Sunday, June 30th, 2013

Last night when I was coming back from dinner I exited through Exito and saw a banquet hall.  It certainly doesn’t look like anything during the day but it was sure looking lit up and fancy tonight.

 It’s 7:30pm and now I have to remember what I did all day.

I went to bed at 10:45, only made 1 trip to the bathroom all night and woke up and got up at 6:45.  

Following my new Sunday routine I packed my chess set and had breakfast for 10mil ($5.56) at the Golden Palermo Hotel.  I still haven’t seen anyone staying there that wasn’t black.  I had my usual - a bowl of granola with milk, some scrambled eggs with ham, coffee, and a large plate of fresh fruit, especially pineapple.

I then went to Mall of Laureles and studied my new chess course until Beatriz joined me at 1:30, ½ hour late, no problem but I thought she might not show.  Just before she arrived the Frisby mascot sat down at my table and finished a game of chess I was studying.  Of course I won.  One of the guys working there took his picture at the table, I may or may not be in the picture, but I asked for a copy and he agreed.

Perhaps because I was sitting right in front of Frisby we decided to have their chicken for lunch.  I gave her 40mil and let her order while I packed up my chess stuff.  It included 2 pieces of chicken for each of us, some small arepas, a couple of small baked potatoes, an order of French fries, one corn on the cob, and sodas (Pepsi for me and an “uncola” for her) for 37,400 ($20.78).  She asked me if that was too expensive.  When I eat there I know it usually costs me 17mil so that wasn’t too excessive so I told her no.  Of course we won’t always be eating there.

After we finished eating we went back to my apartment for a while.

About 5pm we headed down to the fiesta.  The sky looked pretty clear so I didn’t take an umbrella but was surprised that it was misting for about 30 minutes.  It was held in what appears to be a basketball court adjacent to what I think is a community center.  I’ve seen kids playing soccer or basketball there and I’ve seen the elderly doing exercises.  I think it’s a fund raiser.  There was no entry charge but it was so busy we were lucky to find a couple of chairs.  I saw a woman wearing a Chicago White Sox hat – red with white lettering.

They played a lot of Colombian and Mexican music which I enjoyed though at times it was a little too loud.  I warned Beatriz I only had 12mil left and since I have 6 mil now I guess I only spent 6 mil.  Just like in America you buy tickets that you use to purchase the limited drinks and food that they offer.  She had another uncola and I had a Colombiana.  We also shared a small package of mini empanadas with potato inside and a cup of salpicon which is like a mixture of fruit and juice eaten with a spoon.

I’m going to see Beatriz again Wednesday night at 6:30.  We’re going to meet at Jhon’s office.  I asked her if she was going to eat before our meeting and she said she doesn’t usually eat dinner.  I might ask her if she wants to go for ice cream.

Later when I Googled salpicon I also found that an arepa is flat bread made from cornmeal and it’s the basic side dish of any Colombian meal.

Tonight I watched the new TV series Under the Dome on CBS from 8-9pm.

Saturday, June 29th, 2013

Went to bed at 11pm and slept until 4:30 when I got up to use the restroom and really couldn’t get back to sleep after that.  I was at the Golden Palermo Hotel at 8am for their 10mil ($5.56) breakfast.  I left a message for Glenn Monk that I would be at the Mall of Laureles all morning if he wanted to play chess but he never showed up.  Just before noon I had a Hamburger Combo #3 at Gordog’s for 11,500 ($6.39).

I saw Jhon at his office soon after and he introduced me to a friend of his named Beatriz (in Spanish the “z” is pronounced as an ‘s’).  She’s 40 years old, does office work for her aunt who owns a factory and does manicures and pedicures on the side.  She seemed like a nice lady so just before she left I asked her if she would like to join me for some ice cream.  She said she would meet me at Jhon’s office at 3pm.  Jhon told me the church at the corner is setting up for some type of party and we might want to stop there afterward.  Sounds like a plan!

I met Beatriz at Jhon’s office at 3pm and we talked, with Jhon’s help for a while then, since she wanted pasta, we went across the street and I bought her lunch at Alfredo’s.  It was their pasta of the day – chicken lasagna – for 9,900 which included a soda.  I bought just a small strawberry milkshake from El Corral for myself and she also had one – chocolate for 6,600 x 2 and she didn’t have any trouble finishing her food.  She probably doesn’t get the opportunity to eat out very often.

