Flying South for the World Cup

I made it to Miami International Airport with plenty of time to spare, just the way I like it. If I’d planned to cut it close, I would have been very stressed when I was stuck in traffic on my approach but I prefer to kill time in the terminal than to freak out in my car.

The flight south was an uneventful eight hours of dozing. In my bank of three seats, I chose the window and another guy chose the aisle and, much to my surprise, the middle seat was unoccupied. Luxury!

My seat mate and I got talking and I learned that he had lived in Chapel Hill, not far from my current location in North Carolina, a few years ago. Then the guy from the middle seat in the row ahead of us piped up that he lives in Raleigh. We also discovered that all three of us had been in Cape Town for the World Cup four years ago.

I had arranged for transportation from the airport to my apartment for the month and it confirmed my suspicion that airport traffic is universally crazy. However as we exited the Salvador airport, we drove through a tunnel of bamboo that practically glowed green in the morning light.

So here I am, in Brazil, listening to Dave’s Lounge, writing a blog post about my sixth World Cup vacation. The picture was taken from my balcony a few hours. The sun’s already down. A quick downpour just blew through. I’m exhausted but content.

About Bartholomew Barker

Bartholomew Barker is an organizer of Living Poetry, a collection of poets in the Triangle region of North Carolina where he has hosted a monthly feedback workshop for more than decade. His first poetry collection, Wednesday Night Regular, written in and about strip clubs, was published in 2013. His second, Milkshakes and Chilidogs, a chapbook of food inspired poetry was served in 2017. He was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2021. Born and raised in Ohio, studied in Chicago, he worked in Connecticut for nearly twenty years before moving to Hillsborough where he lives and writes poetry.

View all posts by Bartholomew Barker →

10 Responses to Flying South for the World Cup

Will says:

2014-06-11 at 09:36

Glad you made it safe and sound my friend…. well safe anyway ;)
Looking forward to more installments. Mainstream media in the states is reporting protests… have you encountered any? How about local folk dancing?

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- Bartholomew Barker says:
  
  2014-06-11 at 13:18
  
  There is certainly a lot of poverty and the folks have good reason to complain about all the spending going into the tournament instead of investing in local long term projects but I have not encountered any protests. Everyone seems to be focusing on the opening match tomorrow.
  
  Still searching for a folk dance venue. I’ll keep you posted.
  
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  - Laura says:
    
    2014-06-11 at 16:17
    
    Well don’t forget how to get to your room after the folk dancing!!
    
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Charles says:

2014-06-11 at 10:03

That’s a nice view to be waking up to for the next month!

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- Bartholomew Barker says:
  
  2014-06-11 at 13:20
  
  And that will be the lead picture of my next post. Stand by…
  
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writenaked says:

2014-06-11 at 11:47

The view looks amazing! So happy for you. :) So strange how the Triangle’s corners reached your flight. Maybe more Tar Heelers will be at the games. Looking forward to more Bart-Takes-Brazil!

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- Bartholomew Barker says:
  
  2014-06-11 at 13:18
  
  You need a verb that starts with “B” to continue the alliteration, “Bart-Bs-Brazil!” I leave that as an exercise for the reader.
  
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  - Charles says:
    
    2014-06-11 at 18:05
    
    Bart-Barcrawls-Brazil???
    
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  - writenaked says:
    
    2014-06-12 at 22:25
    
    “Bart Brings It to Brazil” maybe?
    
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  - Will says:
    
    2014-06-13 at 10:09
    
    Bart Blogs about Brazil :-)
    
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