Lunch!
Our second game I scored 2 goals and had one assist. The second game was so easy, by the end both teams were practically walking up and down the field. I was trying to set up goals for all of my teammates the second half. We ended up winning the game 3-0. In between and after all our games we went to different fields to watch the Hongcheon men’s teams play. There were two different Hongcheon men’s teams at the tournament; one was an older team (60 years old) and one was a middle age-younger team (30-40 years old). Our coach played in one of the games on Sunday. It was fun to watch him play. When we were driving back to the place where we slept, coach got us lost. It was pretty dark out and this place was in a pretty remote spot. We had to drive up and down this extremely hilly off the road path. One of the hills was too steep that we actually all had to climb out of the car and push the van up the hill. Haha. It was very entertaining; the team kept telling me “rollercoaster”. Dinner that night was in a dinning hall setting and it was a buffet. The place we were at was like a little village for people to stay the night in. When you walked into our room there was a tiny kitchenette in a big living room with a TV. There was one bathroom with a shower and then a sleeping room that slept 4. Koreans typically sleep on the floor and that’s what we did. There were blankets to set on the floor (which provided no padding I might add) and then a comforter. I slept in the small room and 4 other girls slept in the living room. There were 11 girls total on the trip so we had two different “hotel” rooms to sleep in. Before bed the girls ordered chicken wings and beer. I don’t know if they really like chicken wings or if they think I really do so that’s what they order all the time. Either way sounds good to me! By the time we got to bed it was close to midnight.
The place we stayed at, the teal building to the right is the dining hall
Sunday morning we had to get up at 6am… I was so tired all weekend. Whenever I had a chance I went to the van to try to take a nap if someone else was going. Our first game Sunday was at 9am. I believe I scored the only 2 goals that game. Coach had me at forward for all the games and I’m pretty sure told the team to pass to me whenever they got the ball. I don’t speak Korean so I don’t know exactly what he was saying but that’s what it seemed like. We played with 10 players on the field for our games on Saturday (short one player and no subs). I think it was about 30 minute halves. Sunday one more player showed up but she only played for the first game and then had to leave. So the championship game we were down one player which sucked. The weather was pretty good for most of our games except the final championship game. It turned extremely overcast, the sun had gone away and it started to rain. I was freezing. The game was hard, the team we played was super physical and the weather was terrible. They had one girl marking me the whole time, number 13. She was so mean and not too pretty I might add. When we shook hands at the end she crushed my hand… I don’t think she liked me. Woops. The game went into overtime with no score so we had to settle on a shootout. During overtime, I stole the ball away from a player and she kicked my right foot extremely hard. It still hurts right now (3 days later). The ref didn’t call any foul and I was so frustrated I couldn’t yell back to the ref. Our team ended up winning in the shootout! Everyone was so happy. I don’t think Hongchoen has seen a championship trophy in a while. The men’s Hongcheon team played after our game and lost, they still came home with a second place trophy though! During the award ceremony right after, they named me MVP of the tournament (I think of all the womens players but I’m not sure). And no Keith, that was no mistake. Throughout the tournament there were a ton of strangers coming up to me saying “Julie the best” and “Julie number 1” holding up one finger. It was pretty crazy.
The view of the stadium field
The view of the stadium from outside
The team after our game!
"Fighting" is our team saying
I just got my Trophy
The weather was terrible. It was down pouring, lightning and thunder storming but the boys still played through it. The rules here in Korea are a lot different from the states.
Coach got the "best coach" award
My MVP Trophy
My new cleats I bought here - I fit into Juniors... So crazy!
When we got home the president of the club had all the teams who played out for Korean BBQ. It was kind of like a banquet type dinner. He got up and spoke and showed each of the teams trophies and then they had me up to make a speech. There was one man who could barely speak English translate it for me. I said a few words then they had me drink out of the trophy. Haha. It was quite amusing. They love me in Hongcheon. Everyone kept asking when I was leaving and kept telling me to stay forever. The room was set up so there were 4 people at one table. I sat in the corner of the room and different people kept coming to my table wanting to drink and chat with me. Don’t worry Keith, even in Korea I’m advertising for Hopkins. They all know that I play for Hopkins Club in Minnesota. The next night the team took me out again for dinner. The team is awesome. They all are very friendly and are always making sure I am having a good time and are feeling ok. They really like to making fun of me and a lot of them are super animated. They try to text me now in english which is super funny to read. Meekang, our goalie, really wants to learn English and tries to talk to me all the time through our trusty cell phones. She’s taking me out to dinner on Wednesday. Apparently I have an interview on Wednesday for the Hongcheon newspaper. Yoma (our captain) has a 16 year old daughter who speaks English fairly well so she’s going to come and translate for me. Once I find the article I will try to post it for everyone to see!
Julie
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