Busy Independence Weekend

Things have been moving this weekend- I've barely had any time to sit back and relax! Well, here's the rundown:

The World Cup continues its strange and exciting journey! While I missed the Netherland's upset victory over Brazil on Friday and Spain's last minute frantic goal over Paraguay, I did get to see the other two games this weekend. First, Ghana vs Uruguay. This was a really good game- plenty of back and forth action, lots of shots on goal, and it went all the way to a shoot out. Of course it shouldn't have gone to a shoot out, if not for some brilliant and unorthodox thinking on the part of a Paraguayan defender.

It was the last minute of double overtime, the score tied at 1-1. Ghana put in their all for one last desperate attempt at a goal and there was frenzied action at the Uruguayan goal. The keeper deflected the ball three times, twice just as it was about to cross the line. The third save had him fall to the ground and another Ghana striker slammed the ball home... only to have it blocked right on the line by a handball. As one of my soccer buddies later mentioned, he had always wondered when an intentional hand ball would be tactically sound, and this was it. Ghana failed at the penalty kick in the last second of double overtime and went on to lose the shootout.

The Germany Argentina game, however, was even more awesome. Germany came on strong, scoring in the first 4 minutes. They then continued to be strong, dominating every phase of the game and scoring three more goals in the last 20 minutes. Schweinsteiger continued to be the best midfielder ever, setting up goal after goal with ease. The keeper, Manuel Neuer, blocked every Argentinan shot with remarkable aplomb. And Klose moved into place for second most World Cup goals scored, only one goal behind Ronaldo. A 4-0 slaughter should see them do very well against Spain, who have not shown the greatest amount of initiative so far. And after that, World Cup glory in the finals!

The games that I've watched I've tried to watch over at the Nomad World Pub, my favorite bar in the Cities. Every game they have a raffle and some trivia questions, and for the Argentina-Germany game Rachel actually got chosen to win a pair of Taste of Minnesota tickets! For those not in the know, it's a festival where there are lots of cool shows going on and we can try out all sorts of awesome food. We're planning on going on Monday night, so I'll be sure to report about it later.

I've also been hanging out with my CTEP folks a lot. Last night was a potluck at a drive in movie theater where we watched Toy Story 3 (AMAZING) and the Karate Kid (surprisingly brutal, but good) remake late into the night, the day before was a Corps Day at my site and tonight is hopefully going to be a BBQ and watching the fireworks down by the river, so long as it doesn't rain at least. They're a great group, and they'll be another thing I'm sorry to move away from in August. But that's part of the deal, so I'll just make the most of it while I can.

Until next time...

"It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have those three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either."
- Following the Equator, Pudd'nhead Wilson's New Calendar