Author: Newley

Saw the Red Sox fall to the Orioles today. Though the weather was muggy and rainy and the fans were unhappy and the 12-ounce beers were six bucks and a quarter, it’s always a joy to see a game at Fenway.

In other sports news–news that has nothing to do with Boston or baseball, but, rather, football–Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey reportedly called Bill Parcells “a homo.” Of all the adjectives one might use to describe the infinitely dislikable Big Tuna, I find it amusing that Shockey, whose marketing guy allegedly said his client’s a male version of Anna Kournikouva, chose that one. Could Shockey be on his way to becoming an NFL-style John Rocker? We’ll have to wait and see.

All’s well in Beantown. Having a great time with Benny C., Miles B., and Mike W. Jordan M. arrives today.

My buddies surprised me with an unbelievable gift: an apron autographed by some of our nation’s finest competive eaters. They secured it at a Boston wing-eating contest. It contains personalized notes (like “way to go Newley, keep eating in Ecuador!”) from the likes of Eric “Badlands” Booker and Ed “Cookie” Jarvis. I’m moved to the point of tears.

Yet another reason I wanna go to India: “Hinglish.”

Here’s a hilarious tee shirt design. (via Reenhead.)

Post-Shower Sweat, Toilet Paper, Cell Phones, and Avocados
I’ve been home a few days now and have had some time to reflect on the differences between my life in Ecuador and my life here in South Carolina.

Here’s a quick list of both significant and insignificant (mostly insignificant) observations:

Greetings from the Lowcountry of South Carolina, land of sweet tea and shrimp n’ grits and Spanish moss.

My return home went well–I made it from Ecuador to Miami to Charlotte to Savannah without incident. The Guayquil airport on Friday morning was hectic; turned out it was the last day that Ecuadorians could leave the country and enter Spain without a special visa.

And, interestingly, Nico Lapentti, an Ecuadorian pro tennis player, was in the immigration line behind me. He was heading to Montreal for a tournament. I chatted with him briefly. Seems like a nice guy.

So now I’m home. I’m off to Boston on Wednesday, then I’ll be in DC next week. For now, I’m soaking up as much digital cable TV and fast Internet access and good food as I can.

Postings will be sparse for the next week or so.

Our classes just ended, so tomorrow morning I’m heading down to the beach town of Puerto Lopez, which is supposed to be beautiful. (And it’s whale season, so I hope we’ll spot some humpbacks.)

Then, on August first, I leave for home (Beaufort, South Carolina) and then I’ll be visiting friends in Boston and DC. Here’re my approximate dates and locations:

Fri., August 1st-
Wed., the 6th: Beaufort, SC

Wed., August 6th-
Sun., Aug. 10th: Boston

Wed., August 13th-
Sun., Aug. 17th: DC

Mon., Aug., 18th-
Sat., Sept. 13th: Beaufort, SC

Sept. 13th-
TBA (at least until Christmas): back in Ecuador to teach (after a side-trip to Bolivia)

On another note, I’m looking for a job for the month I’ll be in SC. If any of you Lowcountry denizens have any ideas or leads, please email me.

The Columbia Journalism Review profiles Sy Hersh, the legendary investigative reporter.

Guys: tired of paying top dollar for fancy razor “systems”? Here’s a radical new solution.

–The New York Times weighs in on the Shining Path’s resurgence;

—eight international climbers appear to have been killed by an avalance on a mountain in the Cordillera Blanca range;

–and (spoiler alert! spoiler alert!) the more than $140 million the US is spending to eradicate coca in Peru this year…(are you ready for this?) isn’t keeping cocaine out of the States.