Friday, May 31st, 2013

Again I had difficulty getting to sleep and I got up 4 times during the night.  I’m not going to have iced tea in the evening again.  The only reason I had it again this time is because I wanted to find out the size of the bottle.

I think it rained all night, not hard, just a steady rain.

On the way to Exito I got to say good morning to the pretty young lady as I passed her walking her dog.
 

On the way back from Exito with my milk I noticed guys walking the streets delivering the latest issue of Gente newspaper.

Today I finished Toward the Setting Sun: Columbus, Cabot, Vespucci, and the Race for America by David Boyle.  It was good to read about those explorers but I didn’t need all the background and history of all the characters related to them.

 

Again today I was fully dressed and comfortable all afternoon.

 On my way to lunch I gave the remainder (probably about 2/3) of my bag of milk to the lady sitting on the street corner, with her 2 little kids, selling little packages of cookies and candies.  She seemed to appreciate it.  We’ll see how it goes next time.

 About noon I had Teriyaki Chicken for lunch at Sarku’s with a pepsi.

 

I had a large pepsi from Frisby’s while I started reading a chess book I brought with me Comprehensive Chess Course Volume II from the States.

 
Dario joined me a little after 2pm and we had a long close game that I won in the endgame.  As the game was nearing the end a couple of young men stopped at our table and watched till the end.  Dario had to leave and one of the young men, Andrew, who was wearing a chess t-shirt, (that should have been a clue!) sat down and started to push me all over the board.  Near the end I suckered him into taking a free piece and I got an easy back rank checkmate.  We played another game and he made a mistake early and I got a pretty quick win.  Then the 3^rd game was real close to the end and he won that game.
 
He wanted to play another but it was 5pm and I told him I was tired and had had enough.  I explained to Dario and Andrew I would probably be unavailable next Monday thru Wednesday but I would be there Thursday and Friday.  I think this could be the beginning of a chess club.
 

BTW, it rained all afternoon from about 1:30 on.

 
After Earth opened today.  It only got a 5.3 rating on IMDB.com but I still want to see it if I can find it here with subtitles.  Another movie The Kings of Summer sounds interesting too but, not being an action movie, it might be harder to find here.
 

Dinner was beef shish kebab at SanJote for 9mil ($5) plus a strawberry shake for another 4mil ($2.22).  There was some question about the order but I didn’t understand so I just told them it wasn’t important.  As I was waiting for my order I think I figured out that they were asking me how I wanted it cooked.  It turned out to be medium which was fine with me.  But I still like the chicken shish kebab the best.

I checked the movie theaters here and so far neither of the movies I mentioned previously are playing today.  All the theaters are showing Iron Man 3, Fast & Furious 6, and Hangover III. 

Thursday, May 30th, 2013

I went to bed at 10:30, got up 3 times during the night, woke up about 5am and got up at 6am.

Uh-Oh!  The ants got into my milk.  Sorry, but I’m hungry; I think I probably ate a lot of ants with my cereal.  Starting next month (when I can afford it) I’m going to have to stop keeping milk overnight.  I’m sure I can find someone to give my leftover milk to when I’m finished with it for the morning.

10am A small jeep pulls up with an EmpreStur logo on it, a guy gets out and opens all the “boxes” in the sidewalk and using a hand held device records the numbers from the meters in the sidewalk and the gas meters at the side of the driveway.  (I can see EPM on his shirt which, according to my bill, must be the name of the utility (gas, water, electric) company.)

We’re only supposed to have a high of 78 degrees today so I went out fully dressed: jeans, tennis shoes, socks, and a short sleeved shirt.

12:15 I was at Likkes on Avenida 80 again having another of their 7mil lunch specials.  Today it was beef rice soup with 2 small meatballs, a little dab of something similar to potato salad with chunks of fresh pineapple, rice, a small arepa, a fried egg, a big slice of chicken, and some juice similar to, but thicker than, watermelon juice.  (Only one other customer.)

