Today, I read a really interesting article about European soccer. The article was called Spain, the New Brazil and it was written by John Doyle. The article was about the rise of the Spanish team and their recent game against Belgium. Spain's past isn't very impressive when compared to the best teams but with their new coach this year, things seem to be different. They have won the past 3 games without even giving up a goal. They are viewed as a cock group of people but now they seem to have the talent to back it up. In the first 7 minutes of their game against Belgium, they were scored on and taken by surprise.  Spain then came back with a goal to tie it up and the rest of the match was hard fought. In the 88th minute of the game, like champions, Spain scored again. They held on to the match and won 2-1. Spain plays with unique speed and rhythm. They are on the rise and it is said that they have become the new Brazil.  

Today, I read a great article about one of my teammates that was in the Edina Sun Current and was written by John Sherman. The article was called Soccer Star Sierks Credits her teammates for her Success and it was about the Julie and our soccer team's success this season. The girls' varsity soccer team this year was undefeated in the regular season and lost in the Section Finals against Eden Prairie in a shoot out. Julie was a key player on the team this year with 27 goals and 10 assists. In the article she was very modest with all of her success and was very complimentary of all her teammates. The Hornets were the first team in Edina's (soccer) history to go through their main season being completely undefeated. Last year, the team had immense success taking second in state against Lakeville South and were able to rematch them this year in a Blaine soccer tournament. The Hornets won in the rematch 5 to 0. Overall the soccer team had a very successful year but were disappointed to lose before state.  

For my reading this week, I found an article on UsaToday.com about the destructive wild fires in California. The article is called Thousands Flee as Wild Winds Fan California Wildfires and is was written by Shaya Tayefe Mohajer. The article summarized the the horrible conditions they are experiencing in California. They have been battling not only the ferocious wildfires but also the high winds. In southern California, the fire's size practically doubled throughout the night and it has destroyed many homes. In San Diego County, over 1,000 homes were evacuated and so far the fire has killed 2 people; one by the flames and the other died in a car crash because of flames on the highway. The winds have gotten up to 50 mph and the firefighters are working extremely hard to put this fire out. I was really rattled when I read this article and I couldn't even imagine what it would be like to have to leave my home to evacuate for a fire coming for my home.  

Today I read an article on The New York Times website. This article was called Dangerous Fruit and it was written by Lisa Sanders. This article was about a man who had strange symptoms of diabetes for being diabetes-free and very healthy for his middle age. He experienced dizziness (almost fainting), sweating, lack of concentration and extremely low blood sugar levels. At one point, his blood sugar was as low as 27, which is low enough to kill a person. He finally talked to his doctor and his doctor ran many tests which all came up clean. After a trip to the emergency room due to his low blood sugar, the doctors found the cause. A fruit he had eaten on a trip to Jamaica and Canada caused all of his suffering. The Ackee fruit, when picked before it is completely ripe can cripple the body's ability to successfully regulate its blood sugar. Ackee is illegal in the United States because many people have died from this fruit. 

I just recently was looking at the New York Times online and I came across a really interesting article about a spot called parkour. It involves gymnastics and the spiritual part of martial arts. Parkour was started in France 18 years ago and is developing in the United States. The sport itself looks like climbing and jumping over and around city structures (railings, cement walls etc.) and keeping your movements fluid. Currently, parkour is composed of mostly men with only some women. This sport brings out the different strengths in men and women. Men generally have more upper body strength whereas more of a woman's strength is in her legs. These differences allow the athlete in parkour to tailor their movements. Some of the athletes have said that it is more effective for them to strengthen their bodies with their own weight so doing push ups and sit ups are better for them. Also, flexibility throughout the whole body is very important.  This article is called Climbing Walls Because They Are There and I found it on the New York Times website (nytimes.com). 

Yesterday I read an article about pandas in China being fed chicken soup. The article I read was called "Pandas at China Zoo Fed Chicken Soup for Health" and I found it on CNN.com. The article talked about how just regular, homemade chicken soup can help boost the health of pandas. The Wuhan Zoo in central China started feeding their two pandas chicken soup on the national holiday which is their peak in travel season and the busiest time at their zoo. The pandas were fatigued, having not gotten enough sleep and also were in shock with all of their visitors. The pandas loved the soup right away and it was shown to boost their health. 

For this week's reading assignment, I read the a couple chapters in the novel I'm reading. Currently, I'm reading New Moon, written by Stephenie Meyer. It is the second book in the Twilight that I began reading this summer. The most recent part of the book I read was about Bella, the main character trying to figure out how to keep herself distracted enough so that she won't think about Edward. (Edward is the boy/vampire that she is in love with but cannot be with). She had been spending lots of time with Jacob, her new best and really only friend. Her real intentions for being with him is to do dangerous things that might provoke Edward to talk to her. In the last chapter I read, Bella and Jacob had decided to take out their dirt bikes (which they had been working on for a while) and they had a lot of fun learning how to ride them. With all the excitement of their new bikes, Bella got a little too excited and fell off hers and got hurt.