Image via Wikipedia

Spanje is na Frankrijk het populairste vakantieland bij Nederlanders. Niet gek dus dat ruim 170.000 Nederlanders Spanje als hun tweede thuis beschouwen.

Ze hebben er een huis of appartement gekocht om er de lange Noordeuropese winters door te brengen of om er permanent te wonen. Er wonen inmiddels zoveel Nederlanders aan de costa's dat er plaatsen zijn waar je naar de Nederlandse bakker en slager kunt gaan en waarbij de buren ook van Nederlandse komaf zijn. Kortom, je hoeft geen woord Wonen aan de Costa BlancaSpaans te spreken, als je dat niet wilt. Al is het natuurlijk altijd beter van wel want de echte avonturier zal niet willen blijven hangen in de Nederlandse enclave. Al wordt dat steeds moeilijker, want volgens de website Spanjeadvies.nl zullen er in 2010 zo’n 700.000 Nederlanders alleen al aan de Costa Blanca wonen.

Een groot deel van die Nederlanders bestaat uit gepensioneerden, die onder meer vanwege hun gezondheid, kiezen voor het aangename klimaat. Terwijl in Frankrijk de meeste Nederlanders in kleine binnenlandse dorpen op zoek gaan naar een huis, zijn in Spanje bijna alle Nederlanders geconcentreerd aan de kusten. In het binnenland komen vooral rustzoekers.

But why am I great?

I'm fourteen years old.

It all started... Two weeks ago on a Saturday evening in New York City. I was attending a CFI conference called The Secular Society and Its Enemies which Richard Dawkins, my personal hero, just so happened to be speaking at. He wanted to have dinner with all the students who were group leaders of a CFI-On Campus group so that he could learn more about their activities, and since I just so happen to be a group leader of a CFI-On Campus group, I got the excellent privilege of eating dinner with him and sitting at the same table...

In fact, he wanted my seat so he kicked me out and let me sit across from him...

Anyway, we helped him pick his meal (he got some kind of fish that was served with rice and peas and carrots) and then he toasted us... or did he toast us first and then? Nah... He ordered, then toasted us... Yeah.

So, we were taking turns standing and talking about the activities on our campuses and the challenges we faced...

And I stood up...

And I talked about how I'm starting one at a high school (I was the only high school student there)...

And he took interest somewhat, asked what age range high school was. I said 14-18. He asked me how old I was... and... I said fourteen. I must've left an impression, because when I e-mailed him this Monday he said this:

"Oh my, what a truly delightful letter. Splendid (I kind of used the adjective splendid about five times in the letter), even! Thank you so very much for writing it. It is a joy to me that you like Unweaving the Rainbow so much and that it has helped to make you happy.

I think you must have realised how impressed I was, when I learned that you were fourteen. When you stood up to speak to the company about your work at your high school, I assumed that you must be a university undergraduate who had visited old her high school to give them a talk and persuade them to start a secular group. I thought that was a fine thing to do. Then it became clear that you were not a university student at all, but still at your high school. I asked you how old you were, expecting you to say 18, and about to leave for university. When you said FOURTEEN, I was bowled over, and I think I said something to that effect. If you carry on at your present rate, you are certainly going to make your mark in the world. If there is anything I can do to help you, please let me know."

Now, I don't mean to brag... but that's why I'm great.