A fun way to waste 5 minutes...

This is cute and totally pointless, which makes it darn near irresistible to try at least once...especially if you like socks...

Folding Socks Online

How bored am I...sheesh...

Why am I still awake??

That is certainly the question of the hour...well, of the last 3 hours, actually. I am not a person that suffers from insomnia. Usually, I'm the first guy to crash in bed after 30 minutes of T.V. So, this is a first for me.

I guess I can't sleep because I'm thinking too much right now. I hate it when that happens. You'd assume that I think more than enough during regular business hours so, my brain would want a break. But, here I am. I'm thinking about the past. The funeral this last weekend will forever be ingrained in my psyche. I feel old and tired and sad. It's selfish, I guess. My Pop-pop is at peace now but I really miss him. I'm just really blue lately. I sometimes cry at the drop of a hat--- a sad song on the radio, any old man who walks by, a traffic jam, burnt toast...just about anything.

At the same time, I'm relieved. I finished my last Ph.D. application today and sent it off; I'm rather proud of myself for finishing it all up 2 months early. Now, I play the waiting game. Hopefully, there will be at least one "yes" out of a dozen. I can't stand being unsure about the future; especially when it is as fast as next year. I've been looking at a few "Plan B's"---working at an American Embassy overseas, applying for the FBI and/or CIA as a "Linguistic Specialist", substitute teaching (please God, no), getting certified as a massage therapist/yoga instructor, and an unending list of other "fillers". Truth is, all I want to do is exactly what I'm applying for now. I'll be pretty crushed if it doesn't work out so, of course, I'm worrying about it at 2am.

I gotta get up early and drive home tomorrow for Christmas break-- and because I have a dentist appointment. Unfortunately, it won't be much of a break. I'll be writing my thesis while I'm there and trying to garner some bit of the holiday spirit while attempting in vain to not think about the one person in the family who's missing. After, I'll come right back to Motown to use the library and get ridiculously drunk for New Year's Eve because I deserve to lose control for a few minutes. All in all, I'll be glad to see 2006 go-- it's time to move on.

Not so good...

...is how I'm doing lately. Thanksgiving was fine until we found out that my Pop-pop is dying. Since then, my mother has been going back and forth to Philadelphia to help my aunt take care of him. Things have been getting progressively worse. I have been expecting "the call" for about a week now, though the doctors only gave him four days. It's been really hard on all of us. He's a very special person and we all love him a lot. I am very close to him so, it's hard to know I'll never see him again. Felipe has really supported me through this last week, even though it's a sad time for him too-- they really liked each other. On top of that, we're coming rapidly into finals week. Stress levels are rather high at the moment. In so many ways, I just want this semester to end so I can re-group and recover during Christmas. It has been and will be a bitter-sweet holiday season this year. I will miss him a lot. Losing a grandparent is hard because, usually, it's your first experience with death and it is a sort of signal that your youth/childhood is ending. I don't feel ready to grow up yet. Maybe no one ever does...you just have to.

"Fat and Lazy" looks good on me

Ahhhhh.....I'm so glad to be home. I needed this mini-vacation thing. I'm more relaxed then I have been in weeks. Emergency TA meeting? Cat up a tree? House on fire? Sorry, I just don't care; and it's nice.

Plus, I sent out the final materials for the first 4 Ph.D. programs. That's all done and in fate's hands now. Though one of my recommenders hasn't turned in their stuff yet, but I'm not gonna stress-- it'll get done. So, I've turned my attention to the next three schools, which seem significantly less picky and bitchy than the first group.

In happier news, I have been sleeping until noon, watching lots of Mexican soap-operas and eating seconds of everything my mother makes. If I'm lucky I'll gain a token pound to remember the week by. All in all, I'm good. Their new dog, well puppy, is driving me nuts. She's still in the "play with me forever!!!" stage. You can't walk in the door or, God forbid, take off a shoe without the dog going into crazy mode. I know it wears off and it's pretty typical of Goldens but, not having pets has made me gradually less tolerant. Cats are still awesome but dogs are rapidly going on my shit list.

I'm excited for Thanksgiving. It's my favorite holiday, by far. None of the stress of Christmas with all of the same side-dishes. No drama, just good old-fashioned gluttony. As a person inclined to view the world through creative writing-colored glasses, holidays are the perfect opportunity to beef up on some story ideas. Holiday get-togethers are like little soundbites of huge fights, personal tragedies, long-standing feuds and new dramas. The whole thing never comes out but, if you know what to look for, the flags are there. I will be ready and waiting when the bell chimes for round one; kinda like Harriet the Spy, except not hidden, with my little notebook, pencil and half a smile stained by cranberry sauce.

Sometimes, I wish I smoked pot...

What a week from hell...geez. Is the semester over yet? Times like these make me almost wish I smoked pot or something. I could definitely use some chill out time.

I know, I know everyone is tired of hearing about how stressful my Ph.D. application process has been but, hey, tough bananas. I'm losing my mind with this stuff!! Can't a girl whine a little sometimes? It just feels like a never-ending ordeal. Just when I think I've got it all together and ready to go, I check the webpage and *poof* another magical requirement seems to pop up from nowhere. arg. I feel like I have NOTHING left to say. Why do I have to project what my dissertation (of at least 2 years down the road) will be?? How the hell should I know? I thought the whole idea of a doctoral education was to figure out exactly that-- what I will do with the rest of my life. It's so nerve-racking. I worry that it's all going to be a gigantic waste of time and money; every one of these places will just say, "Sorry, you're not what we're really looking for right now." Then what? I haven't even had time to imagine what Plan B would be. I literally have all my little eggs packed into the Ph.D. basket.

