We started in College Station, TX, and ended in Teapa, Tabasco, all the way in the south of Mexico. Luckily, we also went back, but by the time we returned the idea of cruising across Mexico by car was a familiar one.

I’m not sure when my parents were more upset- when I left, or when I came back. See, they were firmly convinced that this trip to Mexico could end only in the most grisly of ways. What with the drug-related violence raging through Mexico’s northern provinces and the unease growing in response to coming elections, the first leg of our trip through Mexico was a bit risky. In fact, and I have not yet revealed this to my parents, there was a politically-motivated murder in a town we passed through just an hour or so after we left. A political candidate was shot as he drove along the main street. We only breathed easy when we eased out of the border areas and closer to our destination. To get there we drove for 27 hours, mostly along the coast, in a 2-day ordeal in a tightly packed van filled with a huge seine net, a backpack shocker, several coolers with air pumps and filters, and 4 bins crammed with supplies. As the expedition’s undergraduate, I sat in the seat with the seine net nested next to it and tried to avoid getting whacked along the shoulders.

And why would I do this? For glory? For money? No, I went to pursue and understand fishes, the most unfathomable of animals. And boy did I get a fishy education. It was shocking how much the fishes could teach me.

To the delight of billions (literally!), South Africa’s World Cup continues to produce entertaining matches and dressing-room drama.  After 19 days, the original 32 team field has been whittled down to just 8. The quarter-finals begin tomorrow with Uruguay taking on Ghana and Brazil facing the Netherlands. On Saturday, Paraguay will play Spain and Argentina line up  against Germany.

Joy for these lucky 8, heart-break and despair for the homeward-bound 24. It is a testament to how seriously these nations take their soccer that France’s coach, Raymond Domenech, has already appeared before an angry Parliament to explain why his team revolted against his authority and refused to train after star striker Nicolas Anelka was sent home for insubordination. Perhaps Anelka, a player whose prima donna reputation is aptly captured by the nick-name “Le Sulk,” deserved to go but surely not before his hapless boss, who has not seemed in control of his team of super-stars since their humiliating first-round exit from the 2008 European Championships.

Meanwhile, Italy, who beat France in the 2006 final, also bowed out early after a dramatic 3-2 loss to plucky Slovakia. They reportedly were greeted at the airport by angry fans with a hail of curses and rotten tomatoes. In the strangest incident of all, Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan has suspended his nation’s team from all international competition for TWO YEARS following their less-than-satisfactory performances in Group A.  Nigeria’s midfielder, Sani Keita, who was sent off during the 2-1 loss to Greece, is said to be in hiding after a series of death threats. Shades of Colombia’s unfortunate Escobar, who was assassinated after scoring the tragic own goal that ended his country’s chances at the 1994 tournament.

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On the other hand, neither bullets nor spoiled fruit seem likely for Uruguay or Ghana when they return home. Both teams have greatly exceeded expectations and will be delighted at playing for a chance to reach the semi-final. Ghana, who carry the weight of an entire continent on their shoulders as the only remaining African team, have looked composed and resilient and boast the dangerous striker Asamoah Gyan, who has scored three goals so far at this tournament (including the sweetly-struck shot that eliminated the United States in extra-time).  Uruguay, however, are an experienced side and have proven extremely compact at the back while their forward duo of Forlan and Suarez are good enough to threaten any team left in the tournament. Uruguay to progress in a close game though I would not be surprised to see extra-time or even penalties.

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Friday’s other game pits perennial contenders Brazil against the Netherlands, a team with a proud footballing history who are yet to lift the game’s ultimate trophy. Holland boast a competent team enlivened by the presence of the brilliant but fragile Arjen Robben (because of injuries his first start in this tournament came in the second-round game against Slovakia), his midfield partner-in-crime Wesley Sneijder and Arsenal’s lively Robin Van Persie up front.  But despite their contributions Bert van Marwijk’s side lack the style of their Cruyff and Neeskens-inspired predecessors, who finished runners-up in ’74 and again in ‘78. This Oranje have looked pedestrian at times and proper marking of their danger-men should spell a quarter-final exit for the Dutch. Brazil, too, are a shadow of the teams that boasted Pele, Garrincha and Socrates, having sacrificed skill for steel at the behest of hard-nosed coach Dunga, captain of the trophy-lifting side from ‘94, but they look to have just enough of both to progress. Robinho, Luis Fabiano, and Kaka are beginning to settle in up front while the sturdy presence of Julio Cesar, Lucio and Maicon provides security at the back. Brazil to the semis.

