Hi Mom! We survived the Mexico v. Croatia game…hoorah! We leave for Madrid later today (and arrive late tomorrow), so to tide you over until our South America re-cap, here’s our second Guest Blog post on WFM with guest blogger, Mark. Mark and John are old friends through work and fellow futbol fanatics. More on the story of our friendship below. Everything he wrote below is true, so friends, please be gentle with your comments/ridicule. Enjoy!
BY MARK, WFM GUEST BLOGGER, WORLD CUP 2014, BRAZIL
Four years ago I had the extreme privilege of traveling to South Africa for the World Cup with my wife. On our journey we met up with John and Amy, spent a good deal of time with them, and all agreed we would do our best to repeat the trick four years later in Brazil.
South Africa 2010
Since then John and Amy got married, quit their jobs, and sold their house; and I had two little US soccer fans named Jacob and Zachary. Despite all of the changes, the dream of returning to the World Cup remained. So, there we were, John and Amy somewhere in Asia, and me sitting at home with two little ones. After some begging and pleading with my wife (and the promise of unlimited foot rubs), I secured the green light to go, and planning began. The rest is now history as I sit on American Airlines flight 274 back from Recife to MIA. I know that devoted readers of the blog are eager to get the real scoop on what it’s like to travel with John and Amy…so here goes….
USA versus Ghana in Natal, Brazil
I have no clue how those two have lugged those massive bags around the world for 9 months, but they do so and neither complain. That was my first thought, and then I realized that these two have spent every single day together for almost a year and they seem to still legitimately love each other. Arguments occur….but after all, they ARE married, so that comes with the territory. Amy is fond of calling themselves “the Bickersons”, but I was rather impressed with how little they actually do!
Still in love…dancing in the streets of Brazil
Amy is generally right of course, and occasionally John is “not wrong” about topics ranging from a line in a movie, directions to the beach, or the location of the steps at Arena Pernambuco. I want to give up some great juicy stories, but they just didn’t provide the ammunition! Amy is comfortable with potty humor, and we certainly had ample opportunity with the three of us sharing one bathroom nearly the entire trip. John is OK hearing Amy’s potty humor, and accepting her passion for straightening up the apartment every single time we left. (On one occasion we came back after a hard day of drinking beer and sitting on the beach to find towels made up neatly and pillows placed “just so” on the couch…I was convinced that a maid had come to clean, but John instantly knew better: Amy had been there).
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- It wasn’t all futbol and fun…sometimes it was hard to find places to watch the games
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- And sometimes, we needed food and rest
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- And we had to avoid sharks!
As you know Amy does have a knack for finding every possible moment to update her Facebook status and happenings on FB, while John spends his time counting and measuring floor tiles in every apartment they visit, so he can accurately draw out the floor plan and remember each place. I simply explained that a photo would do just as well, but John stubbornly draws away in his little book (he has already gone through two diaries worth of pages)! It seems a bit ridiculous to Amy (and me), but someday people may look back on these drawings as the work of a genius, like Michaelangelo or Da Vinci….but I doubt it.
Everyone has their hobbies and I learned that it is important to maintain those and keep them personal if you are going to travel around the world with someone (and not want to beat them up every other day).
An interesting quirk of Amy’s which must be mentioned is the methodical hunt for condiments around the world. Amy has been known to carry small bottles of Mayo across continents. When whole countries run out of mayo, mustard and ketchup, I guess I understand, but Amy’s devotion to hanging on to a good packet of Heinz 57 is impressive.
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- Must-haves!
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- Correction: The mini-mayo was actually John’s
I will say that collectively those two have got guts (I would say “balls” but their parents might read this and that description seems crass). They are going to some great places, some very random ones, trying every food imaginable (ask John about the 1000-year-old egg), running with bulls, trying different languages, and putting up with people like me in a tight apartment for 10 days. So bravo to John and Amy, and thanks for a great World Cup….now I hope they just update their blog more often….get on that John!
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- Checking in on the wife and boys
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- Making friends with the locals
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- Good times pre-match!
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