1:00 I was at Laureles Mall and from 1:15-1:45 it poured with 1 huge crack of thunder.  Studied some chess openings and then I left about 3:30.

Of course, as I’m leaving for dinner about 5:45 it starts raining – at least lightly.

For dinner I first bought a bottle of Lipton peach tea for 3,500 ($1.94) from Sarku.  (I did the math and that’s 2.375mg of caffeine per oz.  A bottle is 500ml for a total of 40mg of caffeine.)  I had a 6” chicken sandwich for 7mil ($3.89) from Subway along with one of their macadamia cookies 1900 ($1.06).

Those inexpensive 7mil lunches at Likkes on Avenida 80 have really helped my budget.  I have enough money left so that even if I don’t get money in my account on the 1^st I’ll still have enough left over to see me through the weekend.

I watched The Lucky Ones “Pennsylvania at War” on PBS from 7pm to 8pm.

Wednesday, May 29th, 2013

Went to bed at 10:15 and got up at 6:15 though I was up 4 times during the night.

Coming out of Exito with my milk I went down the opposite hallway and at 8:35 I saw what looked like the beginning of an exercise class.  I counted 15 ladies there on their yoga mats.  So what I know so far is it’s on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 8:30 till at least 9:30.

I finally got an email from my friend Eddie who had lost his laptop on the bus.  What I learned is: he emailed me using his smart phone; he still hasn’t replaced his laptop; he hasn’t continued with his blog; he’s in Panama and plans on getting to Colombia on June 8^th.  He’s going to Skype me tonight after 7:30.

I finally got past Course 1, Level 1, Unit 1 in Rosetta Stone!  Yeah!

I had lunch again at that local restaurant along Avenida 80: salad, bean soup, rice, a small arepa, a fried egg, chicken and a large glass of orange juice for 7mil ($3.89) – tip & tax included remember!  When I was paying for my meal I picked up one of their business cards so now I know the name of the restaurant and their exact address – Restaurante Likkes at Carrera 81 # 37D-19.   Soon I’ll go back and update the earlier mentions with this newly found information.

After lunch I headed to Laureles Mall and started studying my openings again.  I was joined at 2pm by the same man I was playing against yesterday.  I had him write his name down – it’s Dario Arcilaf.  He mentioned that every afternoon around the stadium there are people playing chess.  I’ll check it out next month when I can afford the taxi ride.  Today I won one game, lost one quickly, and tied one.

Dinner was chili again at El Comidor in Laureles Mall for 11,700 ($6.50) including the mango juice.

I have just enough money left to eat well for the next 2 days before the new money arrives.

No rain today!  So far.  

9:50 it started raining. 

Tuesday, May 28th, 2013

I had a real good night’s sleep from 11pm to 6am only getting up once during the night.  I was actually awakened by what sounded like a dove’s repetitive song somewhere outside my bedroom window. 

After breakfast I did something different.  I took my chess set and books to Laureles Mall and starting studying a specific opening.  (I have a tournament style plastic roll up board with pieces that fit perfectly into a carrying case.)  For about 3 hours I studied an opening is called the English.   Then I had my usual hamburger combo #3 at Gordog’s for 11mil.  Later I had a large Pepsi from Frisby for 3700.

Right after lunch a Colombian asked if he could play a game of chess with me and of course I said “sure”.  It was a real close game, he really had me against the ropes but I prevailed in the end.  He thanked me for the game and then left.

About 2pm it started pouring and was noticeably cooler, especially to me in my shorts and sandals.  Lol.  And at times there was very strong thunder.

