Thurs. JULY 7 - Futbol Funk

My team lost and I'm in a terrible mood because of it. The suspense and tension of the game almost led me to a very early death. I bit my nails to the nub, smoked at least 3 packs of cigarettes and was being force-fed black label whisky by the bar owner. Needless to say, it was an interesting game and an interesting night. We've made some well-connected friends within the old town of Nazareth and were invited to the "Cinematech" to watch the game with almost half the town. This bar/old movie theatre serves the best food in town and just about every type of alcohol you can think of. I was a guest of the owners and was given three whiskeys (on the rocks) for free. I don't like whisky, I don't really drink but somehow they thought I looked like a whiskey girl and kept bringing them to me. I didn't want to be rude so I drank the first one. They brought another at half time and I somehow went through the glass while talking to the locals and my fellow GMU students. The third glass was meant to be sipped on like the first two, but I believe I slammed it down in the 90th minute in a blatant attempt to get drunk enough to forget that Germany hadn't scored yet.

The last few minutes of overtime were the most painful in my life. Granted, Germany didn't play as well as I had expected, but damn it all! It made me sick to my stomach to see the Italian fans jumping and cheering. Some would turn around and give me a nod as if to say, "I understand your pain." But they didn't understand, they had no idea! My stomach was churning, my head was spinning, I felt woozy and my speech was slurring. All of this because Germany lost. I know what you're thinking. Wajmah, it could be the three glasses of whisky you drank. I, at some point, blacked out so I can't tell you whether it was the emotion of the libations that did it. I vote for emotion. No?

The crowd outside the Cinematech was fantastically rowdy. Cars, with Italian flags pasted on them, flowing from them, painted on them, lined the main street. Young men in the drivers seats continuously honking and yelling things in Arabic. It was amazing. Of course this intensified the hurt and nausea I was feeling. As my group and I headed towards the hotel, we came across one lone Germany fan. He wore the Germany flag tied around his neck like a cape. The poor guy just stood there staring at his feet. As I passed by he looked up, saw my Germany scarf, and nodded. Yes, this man understood my pain. I nodded back, desperately trying not to cry...or throw up. I will never drink whiskey again. I will never drink alcohol again.

By the way, things are going well at work. We're almost done designing the new newsletter for FUCAE. We've been asked to think of new logos and such for the organization. This is wonderful but at the same time, it's a daunting task. With my small bit of experience, I happen to know that creating a logo for a nationally recognized organization is not easy. We only have three more weeks here. In that time we need to travel to different schools, interview several people and write original articles to fill the newsletter. I'm not very optimistic but I know we'll be able to finish at least most of what we set out to do.

France plays Portugal tonight. I pray that France and Zidane win! Viva la France!