Korea Fighting!

Don't be alarmed; the Koreas aren't at war! It's the World Cup!

One of many charming English mistranslations that Koreans use is the word "fighting." They use it where you or I would say, "Let's go!" or "You can do it!" So all the posters featuring the Korean World Cup team using the oh-so-trendy English say "Korea Fighting!" to cheer on their players. When Koreans say it aloud they don't say "FI-ding" like native English speakers but instead say "fi-TING" with a very annunciated T sound. Makes me smile every time I hear it.

We shouted fi-TING last night in a gathering in front of City Hall to watch the big match against Greece on the big screen. South Korea won 2-0 as the underdogs and we went wild with the other Red Devils (Korean fans call themselves the Red Devils, I think similar to Gonzaga's Kennel Club....).

Here's a picture of the opening band who taught us some chants and dances, all of which were impossible.

Andrew was the equivalent of Mickey Mouse at Disneyland: every man, woman, and child wanted their picture with him. He had on a Park Jisung jersey (their best player), a hat with Korean flags sticking out, and a South Korean flag as a cape. Priceless!

Here's us with our friends Mark and Jess at halftime.

After the game, Andrew played soccer with some Korean teenagers. I videotaped parts of it and it's so tempting to share but I think he might divorce me if I did. I will say this: he looked awesome in his flip flops with the cape flying behind him, and it was hysterical to see him pick up the ball at one point, dribble it, and spin it on his finger like a basketball. More proof that the U.S. has yet to fully embrace soccer!