I started studying my opening again and another Colombian asked if he could play.  Again it was a very close game and I thought I was going to get crushed early on but I barely eked out a victory again.  For both those wins I was playing the white pieces – considered a slight advantage.  Then he asked if we could play another game.  This time I had black and again he was crushing me early on.  I hung on and had just found the move to give me a definite advantage and he had to leave.  He spoke pretty good English and asked me if I come there often.  I said everyday and I understood he’s there 2 or 3 times a week in the afternoon.  I didn’t understand his name even though he told me twice, next time I’ll have him write it down.  I told him I would start coming in the afternoons and I would bring my chess set.  I finally left about 4pm.

I bought a kilo of strawberries for 3 mil from the guy on the corner.

5:10 I found another small lizard on the garbage can in the kitchen.  I was able to scoop him up without hurting him and I tossed him on the small tree next to my balcony.

5:15 and it’s raining again. 

6pm and I had dinner at Viva: another ham sandwich at Subway for 7mil and a Lipton iced tea, peach, from Sarku’s 3500 ($5.83) total.  And strawberries back home for dessert!

Uh Oh!  I just Googled the tea and found the peach flavor has 19mg of caffeine per 8oz serving.  Well, we’ll see how I sleep tonight.

I’m planning on watching Constitution USA on PBS at 8pm.

It started raining at 9:15 and was still raining when I went to bed.

 

Monday, May 27th, 2013

Happy Memorial Day everyone!

Went to bed about 10:15; got up 3 times to use the bathroom so I probably didn’t get the amount of REM sleep I need which is why my eyes feel so tired.

After the usual – exercise, shower, coffee, and newspaper – I bought a new box of Fitness cereal (this time with dried fruit) for 17,930 ($9.96) at Exito.  Seems like a lot for just a box of cereal but when you break it down to a daily cost it’s really pretty cheap.  I also looked a little further in the produce area in Exito and found real bananas so I think that confirms what I had before was plantain.  My one banana to add to the last of my regular Fitness cereal was 209 pesos (12 cents).  On the way out I did hear an exercise session going on down the other hallway.

Back at home I saw Martha (the landlady) meet some guy who pulled up on a motorcycle.  I think she showed him the apartments upstairs. 

After breakfast I took a nap but about 30 minutes into it I heard someone buzz the apartment.  At least I think it was mine you can’t be sure in this echo chamber.  Lol.  I thought maybe Martha wanted to show him my apartment.  By the time I got some clothes on and got to the balcony all I saw was the mailman walking down the street.  I checked the garage but there wasn’t anything there.

For lunch I had the Chicken Teriyaki and coconut lemonade 14,600 ($8.11) at Sarku’s again at Viva mall.  When I got back to the apartment I was surprised to see the full tree next to my balcony – belonging to the neighbor – had been cut back to the extent that at my level I can now see branches instead of only leaves.

 

4:30 and I see a very tiny lizard crawling toward me.  I haven’t seen one of those in weeks.  It’s only about 1 ½” long.  It took me just a few seconds to trap him under my hand and then I tossed him into the flower box outside the balcony.

I removed the sugar container from the kitchen table and that seems to have reduced the number of ants substantially.  (And they haven’t come back to the laundry room.)

Dinner was a pork shish kebab at SanJote Parilla in Laureles Mall 9mil ($5) and a strawberry milkshake 4mil ($2.22).  It was good but I liked the chicken version better; maybe next time I’ll try the beef.

Then I was back home at 7pm to watch The Bachelorette on ABC using USTVNOW.  Of course I’d rather it be The Bachelor because there would be lot more ladies to see.  Luckily I was able to get a broadband connection.

I checked the movie theatres here and Fast & Furious 6 and Hangover 3 appear to be the big movies this week.  After Earth starts this Friday and I hope to see it sometime next week if I can find a theatre showing it with subtitles which would mean it is in the original English with subtitles in Spanish.  (One of the things I did this past week is re-create a file containing the URLs for all the movie theaters in Medellin.)

 8pm and I hear thunder!  But no rain.

Sunday, May 26th, 2013

Went to bed at 10pm and slept through until almost 5am.  Got up at 7 and after the usual morning routine I headed to Laureles Mall for breakfast.