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Like Uruguay and Ghana, Paraguay will have no complaints if they exit at this stage. Having sneaked through a tight second-round match against Japan on penalties, they seem the weakest team to have advanced this far though talented strikers Cardozo, Santa Cruz and Valdez will do their best to prove me wrong. Spain, the pre-tournament favorites, are only now hitting their stride after a slow start and a surprising 1-0 loss to Switzerland. Fernando Torres, the sublimely-skilled star striker, has clearly been a step-off-the-pace and taken a touch-too-many after an injury-ravaged season at Liverpool. Luckily, his strike-partner David Villa has been superb. Check out his fantastic goal against Chile (sorry for the poor quality): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i779uHuEajQ . Worries linger over the fitness of super-sub Fabregas and the consistency of normally reliable ‘keeper Casillas, who has looked shaky and confused by the flight of the much-criticized Jabulani ball.

Even so, Spain to progress by a couple of goals assisted, as always, by the incomparable duo of Xavi and Iniesta.

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The most intriguing match of the round pits a young German team against an Argentine squad loaded with attacking talent. Germany will be on a high after a 4-1 thrashing of England while Argentina remain the in-form team after collecting nine points from their group and a comfortable if controversial 3-1 victory over Mexico. Nonetheless, question marks hover over both sides. Will Germany’s young stars be able to handle the pressure of a single-elimination game against the game’s most fearsome attackers? Central defenders Friedrich and Mertesacker seem too static and slow-moving to handle the likes of Tevez and Messi while left-back Boateng is untested at this level, despite his recent high-profile move to Manchester City. Meanwhile, ‘keeper Neuer seems an excellent shot-stopper but a tendency to come off his line could prove costly. Oezil, Klose and Podolski will need to score a couple if they hope to progress.

Argentina,  meanwhile, will be relishing their first match in this World Cup against one of Europe’s elite teams, having beaten the Germans in March on Higuain’s goal from 35 yards. Like Germany, Argentina will be confident in their world-class attack but nervous about an untested defense that, apart from the sturdy Walter Samuel, looks far from impenetrable and a ‘keeper, Sergio Romero, who does not inspire confidence. This is a very difficult game to call but I will go out on a limb and pick Argentina to avenge their elimination from the last tournament at German hands. South American teams always do well at World Cups held on non-European soil.

While I think Harvard has done a good job of creating interdisciplinary fields and giving students the freedom to create their own majors, I still find today’s XKCD amusing and appropriate in today’s world of higher education:

www.xkcd.com/755

For the most part, I see a lot of benefit to interdisciplinary studies: those who are pre-med, for instance, usually take Life Sciences 1a, which combines biology and inorganic chemistry to explain how DNA and cells work. Physical Sciences 1, at least when I took it back in the spring of 2008, was an integrated chemistry and physics course that tackled real problems like climate change and the search for alternative energy sources. I always like it when Engineering schools are tied into a larger university body, rather than isolated. I believe the same of undergraduate business schools. While specializing makes economic sense (no one can do everything well, better to focus on something more narrow), college students should have the opportunity to expand outside of their field and see what the world has to offer. Scientists should know history; historians should understand evolution.

Outside of the sciences, Social Studies allows students to dabble in government, history, economics, sociology, and more (it is heavier on theory than concentrating in Government is). Penn has its own version of Social Studies, called PPE – philosophy, politics, and economics. Many other schools, I’m sure, offer similar programs. I do believe that every political science or government major should have to take at least basic economics, simply for the sake of being to understand different policies. I also believe that social psychology would go a long way in any social science education (psychology is unfortunately often overlooked both by social scientists who delve into politics and pure scientists who prefer neurobiology). I made quite a few course recommendations to politicians  in my article here.

What about the humanities, like English? If one takes an English class, is he doomed to live in a box on the streets of New York? Hardly. A class on rhetoric, as some law clerks at my internship explained, can do wonders for those who are interested in law and politics – the nuances of words and the interpretation of phrases create many battles in our society (see: strict vs loose constructionists). And who wouldn’t benefit from the beauty of the arts? It is, after all, one of the things that make us truly human.

I’m currently in Athens and have been doing some traveling. Recently, I went to Rome-here are snippets  from my travel blog http://weikew.tumblr.com/  The post is actually quite long so please read the whole thing if you ever get a chance!

Rome has a warm color palette-muted yellows, Tuscan golds, Indian reds and burnt blues. The colors fade under the beating sun and look more like smudges of melted crayons. Every building is a different color; so when stacked next to each other, they give the gray streets a colorful embroidery. The buildings also share similar architecture.  Each floor has so and so windows, each window is framed by shutters of uniform color.  Some windows are open, some closed and some are sadly, broken. The roofs are usually red brick shingles, the door, chipped oak, and the door knocker, copper under patina.  Frosted street lamps hang off buildings in intricate iron cages; at night their light is an antique yellow and their shadows are skeletal.