We went to my apartment and I played some American music for her on my iPad and we talked using Google Translate. About 5pm she had to leave because she had a client she had to go to.  We made plans to meet for lunch tomorrow at Mall of Laureles at 1pm.  Maybe after that we’ll finally get over to the fiesta.

Dinner was chili and mango juice from El Comedor de Chava at Laureles Mall for 11,900 ($6.61). 

Friday, June 28th, 2013

I went to bed at 10:45, slept through the night, woke up at 5:45, got up at 6:30.  It’s so nice when I sleep through the night without getting up once.  But why, because I had a light dinner?  I wish I could figure out what the secret is.

Jhon told me I could buy my milk from the corner snack shop so I wouldn’t have to wait until Exito is open nor walk quite so far so this morning I gave it a try.  I told them “I need a bag of milk” in Spanish and the lady tried to give me a package of cigarettes.  I looked in their deli case and I thought I saw it right there.  They finally understood what I wanted – I guess I didn’t pronounce it right.  It’s about 10 cents more at 1,900 pesos ($1.06) but it’s cold!  Maybe because it says it’s pasteurized. 

My next Nook book is Unbroken – A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption.  I think it’s about a World War II pilot whose plane is shot down over the ocean and spends a long time trying to survive in a raft.

I have an 11:30 dental appointment so I’m going to catch the bus at 10am.  That should give me plenty of time to get there.  Today I’m probably going to skip the Flip Flop Sandwich Shop in order to cut down on the walking.  Or maybe I’ll have lunch there and take a taxi down the hill to Monterrey C.C.  I’m going to play it by ear.

I see some of my pension money is in my checking account this morning.  Sweet!

I left home about 10am and got to Monterrey C.C. about 10:45.  By 11:10 I was outside the building of my dentist.  I sat in the shade for a while to cool down as I had just walked about 10 blocks.  The dentist spent about 30 minutes cleaning my teeth himself – not a dental assistant – and noticed a few more things.  There is a swelling of the area of one of my gums that is going to need a little work and he took x-rays of the area.  I paid 120mil ($66.67) for today’s cleaning and walked up to the Flip Flop Sandwich Shop afterwards for lunch.  I got there about 1pm and it was a little crowded with travelers from nearby hostels.  I wanted to order a chicken salad sandwich but they said they still trying to catch the chicken so I had a very good BLT with potato chips and a coke for 10mil ($5.56). 

I walked down what I thought was the same route as yesterday to Monterrey C.C. but I must have taken a wrong branch somewhere because I was starting to not recognize anything.  I saw that I was in a situation where it seemed like I was on upper Wacker drive and I needed to be on lower Wacker drive.  I found some steps down but still nothing looked familiar so I decided to break down and I caught a taxi home for 10mil ($5.56).  On the way, after just a few blocks, I saw Monterrey but I still don’t know what I did wrong.

To summarize:

      ·        It’s about 45 minutes by bus (Circular Sur 303) to Monterrey C.C.
      ·        It’s about a 25 minute walk from Monterrey C.C. to the dentist.
      ·        It’s about a 20 minute walk from the dentist to the Flip Flop Sandwich Shop.

 I spent the next couple of hours talking to Jhon at his office.  He told me there’s a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment available across the street for just a little over $400 a month.  His sister is trying to find a renter so he borrowed the keys from her and we took a look at it.  It’s on the 4^th floor of an older building.  The apartment is of an older style and the bedrooms were really small.  I told Jhon thanks but I’m not interested.  Then I took him to see my apartment and he saw how large and spacious it is and he understood why I didn’t want to leave.

Dinner was the large shish kebob and mango juice at SanJote for 12mil ($6.67).

Then I watched Dateline NBC on USTVNOW.

Thursday, June 27th, 2013

Last night I finished reading Micro by Michael Crichton.  It is a good science fiction adventure story. 