BTW, we had no rain at all yesterday.  When I checked the weather prediction this morning I was surprised to see the prediction for rain has changed to only 40% for today and tomorrow, 30% for Tuesday, 40% for Wednesday before going back to 60% for a couple days.

As I was entering the mall property I was confronted by a large dog that approached me menacingly.  The owner, a young lady, was nearby but wasn’t paying much attention.  Now I have to digress for a moment.

Before I left the States I went to a store that supplies the police and I purchased a small bottle of pepper spray.  Since I lost my laptop, call me paranoid, but I carry it with me wherever I go.  (I also keep it beside my bed when I go to sleep.)  I only put it away when I enter public places or when there are police or security guards nearby.

So, back to the dog, I pointed it at the dog and said, in Spanish, “be careful”, and the owner finally woke up to what was happening and called the dog off immediately.  That’s the closest I’ve come to using it thus far – and it wasn’t really that close.

At Laureles Mall I had an inexpensive breakfast (5800 pesos; $3.25) the Huevos Revueltos (Breakfast Combo #1) at Bunuelos Express.  The same one I’ve had before which included scrambled eggs with your choice of bacon, tomato, ham, or sausage; arepa w/ cheese or butter; and hot chocolate or coffee.  

I noticed something new has been added to the lower level of Viva mall, a stand alone kiosk for making keys.

On the way back to my apartment I also got a good look at the young lady I’ve often seen before from a distance walking her dog.  She is very pretty with a nice figure but she does have a lot of freckles on her face.  Hmm.  I wonder if she’s Irish.  Lol.

Had a late lunch at Laureles Mall – it is really crowded from about 1-2:30pm and I don’t like to feel rushed so I waited until about 2:15 and finally grabbed a table.  I had the Hamburger Combo #3 at Gordog’s.  Here is what the “dog run” and “playground” area looks like from the food court area of Laureles Mall:

Looking left from Laureles food court.

Left center from food court.

Right center from food court.

Looking right from food court.

Busy Sunday at the food court.

Walking back to my apartment I noticed the guy who works at the “Clases Ingles” “store” sitting outside having a cigarette so I took this opportunity to talk to him.  His name is John William (first & middle names) and he has been teaching English for 3 years I think he said.  After chatting for about 30 minutes we walked down to the corner store and had a soda and talked for about another 30 minutes.  He said he would love it if I would stop by sometime and talk to his students to improve their English and he said he would help me with my Spanish.

It’s 5:30 and Athletico Nacional is supposed to be playing so I’m going to see if I can watch the game somewhere where I can also get a bite to eat.

Well, it’s 5:30 and my goal now is to get a little something to eat while I watch the Athletico Nacional futbol game which is supposed to be starting now.  I’m real curious as to who will be showing the game.  From a block away I could see by the green (grass) of the TV at the corner store that they were showing the game there.  I could see in the Viva food court that they were showing the game there.  I was real surprised that they weren’t showing the game at Laureles Mall.  Their TVs just had their rotating series of advertisements for the mall as they usually do.  So I headed back to Viva and while ordering a coconut lemonade at Sarku another one of the managers struck up a conversation with me.  His name is Felipe and he gave me his business card.  The man standing next to him was the owner and when he found out I was from Chicago he mentioned they have 17 employees coming back tonight from the restaurant show at McCormick Place.  After chatting with them I ordered a tuna sandwich from Subway.  When I sat down to eat and watch the game it didn’t take me long to figure out that the game was of 2 different teams than the one I wanted – Atletico Nacional.

After I finished eating I walked over to the corner store, picked out a plastic chair and sat down near the screen.  A young man asked me if I’m American and asked if he could sit with me because he doesn’t often have the opportunity to speak English very often.  His name is David, he’s Colombian but he moved to Miami while very young.  His apartment is just 4 building down from the store and he mentioned that he was going to start a new job Tuesday selling coffee on the street across from Exito.  (What a way to make a living.)

