¡Baila! ¡Salsa!

I've been taking salsa classes for the past month and I am having too much fun. Tonight's class capped another great day. I literally yelped in class because I was finally getting the steps down with my partner. Three of my classmates also are taking the course - Katie, Sean and William. Katie's excellent, even for a Dukie (I'm joking.) She's a natural on the dance floor. And Sean picks things up so quickly. Will, or Guillermo as we call him in Spanish, always has the hugest grin on his face. Not only are we enjoying cuttin' a rug, but we're dancing with Spaniards and conversing with them. We try our Spanish skills on them, they try their English on us. It's a good deal. And our dance instructor, David, is so funny. Katie wants to stick him in her pocket and take him back to the States. Picture: Sean and Katie before a night of salsa dancing.

Earlier in the day, I took advantage of the lovely weather and strolled through parts of the city I hadn't seen before. And since admittance is free on Tuesdays to the Torre de Oro (Golden Tower), I decided to check it out. The tower is an 8th-century, Moorish tower built on the banks of the Guadalquivir River to protect the city against Christian attacks. The tower's not as grand as you think it should be, but it does the job. From the terrace, you can see for miles and miles. The wind blowing in your face and the wonderful view makes you appreciate living on God's vast earth. The inside of the tower is cool. The interior has been turned into a nautical museum, so it houses naval uniforms, boat replicas and other memorabilia of the sort.



My day of exploration wasn't over. The Modern Spain class took a trip to the Andalucían Parliament building, thanks to our wonderful teacher, Rafa. The Parliament resides here in Sevilla, the capital of Andalucía. (Sidebar: Andalucía is one of 17 autonomous communities that make up Spain.) Our guide, Bernardo, taught us about the former hospital around which the Parliament was built, the political composition of the 100+ representatives and so on. My classmates, teacher and I sat in the grand hall, where meetings take place. The room formerly was a Catholic church, so there are small chapels on the sidewalls and a large painting of saints on the wall behind the president's chair. (Sidebar: They cover that painting during sessions to stay within the separation of church and state.) Of course, I took the opportunity to check out what one of the representatives hides in his desk - there was nothing but writing utensils, of course. Then we all took pictures at the podium. What geeks! But we had a great time learning about policymaking, nonetheless.

From left to right: Me, Jill, Kareemah, Shairy and Sean pretending to be important.

Nearly the whole gang. My teacher, Rafael, is the man in the bottom right hand corner.

And this Friday, I'll be visiting my Aunt Dee Dee and her friend, Liz, in Madrid. Woo hoo!

(Sidebar: I'd like to give a shout out to my brother, Dajonte, who received his license today. to everybody in Kinston: Watch out for a gold Toyota Corolla.)