Last night I went to bed at midnight but woke up at 4am and couldn’t get back to sleep.  I got up at 5am and caught the Circular Sur 303 bus from Viva Mall at 6:30 am.  I noticed it made stops: just across the street from Home Center on Calle 44 (aka San Juan) at 6:35, at San Antonio Exito at 6:55, and I got off at the Monterrey C.C. at 7:10 am.  I walked about 12 blocks east to The Flip Flop Sandwich Shop which is now in a larger location across the street fronting a hostel at Carrera 36 #8A-103.  I got there about 7:40 and they don’t open until 8am when I had an order of their Animal: 2 eggs scrambled, 2 strips of bacon crispy, 2 slices of French toast and 2 cups of coffee for 13mil ($7.22).  I asked the owner, Chris?, where I could watch NFL football games in the fall and he told me I could see broadcast games (CBS, NBC, ABC) at Hooters and cable games at Patrick’s Irish Pub.  I left the restaurant just after 8:30 and walked south to an Exito Express, turned right (west) walked about 3 blocks to Avenida Poblado, turned left (south) and walked another 3 blocks and crossed the street at Calle 1 Sur (Spanish for south).  (On the way I saw 2 girls who turned out to be sisters walking side by side sharing earbuds – probably listening to music.  I asked them in Spanish where is Oviedo C.C. because the office is supposed to be in the same area.  They told me – in perfect English - and it became obvious it was further than I needed to go.  While I was waiting to cross the Ave. Pobaldo one of the sisters had come back because they were concerned I was turning at the wrong location to get to Oviedo C.C.  I explained the situation, apologized, and thanked her for her concern.)  It turns out for the entrance to the dentist office you have to walk around the back of the Colmena building by walking past Citibank on the left and going down some stairs and through the parking lot. 

I got there just about 9am and the dentist’s office door was locked.  I knocked but there was no answer.  Shoot, they haven’t opened yet I thought.  I went back down to the entrance and while I was asking the guard another man, speaking English, took me upstairs once again to the dentist office and knocked again on the door.  This time a young lady answered wearing a dental assistant outfit with her mask on.  Obviously she and the dentist were working on a patient.  I asked her if she spoke English and she said “no” and motioned towards the dentist in the next room.  She took me in while a patient was still in the chair and the dentist, in near perfect English, explained he would be with me in a few minutes.  According to his business card his name is Jorge Alberto Rendon Franco, and one of the things he explained is that doctors have to read medical journals that are only in English so they are forced to learn to at least read and write.  In his case he spent 9 months studying in a small town near Santa Barbara, CA and that’s where he learned to speak English.  He said he only has a few English patients a month and wished he could practice more.  He spent at least 30 minutes talking to me and giving me a visual inspection.  He said I have 3 broken crowns but, because I’m not experiencing any difficulties, only one needs attention.  He charged me 70mil ($38.89) for today’s consultation and I have an appointment at 11:30 tomorrow for a cleaning for 120mil ($66.67).  A crown costs between 850mil ($472.22) and 1,100mil ($611.11) depending on the type of material.  (He mentioned he is in the process of switching to a material called Enamic by Vita.)  Yikes!  I better not need very many crowns the rest of my life.

I walked another 10 blocks or so down to Monterrey C.C. where I caught the Circular Sur 303 bus at 11:05am and once I got on I could see that the bus stop is actually across the street.  On the way back there were stops at University EAFIT at 11:07, what should be Exito Poblado at 11:27, Saludcoop at 11:30, and finally back at Exito Laureles at 11:40.  We were slowed down not just by lunchtime traffic but also because one lane was closed off for tree trimming.  It’s so stuffy and uncomfortable when I’m dressed in jeans and the bus doesn’t move!

Lunch was a FrisBurrito at Frisby for 5,900 ($3.28) and a vanilla milkshake for 7,500 ($4.17).  I liked the FrisBurrito but it had a little too much sauce and the milkshake had some “candy” on top I didn’t care for.  The lines have gone down at Exito so while I was there I bought that white t-shirt for 16,900 ($9.39).

I had a nap from 3 to 4:30 this afternoon.

Dinner was a mini shish kebab for 6,800 ($3.78) and mango juice for 3mil ($1.67) at SanJote in Laureles Mall.

Wednesday, June 26th, 2013

Last night about 7pm I met Jhon at his office and we chatted for about 45 minutes.  On the way back to my apartment I was surprised to see, about where I thought the Muslim family was moving in, at least half a dozen Colombian men in the front yard playing cards at a table.  Not sure what the connection is or if there is one.  Maybe they are 2 different situations which just happened to occur for the first time on the same day.

