HELLO FROM MALI!!!!!!

Hello Everyone!
At long last (after waiting 2 hours for the internet to free up) I am finally able to get on to show everyone that I am alive. I know Michele posted earlier but a lot has happened since we got here. We've been in classes close to 8 hours a day and have rarely had any free time but so far this has been (and promises to be) one of the most amazing experiences of my life. As I write this I am at a Malian dance party, up front are three man dressed in amazingly elaborate and colorful costumes playing various drums and several women are leading our Peace Corps group of 75 in a Malian dance. I have to be quick with this post so that I can get up and join everyone.
I do not know when I will have a chance to post pictures. We are actually not in Bamako, but just outside in the camp of Tubani So. In 2 days we leave the comfort of the training center to live with our host families where we will join up with a Malian family and become their foster son and daughter. We will get Malian names and be greeted by the heads of the villages. Today we spent several hours putting our bikes together in order to prepare for the upcoming weeks with our host families.

Meals here are awesome - Malians don't bother with utensils or plates, the entire family gathers around one large bowl full of rice or millet or spaghetti and we dig in with our right hands (no left hands please, you use them in the restroom - more on that some other time).

We had a French placement exam yesterday - I passed with a score of Intermediate Mid so I won't need any formal French training before I go out to site.

More exciting news: Michele and I received our placement long before anyone else! Once training is over well we spend the next two years in the region of Sikasso in a town called Blendio. I will be working to establish a new water pump in the growing town as their old one is not large enough anymore. I will also be teaching the community how to manage their water better. My counterpart (my Malian partner in Blendio) is said to be an older well-respected member of the community and that is good because stuff will get done then. They also may have opening for me teaching English to elementary school children. I can't tell you all how exciting this all is. It is really to much at this point to completely grasp.

Anyways, there is a line so i need to be short. to my family, I love you all and miss you a lot. To Tina: Do you remember a Jeff Kirby from Wake? Why do I ask? Because he is here with me. He says hi.

We're here and we love it!

Okay so where do I begin? Ummm... ok... we are here in Bamako, Mali... actually in an area they call Tubaniso, which is the PC area pretty much very separate from the rest of the city. Anyway... the first night here was pretty rough. I was freaking out. We had to sleep with a giant green mosquito net covering the bed... there were bugs... holes in the groud surrounded by a pseudo-building where you have to pee, take craps, etc. We also have to shower in them, which is kind of cool b/c they have open tops so you can see outside while you pour cups of water over your body. I actually really like the way you shower. Let's see... so far it has been ridiculously exciting aside from the shots--- 3 more today tetanus, meningitis, and hepatits b. They werent that bad, but i cried again... irrational fears are the worst. Tim and I found out where we are going: the Sikasso region. We should be near somewhere between Sikasso the city and Bamako. We will be a little less than 10 km from a large city, which is totally awesome. Tim found out that along with working on water sanitation, he will also probably be able to teach english at a local school for 7 yr old kids, which he is ecstatic about. I will probably be working with kids on nutrition and older married women with family planning (so freakin excited). Plus, when Tim and i were in Philly we bought around ten different small balls to give to the children and play with them. Nothing is better than Americans with gifts. We will be learning Bambara and French. French will be more important for me to learn because I wil probably be working in some clinic with malnourished children and teaching the women what to feed their children to keep them alive and healthy. We also learned troday that Tim's counterpart (nbasically the guy taking care of him) is a local very well respected man, and taht apparently we have nothing to worry about. So anyway, we are doing a lot of sweating, a lot of French and Bambara-speaking, eating cool foods... life is good. We leave for our homestay families next wednesday. They are the people that will help us figure out how to itegrate into Malian life, but they are not where we will be permanently. The homestays are just host families near Tubaniso (TOO-ban-ee-so). I have met many wonderful Malians thus far and I cannot wait to be able to effectively communicate-- I have so many questions and so much to learn from these friendly people! They are so happy we are here and are eager to teach us the things we need to know. At lunch today we learned that they have a joke about bananas where when they eatr them for dinner they ask you if that's your banana to get you to say 'this is my banana' and then they put down their banana which is always bigger and then they laugh at you----- i love how men are the same everywhere you go. I met a couple of malians named cisse and matiq--- and they were sop great. I learned how to say this is my husband and toim learned this is my wife.... we learned about malian ethnic groups, etc. I am loving this! Anyway, people are in line... and I should not be that asshole taking too long.

