I be in Portugal. I have ten things I need to tell you (and not necessarily about Portugal):

1 - My back hurts like crazy. I feel like an old man. I sit down in a chair and five minutes later I feel like I might die. How am I a 75 year old 29 year old.

2 - I’ve decided that our culture’s technological obsession has led to us valuing quantity over quality. I mean really, if you look at face book it says I have 900 friends. Not true. Not including family, I have three, maybe four friends total, and that’s on a good day. Like I said, technology emphasizes the quantity, not the quality. Another example, the Internet. Yes, it gives us a lot of information but I’m not sure that anyone who has a brain would argue that it’s quality.

3 - I just finished reading the book Great Expectations. So good. I learned about life. I love writers who make me work to understand and comprehend.

4 - I’m currently in a town called Maiorca. No offense to anyone from this town who’s reading this, but this town is literally the weirdest town I’ve ever been to. No kidding. If your planning your vacation right now, I would seriously recommend against coming here.

5 - I don’t understand Portuguese, but the people here seem very friendly (although, for all I know, they could be swearing at me and just be pretending to be happy).

6 - I miss the Mrs.

7 - I went to a Catholic mass yesterday. It was in Portuguese (refer to number 5) but I as I was listening I came to the conclusion that if I weren’t a Latter-day Saint I would either be an Amish person or a Catholic.

8 - Because I’m obsessed with sports and the current theme is the lockouts, let me weigh in. It is neither the owners nor the players fault. It is the fans’ fault for being willing to pay so much for tickets, advertising, etc.

9 - I should have learned how to play the guitar.

10 - I’ve been using a Kindle here on tour because it’s much easier than packing several books. However, I’m not converted. It’s just not for me.

And that’s all.

Frankreich

I currently be in France down in the Basque region. It’s nice. I don’t hate it. In fact, I quite like it.

I have some things that I should be telling you.

- I miss the Mrs.

- I don’t like sightseeing. It’s boring. I know I’m a history teacher and I should like sightseeing. However, in my humble opinion, the best way to get to know a culture is not by looking at its old buildings. It’s by talking with its people. But what do I know (very little I’m afraid).

- Also, I would just like to say that I like printed newspapers a whole lot more than online newspapers. Here I am in France so I have to access the Deseret News online. I hate it. Just thought you should know.

- I just watched the U.S. beat Brazil in the Women’s World Cup with my host family. If you like soccer you would have liked that game. It was amazing. No really. Why it was interesting:
- Rarely have I seen a team play as hard as the U.S. women’s national team. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever seen professional athletes play that hard for that long a time. All out for 120 minutes. Amazing.
- The ref was not good. That always makes things interesting (why I like a sport where the refs mistakes can affect the game so much is a topic for another day).
- The Brazilians were . . . Brazilian.
- I was watching with French people who still understood me when I went crazy about the missed offsides call (and all said I didn‘t need to watch the next game because the U.S. is playing France so the U.S. is going to lose anyway).
- There is nothing better than an extra time goal scored by the team your supporting.

- Something else I’ve noticed about the France. They’re definitely not as into the Internet as we are. I like it. They’re still going strong with their little shops. See Amazon isn’t taking over the world. At least not France.

- After nine years of dancing you’d think I’d actually be a decent dancer by now. I’m not (if you were wondering)

- I still can’t get over that U.S. win. Unbelievable.

- Speaking of wins, I still can’t get over how the Mavericks beat the Heat. Seriously. The team I hate never loses. But then they did. And I’m still so happy. This will carry me through at least 15 more Lakers/Yankee/Steelers championships.

- And I still miss the Mrs.

That’s all.