I had major problems getting to sleep last night.  I went to bed about 10:45 and probably didn’t get to sleep until after 1pm.  I had taken a 50mg Viagra at 6:45 before my expected liaison with Beatriz.  I drank a glass of water when I got back to the apartment but I guess that wasn’t enough.  I checked the directions on Wikipedia.org and found it works when you have sex 30 minutes to 4 hours after ingesting.  So I certainly could have taken it much earlier and it would have worn off much earlier allowing me to get to sleep at a more decent time.  Also I probably should have cut it in half and only taken 25mg.  That would have helped to minimize the aftereffects also.

Since I got up late, at 7am, I decided not to visit the dentist today.  I’ll save that for some future day when I wake up earlier.

I got to Exito about 9am to buy my milk.  I decided to use the back entrance since all I needed was milk and that was the fastest route to it.  As I entered I remembered today was the first day of their big promotion so I decided to check out a few things.  Yesterday they were setting up the items but immediately covering them in plastic (kind of like shrink wrap).  I found a t-shirt I liked in my size that was mostly white, which means it would go with any color shorts, for only 16,900 ($9.39). I took it up to the front only to find that each cashier had people lined up at least 6 deep with carts full of stuff.  I decided to skip my purchases for now until things quieted down.  I went over to Bunuelo Express and had the Huevos Revueltos plus a bunuelo at Bunuelos Express for a total of 6,500 ($3.61).

I decided to start over again with Rosetta Stone as I know there are some words and sentence structures I’ve missed.  I had to do a live chat with Rosetta Stone to get my course progress reset.  Now I’m progressing nicely through the material (most of which I’ve already covered.).

The following is an excerpt from a live chat I had today with a rep from Magic Jack:

Jose: It appears here in our system that you are using a US card and you are using it outside of the US. Please contact your bank and ask them to allow charges although you are using the card outside of the US.

Terry Andresen: That's the only place I've used my card. I recently place an order with Amazon and they are even shipping it here!

Jose: We encountered error, Terry ... This is a bank security that they are not allowing the charges because you are using a US credit card, however, you are in the other country.

Later…

Jose: you can ask your brother to do the renewal for you.. This merely inconvenient but I'm certain this will work. You need to coordinate with him, allow him to login to your account, and walk them through the process.

Jose: use the card you've added on file

Terry Andresen: Do I actually have an account?

Jose: yes, you do

Jose: your magicjack account at my.magicjack.com

Jose: the page where you add the card on file

Terry Andresen: But I still would be using a credit card outside of the US, no?

Jose: yes, of course you would, as long as you contacted your bank regarding that error we recently encountered

Terry Andresen: But if I contact the bank then I should be able to do it myself, right?

Jose: yes, that is right

 So I guess I’ll be using the MagicJack app on my iPad to call my bank and see if I can get this straightened out.   Sigh.

At 3pm my lunch/dinner was the chicken teriyaki special with a small coke at Sarku for 9,900 ($5.50).  On the way back I bought a kilo of strawberries for 3mil ($1.67).

I talked to Jhon for a while at his office.  One of the things I learned is that the reason I have to pay 6 months in advance is because I don’t have any collateral here or a cosigner.

Tuesday, June 25th, 2013

Wow, last night the Chicago Blackhawks were down 2-1 with less than 2 minutes left in the game when they scored 2 quick goals within 17 seconds to defeat the Boston Bruins 3-2 and win the Stanley Cup championship IN BOSTON.

It started raining at 8:30 last night and was still raining when I went to bed at 11pm and though it took me a little while to get to sleep I slept through the night finally waking up at 6:15 and getting up at 6:45.

Today my goal is to: contact my tax accountant about paying my federal taxes next month, chat with Rosetta Stone about its “hearing problem”, plan a visit to the Dentist and also create some instructions for a haircut tomorrow.

I picked up my bag of milk for breakfast 1,590 (88 cents) and an extra package of Trident sugarless gum for 2,460 ($1.37).

I sent an email to my accountant requesting the exact amount and address in which to send my federal tax payment.