(A skinny apartment building through the columns of the Pantheon. The color and texture remind me of coco powder.  I wonder how expensive a room is…)

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I am not religious, quite the opposite actually.  Nevertheless, the Vatican awed me.  I saw the Vatican twice, once at night and once during the day.  From afar, St. Peter’s square looks manageable, like another piazza in Rome’s infinite collection, but when I walked in, I walked and walked and did not reach the center obelisk until my feet started burning from the midday sun.  The square is encircled by towering columns and guardian saints.  Some smile, some beckon, some admonish, but they all judge-a thousand marble eyes judge from lofty pillar tops.  At the center of the square, I took some time to write family and friends some postcards. I sat in the shadow of the towering obelisk and scribbled my aimless thoughts. There are many tourists in the square, yet at the center, their clatter was muffled by the two grand fountains on either side of me.  Water pours over their embellished tiers in sheets.  Children run around them, slipping fingers in and out of their shimmery curtain; grown-ups drink from them, hoping to taste enlightenment.   I did not have enough skill or height to capture the square in all its enormity, but I did capture some telling details.

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Like most monuments and ruins in Rome, the Pantheon is hidden by buildings and without warning, appears suddenly like a vision.  The Pantheon sits at the intersection of many narrow roads.  From outside, it is worn and decrepit-nothing too impressive-but inside, the symmetry and architectural achievement are uncanny.  Its trademark aperture is a perfect circle and the dome is said to be able to fit a perfect sphere.  The ceiling’s reiterative square patterns also create an illusion of movement: if you squint your eyes and turn slightly, the whole roof starts to revolve. During my three days there, I went to the Pantheon many times and sat at McDonald’s across from it.  The placement of the McDonald’s makes me laugh because it is like ancient culture meets fast food.

(The outside of the Pantheon.  This is only half of the Pantheon because the other half is getting a face lift and is indefinitely covered with scaffolds.  I was lucky enough to take this picture right as the lightning struck.  Given that the Pantheon was constructed to honor the mighty gods, this seems eerily divine.)

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But Rome is so much more than places.  Yes, the landmarks are beautiful and experiencing them is a delight but what makes Rome unforgetable is its sense of escape.  When you’re in Rome, you leave the world behind and suddenly your life is on pause…

The Harvard Independent will be having its Commencement Open House on Thursday, May 27, from 4-6pm at its office, SOCH 243 at Hilles in the Quad. Hosted by: Faith Zhang ‘11, EIC, Patricia Florescu ‘11, co-President, and Sam Jack ‘11, EIC Emeritus. We will post signs on the doors to Hilles to let you know how to get into the building and who to call in case there are any problems.

Hope to see you there!

p.s. Indy Alums, won’t you join us on LinkedIn?

To complement my article in this week’s issue, I thought I’d include a few items for those who can’t get enough of Gaga

• * On TheAtlantic.com, Aylin Zafar provides a somewhat tongue-in-cheek, shot-by-shot analysis of Gaga’s “Telephone” video. The Telephone video is so crazy and gestures at so many different things that I thought it best not to even mention it in my article.
• * “The Key of Awesome” created a parody of “Telephone” that cracked me up; there’s a “Bad Romance” parody as well, which is funny b ut not quite as sharp. A sample lyric: “GAGA: Rub a dub dub three nuns in a tub and they’re doing it with a garden gnome. BEYONCE: Please don’t beat me up, but I have to ask what does that have to do with a t elephone?”
• * Finally, the latest bit of Gaga-related gossip, and something for social conservatives to like about her: she advocates abstinence! Sort of.

Houses are gearing up for tomorrow’s Housing Day. EDIT: As of Wednesday night, Lowell finally has a video, albeit a pretty bad one.

In alphabetical order:

Adams This is probably the lamest of the real-people-dancing-to-a-song genre. We get it – you’re close to the yard and have a history of housing rich kids. What else ya got?

Cabot Cute but slightly-too-long spoof of Google search ad

Currier Emphasis on parties. Not bad.

Dunster Short but BALLER spoof of Old Spice superbowl ad with great cutting/editing/sfx.

Eliot Spoof of … Bible?… and “500 Days of Summer” complete with choreographed dance where the “lucky freshman” is most out of sync. Nevertheless, fun and enjoyable.

Kirkland Kirkland residents claim this is to make fun of other Houses’ need to improve their reputations via video, and that they don’t need to. They therefore, unlike Lowell, decided to make a “video.” Everyone else thinks they’re lazy and not good at things.

Leverett I think this is the most well done of the song-and-dance category. Nice jobs, bunnies.

Lowell This is pretty bad. Apparently Lowell gets its pride and creativity from trashing every other House.

Mather Mather = parties. It’s true. It’s also why it smells kinda funny.

Pfoho This is extremely creative and funny, especially for a video that’s this long. Major props, Pfoho.

Pfoho Vid 2 Based on “Empire State of Mind” – also well done. Looks like Pfoho’s got some pretty talented videographers and singers.

Quincy Surprisingly effective for being a bunch of pictures from the same event. Kudos for the excellent song selection.

Winthrop Pretty good. To the freshmen who get placed into Winthrop and Mather – don’t confuse each other’s lions. One of my linkmates in Mather made this error on our Housing Day and ended up getting flipped off by the Winthrop lion.