Nodar Kumaritashvili

Friday, February 12th marked the last day of this athlete's life. Apparently, Nodar was practicing on the luge track and due to a faulty design, veered off course, hit his head, and eventually died. Now I am not back in the States and don't have much access to American television, but I wouldn't be surprised if what journalist Milton Kent (Fanhouse--a sports website sponsored by AOL) said was true: the gravity of his death eluded NBC. So, I wanted to place something here, however small it may be, to show that people (Americans, really) do care and that he is in our thoughts.

Oh

Fluorescent lights are so cruel.

As long as we're on the subject of books

I had a craving for a 19th century English novel and settled on Persuasion by Jane Austen. I'm in volume II, and the story is still quite good. Even though I'm well aware of the ending, I'm interested to see how it was written.



I've been quite lucky this year, having time to finish another novel earlier: Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. I thought it was going to be a doozy, but I loved the book, disliked the main character.

In Spain news, I went to Santander (Cantabria) and San Sebastian (Pais Vasco) last weekend with a friend from high school among others. I had a lovely time and will post pictures within a week or two.

Besides travelling, teaching has lost some of its luster. I still think the kids are good and the other teachers are great, but the novelty has definitely worn off. That being said, I'm glad that we have Monday and Tuesday off. I need a break.

Hmm...

Perhaps I should really listen to this book.