FOOTBALL!!!!!

One question I get asked a lot here in Korea is, “What things do you miss from back home?”  I usually respond with the 3 F’s: family, friends, and food.  Before coming to Korea, I knew I would miss these things so there was no surprise there.  However, there was a fourth ‘F’ I didn’t even anticipate: football.

I knew coming over here that watching any football, let alone my favorite teams would not be an easy task.  I thought I would be ok with that.  I was wrong, however.  Football is a bigger part of my life than I had realized.  I knew something was amiss when in June, football was becoming a significant part of the daily sports news, but it was not a part of my everyday conversations with coworkers, friends, people at the bar, etc.  That just didn't feel right to me. 

Without meaning to offend my family, my friends, or Chicago style deep dish, at that point I realized that I could not live without football.  I guess a better way to put it would be to say that football is the straw of sacrifice that would have broken the proverbial camel’s back.  It was then I decided to pay for the NFL online pass for this season.  The minute I saw an early bird discount for access, I signed up.  From that moment on, I had complete access to NFL football, and especially my beloved Chicago Bears.

Finding a way to watch my NIU Huskies proved to be significantly more difficult.  It doesn’t help that Northern Illinois University is a small school football-wise, and therefore, not all of their games are televised.  Also, since the NCAA or ESPN doesn’t offer online access like the NFL does, the only way I can watch is if I am lucky enough to find a live streaming site that will carry the game.  That will be inconvenient as well due to the time difference.

I’ve pretty much given up on watching any college football this year, but as long as I have the NFL, I can live with that.  Last weekend kicked off the start of the season.  I doubt I will do this every week, but I stayed up to watch the Bears game live which started at 2 A.M. on Monday morning here in Korea.  My neighbor came over to watch and we got some (crappy) pizza and beer.  During the first weekend of NFL football, I watched all or most of 6 different games plus small segments of a few other games as well!  Having more access to NFL football here in Korea than I did back in the United States (yes, that is a true statement) will prevent football from becoming that fourth ‘F’.           

Thank God It's September!!!!!

I was excited about many things as I was preparing to come to Korea.  Albeit not near the top of the list, one of the things I was looking forward to was the weather.  Back home in Chicago, I was used to hotter than hell summers, and winters that were colder than a witch’s…well, you get the idea.  When comparing climates, the average temperature of Changwon is cooler in the summer than Chicago, and the winter weather looked to be more hospitable as well.  Sure, I had read people’s complaints about the summer and winter, but assumed that these people were spoiled residents of places with warm weather year round. 

Anyway, I arrived in Changwon just in time for the start of winter.  Looking back, it did not disappoint.  While it was cold, it was not unbearable.  There were only a handful of days where I was uncomfortable outside wearing no outerwear but my leather jacket.  I had no problem running down the street to the convenient store in shorts, a t-shirt, and sandals if I needed a carton of milk.  As an added bonus, there was maybe 10 minutes of snow total all season. 

Based on this observation, I was not dreading the summer.  In fact, I was looking forward to it.  I sure had the wrong attitude!

It wasn’t the temperature that was a problem here in southern Korea.  Was it hot?  Yes, but it was nothing I haven’t experienced before.  The humidity, however, was a killer! 

I started noticing the problem in late May or early June, when I would walk the 5 blocks to the bus stop and my face and shirt would be soaked with sweat.  Even just sitting outside and relaxing became extremely uncomfortable.  Back home, if a day was extremely hot or humid, I could at least look forward to evenings and nights when it would be tolerable to be outside again.  That was not the case here this summer.  Even at night, if I was outside, I was looking to get back indoors as quickly as possible. 

This would be a good time to mention that Koreans do not sweat…at least not as much as foreigners.  My boss mentioned this to me as we were having a discussion about toiletries (don’t ask) and the average Korean’s lack of deodorant use.  I can also recall one night, while playing poker at the bar, looking around the table and seeing the North Americans/Europeans all sweating and the Koreans not being affected by the heat.  Despite the apparent lack of sweat glands, Koreans do get hot.  My boss told me many Koreans take multiple showers a day during the summer and I frequently see them waving their fans while outside.  I do not take solace in that fact, however.  I have never minded being hot.  It’s being sweaty and sticky that makes me want to jump in Yongji Lake.

Getting back on topic after my rant, the humidity has severely affected my activities this summer.  For example, I enjoyed hiking during my first few months here.  During the summer, I would only go if I was willing to get up before 6:00 A.M.  Needless to say, that did not happen often.  When it did, I would literally (no exaggeration here) have to peel my clothes off my body before I took a shower.  Aside from going to work, I tried to avoid going outside as much as possible, even if it was only going to the convenient store at the end of the block.  I even cut down on the frequency of my bar visits.

Most people know about the phrase, “If life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”  While spending most of my summer indoors was not ideal, I did happen to make my voluntary imprisonment productive.  Sure, I spent some time watching movies and sports but I also read and studied Korean often.  I read all five books of the “A Song of Ice and Fire” series as well as watched the first two seasons of the HBO series based on the books.  I have also made tremendous improvements in my Korean abilities.  I’m not yet conversational, but I can sometimes understand the topic of someone else’s conversation. 

While the lemonade was enjoyable, I am extremely glad it is now September.  Fall should be just around the corner.  I think the prevailing opinion here is that weather-wise, fall is by far the best season in Korea.  And unlike Chicago, I can enjoy the fall here without having to dread the winter that is on-deck!