1:30 am

I love it! We had people over to our place tonight. Much better than spending money at the bar anyway. We sat up on the terrace drinking wine, listening to Spanish music and talking. About so many things. Soccer, movies, travel, work. I brought out my map and everyone showed where they lived. Then we started in on bullfights. Tim is very supportive of them, while Andre and Jeannet are very against. Everyone else has varying degrees of disdain. We talked about government regulation and popular support. Then we moved on to the death penalty where Andre and Jeannet were for it and Tim and I were against. They said that since Holland has such liberal laws, they are forced to support it because otherwise killers can get off easily. I argued about not always having absolute proof that someone is guilty. It was a very good discussion. I brought up "The Thin Blue Line." Andre brought up a case in Holland where a child-killer got out in 5 years. It was great. We then moved on to the Gulf War, Iraq, then back to bullfighting, the government and its role, the ozone and CFCs, abortion, political correctness, feminism, Nazism, David Duke, back to bullfighting and the death penalty, and finally ended up with religion. Fantastic! Andre, Tim and I stayed on for an hour and a half after everyone else left. God, I wish I could have recorded it. These different cultures mingling. Every once in a while, two or three people would break off onto a side topic -- sometimes in German. Cool! I was watching Andre's shadow on the wall as he was talking and imagining making a film or video. God, there's so much! I love this life! I went to Torreblanca last night to see the gang. It's nice to see them, but this is where I need to be. I talked to Matt and Elizabeth yesterday. I want them to be here!