I guess I'll do that over Christmas break. Thanksgiving is already taken-- two term papers and more thesis research/writing. Not that I'll get any of that done-- I never do when I go home. All I want to do is let my mother cook and fuss over me, go shopping with her, watch too many movies and sleep late every day. Just be a total bum, in other words, since I never get to do that during the year.

I'm gonna have a girls' potluck with my roomie and some friends Friday night. They don't know it yet, but we're gonna have a major "Apples to Apples" match. I can't get enough of that game. Way too much fun-- and so wacky it always makes me laugh, which I need right now.

Saw "Cars" last night and ate too much. It was just what I needed. What a funny movie. I loved it so much, I would consider buying it. I sometimes just get overloaded with the "adult" world and a good kids flick is exactly what I need; a little thoughtless fantasy and humor never hurt anyone.

Wild West...Yeehaaw!

This is usually WAY too early for me to be doing anything...well, except teaching impressionable young minds. However, I'm pretty nervous about the committee meeting today.

I just don't know what to expect and I am a person that really likes to know what to expect. I have to rush back after class this morning to fix up my bibliography and pay ridiculous amounts of money to print off 4 hard copies of the sucker. I did find out that some of my profs have already submitted their recommendations; phew, one less thing to worry about.

Anyway, enough about work. Let's talk about play! Tonight my Spanish girls are throwing a Wild West party. How awesome is that? Not the most common theme, granted, but interesting nonetheless. I'm going to be an indian (how un-p.c. of me) and my boy will be a cowboy. I drove them around last night to get the groceries, which was fun. I think I learned about 5 new ways to say "shit" in Spanish. God bless hands-on education.

Saturday is hockey!!! I'm dragging two friends and my boy along to see the WVU Hockey team play...someone, I forget. In any case, it will be fun. Worse comes to worse, I huddle and absorb myself in my hot chocolate. I've never seen a hockey game before and I'm all about doing things "I've never done before". My brother thinks I'm a weirdo sometimes, but I like to think of myself as eclectic and, slightly, eccentric.

Viva Las Vegas!

I'm goin' to Vegas, baby!! Not for the usual stuff: gambling, prostitutes, crack, quickie marriages, etc. I have a conference there---how ironic is that? Academia meets the Sodom and Gomorrah of the West, perfect! I have been accepted to present a paper at the Far-West Popular Culture Conference (given by the English Dept. at the University of NV-LV). My presentation is about an aspect of techno-pop culture in Brazil that I was savvy to when I was there this summer. I'm pretty jazzed about it, actually. Even though I've never even remotely wanted to go to Las Vegas. I don't gamble so, I'll mostly just be rubber-necking the whole time. Only problem is I have to apply for all kinds of grants from WVU because my lovely department only gives $250 per person for conferences. Needless to say, that won't cover 3 days with hotel, food, registration fees and airfare. I'll have to make sure and buy a fanny pack and something gold with rhinestones so I don't stick out too much.

In other news, I have been making satisfactory progress on my thesis. I think so, at least. I have a committee meeting Friday evening so, hopefully, their opinion will jive with mine. I need to polish what I have pronto so I can send it off as my writing sample. I swear, these Ph.D. apps are going to kill me. It seems like every waking moment is consumed by them. I'll be deliriously happy when it's all said and done; and I fully intend to get completely and utterly drunk in celebration (something I never do). I'm updating my blog right now to avoid: a) my thesis b) my applications and c) my assignments due tomorrow for creative writing. I can't think creatively right now-- reality is way too strong. I guess I can't put off the unavoidable for too long. Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to work I go...

Passage to India via Diwali

I had such a great time last night at the Diwali celebration! It makes me wish I had gone every year in the past. I just love Indian culture so, it was a thrill for me. The ISA (Indian Student Assoc.) did an excellent job organizing and preparing everything. They had a nice dinner with: tandoori chicken, basmatic rice, vegetable marsala, naan, and a dessert of mango mousse and rice pudding. I used to be quite a frequent customer at the Cafe of India here in Morgantown until, sadly, they closed about this time last year. I was and am heart-broken over that. I wish (HINT, HINT BUSINESS PEOPLE OUT THERE) that someone would come to fill that hole because they were the only game in town. After the dinner, the ISA had a show of traditional dances, humorous skits, and fashion from India---so fun to watch. Finally, they cleared all the chairs out of the ballroom and had a open floor for dancing. And dance they did---for hours and hours while sweating incredibly without taking a single break. I was impressed. In American culture, men pretty much don't dance but, Indian men are truly the lifeblood of the dance floor. They are damn good and know it. I did ok, for a little white girl trained in Latin dancing. Some kind people took me under their wing and taught me some moves; by the end of the night, I fit right in. Along with Latin music, Indian music has got to be the most infectious, not to mention an expression of pure, unadulterated joy; hips wiggle, hands shake, arms flail, shoulders bounce, heads swivel and feet fly. By the end of the night, I was seriously wondering how much a ticket to India was (about $1,300.00) because any culture this fun is worth looking more into. People who know me understand I've always had a mild obsession with India and last night only added fuel to the fire. I woke up this morning sore and still exhausted but stupidly happy. So, who out there wants to go with me to India?? :)

Hurray for Dove! Death to the GREs!

Saw this on Erica's friend, Billy's blog and just had to have it for mine. I love Dove! It's oh-so-true. Makes me proud to use their shampoo...