I had another Tutti Frutti for 1mil.  Atletico was winning 1-0 when it started to rain.  I didn’t care that much for the game so I paid for my drink, wished David luck in his new job, and headed home.

Saturday, May 25th, 2013

9pm last night it rained for a little bit just so you don’t think we didn’t get any yesterday.  BTW, checking Weather.com it predicts a 60% chance of rain every day for the next 10 days.

I slept well from 11pm to 7am although I did get up 3 times for trips to the bathroom.  I hope I got enough sleep so I don’t need a nap today.

Around noon I headed to Laureles Mall and had Combo #2 at Frisby (fried chicken with cole slaw and Pepsi) for 17,100 ($9.50).  I even received a visit from Mr. Frisby himself:

Mr. Frisby looking over my shoulder.

 I wore jeans, tennies (sp?) and t-shirt and was okay until mid afternoon when I needed a cool down so I had a 2 dip cone with coconut and chocolate chip with peanuts sprinkled on top.

I left at 4pm as my iPad was getting low.  I’ll go back later for dinner with my Nook.

Here are some numbers about U.S. citizens living abroad from an article on Foxnews Latino. According to the article, "between 2.2 million to 6.8 million Americans live in another country." What a wide range:

The authors conceded that coming up with a number of Americans overseas "is a significant challenge."

"Unlike many countries, the United States does not require its citizens to register a place of residence, either in the United States or abroad," the report said. "Further, there is no longer a central database against which to calculate U.S. citizen departures. Nevertheless most estimates do show an upward trend over time."

Estimates of how many Americans become expatriates each year varies widely, with ranges from 18,000 to 45,000, the report said.

6pm I tried the Beans with ground beef which included a slice of avocado and a small arepa for 8,700 ($4.83) and a mango juice for another 2,700 ($1.50) at El Comedor de Chava in Laureles Mall.

Not a good place to use my Nook at night.  The lighting isn’t so good there.  I could read it but it was a strain.

7:44 I’m back home and I hear band music coming from the area of the church a couple blocks away.

Looking at my postings it’s interesting that some are read 4 times and some as many as 12 times.

7:55 and a few professional style fireworks go off from the area of the church.  By the time I get to the balcony and sit in my chair they’re over.  They only lasted something like 30 seconds.  But I see what looks like a full moon coming up in the east; anyway it’s big and beautiful.

I also see the neighborhood girl from across the street run across the street, carrying some blankets and a pillow, with another girl and they go into the house next door.  They’re about 8-10 years old.  Looks like a sleepover to me. 

 

Friday, May 24th, 2013

I slept pretty well.  I went to bed at 11pm and woke up at 4:20.  It was raining when I went to bed and it was raining when I woke up.  It probably rained all night.  Then I had trouble getting back to sleep finally getting up at 7am – at least the rain had stopped by then.

After exercising, shower, coffee and reading the newspaper I headed to Viva.  On the way out the man working downstairs on Lionel’s apartment told me he was going to fix some of the problems in my apartment later.  After buying a banana and milk at Exito I headed downstairs and bought a chocolate peanut donut for 2,700 ($1.50) at Dunkin Donut.  Is that how much it costs for a donut in the States?  It sounds a little high to me.  I probably won’t be buying many more because they aren’t the cake donuts I’m used to they are the yeast donuts I don’t care for as much.  On my way out of Viva I heard an exercise class going on down the other corridor.  So that’s at least Monday & Friday that I’ve heard them.

Exercise

Speaking of exercise, the local park is like a health club for some of the young men in the area.  They use the traditional metal playground as their workout equipment.  Things like pushups on the concrete park benches, pullups on the monkey bars, situps on the stairs for the slide, etc.

Cool! I just discovered something called a “snipping tool” on this computer.  It allows me to cut & paste things you normally wouldn’t be able to, for example part of a PDF file.

