Sports School

Lots to write about. Once again, I'm sorry for not writing over the past few days, it's just been madness over here. The times I have had the opportunity to write, I have been exhausted. So, allow me to catch up now.

Instead of writing one massive blog, I will instead section it off into various blog posts. That large blog last week took it out of me.

Wednesday afternoon, I was standing outside Durihana, figuring out what to do with my free time. I had done what I needed in my room, and had posted pictures on Facebook. I was now in a quandry. I could go visit a Christian bookstore that Joseph and I happened upon Tuesday when activating my phone. I could just go wander around a random area in Seoul. But I was standing there, weighing the options.

Then, one of the teachers here asked if I would like to go with the students to sports school. I basically understood the concept, and without any desire to pass up opportunities like this, I jumped at it. She then asked me to go put on sneakers (I was wearing a pair of flip flops). I had the lingering suspicion that this might be more involved than I anticipated as we walked two buildings down, and into a basement.

I walked in to find my students, along with others, standing in what could be described as a makeshift gym area. When the teacher came out, it was conducted in a similar manner as a PE class would be in America. The students started out with basic calisthenics and stretches, then out came soccer balls. They practiced basic passes to each other, much like we play pitch & catch in America with baseball. Then they played a soccer form of keep away, once again practicing ball handling and passing, with the person in the middle trying to intercept. After about 15 minutes of this, they picked sides, and started a game. Then I was tossed a jersey. Yeah, this means I'm playing too, and the first time I've played organized soccer in 15 years.

This wasn't an official style game by any means. There was only 5 players to a side. The room was really small, so there were no boundaries. If it hit the wall, it was no different than playing a puck off the boards in hockey, thus adding a semblance of familiarity, and strategy, for me. The only things that you could compare it with soccer was no hand balls and get the ball in the goal.

Everyone was really getting into it. So was I. I was about ready to collapse from the exertion. My sedentary lifestyle has really taken its toll on me. The students were going strong after 30 minutes of play. By 10, I was having to dig into the reserve tanks trying not to dry heave. Makes me really ashamed to be American, where we have bred a nation of couch potatoes and fast food junkies.

2/3 of the way through soccer, I switched to goal. This was after the other team scored 3 unanswered goals on us. Last time I played, I played goal, and I remember I did well at it. And it seems like I still have the reflexes and limberness to handle goal, as they got nothing by me. I was an unstoppable wall in goal, and was sacrificing my body to stop the ball. I have the bruises on my knees and hips (still) to prove it.

Soccer finally ended, and I thought we were done. In America, we would have been. Not in Korea. I had a short breather, then they started playing half-court basketball. They put me on the opposite team as David (the only male student in my class), as I think they thought putting us together would've made for an unfair advantage. On the onset, I thought their assumption was wrong. I suck at basketball. I can prove this by the fact that on my 8th grade team, I was the only one not to score a single basket. This is not a stat I'm proud of, but I think I proved my point.

However, when I got going, I got on fire, and their assumption was correct. David and I often challenged each other. Any time I scored, David would have me check it and say "Come on, come on. Again!" And it was just a strong game, lots of passing, lots of shooting, lots of defense. I don't even know the score, nor did I care. I was having fun. However, when class ended, I wanted to die. That took more out of my tank than I even knew I had--I did know that I was running on fumes.

When we got upstairs, first thing I did, and the only think I could think of, was running to 7-Eleven for a Pocari Sweat (a Korean sports drink). Then I went to my room, cranked the A/C, and cooled off while drinking a HUGE bottle of Pocari. Then I went downstairs to take a much-needed shower (as it was almost time for church).

You know, I had so much fun in going there, but that wasn't the point. I got to see the students in their element, doing things that were exciting.

When I first heard and learned of North Korea, I was taught about their beliefs in the Cult of Personality regarding their leaders. I was taught they were commies, plain and simple. We were taught throughout our lives, at least as far as the Soviets were concerned, that they are taught to love the party, and hate freedom, and those who love freedom. Considering Juche style communism is a fork from Stalinism, the same could hold true for North Koreans. So by way of reasoning, we could just assume that North Koreans were robotic, communist, war-hungry people who hated us and only cared about the party.

After sports school, I saw my reasoning thrown out the window. I saw the students laughing, running around, having fun. They played soccer because it was fun. They celebrated when they scored, and grimaced when they got scored on. But at the end of the game, no one cared. They had fun. It was the same with the basketball game. Just watching David, who is very athletic, every single bit of the game was exciting for him. It didn't matter whether we were talking about soccer or basketball, he enjoyed it. I saw students, including David, practicing Taekwondo moves. I saw them laughing. I saw them smiling. I saw them doing things we Americans take for granted, leaving things like that to the pros, as we sit in our seats at home or a stadium eating hot dogs and drinking beer. And they enjoyed it.

Sure, they're in South Korea now, but by birthright, they're North Koreans. And while not every North Korean has accepted that the Kim rule is a fraud, they aren't all war hungry, and the people here certainly aren't. They laugh, they cry, the smile, they have fun. They have hopes and dreams, just like us. In North Korea, those hopes and dreams are deferred for the party, but here, these students, as smart and talented as they are, can do anything they set themselves out to do.

But I can never say that North Koreans are robotic. Not after this. I had my misconceptions shattered.