Tomorrow morning I re-take the GREs...dun, dun, dun! I took them two years ago but, I figured that it would beef-up my PhD applications to improve my score a bit. So, hopefully, that's exactly what I'll end up doing; as opposed to wasting $130. Unfortunately, I don't believe I'll get my scores back in time from the practice test I took this past Saturday. Oh well, practice is practice, I guess. Wish me luck!!!

Total horse puckey but....

...it inflates my ego so, here it is:




Give it a try...you know you want to...My Heritage.com--Celebrity Look-Alikes

"A Visit from Aunt Mabel"...

...as my grandmother told me they used to say. Sorry to some of you to be so graphic and, well, girly but, periods stink---don't they ladies? I always get a wicked headache the day before and a killer lower backache the first day. Not to mention the fact that I blow up like a float for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. The fun just never ends; every month, for seven days, my life and the lives of those around me is hellish. It's funny how every woman has a uniquely torturous combination of side-effects--- headache, backache, irritability, bloating, cramps (thank God I don't have that one), etc.

Don't get me wrong, there's a part of me happy to see it come around regularly. It's a sign that nothing's wrong and nature is smiling upon me and my future progeny. However, I have always wondered why men were not blessed with some kind of little gift every month? There's a great essay by Gloria Steinem called "If Men Could Menstruate" that I absolutely love. I read it whenever I'm feeling particularly crummy and need a laugh. I have even gone so far as to write a story about menstruation---well, not about it, per se. More like how different women deal with it differently. My creative writing teacher thought it was hilarious and announced in class, "I've never thought of it, but there just isn't enough menstruation in literature." I couldn't agree more. After all, why is it such a taboo topic? It's an experience all (well, most) women collectively deal with. There's nothing abnormal or weird about it. I say, stop hiding who you are and be proud to be a bloody woman!!!

Wilco, Caminhando and Compositions

Sweet Jesus how I hate grading compositions! I've always wanted to be able to use this phrase and now I can: It is the bane of my existence. Ahhh...there. I feel better. It's always interesting to see how my students think (or fail to) but they take for @#$^in' ever to grade. Plus, this is only the first of two drafts. I know I shouldn't complain; it's part of the job and it could surely be a lot worse but, man, how it stinks.

I'm really psyched about Wednesday when myself, my new buddy Alison, my old gal Courtney and my better half are gonna see Wilco. I had no idea how many closet Wilco fans existed on campus until I bought my ticket. Once I began mentioning what I had planned for this week, a bunch of people popped up that were die-hard fans--who knew? In any case, it will be good times. Maybe I'll be moved enough to buy a t-shirt.

I am a highly musical person. I always have a song stuck in my head, literally. I must have about 10,000 song lyrics memorized, of all genres. It's crazy. I'm always humming, singing, tapping on something, or listening to music in some form. They say that music is a brain stimulant and the amount and variety you listen to correlates to IQ. Not sure if this is exactly true, but an interesting theory nonetheless. Regardless of the results, I love music. I can play two instruments and would like to have time to learn more. The song in my head today is Brazilian. The title is "Caminhando e Cantando" by Geraldo Vandre. It's a protest song from the 60's, when Brazil was under a dictatorship. Truly an inspiring song, not to mention HIGHLY charged with Communist rhetoric. Take a listen some time if you can, or ask me and I'll plug you in and translate. It just makes you wanna join hands and stare down a tank...or something like that.

Why am I so bored??

La, la, la ....I'm so bored. My office hours stink. People rarely come to see me so I usually catch up on my grading or lesson planning. However, I'm all caught up on my grading and I'm just recycling my lesson plans from last semester so, I really have nothing to do---for the moment. I SHOULD be studying for my Latin American Nobel Prize Winners test tomorrow (will do later) or reading for my 18th/19th century Spanish lit class tonight (not gonna go). More than anything, I should be writing for my thesis. I had a meeting with one of my advisors yesterday; yeah, I was a big freakin' ball of stress. I have plenty of research done but I'm completely paralyzed to write something---anything having to do with my topic. It's bizarre. I have zero problems writing for my short story class; perhaps because I'm only taking the class for fun so, there's nothing "riding on it", so to speak. I gotta get over my perfectionist tedency and fast. I don't want to write anything because I'm afraid it won't come out coherent and intelligent. So, I'm putting it off and putting it off as the pressure steadily mounts (because I always put more pressure on myself than anyone else).

I feel yucky. I'm not sick. I don't get sick very often; during the fall and winter I jack up my Vitamin C, water and garlic intake and I usually skate right through cold and flu season. I feel bad because yesterday was my last installment of the Hepatitis A/B shot. Now I'm totally immune for the rest of my life; I can go stomp barefoot on broken glass and rusty metal at a construction site and I'll be fine (thanks to a tetnus booster as well). This stupid shot makes my arm feel like it weighs two tons and it doesn't want to move at all.

Hmmm....what else...oh, Wilco is coming to WVU! Woo-hoo! I'm gonna buy my tickets today, I think. Love those guys. I'm probably gonna go to the movies with some girlfriends tonight...either "Little Miss Sunshine" or "Man of the Year". Man, I wish the weather were nice enough to still go to the drive-in. Love that place. Time to get some lunch...gazpacho anyone?

Musical Interlude

Well, here's the link I have been promising-- actual, live footage of the Brazilian concert here at WVU last weekened. I'm so proud of myself for uploading it (it took almost 24 hours total), formatting it, and embedding the player into this blog and my MySpace page.

