Cheeseburger in Paradise

We and our baggage have arrived safely. Have spent the last two days traveling and to quote one of my favorite men, "It ain't like dusting crops, boy" [SW: Han says to Luke]. Long flights punctuated by long layovers. I watched two predictible movies, but they were entertaining for this captive audience. Take the Lead, about ballroom dancing, and Failure to Launch, which had a funny Star Wars scene and eye candy. I'm eager to see the new Pirates movie even if sequals rarely live up to the hype (BTW is Superman or MI3 must see on the big screen?) Instead of getting the academic articles read that I brought along (I was too tired most of the time) I also read a lot of Michael Crichton's book State of Fear which is an engaging story about the supposed global warning. He even has footnotes which I think are real articles (i.e., not part of the fiction).

We landed in Frankfurt which was the first airport I flew outside of the U.S. when i was in high school. At that time I was struck by all of the Bart Simpson dolls and thinking that this is what Germans think of Americans? We flew Lufstansia (sp) and I'm all about the cheapest deal, but I'm not a big fan of German food and the seats were rather small. We made it safely which is all that matters, but they would not be my first choice. On the flight from Frankfurt to Nigeria we entered the plane and heard a man sitting in the back screaming and moaning. I wondered if he was possessed actually. I was also thinking of how badly I wanted to sleep. Come to find out he was distraught over being deported. I don't know if they gave him drugs or what but he stopped before we took off (thank goodness). Then I finally slept for about five hours. The guy I sat next to was a college student from VA on his way to do Medical missions and we had an interesting conversation about religion, missions, anthropology, and medicine.

So the title of this blog is from Jimmy Buffet's "Cheeseburger in Paradise" song. The reason I picked that relates to my last cheeseburger that I'll have for a while. I wouldn't call the Atlanta airport a paradise, but on July 4th there are a lot of things to be thankful for as an American citizen. I'm usually quite critical of US policies and inequalities in or culture. However, last summer while working on the Teaching American History grant I was fortunate to be reminded of what an amazing experiment in democracy the U.S. represents. We read over the Bill of Rights out loud and it sent chills down everyone's spine. Our government/policies, etc. are flawed, but it's one of the best forms of government in the world. Plus I like fireworks. Happy 4th and remember what it represents!

Now I'm going to sleep for a long time and tomorrow will hopefully be able to get online and write more about Nigeria.