Did Uncle Sam's Army Make the Trek?

The U.S. Men's U-17 team is in South Korea for the World Cup. Believe it or not, they have a blog set up for it, though it's not signed by anyone, so I wonder who's writing it.

If you want to read along with me, here is the link.

Looks like they like the software too. Someone on this roster is the one writing the thing.

But there have been some interesting posts. Like, since the U.S. team's first round opponent is Tajikstan, they got a homework assignment from a Coach Hackworth. (Are these kids in High School or something? And what's wrong with summer vacation?). Here's the post:

Last night, the coaches asked the players to do some homework... they were to research Tajikistan and each present after dinner tonight something they found out about the homeland of their first World Cup opponent. The players impressed (we knew they would), presenting information about religion, politics, geography and population.

Fun fact: In Tajikistan, bread is considered to have a life of it's own. Never drop breadcrumbs or throw bread away with the other trash (thanks, Kirk!).

I am definitely going to have to remember not to drop breadcrumbs.

The other highlight? Busan is definitely not Club Med:

It was a 14-hour flight, but it wasn't as bad as it sounds... each seat had individual monitors to play movies, games, music or shop whenever you wanted. Most of the team tried to sleep as much as possible to pass the time, but movie selections included Shrek 3, Blades of Glory and Fracture.

We then got excellent treatment at the Seoul airport while waiting for our connection. We had ample security and several liasons to take us to the VIP lounge for a short time before hopping on the flight to Busan. The flight to Busan was a bit bumpy, but short nonetheless... about 45 minutes from take off to touch down. Lots of police with automatic weapons guarded our path to the charter bus, and a police escort led us on our way.

I mean, automatic weapons pulled out to escort 16 year old kids from the plane to the bus? Uhhh, did I miss something? South Koreans now want to kill our soccer players? Are they still mad about this incident in Salt Lake City? Hey, I don't like Anton Ohno that much either, but I thought this was all taken care of (what you're looking for is 1:38 in).

All I know is, another post has been about "repelling" [sic] out of the building in a hazmat suit. Fun stuff. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT, ever book me a holiday stay in Busan, South Korea.