Also, a little update from my last post.Mr. Frank Klepadlo (sophomore polysci major)wrote a wonderful letter to the editor in response to Ms. Feltzer's article about foreign language study. The title is "Foreign Language Requirement Appropriate, Useful" and it is in the Oct. 6, 2006 archive of the DA. As a result, I no longer feel compelled to reply myself. I suppose it's for the best; my reply would seem totally biased, which it naturally is.

This past weekend was a lot of fun. Friday night, Felipe and I went to a Brazilian couple's house to have an Arabic dinner--go figure. There were a few other Brazilians there and we stayed for about 6 hours just eating, chatting and telling funny stories. On Saturday, we went to another Brazilian couple's home to have a feijoada lunch (which lasted about 5 hours). Courtney and I went to a men's soccer game Saturday evening which lasted about two hours. All in all, I think I pretty much spent the whole weekend doing nothing but eating, talking with people and generally having a good time. It was wonderful but, I'm left a little behind schedule now. So, here I am blogging and procrastinating, again...ok, I'll stop now.

I speak American, duh!

I'm so incredibly pissed! The university newspaper "The DA" printed an op-ed piece that annoys me to the point of wanting to really give a good shaking to the stupid chick who wrote it. The title is "Foreign Language Requirement Unnecessary" by Martina Fetzer. In this article, she not only says why studying a foreign language is totally unnecessary, in her opinion (fucking idiotic English major!!grrr), but also why WVU teaches it unfairly, why it's a big waste of time, how it inspires racism, how it's unfair if foreigners come here and can't speak English and then we have to learn another language, and how if people are not "enthusiastic" about taking these classes, they should not be requirements. I MUST write a rebuttal--there is just no way around it. I mean, what an imbecile! Has she never poked her head out of Stansbury Hall (where Dept. of English is located) to look at the rest of the world?? Besides, if the university administration decided that students only had to take classes they "liked" nobody would take anything challenging at all or anything even remotely outside their major. What a lovely group of narrow-minded zombies we would be graduating every year in that scenario! I'm really surprised, honestly. I'm surprised someone can say something with perfect grammar and punctuation and look like such an ignorant, racist redneck.

You just gotta dance...

...when you hear these guys play! We went to a concert Sunday afternoon for ContraCantos-- a Brazilian musical/choral group from Recife. They were just plain awesome! The show was rather long (about 2 hours and some) but definitely worth the time. It made it even more amazing and fun due to the fact that we had met and talked with these people the Friday before at the feijoada (which was incidentally for them). One woman in particular, Anastacia, I talked with for about 45 minutes on Friday and had NO idea she was so incredibly talented. That woman can SAAANNNG. Not just sing, but SAAANNNNG. She's about as tiny as me and very soft-spoken. We had a lovely conversation (I was feelin' rather proud of my Portuguese skills) and she briefly mentioned she was a singer. On Sunday, she got up on stage and did a solo for an English song called "Old Time Religion". I was teary-eyed but the end, no lie. She has an amazing voice. It just seemed to explode out of her small body--you would never expect such a deep, powerful sound to come out of that woman. As you can tell, I'm still very much in awe. It was one of the best weekends I've had in a while. (Will add link here to a video clip of the performance soon!)

Now I'm heading into the middle of the week. I'm giving an exam tomorrow which I have to grade rapid-fire to be ready for mid-term reports on the 10th. I've also been studying like crazy for the GRE's lately. It's funny how advantageous knowing other languages is when you are trying to expand your vocabulary in your native one. "FACILE", for example means "something easy" in English and means the same thing (facil) in both Spanish and Portuguese. Only problem is I usually don't trust my instinct and over-think things--especially on standardized tests. The more I study for this, the less relevant it seems to graduate study. I mean, seriously, does it really matter if I know how to calculate the area of a sphere or the definition of "unctuous" if I want to study Latin American history? I think not. Granted, having a rich vocabulary and being articulate are important for my area of study but, using extremely rare and complicated words in academic writing only makes you look pompous and rambling. My personal opinion is that each field should have it's own diagnostic test or the writing sample that applicants submit should be composed of more examples; something like that. Even if I do well on this test, my results have no real bearing on my ability as a graduate history student so, why make me put in the time and effort? Just another rhetorical question to pitch out there into the bottom-less pit of universal experiences...

Let's get ready to ruuuumbllllle!

I'm ridiculously tired...just ridiculously. It almost makes me want to giggle, which is a weird reaction for some but totally normal for me. I taught my two sections of Spanish 102 today in addition to substituting for a friend of mine. Things went well in that area, no complaints. I really enjoy teaching. There is nothing more rewarding than having a lesson go over really well. Today, for example, I had my kids bring in socks, give them Hispanic names and they used these sock-puppet-friends to learn basic introduction dialogues in Spanish. Maybe that sounds simple and/or strange, but they loved it; they were laughing the whole time and really got into it. I have a reputation for being a bit of a wacky teacher but it definitely works. If they get anything out of it, I want them to relax and enjoy themselves a little bit because that is when things stick.

Tonight, Felipe and I are going to a feijoada at a Brazilian friend's house. For those who don't know, that just means a typical Brazilian-style dinner involving rice, beans, some kind of meat, salad, etc. It will be a lot of fun, I'm sure but I'm a bit nervous. When I first got back from Brazil, my Portuguese was kickin' and my Spanish was awkward. Now, my Spanish is back to it's original shine and my Portuguese is rusty. I've come to the conclusion that I should no longer learn Romance languages. Two is enough. I'm working on Arabic now, which is TOTALLY different and doesn't confuse me. Have Spanish and Portuguese in my brain is like a bad juggling act; neither ball can be up at the same time and I have a tendency to drop one or the other at any given moment. Anyone else who has extensive knowledge of both can understand my plight, I'm sure.