Today RS is working for me although I have yet to catch up to where I was on the old system.  But I think I’m getting close!

I did need another nap today – from about 10:30 – 11:30.  I wish I could get my sleep pattern in order so I could eliminate these!

Lunch today was pasta of the day, Spaghetti Carbonara, at Alfredo’s in Viva mall for 6900 ($3.83).  It was ok but certainly not my favorite as it had more of a Fettuccini Alfredo sauce rather than a tomato based one

Dan Brown’s latest book in the Robert Langdon series, Inferno, was released on May 14, 2013 and I just saw a large display of it in paperback while I was in Exito.  (If you want to “read” a condensed version just go to Google and type in Dan Brown Inferno and you will see it in Wikipedia.org.)

About 3:30 the man who had been working on Lionel’s door downstairs stopped by and fixed 3 things in my apartment: the slight drip from my hot water heater that was leaving a stain on the floor; the stain under the toilet paper holder in the guest bathroom; and the light switch in the master bedroom which has been missing a screw since day 1.

I finished recreating my CitiBank checkbook register this afternoon.  Yeah!

Electronic Purchases

Let’s say you purchase a new television at Exito.  After you pay for your purchase you take the receipt back to the electronics area and show it to them.  They then open the box to ensure everything is there.  Then they plug it in to ensure it works.  Then they complete the warranty card for you.  Kind of neat!

5pm and I hear thunder.  But no rain!

Dinner was basically a repeat of last night only instead of bacon burgers I had cheeseburgers. 

I wanted to watch either Dateline NBC or Shark Tank but I couldn’t get a connection on either.

Thursday, May 23rd, 2013

It rained most of the night.  I woke up about 4am and had trouble getting back to sleep.

I got up about 6:45 and after my usual morning routine I walked over to Calle 44 and bought one of their donuts coated with sugar for 500 pesos (28 cents).  (I’ve wanted to try one of those for months.)  I should have asked for it in a plastic bag (bolsa plastico) but he handed it to me in a napkin so I just took it.  Of course I finished it before I got back to the apartment.  I was surprised to find it had a filling – something similar to apple.  Very tasty!

I finally got an answer from RS about my headset question.  They said to be sure that it contains a directional microphone.  (They also recommended turning the input level down to 30.)  After checking online I found that a directional microphone picks up sound from only one direction and is AKA a uni-directional microphone.  The microphones with all 3 of the headsets I found in the Monterey Mall are Omni directional meaning they pick up the sound equally from all directions.  Sigh!  Back to the drawing board.  At least now I have a better idea of what I am looking for – a USB headset with a uni-directional microphone.  Now all I have to do is go to each of the hundred or so shops in the Monterey Mall to see if I can find one.  Or if not, in the meantime do I take the chance on spending $30 for something that may or may not work?

I also found the following recommendation online:

“Make sure you position the mic slightly to the side of your mouth when you speak.  This way you will reduce those popping sounds you get when you say words beginning with “p” or “b”.  This will also cut down on the sound of you breathing, which, lets face it, isn’t really required listening.”

I also found a PDF file with RS headset recommendations but it’s for RS version 3: http://www.skonline.org/support/Headset%20Recommendations%20for%20RS.pdf

I sent RS a reply to their email asking if they have specific headset recommendations for version 4.

Again I was tired this morning so I tried to take a nap from about 10:30-noon but it was difficult with the pounding coming from downstairs.  (Later I found a man replacing the tile inside Lionel’s apartment door.)

12:30 As I’m walking out the door to go to lunch I ran into one of the men who work in the building.  I understood he wanted to see the things that need to repaired in my apartment that I showed Martha earlier in the week.  He left and told me he would get to them later.  I told him I was going to lunch and asked him to come back after 2pm.  

BTW, I’ve been wearing my jeans and shoes for several days now with no problem.  I guess besides the rainy season it’s also the cooler season.

