You've got to be kidding me

It's easy to forget that the world follows the U.S. political activity and even the nonsense. Burning the Koran? It doesn't surprise me. Nor does it surprise anyone here. Last night (Saturday) Delia invited me to go out with her friends. About ten of us met around 11:30 to have some drinks and engage in conversation; of course this topic came up. We all thought it was absolutely ridiculous. They expressed sympathy for the families whose relatives died in the 9/11 attacks, but felt that making this an issue of religion is dangerous nonsense because a very small portion of the Islamic community is radical. They believe our military engagement in Afghanistan and Iraq strengthens the radicals. I told them they were preaching to the choir, and that the majority of Americans do not have the view the Koran fosters terrorism any more than, for example, the bible does. The debate about the construction of the mosque soon followed, and they were consistent in their belief of religious tolerance. The mosque should not be stopped from being built.

I think it's important to remember Spain has suffered its own terrorist attack in Madrid because their government supported the U.S. in sending military troops to Iraq. That being said they are not just a third party observer of these issues, but suffer from the consequences as well.

A little bit about my living situation:

On Monday I moved in with my host family. Another guy from my group lives there as well, his name is Andrew and is from Santa Cruz. The house is very close to school which is very convenient. We live with a single mother and her two daughters. Delia is 22 or 23 and her sister is 24. They are both studying for their exams that are coming up in the next week or two. Both daughters are very nice and patient with my Spanish. I am learning a lot from them. They have introduced me to many of their friends, and we have already gone out several nights this week. They even took me shopping once, and made it very easy for me. I had three girls (they invited a friend) doing the shopping for me picking out what they thought would look good. They would send me to the dressing room to put on clothes, come out so they could see, I would do a little spin, and then they would come back with a better size. Everyone seems to be much more fashionable here. The women are absolutely gorgeous and don't leave the house without looking good. Lovin it....

Hasta Luego,

P.S.

To my relief I saw in the news today that the burning was canceled, thank god.