I noticed something today but I'm not sure if it's just me being grumpy or what. People don't give way on the sidewalk around here and it's quite disturbing to me. I'm not a big person by any stretch of the imagination so, you'd think a 6'00'', 210 dude would give me a few inches to maneauver but...no! I am absolutely sick of constantly having to twist and contort my body (and gigantic bag with books and teaching materials) at the last possible second to avoid a head-on collision. Am I the only person on campus that sucks at playing pedestrian-style chicken?? I've been experimenting lately with different approaches to this dilemma. Sometimes I just flat-out throw a shoulder into someone (which usually hits somewhere around their elbow). However, this method hurts and people look at me like I'm some kind of bitch on a rampage. Then, I tried coming to a complete stop right in front of them so as not to collide but to immediately draw attention to the situation. This method has had moderate success. In particular, when I roll my eyes at said sidewalk-invader and then exhale with dramatic exasperation as I walk away. Perhaps this societal issue is an indicator of a general decline in common courtesy, I'm not sure. More likely, however, is the fact that most people are plugged into an iPod and/or chatting absentmindedly while walking. This causes them to feel that I should respect their obliviousness to reality and get out of the way. Sorry, my friend...you picked the wrong chica...

P.S. I can't stomach pro wrestling; it's the stupidest, most redneck thing since Pat Buchanan. Just picked the title for the allusion's sake...

Like giving crack to a baby...

Well, I'm back, as you can see. I hadn't anticipated reviving my blog but, current circumstances have sort of led me in that direction. For one thing, I am doing research on blogging/social networks/psychology for an article/conference paper I'm writing and thought having my own blog would be kinda like "field research". Also, I find myself chest-high in demanding situations lately and writing has always been a good release for me. So has talking, but the people around me are getting a bit sick of hearing about it. I still think blogging is essentially an egotistical, voyeuristic activity but, hey, everyone else is doing it and we're all a little depraved sometimes, right? My creative writing teacher this semester has said that writing in all forms and varieties is productive for writers so, I just look at this blog as "extra credit". Not to mention it is a lovely place to voice all my observations and opinions of the world (of which there are plenty).

I'm feeling rather proud of myself at this particular moment. I am completely on-track as far as Ph.D. applications go. I decided to apply to a total of 12 programs all across the country so, needless to say, I'm in for a LOT of work. Everyone told me I didn't need that many but, I like having lots of choices. My "personal statement" is written and approved of by several trust-worthy faculty members, my transcripts (all $90 worth--how shitty) are ordered, and I've been studying SEDULOUSLY (a lot) for the GRE's. Every school is profiled, check-listed and filed in my nifty little filing cabinet; the proverbial poster picture for anal-retentive, over-achievers. The online applications are almost totally filled-out and faculty recommendation letters are in the works. phew, just thinking about it makes me tired...

Currently reading: Lies at the Altar by: Dr. Robin Smith-- SOOOO many of my friends are obsessed about marriage/engagement nowadays so, taking an informed, realistic approach to potential matrimony seemed like a good idea. If I have to check out one more "rock" (which usually looks more like a pebble) and hear "how he did it" and "what the bridesmaids are going to wear" one more time, I think I might hurl. ARE WE NOT IN THE 21st CENTURY?? Why are women still obsessing about marriage? It's not like getting hit by lightening or winning the lottery-- statistics say that 95% of the population gets married at least once. Welcome to the mediocre club (please leave your brain at the door).

Back in the US of A

Well, I'm back safe and sound in the U.S. It's still kinda weird. I expect people to address me in Portuguese and I'm still tempted to reply in Portuguese as well. I suppose it will take a bit to adjust. I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't happy to be home. (God, how I missed my bed, my shower, air-conditioning, driving my car, my family/friends, etc.) Living in a gigantic city has certainly taught me a lot. I feel confident that when/if I ever live in one in the U.S., I'm prepared. It's amazing the sense of peace I have being back in a small town. I didn't realize how stressed out the city makes you. You have to worry about: catching the right bus/subway, finding your destination without getting horridly lost, checking the clock every few minutes to not be late, and watching all the people around you in case they want to rob you, hassle you for money or just slam a shoulder into you because you're in the way. Not to mention the noise and the smell. Thousands of cars, bums, strong designer perfumes, food vendors and trash cans makes for quite an interesting mixture of aromas. At the same time, it was a really exhilarating experience. There are endless things to do at all hours of the day and night and the people and places can be quite glamorous.

Brazil as a country, aside from the city aspect, was wonderful. It's a beautiful place (as you've seen from the endless pictures we snapped) and I must say the people are extremely nice. Being a lost little foreigner with a Spanish (not American) accent did not seem to impede people from talking with me. Though they apologetically said, "What?" at least 5 times during every conversation, communication was successful. People have certain ideas about Latin America, if not Brazil, in general. Some of them are true but most of them are not. The public services sector in Brazil (waiters, store clerks, bus drivers, etc.) are SO incredibly friendly and helpful it was amazing to me. They were always willing (in fact, wanting) to chat and almost always went out of their way to do whatever I needed. Brazil really put America to shame in that way. More than anything, being in Brazil made me motivated to know more. Seeing all the things that needed improvement or help and were so close to being wonderful made me very sad at times, though. I could tell lots of sob stories about poverty and violence but that's not what I want people to think of when they imagine Brazil because, in all fairness, those things exist here as well.