If Chris' (faceyboy) Mom sees this he says 'hi!'


anyway---- love you all... the bugs are fabulous, the flies take more than a flap of the hand to deter, and when I gert some authentic African garb you can bet your ass I'll post a pic. (i love it--- i think the women here are gorgeous)


au revoir---

p.s. dad, you would love it here.
p.p.s. mom and jessica, i havent taken the necklace off, and i love the earrings and i am really glad i got them at the last minute. also, jessica if you see this soon enough, will you go to old navy and get mom to buy me some of those pants at the front of the store (they were in green, brown, and khaki) they were like gaucho/capris. they were $25. send me some. I need more pants that arent long. send it via DHL.

Holy shit--- Mali or bust for real!

Okay---- so I cried. 3 shots. Polio. Yellow fever. MMR. But i made it through and I feel OK i guess. The crying thing was pretty embarrasing but hey--- It's me, I know I am a freak. Anyway, we are leaving today so this is the last thing I will be able to put up here for a while. I am kinda freaking out, but not really. I am actually more anxious about the future 10 shots I have to get through than living in a country where I dont know the language or any of the customs/culture etc. People here are cool. I like a lot of them. Tim's and my 'marriage' isn't getting in the way of making any new friends--- (we arent the weird married people) . I am packed. Our luggage is waiting in the Hancock room--- oh, and FYI Ben Franklin is buried behind this hotel. I about shit myself! I love Ben! Ok, so there are like 3 people waiting to use this computer so I am going to sign off with a "i love you all" and don't plan on seeing me for 2+ years b/c apparently if you come home you end up quitting earlier and I am no sorry ass quitter.

The Big Day...

Well, this is it -- my last post from the United States. Michele and I are checked out of the hotel and are preparing for our flight to Paris tonight. After a day in Paris (yay!) we begin the trek to Bamako, Mali.

Here in Philadelphia we met up with the rest of our group --- all 78 of them. It is a much larger group than I anticipated. We won't be a large group for long though. They plan on splitting most of us up into tiny groups after the first few weeks in Mali. Much of the anxiety that I felt before coming to staging is not there any longer after seeing so many other people (most my age) running off to some crazy place like Mali in the middle of summer for 2 years. I am really excited about making new friends in the upcoming months. This whole thing is going to be one hell of an experience.

Last Day in Florida -- Last Post til Mali...

It feels more surreal than anything else. I don't know any other ways to describe it. This is my last full day in Florida. Tomorrow I leave for Atlanta to spend the night in a hotel with my parents and then first thing Monday morning I meet up with Michele and her family at the airport for our 9:00 AM departure to Philadelphia, PA. I'm not sure people out there will get this, but it feels like everything is zipping by way too quickly while at the same time going in such slow motion. I think the shere immensity of the journey I am about to embark on hit me last night when I laid down in bed -- I had this feeling of absolute loneliness, like I could walk the entire way around the world and never see a single other person. It felt as if an invisible blanket had been thrown over me and was being pulled down from each corner, like if I were to try and stand up it would be a struggle. I had this exact same feeling a few years ago in the days before I left Michele to live in Paris for a year. I know it isn't anything to worry about; it's just a natural anxiety that comes along with any big change in a person's life. I am getting ready to leave my world and step into someone else's. The difference between this and any change I've been through in the past is that I won't be able to just hop on the computer or pick up a phone to get in touch with friends and family any time I feel like it.

Those of us in this world who are fortunate enough to hae been born Americans have all become soft because we live in such a technologically adept society. I'm not trying to say that we are better or worse than any other group of people around the world or throughout history -- just that things are a bit different in this day and age. Would I have had the strength and courage to make the 3 month journey across the Atlantic Ocean to possibly never see my family again where the slightest mistake meant death in the 1600s? I mean, I guess the point I'm trying to get to is that living in Mali without runnning water, electricity, or a quick way to contact my family may seem like 'roughing it' to anyone raised in the modern world like me, but I will still have modern medicine and all that stuff. I mean, for Pete's sake, I'm bringing a solar panel that recharges AA batteries so I can keep my GPS and iPod powered up! (And holy crap! I have the video iPod on which I am putting episodes of Scrubs as I type this!)

