Korea 2, Greece 0 !

Jeju World Cup Soccer Stadium

I've watched some soccer on TV but, truth be told, never an entire match -- until last night. It was really exciting to watch my host country win in the first round of the World Cup.The Korean commentary didn't enhance my understanding of the game much, but if course the action was easy to follow. I look forward to more.

Watching the match was the end of an interesting day. After breakfast we had to repack our bags since we were being moved from our small single room to a spectacular suite (see pictures below). Then we went shopping at the local e-Mart. Quite an experience. While there were of course many things I could identify, there were shelves upon shelves of things that had me puzzled. Our driver understands some English but speaks less. There were times when we wondered just where our "conversation" had left us. But we managed, and then stopped for lunch before coming back to the hotel.

The sun is finally peeking through the clouds and it looks like we might have good weather to do a little exploring. My thoughts so far:

- Jeju Island is beautiful; Hawaii-like in terrain though not as tropical so not quite as dense with foliage

- Koreans strike me as a very generous and relaxed people. Nowhere is this more evident than in their driving.

- Though English is far less common here than it was in Seoul, we are coping.

- I love the food but I know I'll be hankering for a burger or some pasta before long.

- Koreans fly better than we do; boarding was far more orderly and fast than on any American flight ever.

- I love Korean breakfast: hot, spicy soup, kimchi and a bowl of rice builds strong bodies 12 ways.

Oh, and the answer to my question last time: if you look at the picture of the commode you'll see a panel with controls on the left. They work the butt-washer -- our name for it; I'm sure Asians have a more polite name, though the "on" button carries a line drawing of a butt. Ransom got us one in Japan several years back and I love it. A bm anywhere other than my bathroom is not the same. So I was happy to see one in Seoul; alas, not here on Jeju.