I guess I'm just really pensive right now. The flight back was stressful (we missed our connecting flight to Pittsburgh and had to take a later one) and ridiculously delayed so, I had a lot of time to think. I miss Brazil and I regret not doing more, seeing more, talking more but I suppose people always feel that way when they return from a trip. I has changed me, I think, for the better. Traveling and seeing more of the world (REALLY seeing, not just getting a stamp in your passport) is a very valuable experience and I look forward to doing it again. (Felipe and I have been eyeing up Peru.) I'm ready to move on with my life. I look forward to teaching and taking classes this year, graduating and starting my PhD wherever destiny takes me. This will be my last blog entry. I don't believe my life to be so interesting anymore to warrant publishing it online. I will continue writing, in the more traditional, hard-copy sense, about this trip but my voyeuristic period has ended. I leave with a song (Bob Dylan) that sums it up well....
The Times They Are A-Changin'

Movin' Right Along

Felipe got his VISA!!! Yeah! Phew, what a relief. Many of you don't know this story so, I'll give the brief version. Part of the reason that we came to Brazil this summer was that Felipe needed to renew his U.S. VISA. So, we got here and he went online to pay his fees and print out the necessary forms. While doing this, he noticed that the process had changed slightly since the last time he renewed. The American Embassy now requires an "interview" with every single applicant. Only the "interview" isn't really an interview; they are finger-printing everyone who comes into the U.S. So, since EVERYONE must have an "interview" the Embassy is overwhelmed with scheduling such a huge amount of people. (Previously, only new applicants were required to be finger-printed.) As a result, they have a "required waiting period" which ended up being longer than the entire time we were going to be in Brazil---quite a pickle. Luckily, there were still a few ways around this and Felipe was granted his VISA today. He only has to pick it up tomorrow and we're set to return.

Late-Breaking News

I passed the exam! Woo-hoo-- actually, I should say I kicked its booty; I got a 96% out of 100%. So, now I have a nice little certificate that says I passed the highest level of Portuguese IBEU offers. In other news, in case anyone is wondering, Brazil is and has been out of the running for the World Cup. They were eliminated by France--quite justly, I must admit. So, now the final game will go down Sunday between Italy and France. Each are already 3 time World Cup winners so, it's anyone's game, as they say. Also, my baby bro has a birthday coming up on Monday:) (If anyone knows his shoe size, please let me know ASAP!!!) Less-than-sweet 18, haha. He will be joining me at college in the fall and if he somehow manages to sneak into my Spanish class I will have to beat him up (I don't care that he's 6'00", I can still scratch him pretty good).

Back to our regularly-schedule program....

Yesterday, Felipe and I spent the whole day in Downtown Rio. We saw the church where the Emperor Dom Pedro was coronated, the Paseo Real (Royal Passage--tunnels where the royal family used to sneak around so as not to mingle with "common folk"), o Museu da Bellas Artes, o Teatro Municipal (SOOO beautiful---I was in heaven; I love the stage!), and the Biblioteca Nacional (National Library), which was fantastic and happily smelled just like all other libraries in the world :) Unfortunately, most of these things didn't allow any photographs or just a few in very select locations so, the documentation is a bit spotty.

Today, I will probably just laze around on the beach and sip on a coconut or two. Oh, just as a note: I have recently discovered a channel that has the Gilmore Girls (subtitled) and so I've been catching up on the back-episodes.

It's good to be queen

Yesterday, we visited the Palacio/Museu Nacional de Quinta da Boa Vista. It was the royal palace for Emperor Dom Pedro II and Empress Leopoldina and then, when Brazil became a republic, it was converted into a natural history museum. It has exhibits that include: shrunken heads from Africa, pre-Columbian pottery, ancient Egyptian mummies, ancient Roman vases, native Brazilian crafts, entymological charts for Brazil/Latin America in general (pinned butterflies, etc.) and so much more. Not only that, the building itself (as well as the surrounding royal gardens) has such an interesting history. For a history nerd like myself, it was paradise. By far, my favorite display was ancient Egypt. They had mummies, stellae, pottery, jewelry, and a few sarcophaguses (sarcophaguae? What is the plural anyway?). It's a little sad to see someone's coffin but it really makes the imagination run wild--wondering who they were, what they looked like, how the died, etc. Unfortunately, like most museums, we were not allowed to take any pictures. Afterwards, we went back to the last portion of the zoo--which was free and right next-door--and took the pictures we had wanted to a few days before.

Also, today was my last official day of class at IBEU. I take the comprehensive exam tomorrow and if I pass I will receive a certificate of "competency" in my given level of Portuguese. If I don't pass, I will still receive a certificate that asserts my completion of a certain number of hours of Portuguese instruction. Either way, it works so, I'm not worried. Here's a photo in front of the building that houses IBEU---->
My time here is almost up, only about 2 weeks left. After tomorrow, I will start doing research interviews like a crazy person and also traveling around like a crazy person; I want to squeeze every drop of time out and accomplish as much as possible. It goes soooo fast...before I know it, I'll be preparing lesson plans and cooking for myself again...que pena!!! (what a shame!!!)

Let's go to the zoo and see the wild children!