Now don't get me wrong - the iPod isn't a completely negative thing. I can't just quit my modern convenience addiction cold turkey. It is there to help with the initial "What-the-hell-have-I-done?" shock those first few weeks/months in Mali. Any kind of anxiety and/or excitement I have now will only increase tenfold when I arrive in Bamako. I have been going through "mood swings" the past few days - times when I am absolutely excited about the Peace Corps and can't wait to go and be the hero to the little guy -- and times when I feel anxiety like there is no possible way I will make it in the world I'm going to. These emotions have been relatively mild the past few weeks, but I think they have really hit me now going back and forth with each passing hour.

I'm worried, I'm excited, I'm nerous, my heart is pounding, I'm afraid I might forget to bring something, I'm afraid I've packed too much, I'm afraid I don't know enough French, I'm afraid I'll never know enough French, I'm afraid that I won't be enough to comfort Michele when she needs it, I love that I am having the adventure of a lifetime with the only girl who has ever meant so much to me, I want to explore a region so few ever get to, I want to ride a bike where ever I go, I worry I'm not in good enough shape, I'm worried how I'll react when someone I become close to dies of AIDS, I am confident that I am strong enough, I worry that I'm not strong enough -- all these thoughts fly through my head a mile a minute.

The Peace Corps preparation booklets all tell me that these feelings are to be expected, however. It's at least good to know that I'm not abnormal.

Our address in Mali:
Tim Maher or Michele Scarbrough, PCT
Corps de la Paix
B.P. 85
Bamako, Mali

In other news, my electric bills are paid off, my water bills are paid off, my XM radio subscription has ended, my Cingular cell phone service is about to (and the a-holes at Cingular charged me an extra $100 for cancelling their service! Sprint was kind enough to waive that fee when I cancelled with them as I left for Paris a few years back!), I ended my subscription with World of Warcraft after some 9 hour battle royale to reach lvl 60 before I left (special thanks to Centipede and Seri and the rest of the Wolf Pact gang). Everything is coming to a close. I leave Florida tomorrow to get a running start in order to crash through my comfort bubble onto the hard pavement of the rest of the world.

This will most likely be my last post before leaving for Mali on the 26th. To everyone I have met over the years both in person and online, to those I've worked with and those I've had fun with, no matter how small of a role you feel you may have played in my life, we have all been blessed to have ever crossed one anothers' paths. I leave you all (in the short term til we all meet again) with these words:

Sometimes

Sometimes things don't go, after all,
from bad to worse. Some years, muscadel
faces down frost; green thrives; the crops don't fail,
sometimes a man aims high, and all goes well.

A people sometimes will step back from war;
elect an honest man; decide they care
enough, that they can't leave some stranger poor.
Some men become what they were born for.

Sometimes our best efforts do not go
amiss; sometimes we do as we meant to.
The sun will sometimes melt a field of sorrow
that seemed hard frozen: may it happen for you.


Thank you all.

A Must-Have for Mali

Ok, ask yourself this: If you were a Peace Corps Volunteer going to Mali, West Africa, what two items would help you relax and enjoy your stay more than any others? Answer: I'm sure everyone said music and toilet paper. Now, I know what you're thinking. Music is great, toilet paper is great, but I only wish I could have both at the same time (that same line of thinking with snakes and planes). Well guess what! Sadly, I found this little contraption too late to order it and have it delivered by the time I leave for Africa. They are calling it the tioletPod, but I want to call it the iPood.

Test photos!

Test photos!,
originally uploaded by outlawtorn103.

Hey,

Just got an account with Flickr, so I can email pictures directly to the

blog and post without signing in or anything!

One Week to Go...

Today is the 17th. Michele and I leave for Philadelphia in one week. Michele and I are both with our families, she in Georgia, me in Florida. We will meet up in Atlanta on Sunday to stay near the airport to catch our 9am flight.

It is really beginning to hit me now. I have one week left. If stuff doesn't get done this week, then it isn't going to get done. I plan to at least get started packing tonight just to get a good idea as to how much I'll be able to fit in my bags since we are only allowed to bring 80 pounds for the next 2 years.

Here is what they recommend:
-at least a week's worth of clothes: 2 pairs of jeans, 3-5 cotton shirts, non-white socks, sweatpants and sweatshirt (for cold nights), rain jacket (for the rainy season), bandannas, baseball cap, swimsuit, clothes to sleep in, two-week supply of underwear, dressy outfit with tie, 2 pairs of shorts -- check.

-shoes: 1 pair of sneakers or running/hiking shoes, 1 pair sandals, 1 pair of dressier shoes (for formal occasions) -- half check - I still need sandals.

