When Nature Calls

I am through week one of classes, and so far so good. If you're still wondering which topic I chose for my paper, look at the title of this post.

At the moment, I'm listening to Porcupine Tree and thinking about nature in general, but more specifically, the water. Last weekend the program took a trip to the beach. A few friends and I started throwing around a frisbee, and a 10-year-old Spanish boy named Juan joined us. We didn't talk much to him, but we tried to teach him different frisbee throws. After playing for an hour or so, he actually got pretty good. His biggest asset was that he had no fear. He wasn't intimidated by five or six Americans who were twice his age. He just wanted to have a good time.

Meanwhile, my roommate, Ben, and I have been taking advantage of the pool right outside our apartment. With all the little kids jumping in and running around, it can get a bit crazy. Just like Juan, the kiddies have no fear. They're not afraid to run around the pool, or push a complete stranger into the water.

Ben and I are trying to enjoy the pool as much as possible now because it closes in the middle of September for the school year. In Spain (or at least Seville), students have to take a test on everything they learned the year before. This happens right before classes start, so basically they're "supposed" to study for it all summer. I think this defeats the purpose of summer.

Anyway, it's Friday and I'm excited about the weekend. Tomorrow may be the beach in Cadiz (one of the nicest beaches in Spain), and next weekend could be the Alahambra in Granada or a soccer game. FC Sevilla is the big team around here, and people go nuts when there's a game. It's a little crazier than Philadelphia for an Eagles game, if you can believe it. Trying to get tickets is even harder, but I'm going to give it a shot.

I'm trying to stay away from American sports, TV, the English language, and even American music! They get "The Simpsons" in Spanish here, and I imagine I could find a sports bar to watch a football game on Sunday. My rooommate is a Cowboys fan, so it would be great to get to a bar for an Eagles vs. Cowboys game. We shall see.

I took some more photos, and I should have another album up early next week. It will probably include some shots 0f my apartment and the neighborhood, but for now, this is a shot of the fountains on a main street called Avenida de la Constitución in the middle of town.

One final thought. If you're into '90s rock and will be around/awake around the hours of 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. EST Saturday night, check out Alternagold on VIC Radio.

Have a great weekend!