Everything's All White

In much better form today. I didn't have as many classes to teach so my knee isn't as painful as it has been of late. I even had a bit of a sleep after work so I'm good to go for plenty of World Cup viewing tonight. Italy V Slovakia wasn't great in terms of quality but was intriguing throughout and exhilarating towards the end. Can France and Italy both really be out? In one way it's great to see so many shocks but I hope that the quality of football in the knock-out stages doesn't suffer as a result. A word must be reserved for New Zealand, unbeaten in three games and finishing higher than Italy in their group. Amazing effort for a country without a professional football league. Hopefully they can kick on from here. Unless the qualifying structure changes again in the near future, they certainly have every chance of making another appearance at Brazil 2014. That already has a ring to it, doesn't it?

I found someone to cover my morning classes tomorrow so I'm going to see a knee specialist first thing and hopefully I'll be OK to teach in the afternoon. I'm expecting to have fluid drained from my knee and then be in a cast for a month or so. I'm hoping it won't prove too costly (or be too painful). It has already cost me W400,000 and that will have serious consequences for my summer plans, with my thesis needing to be paid for in September. Let's hope I don't have any other unexpected bills anytime soon or I might have to resort to a begging bowl!

I'm massively thankful to my girlfriend these days. I'm in a position where I can't even really dress myself properly and it's very tough to get around or do anything, no matter how basic. She has been taking time out of her own very busy teaching schedule to come over and feed me, help me out generally and change the wrapping on my cast. Seriously what a star!? Our one year anniversary is coming up this weekend. I'm glad I prepared in advance to get her something really special. It would have been nice to have gone out for a nice meal or something but I'm sure we'll have a good time in our own way whatever we do.

My knee twist has brought up a lot of other issues that I wouldn't usually think of. For example, getting around on the subway is so difficult if you're not able for the stairs. You can get everywhere you need to go but it adds a lot of time and distance to your journey. Another point is how poorly we are covered by our medical insurance here in Korea. This is really hitting me in the pocket so it just goes to show how important it is to have something stored up for a rainy day. Additionally, Korean Labour Law doesn't entitle us to sick leave. In my particular job I need to find a substitute teacher for any lessons I can't teach myself and then compensate him/her out of my own pocket. I wouldn't like to think what could happen if one of us was unlucky enough to be involved in a more serious accident than mine. It's all adding to my desire to be more proactive with the various teacher associations developing here, such as ATEK.

I'm just half-watching Wimbledon as I write this. I'm really loving the Internet streaming I get these days. I have been able to watch most World Cup games with English commentary (the Italy Slovakia game came from ITV in the UK), some recent Grand Prix races and now Wimbledon. Murray looked at ease as he breezed into the third round in straight sets earlier. Could it be his year? I can't imagine the pressure he must be under. Every year.

It seems as though I might feature in an article about Moville (my hometown) in my local newspaper, The Derry Journal. An old friend (I acted in two plays he penned, one of which was based around the events of Bloody Sunday) writes for them and got in touch via facebook. It's strange to think that people back home would be reading about my life here and, no doubt, judging! I'm getting better and better at not worrying too much about what other people think. I found that very crippling in Ireland. Everyone has something to say about everything you do (or don't). I'm sure my Mammy and Daddy will enjoy reading about their wee boy, if it does actually happen. I guess I haven't been in the Journal since I graduated from Magee in 2005.

Nadal is struggling against Haase right now I see... I should probably try to get to sleep because I'll need to be bright for everything that's in store for me tomorrow. Please cross your fingers for me that I don't end up in some horrible full-leg cast for the summer (or need surgery....).