On my way to Viva I saw a yellow diamond shaped sign hanging from the back window with “bebe abordo” – baby on board – remember when those were so popular 20-30 years ago?

I had the chicken teriyaki at Sarku’s again and started reading the new book that was now synced to my iPad.

3pm and I hear a little thunder, it’s getting dark and a little windy and cooler.  And then the rain starts again!  And then it’s pouring!  20 minutes later and it’s all over.

According to Wikipedia, July & August are the hottest months with an average high of 82.9 & 82.8 respectively.  The coolest months are October thru December with an average high of 80.2, 80.6 & 80.8.  Not much difference is there?

I got a reply from RS: http://success.rosettastone.com/english/articles/Selecting-a-headset/?fs=search&pn=1&q=logitech

Bottom line, RS recommends only 4 models for version 4: Microsoft LifeChat LX-3000 (appr. $25) or Plantronics models Audio 500 ($35), 470 ($35) or 655 ($50).  I found the prices doing a quick Google search.

Well, now I have some specific models to ask for.  Now I just have to find one!

4:30 and I hear more thunder.  But nothing more than a slight drizzle.

5:30 I left for dinner.  I had 2 bacon hamburgers at Burger King 9,000 ($5) and a frozen coconut lemonade at Sarku for 4,700 ($2.61).  Guess what?  It was raining when I came out at 6:30.  When I look outside now in the dark it doesn’t look like it’s raining but I can hear it against the corrugated plastic on the roof.

I finished recreating my USAA checkbook register before I went to bed.

Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013

Went to bed at 10:15 but was awakened at 2am by another large thunderstorm.  I was able to get back to sleep relatively quickly so I felt refreshed when I got up at the usual 6:30 this morning.

Did my yoga exercises, had my coffee, read my Chicago Sun-Times, then left for Exito.  I bought another bag of milk and with the extra money my brother sent me I bought another bottle of instant coffee.  Only this time I bought Juan Valdez Café Premium Colombian decaffeinated instant coffee for 11,250 ($6.25).  It’s a 95g (3.3oz) bottle with large granules while other was more like powdered.

On the way back I bought a small package of cookies from a lady on the street corner for 200 pesos (11 cents).  (Even if there is a 100% markup, she has to sell 20 of them to make a profit of $1.  What a way to make a living!)  There are 4 little cookies in the package very similiar in size, shape and taste to a Salerno butter cookie.  In one place on the package it says in English “milky cookie”.

So for breakfast I had Fitness cereal with milk & strawberries and for dessert I had cookies & milk.  

I downloaded a Rosetta Stone Optimizer to facilitate my audio connection.  My Rosetta Stone (RS) purchase on 5/13/13 included 3 months of online access to TOTALe.  Today when I went to begin my training session it suggested that I schedule a live training session.  So from 10-10:30 I was online in a group session with 2 others and a RS live instructor.  She showed us pictures and asked us questions in Spanish like “Que es esto?”  What is this?  “Es un caballo” It is a horse.  “Tiene un caballo?”  Do you have a horse? “No, yo tengo un caballo” No, I don’t have a horse.  It was pretty interesting and over time I think it will be very helpful.  

Just as I’m leaving for lunch I hear rain on the roof.  It wasn’t more than just a mist but I put up my umbrella anyway.

I had the Fried Chicken combo #3 at Frisby: 1 chicken breast, 1 wing, beans, 2 small arepas and a 16oz. Pepsi for 17,100 ($9.50).

2:40 and more thunder in the area.

In desiring to give you more information as to what RS TOTALe is, I Googled it and spent hours reading different reviews of RS.  Anyway, RS says TOTALe is:

A personal approach to instruction.

