'Donde esta la tortuga?" I would ask my friend. "La Tortuga esta en el agua," she would matter-of-factly reply. Such was the extent of my command of the Spanish language during the three-week trip I took to Spain last summer. For those of you who are similarly unfamiliar with the language, this question-answer phrase is translated as, "Where is the turtle?" "The turtle is in the water.

With the installation of new laundry machines in all of the College Houses, student will no longer need to save up their quarters - laundry will be free for the next two years. Housing Services recently signed a new contract with Equipment Marketers, a commercial laundry equipment distributor based in New Jersey.

No wonder Penn volleyball captain Kathryn Turner is talking about a steep learning curve. Not only does the Ivy League have an abbreviated preseason schedule - a disadvantage against non-conference opponents who have already played matches by now - but the Quakers haven't won a season opener since 2004.

From beat boxing to African drumming, if you have a performing-arts talent, Penn has a group for you. But with over 40 groups that are part of PAC in addition to other performing arts groups on campus, how do you get the scoop on which dance troupe or a cappella group to join? Freshman Performing Arts Night, sponsored by the Performing Arts Council, showcases many of Penn's dance, theater, a cappella, comedy, spoken word and other musical groups on campus in one night.

About 15 minutes before most students returned to Philadelphia, they were instructed to return their tray tables to the full upright and locked position. Better advice would have been to carry them off the plane: Trays on Penn's campus have begun to make themselves scarce.

Refocusing the drinking discussion To the Editor: President Gutmann notes that she has not seen conclusive evidence confirming the claim "that the higher drinking age causes increased levels of binge drinking" ("Gutmann: Drinking-Age debate needed" 8/28/08).

Megan Tryon will make her presence known at the Palestra today, when the Penn volleyball team opens its season. But her prowess stems from other playing surfaces: Over her long athletic career, the sophomore setter has also demonstrated her skills in the sand and on the pitcher's mound.

In the past, acceptance into college was, for the most part, a black-and-white issue: The letter started with either words of congratulations or a regretful "We are sorry to inform you." But this year things didn't always end there. Many colleges - including Penn - accepted a large number of students off their waitlists, a trend some experts say is likely to continue in the near future.

Photos by Anna Cororaton, Andrew Gardner, Toby Hicks, Alyssa Rosenzweig, and Andrew Townley

Sick and tired of boring burgers? Try the newest burger joint on campus: Top This. The new burger joint opened in 1920 Commons earlier this week. Top This replaced Chick-Fil-A, which closed at the end of last semester after several years on campus. According to Business Services spokeswoman Barbara Lea-Kruger, Penn Dining created Top This in response to a survey taken last spring and ongoing student feedback indicating that "Chick-Fil-A was just not popular," and students "would like to see something different.

Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader will speak at Penn later this month. Nader will deliver the keynote address, titled "Social Justice in the Post-Bush Era," at the School of Social Policy and Practice's centennial celebration, according to a University press release.

Rep. Bob Brady is starting things off here in northeastern Philly at the Ironworkers Union. Lots of union members in the audience, and the kind of working class voters Biden needs to appeal to on behalf of Obama.

Two former employees of the University filed discrimination lawsuits against Penn over the summer. In one case, Lucretia Nelson, a former employee at the University's Medical Center, is charging the Medical Center with harassment based on national origin and retaliation.

When the Penn field hockey team last faced Rutgers, Meghan Rose took matters into her own hands. On a breakaway 20 seconds into overtime, her roller found the back of the net to give the Quakers their third-straight win over the Scarlet Knights. But that was two years ago, and in May, Rose - and most of the Quakers' firepower - graduated.

Athletic Department officials are overhauling the season-ticket policy for the men's basketball program in an effort to transform the student section into a more formidable sixth man. Starting this year, participants in the annual tradition of The Line - the surprise nighttime announcement and overnight Palestra bash where students trade sleep for tickets - will now get a general-admissions pass to the stud ent section of the Palestra, rather than a reserved seat for every game.

Tri-captain Eileen Larkin said that this season, the women's soccer team is focused on improvement. She and her teammates seem to have forgotten that they're the Ivy League champs. It also must have slipped the Quakers' minds that they did not lose a single player from last year's squad, whose 13 wins were the second most in in program history.

As the textbook industry adapts to the digital age, it is harnessing technology in a search for solutions to perennial frustrations over high costs. Most stakeholders agree that the future of textbooks is electronic, but their motives and methods are different.