I contacted Rosetta Stone and after about a 30 minute Live Chat I was shown where to tell RS exactly the type of headset I was using.  After that everything changed; now almost everything I say is correct even if I realize after the fact that I made a little mistake.  I’m pretty sure very soon I will be taking the pronunciation sensitivity off of the Easy setting.

This morning I saw a man with a long black beard wearing a beaded looking cap and a long robe with gym shoes underneath.  On my way to lunch I saw him again with a woman dressed all in black from head to foot (a burqa) except around the eyes.  I think a Muslim family has moved into the neighborhood.  Interesting.

Lunch at Likkes wasn’t as good as usual as they gave me a big chunk of steak instead of chicken.  I wonder if I really have a choice each day or if they only have one or the other on a given day.

I talked to Jhon and John David for a little while at Jhon’s office - Clases Ingles.

A big truck stopped at the Muslim family’s house – probably a moving van with their furniture and other possessions.

It’s been exactly 6 weeks since my last haircut.  I wrote up some basic instructions not to touch the hair on my head but just to trim around my ears, my neck, my beard and my moustache.

Tomorrow, to visit the dentist, my plan is to take the Circular 303 bus from Exito Laureles for 1800 pesos ($1) for the first time without Reina.  I should be able to get off in the vicinity of Monterey C.C.  Then I can take a taxi for 4,400 ($2.44) to the Flip Flop Sandwich Shop for breakfast.  Then I’ll take another taxi for 4,400 ($2.44) to the dentist who is supposed to speak perfect English.  I have all my dental records from the US.  Then a taxi to the Monterrey C.C. for 4,400 ($2.44) and finally catch the Circular 303 bus again to Exito Laureles for 1800 pesos ($1).

The reason I haven’t seen any children walking to school in the mornings is because they are all on vacation.  I think it only lasts 2-3 weeks in the summer and is also the reason Jhon’s business is so quiet right now – nobody wants to study during vacation.

At 4:30 a young lady slipped 5 large Exito shopping flyers under the front door.  They are valid from June 26^th to July 8^th.  There are a few things I see that I might want to pick up next week.

Monday, June 24th, 2013

I didn’t care for the new TV series “Whodunnit?” I started watching last night; it only took about 20 minutes for the characters to start withholding information from each other and start playing games so I switched to watching “Crossing Lines” instead. 

I went to bed at 11pm and got up at 7:30.  After breakfast I walked over to Calle 44 and had the color copy of my Cedula laminated.  Now I’ll carry the laminated copy with me in my fanny pack and hide the original with my passport and credit cards.  I also found a nut for the bolt so I could put together the little fan I bought last week to cool me in the afternoons when I’m working on the computer.  Next I went behind Laureles Mall and took photos of the buses as they slowed down to go over a speed bump.  I’m finally starting to create a set of bus routes.

 

The children's play area at the Laureles Mall has improved lately:

 

Then I went to Exito and wrote down the model numbers of a variety of Nokia cell phones.  Later I can Google them and try to get an idea of which is the best for me.  I just need something simple.  I also bought a package of 3 Glade air freshener refills for the bathrooms for 16,500 ($9.17). 

I had lunch at Likkes for 7mil ($3.89).  I was back at John’s office at 1pm and talked with him and John David for a while then I went with Jhon while he had lunch at his usual place near the intersection of Avenida 80 and Calle 40.  (Even he agrees it’s not as good as my place – Likkes.)

I’ve been trading emails with the owner of the apartment.  My 6 months prepaid rent ends on August 1^st and she is expecting 6 months prepaid again if I want to stay another 6 months.  After discussions she’s come down to 3 months at a time but I explained I’m living on a month to month basis as I receive my Social Security.  I gave her my word I would be here for the entire 6 months and I would pay her at the beginning of each month as soon as I received my Social Security deposit.  To be continued…

Whatever I do for dinner tonight I have to be back by 7pm to watch the Chicago Blackhawks against the Boston Bruins.

I heard from Rosetta Stone again – they want me to set up a chat session with them.  Maybe tomorrow.

Dinner was a chicken cesar wrap at Burger King 12,900 ($7.17) with a large strawberry milkshake for 6,400 ($3.56).

Now it’s time to watch the Stanley Cup Finals!

Sunday, June 23rd, 2013

Wow, what a night!  The Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Boston Bruins 3-1 to take a 3-2 lead in the Stanley Cup series.  The game was actually closer than it sounds because the Blackhawks scored an empty net goal in the last minute.