Throughout your study, our state-of-the-art speech recognition technology provides immediate and ongoing assessments of your speech, helping you pronounce syllables, words and sentences correctly. After every other lesson, you’ll be ready for live conversation sessions with a coach who is a native speaker. Sessions are designed to use only what you’ve learned—and offer you a stress-free, fun way to build confidence speaking your new language.

Join others for an immersive experience.

Learning a language should never be one-dimensional. We created Rosetta World^® to introduce active learners to an online community that could extend their immersion experience. Interact with others by playing games or opt for one-on-one practice sessions in order to perfect your conversational capabilities.

Connect with your new world, conveniently.

Surround yourself with your new language in an instant. Our software suite turns your personal computer, tablet, smartphone or other web-enabled device into your portal to on-the-go language learning. By bringing Rosetta Stone along, learners can make any moment an opportunity for mastery.

For dinner I went to Laureles Mall and had the Bostonianos (beans with sausage) including a small arepa, a slice of avocado, and a glass of mango juice for 11,400 ($6.33).

9pm and I hear thunder nearby!

I finished Columbus: The Four Voyages by Laurence Bergreen.  Good book!  I tried to figure out what to download next to my Nook.  I finally settled on Toward the Setting Sun: Columbus, Cabot, Vespucci, and the Race for America by David Boyle ($10.19).  I guess I’m still in the explorer mode.

Tuesday, May 21st, 2013

I was so tired last night I went to bed at 8pm.  (I knew I shouldn’t, I just couldn’t help myself.)  I woke up at 11:30 with slight heartburn - probably those New York Pita Chips I had after dinner last night.  I took 3 small Tums and went back to bed.  Couldn’t get back to sleep, got up and stayed up from about 1-2pm.  I got up about 6:45 so I slept pretty well all things considered.

We got a lot of rain last night.  I heard it constantly while I was awake and this morning the streets were quite wet.

Garbage truck came thru about 9:15.

Still struggling with RS (Rosetta Stone); sometimes it works flawlessly other times it doesn’t even recognize my microphone.

I reviewed what I was served the last time I had my 10mil lunch at that restaurant on Avenida 80.  I’m planning on going there for lunch today.  This REALLY is a place for the locals.  They probably seldom deal with foreigners.

I got there and asked if they had a menu of the day and she said no and just rattled off a number of things – some I recognized, some I didn’t.  I did hear chicharron so I told her I didn’t like that but I do like salad, beans, rice, arepas, chicken and mango juice or iced tea.  She waved her head NO at the mango juice and iced tea but she suggested some other type of juice so I just said ok.

I had a bowl of beans, a small side salad with tomatoes and onions and parsley?, potato salad, rice, a nice sized slab of chicken, 1 egg over easy, 2 arepas and some tasty kind of juice (not mango or orange) all for 7mil ($3.89) tip and tax included.  That certainly helps my food budget!

1:20 and it’s getting darker, windier, and I hear thunder.  1:30 and it’s pouring.  I took a nap until about 2:30.  Rain has stopped but it certainly cooled things down.  I checked Weather.com and its only 70 degrees now.  Wait a minute, what’s going on?  It says its 81 degrees in Des Plaines.  What happened?  Did the whole world get turned upside down? Lol.

Got an email from my brother - he deposited $40 into my CitiBank account.  Thanks Bro!  But how am I going to learn to be financially responsible if my relatives keep bailing me out?  At least he could have waited until I asked; I wanted to see if I could make it on my own.  Still it’s nice to have just in case of an emergency.

I went to Viva and bought the 15cm (6”) sub of the day at Subway.  I got a ham sandwich with cheese, tomato, shredded lettuce, pickles, onions with mayo on Integral bread.  I didn’t have any problems ordering it from the young man there and it only cost 7mil ($3.89).  I took it over to Laureles Mall and ordered a Mango Juice for 2,700 ($1.50).  On the way home I stopped and picked up another kilo of fresh strawberries for 3mil ($1.67).  I ate 7 of them right away and saved the other 6 for my breakfast cereal tomorrow.