World Cup Quarterfinals: Marieke vs. Renato

Now that Renato has beaten Manuel in the second round (in quite dominant fashion), I am really looking forward to the July 2nd battle between Renato and Marieke in the quarterfinals. Both of you have looked strong thus far but only one of you can advance to the semi-finals. Moreover, whichever one of you wins will be heavily favored in the semi-final against Uruguay or Ghana so in all likelihood this game is for a spot in the finals. High stakes. Two good teams. Good luck to both of you.

Northern Thailand Excursion

Fried chicken heads and feet

Fried everything

Temple on the border of Thailand and Burma

Northern style sausage

Land for sale

The Mae Kok River

(Thailand in the foreground, Burma in the background)

Luxury stores in Narita International Airport

Transferred at Tokyo. It seems that Asian countries all like luxuries.

Winter in Rio

Some pictures of a nice winter (yes, winter!) morning at Barra da Tijuca Beach in Rio.



Reminder: 29º C = 84.2º F

Erica's new home

...at the cooler-than-thou "Energy Institute". I will let you judge for yourselves. No basketball? No plants? No bugs?

Unrelated, here is Polly and her nephew, 2 am traffic stop outside Yosemite.

And the resplendent yosemite:

[annoying administrative side note to would-be blog contributors: when you post photos, could you shrink their size to less than 1mb before posting? i'm worried we won't have room for kyle's 400 wedding photos...]

Looking down on Berkeley

(see Berkeley, far behind the stadium)

Hi guys, hope you’re doing well in all corners of the world. I’m happy to be back in the Netherlands although it’s hard to get anything done with so many soccer games each day. Join me in being happy with Green ;) Take care!

Interesting Encounter

I was in the U.S. Embassy in Manila today. Applying for some documentation. There was a large gentleman from Missouri. He kindly told me that he met his fiancee on the internet. Most interestingly, that first meeting occurred last Saturday. Amazing.

Tiger, Pig, and Golden Retriever

First day in Thailand we went to the Tiger Zoo and it turns out one exhibit consists of two golden retrievers, a pig, and a tiger all hanging out together. I have no idea why this exhibit exists but it was awesome.

So today I went to Stuffed Inn and spoke some filipino with them. They asked where my friends were. I told them. I went to pay and they gave it for free. Outstanding!

It is Friday night here. By the time our happy hour starts at 8 pm, Manuel will already have "called it a night" in D.C. due to the time change!

Genius!

Classmates,

As I sit here in the Denver Airport on my way home, I must congratulate your brilliant collaborative effort! This wonderful photo art displays my very normal behaviors. I will start next year by giving each of you a box of Dixon Ticonderogas. You will then be addicted!

KJE