Hello, all! Tuesday afternoon, my day off, and I just got back from a nice motorcycle ride out along a coastal road and up to my favorite little cafe on the water that I've been frequenting for the last few weeks. They're starting to know what I want when I come in, so I'd say that's a success. It was a little buggy out (as in I was eating mouthfuls of bugs as I rode), so I turned in early in favor of a blog post and a nap.
This past Saturday, I took my 6/7 grade boys soccer team up to Seoul with my co-coach and good pal Michael Chu (Mr. Chu if you're into K-pop). We woke up around 4:30AM, got everyone on the bus by 5:30, and took off around 7:55. We landed in Seoul, got some food, and hopped on the bus to go to Dulwich College. It felt really good to be back in a big city. I love the island and the beach and the ability to just go off and have alone time, but I'm a city boy at heart. We made it to the school, and we played four games considerably better than we played our first 11-0 loss. We went 1-2-1, getting our first goal and our first win.
We did have one incident in which one of our boys punched another boy who had been chirping at him on the field. It was a big ordeal and the coach and headmaster from the other team kind of freaked out. A long story short, we had to dismiss him from the team, and that was a stain on an otherwise lovely tournament.
Besides that, it's business as usual here. The postseason baseball schedule has thrown off my sleep schedule a bit. Tonight, I'm waking up at 3:30AM to watch game three. Should be a fun Wednesday morning! I have 12 days until I leave for Seoul and Hong Kong, and I can't wait. The protests in Hong Kong have been at the front of our minds, but we're hoping that they're easy enough to avoid. There's currently no advisories out saying not to go there, so the trip is still going forward.
I got to Skype my favorite Katie Bell today, and my parents, Aunt Sue, and grandparents this past Sunday, so it's been nice having some contact with home. I can't wait to be back and see friends and family in December! I may look a bit different then! My hair is getting really long, to the point where I have to brush it out of my eyes and wear a headband when I ride the motorcycle or play sports.
My best pal Michael Dienstbach and I are talking about taking a road trip out West this summer in the States, so that is a fun thing to keep in mind recently. I've been taking spare moments to look up attractions. Could be a blast. As far as new music, these are my albums of the week:
Hozier - Hozier
Shakey Graves - And The War Came
Sara Bareilles - Kaleidoscope Heart
Paper Bird - Rooms
All highly suggested. I've made some fun connections at home since I got here that have been really enjoyable for me who most certainly deserve some recognition. Young Ellen Heaghney, a family friend who is in a program in Paris during her freshman year of college, and I have been chatting about our abroad experiences, and it's been really loving reliving my abroad days and hearing about her experiences! Keep up the adventuring, Ellen! Alicen Schade, a friend from college, is also abroad currently in her post-grad life, and she's headed to Cuba (you heard me, Cuba) in a few days through her program. It's been so cool hearing about her experiences when she's available, and I'm wishing her the best of luck as she ventures to a country that not many Americans get the opportunity to go to. Appreciate it and enjoy it, Alicen! Finally, I've been emailing old SLUH teachers from time to time, and that's been really enjoyable for me. Their presence on Facebook is even better; from Frank Corley ranting about Mike Matheny (I'm officially with you, Mr. Corley), to pictures of the adorable children of Lauren Dickens, being on a somewhat friendly level with those who helped shape me into who I am is really wonderful. Definitely folks I hope to see when I'm home in December!
That's about all I have for now. My day was just made, as I received a package from my godfather/uncle Peter containing the full Australian Wildred on DVD and a collection of Vonnegut graduation speeches. Thanks, Uncle Pete! Hope everyone has a lovely week.
-Ryan
