On another subject, i recently saw Spellbound, the spelling bee documentary that Alec recommended. I must say I've really become fond of documentaries, you run accross the craziest people. They also got lucky in their choice of who to follow and so the actual bee (which is the second half of the film) has just the right amount of suspense.

I didn't like the undercurrent of silly "only in america"-patriotism, I mean america's great and all, but its not really that much different from a lot of other places. I also didn't like the way homeschooling came accross... The homeschooler got cast as "the bad guy" and was only briefly looked at and only in the most unflattering light.

The girl from Washington DC is the sweetest person ever, its hard to believe she exists, i hope she's still like that in 10 years and life in the city doesn't beat it out of her.

I was also reminded how fascinating it is to meet a bunch of 8th graders because they're at the age where some of them come accross almost completely as adults (e.g. the girl from New Haven) and the only thing they're lacking to function as adults is a little experience, while other people are still 8 year olds (e.g. the boy who was like me when i was that age and can't stop talking).