As you can probably guess by the title, we went to the zoo today! It was a lot of fun though it was packed with less-than-perfectly-behaved children. The zoo is set up like a jungle paradise--with coconut trees, palms and various other exotic ground cover. So much so, wild birds of all kinds, butterflies, cats, etc. freely choose to make it their home. Everywhere you went birds were flying overhead and random animals were roaming the walkways. There were a lot of animals native to Brazil; birds in particular--there were hundreds of rare birds. We tried to get pictures of as much as possible but then the camera battery died so, we had to just commit everything to memory. The national bird of Brazil is the blue macaw (arara azul) and we got a nice picture of him...


Later in the evening, we also went to the National Planetarium and saw a show called "Ceu: Mito e Realidade" (The Heavens: Myth and Reality). It basically looked at the major constellations (the zodiac, etc.) and what the story is behind them, in particular how they were named.The place is huge and super high-tech; it made us a bit homesick, though--we go to the planetarium in Morgantown regularly even though it is significantly less impressive.

Below is a photo of a lion-monkey, which is native to Brazil and highly difficult to photograph. While there we had the typical zoo experiences: 1-paying WAY too much for snacks and water 2-getting spit on by at least one animal 3-seeing at least one monkey spread-eagle and playing with himself 4-seeing a pair of something getting it on in front of 50 unsuspecting children 5-baking alive in the heat 6- taking lots pictures that no one will care about but you 7-seeing some unlucky person get pooped on 8-seeing one child have a complete meltdown over ice cream or something like it 9- Ahhh! smelling that "natural" air and 10-watching everyone (kids especially) learn a lot about our furry, feathery, scaly, slithery, slimy friends :)

Rockin' the Fort

Hello again to everyone at home. Today was yet another day full of places, things and no food. We went to the Copacabana Fort, which is on a rocky peninsula just past the infamous Copacabana beach. The fort was constructed in the mid-1800's (when Brazil was still ruled by an emperor). The fort is still used by the military today as a naval observation point. Around the fort is also a museum, cafe and lots and lots of random cannons. As usual, we had way too much fun and almost got caught messing with some ammunition (empty shells, of course), haha. Then we had a lovely lunch in the cafe (which I will not describe or even mention further) and toured the museum. As we were coming out, a huge BOOM shook the building and nearly made me pee my pants. After coming out, we asked someone and found out that the army was practicing nearby for a presentation on Sunday. The troops were marching in formation on the lawn and the military band was playing so, of course, they had to fire up one of the cannons to accentuate the 1812 Overture. Felipe was snapping away and enjoying himself while I was nervously waiting for someone to escort us out for compromising something or other that was "top-secret" and not meant for tourists. Luckily, he was right and no one cared. So, (drum-roll please), here are the photos we stole from the government :)

Better watch out, better not cry....

....better not pout I'm tellin' you why. Niki-Claus is coming to town! All you people at home should be very happy and love me greatly. I spent the whole day after class today shopping for gifts for everyone :) Happily, I'm this close to being done. So, now I'm going to quickly do my homework and watch some TV before collapsing in bed.
By the way, I saw The DaVinci Code yesterday with Felipe (I FINALLY talked him into going). It was fun to see an American movie here in Brazil--though most movies here are American; it was subtitled like any other foreign film, which was a bit distracting. However, I thought it was wonderful and very well done. Even Felipe had to admit that it was very engaging and thought-provoking---though he repeatedly whispered "This is such blasphemy" in the theater, haha. Now I want to re-read the book to see if they changed anything in the movie. I read it so long ago, I can't remember.

Downtown...everything's great when you're downtown...

Ok, so I've been getting some gruff from the peanut gallery about the amount of food pics and food-related entries. Alright, alright--I get the idea. People, places and less food. (sigh) Luckily, Felipe and I made a trip to Downtown Rio today. This is the absolute center of the city--where it all began (i.e. the most historic). There are four churches downtown almost within a five block radius. They are quite similar but really beautiful so, I'll give the quick&dirty photo tour.

This is the Candelaria Cathedral and it's my favorite of the four. Here is a shot of the interior...

Later, we visited the Palacio de Tiradentes (Palace of Tiradentes). He was not royalty but was given a palace/museum in honor of his place in Brazilian history. He was an advocate for Brazilian independence during the monarchy, was killed and became a martyr. His "palace" is actually the old congress building when Rio was the capital of Brazil. We had a great tour guide and it's awesome inside; it really reminded me of Washington, D.C. Here are a few shots of that....

Shortly after, it began to rain so we had to head home but it was a lot of fun while it lasted.

As visions of churros dance in my head....

Not too much in the way of excitement happening here lately. Just been doin' the class thing, watching the World Cup games (for Brazil and Spain--the US is now out of it), shopping, reading/sleeping at the beach and beating my head up against the thesis wall. Being here and seeing how things really are makes me question my original topic. It seems pointless and irrelevant given the plethora of things that could be written about that seem much more pressing. I keep oscillating between the old idea and several different new ideas (though I haven't told my advisors yet). I'm starting to freak out a bit since my time here is roughly half over and I have no real work to show for it---just a lot of thoughts and observations. I've been making "To Do" lists that have nothing checked off yet. I can't figure out if it's the tropical atmosphere, my own procrastination and laziness or something as yet unidentified that is keeping me relatively stagnate here; it's quite annoying to have writer's block and not even be a writer, per se.

These photos are were taken when Felipe and I went to (takes a breath) his brother-in-law, Christian's, parent's apartment along the beach in Barra da Tijuca to watch Brazil play against Japan in the World Cup. For anyone who is following along, the U.S. has been eliminated but Brazil and Spain remain undefeated and at the top of their groups. There is a possibility that Brazil will play against Spain sometime in the near future which will make me very sad, no matter the outcome.