I read a little more of my book Micro then went to bed at 11pm.  I was awakened at 2:15am by the sound of Latin music on a radio, a woman’s laughter, and splashing.  And of course there was a lot of light – direct or indirect - coming from the backyard into my bedroom.  It sure sounded like a pool party.  I got up and put a chair against the window in the guest bedroom and looked out.  Sure enough Lionel and some woman – blond with a nice figure – were enjoying themselves in his little pool.  Not sure how private this could be when it’s surrounded by taller buildings and they have windows too.  (I know you’re wondering, so, yes she was topless.  I couldn’t tell beyond that as they were both standing up in the water.  Really, I only took one peek and went right back to bed.)  That would never happen in the US, you know someone would have called the police.  The pool portion of the party ended about 30 minutes later when they moved inside.  It was another 90 minutes before they turned the radio way down and the voices stopped.  So now it’s about 4:15 and I must have fallen asleep somewhere in that period of time.  I was awakened again about 5am by a brief thunderstorm.  I finally woke up and got up at 7:30.

I took my shower and decided to skip my coffee at the apartment and went straight to the Golden Palermo Hotel.  On the way there I noticed something unusual in the sky.  It was a huge balloon but I couldn’t read the writing on it.

I had my coffee there at the hotel with my breakfast for 10mil ($5.56).  As I was leaving I asked about Glenn Monk and was told he had his surgery on Thursday and his wife is still staying at the hotel.

I finished my study of the Comprehensive Chess Course.  The last chapter consists of 10 separate tests of 6 problems each.  I thought I would go through the tests until I got one of them done perfectly.  On the first test I got 6 of 10 correct.  On the second test I got all 10 of 10, although one problem showed me a slightly shorter solution.

Lunch was a FriSnack at Frisby for 8900 ($4.94).  Once again I forgot to pronounce it correctly – it should sound like “free snack” – and I got the wrong thing – without any chicken.  The Frisby in Viva I don’t have this problem.  Here I guess I have to be more careful.

Here’s an example of how Colombians follow the rules.  In photo number one the sign reads, in Spanish “Pets are not allowed in the food area”.

I left Laureles Mall just after 1pm as I know it gets busy there on Sunday afternoons and I don’t want to occupy a table needlessly.

Correction: This afternoon I took a quick look behind the building and there is a very high wall – about a story and a half that surrounds the back area.  That probably means the neighbors can’t see anything – but I can!  Has he forgotten about me?  I’ll bet he didn’t tell her he has neighbors in the building.

I’m happy to report I haven’t seen any ants in quite a while.  I’m sure there’s an occasional scout ant about but since there isn’t any food around there’s no reason for them to call out the whole colony.

My iPad doesn’t seem to be working with email – I keep seeing “Cannot Get Mail. The connection to the server failed.”  I just figured it out.  I got an email from Yahoo a couple of days ago that I needed to change my password and I didn’t update it on my iPad.  Now that I’ve updated my iPad password emails are streaming in once again.

I got an answer from Rosetta Stone.  I copied their tips into a Word document so I can carefully compare – and comment on – their recommendation to what I experience.  I followed their instructions but it didn’t seem to help.  I replied with 2 attachments with copies of their instructions and my comments.  To be continued..

At 5:30 I went over to the corner snack shop to watch Atletico Nacional play against Tolima.  I got there about 8 minutes late and it was already 1-0 in favor of Tolima.  I saw Jhon William stop to buy something to make his dinner so I told him to come back afterwards and we would watch the 2^nd half together.  After the 1^st half I quickly went over to Viva and had an order of coleslaw 4,600 ($2.56) and corn on the cob for 5,600 ($3.11).  That sounds a little expensive for just side orders but it tastes like it was made in America so it’s worth it for a little taste of home.  And those are 2 things I really like.  Back at the snack shop I bought an ice cream bar for 3mil ($1.67) and watched the 2^nd half with Jhon.  At one point he told me that the man standing next to him is Olga’s husband although he didn’t use her name so as not to draw suspicion.  Olga even stopped by at the end of the game. 

I got back to the apartment about 7:15 and had a small bowl of cereal that hopefully my medicine will adhere to.

