World CUP action!

I was taken by the World CUP hype while in South Africa and ever since I have found myself tuned into the games. Despite the U.S. and the Brazilian loss I am still watching. My interest in the World Cup, however, began in 1998 during a European Weimer vacation in France. That was the year that France not only hosted the Cup, but also won the Cup. (Too bad for the French this year...wah, wah!) My father, during one of his cultural immersion "walks" in France, found a refugee housing complex across the street from the hostel showing all of the games. One night we found ourselves in this tiny room, with a small black and white TV, acutely tuned into the Iran vs. USA game. Surrounded by Iranian and Iraqi refugees cheering for Iran, I realized that the World Cup means so much more than just simply kicking a ball. It is a sense of national pride when the local people emotionally share their love (and sometimes their yearning and sadness) for their country. Devoid of international politics, war, violence, hatred, and greed the game of soccer symbolizes how two countries, players and spectators, can come together in a friendly competitive game. Back in 1998, the U.S. opposed the Iranian Revolution, hence the tensions between Iran and the U.S. were high. Yet, somehow this game brought together a group of Iranians and Americans in a friendly battle for goals. By the end of the first half we were so captured by the refugees pure passion for the Iranian team that we were cheering against our own team. The fact that none of us from the Weimer clan had ever taken an interest in the World Cup until that very unique evening probably took the sting out of the U.S. loss.

Nonetheless, I am now hooked!

More World Cup F-U-N!

We hosted a little BBQ for the U.S.-Ghana game and here are a few photos from the small gathering...complete with dancing (see photo), Brazilian caipirinhas, and kebabs in the rain. Nice! Thanks Martina, for sharing the great photos, delicious drink, and dessert.

Too bad, so sad, U.S.A!

Back to Reality...in Georgia!

When I arrived home...my car was dead and my apartment was flooded by a leaky air conditioning unit (see photo of wood floor that has now bowed). Welcome home!

Currently, the heat index is unbearable. The average temperature is 100F/37C with 70-90% humidity. At night, the temperature drops by about 10-15 degrees making it more bearable. However, the bugs eat me alive no matter how much Deet I lather upon my body. Argh. Hence, I have discovered that this summer (hopefully, only this summer) I will be indoors most of the time. This is an extremely challenging endeavor for a Colorado girl who has spent most of her summers playing outside.

Alas, I am here for a reason: to study. I take my BIG final PhD comprehensive exams (called Comps) at the end of August. Back to the books.

When my nose is not glued to the books, I will enjoy the silver lining life has to offer: spending time with Charlie, teaching yoga, attending to my flowers (see photo), and eating fruits and veggies from local farmers in the area.

Travel Stats

After traveling 24,411 miles (39,285 km), here are the final travel stats:

11 airports:
Atlanta, Amsterdam, London Heathrow, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Istanbul, Oslo, Rygge, Brussels, Alicante, London Gatwick.

8 countries:
England, Netherlands, South Africa, Turkey, France, Spain, Norway, and Belgium

6 airlines:
South African Air, Turkish Air, Delta, KLM, RyanAir, EasyJet

38 hours: longest travel day (Atlanta to Cape Town)

10,726: United miles earned
9,112: Delta miles earned

140: Papers graded
14: Wines tasted in Stellenbosch
12: Dropped Skype calls
6: Weeks of traveling
5: Friends living abroad: spent QT with each of them
4: Boxes of Belgium chocolate in my luggage
4: Bottles of peri-peri spice in my luggage
2: Delayed flights
1: Flat tire

San Juan Festival

Las Hogueras (bonfires) de San Juan is an annual festival that begins June 20 culminating with bonfires on June 24. What began as a Pagan holiday celebrating the summer solstice and the longest day of the year, has now morphed into one big street party with afternoon rocket explosions (that make it sound like a war-zone), open-air cafes, and paper maché structures. The day I left Alicante festival-goers were setting up for the big party. Over 88 beautifully detailed structures were being erected throughout the city center... only to be burned down the last day of the festival. Firemen (bomberos) set a strict timeline for the burning of each structure wherein surrounding buildings are doused with cold water before the structure is set ablaze. While I did not get to enjoy the festival in its entirety, the pre-festival vibe was enough to make me want to go back for more.

La Playa & Montañas: All in One Day!

Ah, vacation! Our day started by laying on the beach for some good 'ol vitamin D absorption. Ah, la playa! Then, after a Euro-style lunch (baguette, cheese, meats, fruit) we climbed Benacantil Mountain to the Castle of Santa Bárbara (Castillo de Santa Bárbara) that stands proud overlooking the town of Alicante. The origins of the castle go back as early as the 9th century when the Muslim governed the Iberian Peninsula. The best part of the castle: the 360 degree views! We had a super sunny, blue sky day which made for some great Nikon moments.

A Gnarly Blood Sport: Bullfighting

Bullfighting in Spain is traditionally a cultural event, yet it has become a controversial topic...rightfully so! It is the cruelest "sport" I have laid my eyes on.

Here is an email I sent Charlie, "Can you believe I have tickets to the bull fight tomorrow? I thought it was a dude dancing around with a red scarf...but I did NOT know that they still actually KILL the bulls. WTF? What have I signed up for? Okay, before I judge, I must see it with my own eyes."

