My friend, Keith

As most of you know, my friend Keith died very unexpectantly on Sunday, July 22. He was only 33 years old, and he was studying to be a Spanish teacher here with me in Salamanca. The unoficial cause of death is flooding of the lungs caused by acute bronchitis and asthma, but I think the coroner hasn´t completed his full analysis yet. At least nobody thinks that he suffered.

Keith was such a sweet guy, and he didn´t have a mean bone in his body. We had a lovely memorial service for him last night, and it was a true testament to him that everyone in our group was there (despite having finals today and tomorrow) along with his professors, classmates, and other friends. Everyone had such kind words to say about him, and he certainly will be missed.

Today, we´re meeting at 5:00 to climb the Cathedral´s bell tower in his honor. Keith had gone on a tour of the Cathedral last week, and he wanted to climb the bell tower, but he couldn´t because he didn´t have enough money to do it (I think he only had like 1 euro on him). This was something he really wanted to do before leaving Salamanca, but because he got sick, he unfortunately never had the chance to return. Our director thought it´d be nice if we climbed it in his honor.

Here´s a fun picture that I took of Keith and some of the other guys on our trip. Keith is the one on the far left, wearing the striped t-shirt and sun glasses. Thanks for your continued thoughts and prayers.