I plan to watch the new TV series called “Whodunnit?” that starts tonight at 8pm on ABC.

Saturday, June 22nd, 2013

Went to bed at 10:45 got up at 6:15.  Although I got up 3 times during the night I had no trouble getting back to sleep.

The Rosetta Stone lessons can be tiring, especially when they constantly tell you you’re mispronouncing everything – even easy words like “adios”.  I took a nap from 9am to 10am.

If that Philly Steak place is going to be open at all it should definitely be on Saturday.  I checked all the bus routes I have and the new 195ii looks like it goes to and from Avenida 80 and 2 blocks from the restaurant.  The buses come every 15 minutes and using the bus should save me about 8 blocks each way.  I think it’s worth a buck or two to save my now tired legs.

Once again it didn’t work the way I had hoped.  I left the apartment about noon and got delayed by John William.   (BTW, his uncle who named him was sure the American spelling was Jhon so that’s what it became.  He only found out later it was incorrect but at least he figures he won’t be a victim of identify fraud. lol)  We stopped at the corner snack shop and he bought me a Pepsi.  I learned the good looking woman that lives in the apartment next to his office is named Olga but is recently married.  Finally about noon I decided I should get going before I got really hungry. 

I walked over to Avenida 80 and about 7 minutes later my bus came by but I didn’t recognize it until it was already on top of me and by then it was too late.  At least now I knew it didn’t look like the other buses – it’s small and green and says “Santa Lucia” at the top and the route number – 195ii – is in small letters on the windshield.  At that time it’s 12:07 so there should be another one by about 12:22.  At 12:25 I saw my bus arrive across the street – going the other way.  If that’s the same exact bus I missed then it must be a 30 minute round trip route and if there isn’t another bus on the route then I should catch that same bus about 12:37 and that’s exactly what happened.  On the route it turned a little earlier than I thought it would and I got dropped off a couple of blocks further west than I had hoped.  I saw another 195ii bus sitting on the side of the road there so maybe it broke down.   I ended up still walking about 10 blocks to get to Philly Steaks.  (On the way I walked by a barber shop where 2 guys were playing a game of chess outside on the porch.)  At least this time they were open.  I was the only customer.  There were 2 guys who didn’t speak English working the place – the owner wasn’t there.  I ordered the ½ portion of their classic Philly Steak sandwich for 13mil ($7.22) and a Pepsi for 2,700 ($1.50).  The ½ order was huge – it was actually a sandwich cut in half so that each half was still about 9 inches long but it was tasty.  I ate half of it and asked for the other half to go.  I learned they didn’t open until 1pm yesterday but they opened at 10am today.  I left and walked back to Laureles Mall where I studied my chess course until about 5pm.  (On the way back I gave the other half of my sandwich to a homeless man I saw just outside Viva.)  Since I had a late lunch about 2pm I went to Viva and had cole slaw for 4,600 ($2.56) and corn on the cob for 5,600 ($3.11) at Frisby.  I also bought a bag of milk 1520 (84 cents) at Exito and had a bowl of cereal with my medicine.

I saw Jhon on the way back to the apartment and chatted with him and one of his students, Diego, for a bit.  I told Jhon I would buy him lunch at Philly Steaks next time he had a couple of hours free.

Now I’m watching the Chicago Blackhawks play the Boston Bruins on NBC thanks to USTVNOW.

Friday, June 21st, 2013

Went to bed at 10pm last night; got up twice during the night and finally woke up at 6:30 feeling pretty good.

While having my coffee on the balcony I noticed a man on the roof of a house down the block drilling 2 holes in the roof in which he inserted a small flagpole with a black flag in each.  It’s more like a pennant really than a flag.  I wonder what that’s about.

On the way to Exito I noticed they had painted the number of a new bus route (195ii) in a parallel parking spot in the street just outside Viva mall.  I remember a couple weeks ago Gente newspaper introduced some new Laureles bus routes.  I saved each of them not knowing if I might need them one day.

Bought my milk at Exito this morning for 1,520 (84 cents) as usual. 

 

According to a Note on my iPad, Angel is 4 months old today.  Happy Birthday Angel!  

