Why That's...

…very Chinese of you. To assume those two words can be synonymous.

Ahh, the glorious People's Revolution.

Birthday Girl

On Stacy's birthday, she wanted to go on a walk and take a selfie in front of one of the beautiful peaks near our dorm.

The result? She's absolutely gorgeous. Oh, and I think there's a mountain in the picture somewhere, too.

USMNT!!!

I am currently pretty jacked up on World Cup soccer. Like "missing-sleep-to-watch-games" into it.

Five years ago, I could have cared less, but Stacy and I watched most of the games of the 2010 FIFA World Cup (we had just gotten married and I was… mildly… employed at that time) and ended up really liking it.

Now, we're loving it.


First of all, it's America. On the world stage. So you know I dig it.

Second, our team is looking pretty good this year, despite being in a round-robin group labeled "The Group of Death." Actually, as this post goes live, we are in the midst of a match with Portugal that could decide whether we make it to the Round of 16.

The US Men's National Soccer Team. Doin' work.

Let's GO USA!!! I believe that we will win!

Then Begins the End

These days of beautiful high altitude landscapes are (too) quickly drawing to a close. We're trying to soak up every minute.

Boston Rob

The other lone American in our class is named Rob. 

He's a really nice guy from Boston who is always good for a joke, sharing a movie, and on your wife's birthday - arranging a surprise party for Stace with all the students after class, complete with a tiramisu cake (all ingredients brought in his luggage from thousands of miles away) - topped with CHERRIES (coming in at $10/pound).

What a guy.

Academic Blood Sport

I was unaware, when we registered for language school, that we were enrolling at some sort of Jean Claude Van Damme School of Language for Cage Fighters.

Not to worry, I'm sure these phrases will come in handy some day...

When You Marry a Man-Child...

You have to be very intentional. For his sake.

She loves me well.

Australia

I made a video for our time in Australia, finally.  We spent 3 days in Australia on our way to New Zealand, and made it just in time to catch the New Years Eve fireworks at the Sydney Harbor.

$20

The other day I went out to the market and the Nepali store and actually paid attention to how much I was spending in US dollars, not just Chinese yuan.

This is what I was able to get for right under $20 (about $18):

For $18 we got 4 bananas, 2 lbs of Chicken breasts, cereal, broccoli, orange juice, sweetened condensed milk, 3 apples, 3 oranges, 2 cucumbers, green lettuce, and a small bag of dried peaches.

We'll be in America in the fall, and I have no idea what to expect the cost of food will be.  I'm hoping this picture will bring me perspective about something then (like maybe this is a lot for $18, or maybe I'll just remember how good it was when we could get corn flakes with mango?)

Blue Jays and Leprechauns

It's May, Division 1 lacrosse tournament time. This past weekend was the Quarter Finals, with 2 games that I couldn't wait to see:

1. Albany versus Notre Dame



The Thompsons. Straight baller.

2. Duke versus Johns Hopkins

I was pumped about the first game because Albany has three Native American players (2 brothers and their cousin) who are absolutely mind-blowing to watch.

They are, for lack of a better word, dazzling. Plus, I love Notre Dame.

In that game, I was pulling for the Dame, who was losing 12-7 in the 4th quarter. 

However, to cap off the greatest lacrosse game I've ever seen, the Fighting Irish clawed back to tie it at the end of regulation, and then scored in Sudden Victory Overtime. 

For. The. Win!

The Fighting! Irish! Win!

This picture really grosses me out.
It's someone with (almost) my last
name 1) playing for Duke and
2) hugging Duke's coach. Worst.

The following game was Dook against one of the schools I wanted to go to - the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays. 

Though historically Hopkins has been the powerhouse in collegiate lacrosse, recently Dook has been dominant. 

Unfortunately, the trend continued this year and my beloved (2nd only to the Tar Heels) Jays fell in rather drab fashion.

So here's what we're looking at, going into Championship Weekend: