opportunity to do something spectacular, and I can certainly thank my teammates for the effort that they put in throughout the game.

But I think what will make this memorable is that I did it during a time where I was really missing playing soccer, and by scoring today I was reminded of one of the many reasons why I like playing so much.

One of the things that I thought about after the game was that it wasn't a goal that I scored during a high pressure situation in a game that seemed like it meant the world. I scored in a game that didn't matter that much in the long run. It was more memorable than any moment that I played on the soccer team at Goshen College, and it may have been the best goal that I have ever scored.

One might wish that it would have come in a more critical game, but for me it came at the perfect time. It came at a time when it didn't matter if I missed the goal or not. I thought about how much pressure I was under playing competitively in school and club soccer, and I think if I would have felt less pressure during those times of my life, I could have scored more goals like the one I did today.

To say the least, I'm happy that I scored.

Bundang FC and Dating

Well it's been awhile since I've written in this blog. In terms of the day to day life, things have become pretty much normal and routine. The greatest variable in my life has been teaching classes one month at a time, and having to learn new names of students every month.

At first it was incredibly difficult to learn about 20 new names a month, but as time has progressed it seems to be much easier to learn students names. In fact, it has now become much easier to learn the names of other westerners, because of the familiarity that comes along with knowing western names.

During the past five months, some of the things that I was missing the most were basically my family, my friends back home, and soccer. Of course, it's difficult to have friends and family come all the way across the world, but recently my cousin Britta and her boyfriend Jeff have come to Korea to teach English, and it has been fun hanging out with them for the past week and a half that they've been here. In regards to playing soccer, I've had very few opportunities to play, but it is something that I have been able to do more recently.

I looked online for soccer leagues in Seoul, and I found a soccer team composed of mostly English guys, with a few Americans, Koreans and Canadians also on the team. The team name is Bundang FC, and our mascot is a monkey :). I've played with the guys a few times now, and in our first game I was voted man of the match, and received a hefty 2000 won for my prize (less than $2). I was of course just really happy to be playing soccer again, and I will be continuing to play with these guys for most of the summer too.

On another note, recently I've gone on a couple of dates with a girl named Ji Won, who I met for the first time on a blind date set up by one of my coworkers. I'm not exactly sure what's going to happen, but she seems pretty nice, and she can speak English well, so most of the time the language barrier isn't a big issue.

It made me think a little bit though about what the possibilities for a foreigner to date a Korean, but especially a black foreigner. I've heard that there are a number of women that are only interested in dating Korean men, and I've heard that sometimes it's due to pressure from the parents of women that they shouldn't date foreigners. It's really interesting and quite different of course from the US where it's not as big of an issue.

However, many of the guys on my soccer team are dating Korean women, and a couple of them are on the marriage path, so it seems like it's not a big issue for at least some people in Korea. In fact, one of the guys that I play with is from Cote D'Ivoire, and he's also dating a Korean girl, so I guess it's reassuring. I think what it comes down to really is that I just have to meet someone who's okay with me for the way I am, and on the plus side Ji Won seems to think that I'm a good guy :).

Anyway, it's been awhile since I've written anything interesting, so I thought I'd write again. Someone should send me a package or something. So far I've only gotten a card from my church. Also, if there are any birthday present requests, I'd be interested in sending some packages from Korea as well. Thanks to those of you who have sent me emails and have kept me updated through Skype and email.

If anyone wants to call me, Skype is the best way to contact me (my Skype name is jesseaj1), and also if you call sometime on Thursday evenings in the US, that's probably when I'm the least busy. Otherwise email is good too.

I hope everyone is doing well.