Hello Hawaii!!  Yes today I am dreaming of this beautiful island.  Especially as dry season begins to settle in to Brasilia, I find myself dreaming of more tropical places.  As if monkeys weren’t enough, here I am desiring ocean too!  Boy, I’m needy. 

But it’s interesting because as an English teacher here, I find myself needing to develop my own sense of “American pride.”  As a world traveler, I will never be fully clad in stars and stripes jogging suits (yes, you know they exist!) but on the other hand, it’s important for me to keep in mind what is truely important and interesting about the big US of A.  And this is one thing I am growing to appreciate as I gather information for classes, we are such a diverse place.  And not only in ethnicity or heritage, but linguistically, culturally, and even the physical landscape of our land.  While I love seeing the world, it’s amazing to realize how much of it we have between our own shores. 

And while I’m in such a proud mood, congrats to our US Soccer team for advancing to the next round in the World Cup.  I’ll admit I was not a believer (still don’t think they’ll win the next game) but in two games in a row they showed a fighting spirit.  And yesterday was just darn exciting!  Out of a 90 minute scoreless game, Donovan made the games only goal in minute 91 (or 92, I dunno) to move them on to the next round.  Yes I was watching during lunch time here.  And yes I cheered when the goal was made. 

And while I should be posting a picture of the game or at least Donovan (who is currently the hero), the team’s capitan, Bocanegra, is just too darn cute NOT to put here!