-portable music system: -- check, I've got my iPod and solar recharger.

-portable mosquito net tent and bug spray -- check (because man, do I hate mosquitos and malaria)

-jump drive -- check

-good kitchen knife -- check -just need to figure out which sizes and how many.

-books: here is the real problem. I want to take a lot more books than I know I will have room for. I have guide books for Mali and West Africa,. I have African and Malian history books, maps, folklore, etc. I also have French/English dictionaries. And there are books for pleasure reading: Hemingway and Soyinka for their knowledge of Africa, a Qu'ran (since Mali in 90% Muslim), and plenty of others. I also have several blank books to write journals and draw pictures in. I figure I will fill my bags with stuff I need and fill all the leftover space with books. I only wish books weren't so heavy.

-I still have to figure out how much shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste etc. to bring. They say I can most likely get a lot of this stuff over there and that the Peace Corps will begin to provide me with some after the first 3 months.
I am bringing my digital camera with me, the problem here is that I won't have any way to recharge it will in Mali other than with a wall plug. It doesn't take standard AA batteries and I can't seem to get my Solio solar panel to work with it. I plan on speaking with some people at Best Buy or someplace to ask an expert.

I also plan on bringing a flashlight, 2 pairs of glasses, frying pan, maybe one of those wind-up emergency radios, etc. I can't think of much else, but I know that I will remember once I start packing.

I'm beginning to get really nervous about a lot of this but I know I still very much want to do this. The Peace Corps is a once in a lifetime type of experience and I feel that I am better capable of accomplishing whatever needs to be done at this point in my life than any that will ever come. I am nervous now because things are coming into the 'no-turning-back' phase. I quit my job with Dougherty Schroeder Architects, I moved out of my apartment, and I have one week left with my friends and family until I take one of the most dramatic steps in my life I have ever had the opportunity to take.

A Preview of Mali...

Last night, while wandering aimlessly through television channels only finding one garbage show after another, Michele and I stumbled upon a gem. (Michele gets the credit for this since she had the remote) We found on the Travel Channel, Michael Palin's Sahara: Destination Timbuktu. Because of Michele's talents of perfect-timing, within the first 15 seconds of stopping on this channel (those crucial channel surfing 15 seconds that must captivate you before you click away) we heard that the host, Michael Palin, was in Dakar, Senegal looking for a train to Bamako, Mali. (Michele and I have been pronouncing it 'ba-MA-ko' and he was pronouncing it 'BAM-a-ko' -- who is right? Only once we get there will we know.)

But yeah, anyways, he's going to Bamako! And this wasn't the typical sissy Travel Channel kind of program -- he actually rode on a cramped passenger train the 36 hours from Dakar to Bamako. At some point he threw down the book he was reading and said it was too hot to even concentrate on it. This definitely wasn't some kind of "Mali's Best Hotels" kind of program.

When in Europe I took a train from Paris to Berlin (roughly the same mileage) and it took 1/3 of the time. Obviously bullet trains with air conditioned cars haven't made it to Africa yet. The train made frequent stops at many villages and towns along the way often stopping for a few hours at each locale. The markets located next to the train took advantage of this and turned the entire delay into literal window shopping -- lets see any mall in America give someone this kind of service!

These are a few of Palin's images of Bamako where Michele and I will be staying for the first 3 months of training. In the foreground, people are doing their laundry in the Niger River. In the background, the 'mud skyscaper', one of Bamako's banking buildings and one of the 3 main bridges across the river that splits Bamako in half.
The host Michael Palin stopped at this 'cafe' after the train ride to get a quick cup of coffee (which Michele was quick to point out as 'sketchy'). They threw some hot water, some powder, and a few other liquids into a glass and stirred it up with a spoon.
Bamako isn't all sand and dust (though quite a lot of it can be). Because the Niger River creates a flood plain out of the Sahel around it, many parts near the river can be lush with green and life. The host also said of his 3 months travelling through the Sahara region, his best breakfast was in Bamako.

Because Mali is a mostly Muslim country, call to prayers can be heard 5 times a day. This is something I am looking forward to seeing extraordinarily. From this photo I am most impressed by the variation of all of the colors. In a land where so many things (the buildings, the ground, the water) are the color of dust, the people really do try to stand out. In the harshest of lands you can expect to find the most vibrant of people. Despite all of the hardships Michael Palin encountered while travelling through Bamako and Mali, he experienced so many things than so few Westerners can and so I continue to look forward to my Peace Corps service in Mali.