See it with my own eyes, I did. I also heard the bull moaning and the people clapping with my ears. So wrong! The bull suffered for a terrible 15 minutes as they continued to stick him in the spine with sharp sticks and the matador taunted the bull with the red cape. I took photos until I started to feel ill, then I turned away and snapped photos of the wooden seats...yeah, a great object to photograph, ha ha! Anything to take my mind off of the animal cruelty inherent in this blood sport. Marijke was braver than I was, as she watched the entire killing, but then said, "Okay, I do not think we need to see another killing." And, she was quiet for the rest of the evening. We arrived home (30 minutes after we had left) and Ali, in her nurturing way, fed us Spanish pastries and turned on an American comedy to take our thoughts away from the morbid experience.

Spanish Tapas & Sangria: Delicious!

Apparently Alicante is the birthplace of tapas, a small portion of food usually sitting on a thin piece bread, served either hot or cold. Ali brought us to a sweet little tapas bar called Lizarran where the cold tapas are beautifully arranged on the bar. There are about 25 different cold varieties to choose from. But, don't go overboard with the cold tapas, because before you know it the waiter exits the kitchen with a platter of hot tapas to choose from. Oh, and don't throw away the toothpicks...that is how you pay. The different size toothpicks depict the different prices of the tapas, ranging from 1-2 euros/each. And, let me not forget to say that the sangria's are delicious!

Spanish Grafitti

The Spanish know how to "tag". It is serious artwork and it seems that there is respect among fellow taggers, as the graffiti is free of other taggers spraying over others work. Everywhere we went in Alicante there was graffiti. They caught my eye because of the beauty of the artwork; most of them were depictions of people.

Two Hours of Sleep and a Ryanair Flight to Spain

As our clocks hit 10 p.m. we found ourselves comfy in Marijke's car on our way to Gent, Belgium. We arrived at Marijke's parents house around 1 a.m. and slept for 2 hours. Before we knew it we were back in the car headed to the small airport in Brussels, Charleroi, that serves the budget airlines. Yes, another Ryanair flight, which means a strict one bag carry-on policy, waiting in line to get a seat, and very uncomfortable airplane seats. But, hey I cannot complain, as I only paid $50 for a flight from Brussels to Alicante, Spain. Screamin' deal! Despite an hour delay due to the French air traffic controller strike, all travels were smooth.

Alicante greeted us with wet and soggy weather which gave us more reason to sleep. We met Ali, my dear friend who lives/works in Alicante, at the bus stop and she showed us to her home or shall I say hotel. After a much needed siesta (the Spanish close down all shops from 1-5 p.m. for nap-time), the evening included hair coloring and cheering on Brazil to a World Cup victory. "Shoota, Shoota, Shoota!" or in the correct Portuguese language, "Chuta, Chuta, Chuta!" Wednesday morning the rain fell, but after a nice shopping spree the sunshine found its way out of the clouds. The rest of our vacation was blue-sky beach days! Simply perfect!

A Flat-tire in Paris

My friend Marijke from Belgium picked me up from the Brussels airport after a quick 2-hour Ryanair flight from Oslo. We grabbed a lovely quiche for dinner and then hit the road for an overnight to visit Preet and the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Marijke drove a new company car to Paris...I must admit I thought she was a little crazy to be driving into the big city of Paris, but she is Belgian...she knows best. Luckily, the GPS talked to us in Dutch and told us where to go, and even recalculated a few times when we took wrong turns (ha ha!) Finally, we made it to the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris where my dear friend Preet lives. The next adventure: finding a parking spot. Woohoo, I spotted a car pulling out, so Marjike did a quick maneuver and found her new company car suddenly straddled over a sidewalk. Uh-oh! With a few slow moves she backed up and the tires rolled off the sidewalk and bounced into the tiny parking spot. All good! We let the parking incident roll off of our shoulders as we made ourselves at home in the Maison de'linde (Indian House) on the university campus. The next morning...a flat tire! Uh-oh! We walk down to the Midas store and Preet and Marijke bat their eyes and speak French with the Midas dude who finally decides to send someone with us to fix the tire. Long story short...Marijke has to purchase two new tires. Ugh. But, all is not lost; the rest of the day was wonderful...jumps at the Eiffel Tower, sunshine, rain that moved us into a cafe for delicious Bordeaux wine, Moulin Rouge, crepes with nutella, and the vista overlooking Paris on Montmartre. I will never get tired of Paris...it is such a beautiful European city filled with all sorts of flat tires and adventures to be had.

Back to Oslo, Norway.

Going back to Oslo is always a good thing, albeit the expensive $13 glasses of beer. Everything is familiar and no maps are needed. I still have friends that live there, a bank account at Nordea, and a favorite cafe that serves up the best chocolate croissant. This visit was academic in nature, as I attended the Consortium on Higher Education Researchers (CHER) conference, hosted by the University of Oslo. With over 200 international researchers and PhD students, the conference filled my international cup with numerous sessions on interesting topics. I also had blogging responsibilities, so the rain outside was a great distraction to keep me inside and doing my work and attending sessions. It was great to catch up with old friends and network with professors and other PhD students from Australia to Europe to Africa.