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Published: April 4th 2007
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Southeastern Spain
The Conley Family An absolutely gorgeous morning here in Southeastern Spain. For the first time since we’ve arrived I was able to get up early and get out on the beach before dawn. The sky as I came out of the building looked mostly clear with some scattered clouds. As I came around our building, however, I was struck dumb by the fiery orange and red clouds reflecting the just-rising sun.
Spaniards (and other tourists, apparently) are late-night people, so I had the beach to myself. The only other human presence was the tractor that scours the beach every morning raking up the seaweed and flotsam that’s washed up overnight.
It was a cool morning, but the promise of the sun and a large mug of English Breakfast tea kept me reasonably warm. As I sat on the sand just above the high tide mark a noisy flock of swallows frolicked above me. The only other sound came from the waves lapping up against the pebbly shore. Out at sea I could see a couple of small fishing boats and what looked like a large naval destroyer (but it is more likely only a cruise ship slipping into Almeria). At one point a small group of ducks sped past, heading to the salt flats south of Almeria as they migrate north from Africa to Europe.
The weather here has not been ideal all week, although today is looking better. It warmed up yesterday to about 70, but the winds out of the northwest are cold and strong. Yesterday I went for a good run along the paseo that follows the beach, and then the kids and I kicked the soccer ball around. Playing on the beach is hard because the sand is so loose, so we went over to a grassy yard on the hotel grounds. Between the strong winds and the umbrella stands every six feet or so, it was quite a challenge. Keenan caught one ball in the nose; otherwise we all escaped injury.
Futball, futball, futball. Watch out Minneapolis United: the Conley kids are eating and breathing futball over here in Spain. Yesterday the four of us went out and played keep-away with the ball for about an hour, and then after dinner we watched a game on TV between Munich and Milan. (The Champions League takes the four best teams from each country’s primary league and pits them against each other.) If osmosis works with soccer, our kids should be the talk of the league this summer. And if nothing else, they’ll be able to shout directions to their teammates in Spanish!
Today is our last day of Spanish classes here in Roquetas. Tomorrow we pack up and head to Granada to experience the end of Holy Week in that ancient city, and to see the Alhambra with the kids. (The attached route map will help you follow along at home!) Tommy has made the most progress in his Spanish; he’s really taken to it and likes to practice outside of class. He loves, for instance, going to the grocery store down the block by himself and spending money. Ryan and Keenan are a bit more reticent, although they are clearly picking it up as well. While they don’t seem to be learning it as fast as I would have thought, its also hard to gauge how much they are soaking up subconsciously. For instance, I have to think when they are watching TV that they are absorbing new words and phrases.
A couple of book recommendations for those who are interested: on the fiction side, “Black Swan Green” by a terrific young English writer named David Mitchell. His last book, “Cloud Atlas”, was stunning. This newer one, which is named for the housing development in which he lives, isn’t quite as ambitious, but it still quite well done. Its about a year in the life of a 13-year old boy in 1982 in the English Midlands as his parents’ marriage disintegrates and he deals with the bullies in his school. Imagine “Catcher in the Rye” and “Lord of the Flies”, but with a great sense of humor and resilience. The main character will stay with you for a long time.
On the nonfiction front: “About Alice” by Calvin Trillin. If you haven’t read Trillin before you really should. This book is really a long article that appeared in the New Yorker last year; its his tribute to his wife, with whom he was deeply in love; she died of lung cancer in 2001 in her early 60s. It’s a wonderful affirmation of marriage.
Finally, “Strangers to Ourselves” by Timothy Wilson, a psychology professor at the University of Virginia. This book was written a couple of years before Malcolm Gladwell’s excellent book “Blink” and covers much of the same ground: the power of our unconscious and why it is such a mystery to us. It is certainly not a “self-help” book, but it does have a lot of interesting ramifications for how we can tap into this part of our brain.
An example: Research shows that our nonconscious mind works as a filter, something like a computer program that scans the internet and alerts us when in finds something interesting. While our five senses can take in more than 11 million pieces of information at any moment, we can only consciously process about 40 of those. The remaining 10,999,960 or so are processed by the unconscious. In addition to being a gatekeeper, the unconscious also interprets information and makes judgments (that we often are not even aware of) about the motives, intentions and dispositions of other people. One of the most fascinating aspects of this, which both Wilson and Gladwell discuss, is how this process affects our perception of people of other races. While we may think that we are not biased or racist, tests can show that our unconscious reacts very differently to blacks than to whites. Very intriguing stuff.
That’s it for now. We’re planning to head into Almeria tonight for dinner and to see another of the Holy Week processions. Because the parade doesn’t start until after 9pm, there is also a siesta in everyone’s future this afternoon. Nos vemos pronto!
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Todd Carter
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Reviews?
Where are the wine reviews? Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking the book reviews but Spain produces some great wines and I have to believe you've found your way to sampling a few :).