Hmmm....what else. Well, on the food front I had my first experience with Brazilian fast food--Bob's (it's like the Brazilian McDonalds, though those exist too). I hate fast food but, Felipe convinced me to at least try one of their milkshakes, since they are different than those in the U.S. This is what I had....

It is a chocolate milk shake made with good old Ovaltine. It has little crunchy chocolately bits of Ovaltine in it and it's really good. Apparently, Brazilians are rather attached to the stuff. "More Ovaltine please!" Also, on the way back from class one afternoon, Felipe had me try a churro. It is basically a hollow, cylindrical donut that Brazilians fill with chocolate, coconut, guava, and doce de leite (caramel). They look like this....though they are sold by a street vendor with a little cart in Brazil....

They taste REALLY good and are highly addictive. In fact, I want one now.

Tutti-frutti

I LOVE TO EAT!!!!!!!! Food in Brazil is so freakin' good. I love everything. I have not eaten one thing (and I've tried a hell of a lot) that was terrible or even remotely close to that. One of my goals was to eat my way through Brazil and I think I am accomplishing that quite well. The most amazing thing here is the fruit. There are 5 kinds of bananas here!---not including plantains which are quite large, green and don't taste at all like a regular banana. The most surprising part is how different and how much MORE everything tastes. Bananas, for example, I have eaten since I was a baby. However, bananas in Brazil have a very distinct taste. Not to mention the smell....sweet Jesus.....walking by a fruit stand makes me salivate nowadays. Mangos smell the best; you can smell a ripe mango about a block away in the center of the city--it's that strong. I've decided to devote this blog entry to my love of Brazilian food. Although almost of all of my previous entries have mentioned food in some way, haha. It's just too good to ignore. Here are some of my most notable food encounters....

Starting on the left we have--- caqui (kah-key; round, red, looks just like a tomato), maça (mah-sah; Brazilian apple), maracujá (mah-rah-coo-shah; passion fruit, yellow with a little stem), pera (peh-rah; pear), in the center is tangerine and the spiny green fruit is called fruta do conde (froo-tah doo con-jay; fruit of the duke)

Fruta do conde is Felipe's favorite and has quickly become my favorite as well. It has such an aromatic taste it's like eating perfume (but not the overwhelming, old-lay variety). This is the inside...

I don't know if you can see very well, since the photo is a bit dark, but the inside is white with a bunch of little pouches. Each of these little pouches contains a hard, black seed but everything white inside is edible and tastes wonderful. You scoop each part out with a spoon, suck each pouch to release the seed and then spit the seed out. It's quite a challenge to eat this fruit and it takes a while to finish one, but the taste is definitely worth it.

Above is, of course, a pineapple (abacaxi; ah-bah-kah-she) and beside it is a papaya (mamão; mah-mauw). Since I'm speaking of food, I thought I'd throw in this photo too. It's not fruit but, it's a photo of Felipe's dad (Protasio), mother (Sonia), sister (Ana Cecila-all the way from Germany to meet me even though she's quite pregnant) and brother-in-law (Christian-German). Felipe was sick that evening and stayed home but, I had a great time eating sushi and drinking with them. I drank a caipirinha, which is sort of the national drink of Brazil. It is cashaça (Brazilian version of vodka made from sugar cane, sugar, and lime. A few of those can knock the biggest guy on his butt.

Que loucura!

Allow me to set the stage for those of you at home...

--fireworks going off roughly every 5 minutes (in broad daylight) since 6:30AM
-- an entire 4 blocks worth of dogs barking after each installment of fireworks
--the glow of a TV set eminating from every surrounding apartment window
--the streets in a city of several million inhabitants COMPLETELY empty of cars
--no one working or pretending to work at any establishment, though it is not a holiday
--each and every person you pass is wearing something yellow and green somewhere on their body
--the whole 2 pages of the morning paper containing nothing of politics, crime or other social matters but only soccer-related issues
--every club, bar or other establishment with a relatively large television packed with screaming, sweating, drinking men all over the age of 30

...get the idea? Oh yes, my friends...the count-down until 1pm has begun ...it's GAME TIME!!

In the jungle, the mighty jungle

Today (since it is the national holiday of Corpus Cristo and I have no class), we took a car ride up into the jungle (yes, jungle) surrounding Rio. It was a rapid ascent completely in the cool shade of the trees and vines. Along the way, there were several points where we stopped and snapped some pictures of the city and the bay below. As always, it was beautiful. Later we drove through Recreio, which is the newest and quickest-growing area in Rio (where everyone goes to retire). I was suprised to see an Outback Steakhouse, Wal-Mart (so sad) and a TGIFridays along with many typically Brazilian stores at the mall there. The layout of the area reminded me a lot of the suburbs of Washington, D.C. After the drive, we went to lunch at a seafood place---really fresh; fresh because the lower level of the restaurant is a seafood market and the ocean is a block away. We stuffed ourselves on: camarao (shrimp), salmao (salmon), lagosta (lobster), bacalhau (cod), lula (squid), povo (octupus) and other frutas do mar (fruits of the sea, as they call it) along with (much taller) beers. At about 3pm we went to the beach at Recreio and chilled out as the sun set. That night, we went out to a bar called Conversa Fiada (Mumbo-Jumbo) with Felipe's cousin Karina and a few of her best friends. These are a few of my fav photos....