Why, Zizou, Why?

Shock after one of the most exciting World Cup tournaments I've ever experienced... Not only did France lose, but Zinedine Zidane ended his impressive career on a low note. With France and Italy tied 1-1 with a mere 10 minutes left in overtime - 10 minutes left in Zidane's 20-something year footballing career - he lets his temper get the best of him and he head butts the Italian Marco Materazzi hard in the chest and is then ejected from the game.

What makes this whole thing worse - this is Michele's first time really following the French team (I am most likely the one to blame for this) and she was honestly impressed with Zidane this whole tournament. She was impressed with his ball handling skills, but more so, she was impressed by the fact that he focused more on playing the game than many of the other greats of this tournament. Michele pointed out that many other players take dives and fall to the ground and feign injury to slow the game down - Zizou never did any of this. He was a player we both came to respect because he didn't have to do all the cheap little things to try to get an advantage, he was just that good.
Sadly, his end was not as glorious as the rest of his career and it was obvious that the French team suffered because of it. France's 3 best players and goal scorers, Zidane, Henri, and Ribery were all taken out in the last few minutes of overtime (red card, injury, injury) thus, also taking them out from penalty kicks at the end (Only those men on the field at the final whistle are allowed to take penalty kicks). Trezeguet and Wiltord came on and were never able to get into the swing of things in the last few minutes (ironically, these were the two men who scored against Italy in the 2000 France vs. Italy European tournament final).

One of the few aspects where Italy had the advantage over France was in injuries. Italy played every single person on their team this tournament other that the backup goalies. Everyone on Italy's team was good enough for World Cup experience whereas France played and relied on the same starters time after time giving them a clear disadvantage when their 3 best are no longer playing.
But dispite the loss, the French played amazingly well in this tournament and that is something that I am happy for. At the start, they tied South Korea and Switzerland and no one gave them a chance to make it very far. They beat Togo to stay in the tournament and then woke up and beat Spain, Brazil, and Portugal. They were the only team to score against Italy (the 1-1 tie in Italy v. USA was actually a goal Italy scored on itself).


In other news, the reason the Soviet Union collapsed must be because they didn't take things far enough! Vladimir Putin, president of Russia, has successfully silenced foreign press in Russia. From Mike Eckel of the Associated Press, "Authorities have dramatically curtailed the number of stations broadcasting Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Voice of America news programs, officials said Friday, sending an unsettling signal about the state of press freedoms in Russia."

Certain people in the US seem to want our government to go the same way: Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post writes, "Arizona Rep. J.D. Hayworth circulated a letter to House Speaker Dennis Hastert calling for the [New York Times]'s congressional credentials to be withdrawn. And New York Rep. Peter King continues to call for the Times -- which, he told Fox News, has an "arrogant, elitist, left-wing agenda" -- to be prosecuted for violating the 1917 Espionage Act."
Basically, one of our most legitimate newspapers should be tried for treason for following their responsibilities to the public.

Wow...

Sometimes, I think, maybe living in Mali away from up-to-the-minute media coverage of politics will make me sane again.

My words are finally out...

So… what do I want to write about? Well, I suppose I could start off with my thoughts on the family. When do you come to the conclusion that your parents don’t understand you anymore? Better yet, when and why do they quit trying to understand you? I am asking because as I have grown up, I have realized that I may be a little unorthodox in my beliefs or thoughts on certain aspects of life. I am by no means a traditional---- anything. I like my last name; I don’t want kids (and might not ever); I am not a big fan of organized religion; I want to get my JD and PH.D--- and dammit I want to do it with a little bit of understanding. So what if I am not like you and I don’t do things normally. There should be more people like me---- then the world wouldn’t be so stuck on traditions that were bullshit to begin with. I don’t think one day when I get married I need to wear a white dress; I also think that if I am being ‘given away’ at my wedding so should the groom----- I don’t care who walks him down the aisle. I am pretty sure I will be making more money than he will anyway----- so maybe I should be waiting and he should walk. I also would like to live in the middle of a big city, and take public transportation--- no picket fence and suburbia, no hummers or other bullshit vehicles that should be taxed for merely existing. I want my job to run my life and not my kids. (Or at least that’s how I feel now)

