This week I played in a volleyball game with Hacheong middle school against Okpo middle school. The odds were against us from the very start since they had around 50 teachers to choose for their team while we only had 10. Only the best teachers from each school are allowed to play. Even though I am not very good at volleyball, I am still one of the best at my school. At the same time I am the tallest in my school which is always a virtue when playing volleyball. My height did come in handy during the game enabling me to block the other team over 10 times. By the end of the game my team was calling me the blocking king. I was also in charge of blocking the tallest player on the other team who was actually taller than me. He was perhaps the tallest Korean I have ever seen. He was a smashing machine, though since I blocked him so many times their team decided to attack the other side of the court.
The rules of the match were that both teams had to have two females, and a principle or vice principle. There was another foreign teacher that worked at Okpo middle school that wanted to play, though he was denied because he did not meet the required skill level. That's really too bad because I always like to meeting other foreigners and sad because he actually wanted to play. He did not show up for the game either. At my school, every teacher came to the game even if they were not playing. It was as if they were are cheerleaders. I would hear a lot of "Mikel Fighting!", which is simply how they say it to each other as well. It seems to be the same as "Play Hard" or "You can do it".
Even though we did not win the match, I really did enjoy the experience and all the high fives I received and gave when I or someone else from our team scored a point. There was a real feeling of comradery that is accompanied with team sports. I think this must be one of the reasons why there is so much of it in Korea.
The rules of the match were that both teams had to have two females, and a principle or vice principle. There was another foreign teacher that worked at Okpo middle school that wanted to play, though he was denied because he did not meet the required skill level. That's really too bad because I always like to meeting other foreigners and sad because he actually wanted to play. He did not show up for the game either. At my school, every teacher came to the game even if they were not playing. It was as if they were are cheerleaders. I would hear a lot of "Mikel Fighting!", which is simply how they say it to each other as well. It seems to be the same as "Play Hard" or "You can do it".
Even though we did not win the match, I really did enjoy the experience and all the high fives I received and gave when I or someone else from our team scored a point. There was a real feeling of comradery that is accompanied with team sports. I think this must be one of the reasons why there is so much of it in Korea.