In addition to all this crap, I am a flaming liberal. Get over it. I will not change my mind when I am older just because I am old, or because I have kids one day. I will like the Dixie Chicks if only for the fact that they bad-mouthed our idiot president in Europe. ( and why, pray tell, would any soldier bad-mouth something like free speech when it is a great example of that which he/she defends (our American life/values)? I find that to be extremely hypocritical and pretty disgusting.) I would vote for Hillary. I would legalize marijuana even though I have never done any drugs in my entire life (plus, if we legalized it, think of the tax you could put on it...). I would also decrease military spending, because let’s face it----- all we do is piss people off for no reason (other than for our own selfish ploys for oil), waste our money/soldiers/ (what don’t we waste?). Oh and immigrants----- why does anyone care? Honestly, I am from California so I know all about the ‘problems’. Let me just mention that people that bitch about them taking our jobs and our hard-earned tax money are full of shit. (p.s. those of you that think some outrageous amount of money goes to welfare, you are greatly mistaken… about 1.2% of our taxes go toward that shit) No one wants to pick oranges and strawberries for 12 hours a day, making $7/hour. They want a better life, so let’s help them get it! If they trucked their asses here God knows how many miles to give their kids a better life---- where’s the sympathy? Isn’t everyone in this country claiming to do the same for their kids? So I think that is all for now… oh, and I am an extreme potty mouth.

Countdown: 21 days!!

It is now exactly 3 weeks before Michele and I leave for Mali. It is a bit nerve-racking because it is only 19 days until we leave for staging in Philly and we still have not received our staging packets from the Peace Corps (supposedly to be delivered 3 to 5 weeks before staging). Hopefully all is good and everything is on its way.



This puppy (pictured) is the kind of fish we'll be eating when we are near the Niger River running through the center of Mali. The capitaine or in English the Nile Perch, is one big motha... Thank God these things don't eat flesh or you'd never get me to go near the river.

My first thought when seeing this photo was - yeah right! This has got to be some freak one-in-a-million fish that got lots of pictures taken since it was so abnormally large. If you check Google images, however, you find out in the first 12 pages of pictures that this size capitaine is caught quite a bit. If I go fishing in Mali (which will be my first) I could quite possibly hook something the size of me and then be pulled into the river and swallowed whole a la Jonah style. For Michele's sake, I hope this doesn't happen while she's watching since I won't want her last moment with me to be quite so comic.


But anyways, this is my first day back at work after spending the holiday weekend with my parents and family in Florida. This vacation is guarranteed to be the best food Michele and I eat before running off to Africa - shrimp, fajitas, ribs, steak, fresh amberjack, homemade pizza, all delicious. Sadly, Michele and I never got a chance to stop by McGuire's Irish Pub in Destin, our tradition and the best place to eat in Northwest Florida.

I did get to see my brother, his wife and two beautiful daughters Payton and Jameson for the first time in years (except Jameson - the first time ever) which was really nice. I got to play the role of the all-powerful Bear in the Bear vs. Lion escapades in the pool with Payton which was both a great workout and a lot of fun. All of my bear fur was singed off my body every time the lion spit hot lava all over me.
It was fairly sureal knowing that this was the last time seeing my older sister and older brother and his family until I return from Mali (if I am not able to return to the States or they can't visit us in Africa). I hope I'll be able to see my sister in Egypt or someplace like that as I am dying to go.

After today, only six more days of work and then I'm off to Florida again and Michele is off to her parents' to pack everything up in preparation for Mali. Everything is coming at us so fast it seems. It really is starting to get exciting/nerve-racking.


In other more World Cuppy type of news,
the French beat the Brazilians! Woohoo! Michele and I were able to catch the second half on TV after a day on the boat in Florida and it was impressive how the French were able to control the ball and keep the Brazilians from shooting most of the game.
Now, after an insane German v. Italy semi-final yesterday (Italy won), the France v. Portugal semi-final starts in a few minutes. If France pulls this off, then they play Italy for the Cup (which will be more difficult than I would have imagined before Italy beat up powerful Germany yesterday scoring 2 goals in the last 2 minutes of the game). Go France! They beat Portugal twice in the UEFA European Championship.


I'll be cheering for my boy Zinedine Zidane of France - I've followed him on and off since I was in high school and this is his final year - after this tournament, he is retiring. It would be awesome if a footballer of his calliber can go out with a World Cup victory. Thank God the World Cup final is on a Sunday so I can watch it on TV rather than relying on XM radio.