Yesterday I got an email from the owner of the apartment building.  She translated my rental agreement from Spanish to English for me.  What I understand now is:

1. The lease is extended in 6-month increments.
2.  The $1000 deposit I made is a guarantee of payment for utility services and damage to the apartment when I move out.

The following is the email I just sent to Rosetta Stone:

I followed your configuration instructions without any problem.  I then completed a small portion (lesson, topic, whatever) in R.S. where I had a couple of opportunities to speak and it seemed to work fine.  Then on the next lesson after a couple more opportunities it doesn't recognize my voice and responds with:

"We expect you to be speaking here, and we aren't detecting any input from your microphone.  Would you like to launch Microphone Setup?"

About 11:15 I left for Philly Steaks.  It was a little further than I thought – about 12 blocks (some the short side, some the long side).  I got there at 11:50 and it was closed.  I asked at the snack shop next door and the only thing I understood was “or later”.  So, I walked 8 blocks back to Viva mall and I had the chicken teriyaki special at Sarku for 9,900 ($5.50).  After that I studied my chess course at Laureles Mall until Dario showed up; he won the first game although I was ahead in the endgame but due to time trouble I didn’t find the right moves.  The second game was close but then he had to leave; I wrote down the time left on each clock so maybe we can continue the game next week.  I found out the woman I’ve seen him with isn’t his wife but as he said “a friend”.  It was nice that he treated me to an ice cream cone before he left (I was really starting to feel the heat) and showed me that he and his girlfriend were working on Sudoku puzzles.

For dinner I wanted the hamburger of the day at Burger King but found out their special is over so I had a Whopper Jr. for 5800 ($3.22) and a small strawberry milkshake for 5400 ($3).  Their milkshakes are so thick they give you a straw they call a Burger King Pipe and it’s about double the diameter of a regular straw.

I bought a kilo of strawberries on the way back to the apartment.  I had half of them with my medicine so I’m hoping that will help me sleep through the night.  The rest will be with breakfast tomorrow.

I’d like to see the new movie World War Z starring Brad Pitt.  I’m not a big fan of zombies but this movie may be an exception.  I checked the Medellin theatres and it isn’t here although it opened in the US today.  If it’s like After Earth it should be here next week.

Thursday, June 20th, 2013

It’s 3:30 in the afternoon and again I have to remember what I did all day!

I bought a new box of Fitness with fruits cereal for 17,950 ($9.97) at Exito and a bag of milk for 1,520 (84 cents).  That leaves me with about 80mil for the remainder of the afternoon.  I left the apartment about 9:15 and after about a 5 minute wait I caught the Simon Bolivar 195 bus for 1800 ($1) to downtown.  I bought my ticket for the metro only this time I gave him 5mil and told the cashier in Spanish “one person, from here to there to here” so hopefully he filled my card with a round trip ticket.  He charged me 3600 ($2) for it so that computes.  By this time I should already be at the Acevedo station 6 stops away as its now 10am.  By the time I got there it was almost 10:20 and I needed to figure out where you buy tickets for the metro cable as this is where I was supposed to meet Reina.  I got in line with the others but I didn’t see Reina in line ahead of me and there was no place there that I could see to buy tickets.  I left the line and walked back to the area from where I had come and I found where it looks like you would buy tickets.  I got back in line figuring she would be there shortly.  Sure enough, a minute later a policeman asked me if I was looking for a short seniorita and pointed me back in her direction.  She had gotten there first and got worried when I didn’t show up after a few minutes and decided to look elsewhere.  I apologized for being late, gave her 2mil ($1) for her ticket and we got on the metro cable.  Apparently, the charge for the first leg of the trip is the same as taking the metro and since I was already in the station I didn’t have to pay again.  The last leg of the trip, where you are committing to go to Parque Arvi, you do have to pay extra for.

The trip to Parque Arvi takes a little over 30 minutes and about halfway there I found out the young lady sitting with us speaks English.  She and her boyfriend kind of joined up with us but there was about a 20 minute wait before the next  walking tour group.  BTW, we were so much higher up in the mountains it was a little chilly.  Next time I think at least shoes and socks would be more comfortable for me.  We stopped in a tent where a number of locals sold their wares and Reina and I shared something that seemed like a very thin crispy crepe where they put a little cheese, what seemed like creamy peanut butter and smashed peanuts and then put another crepe on top.  It was a tasty snack for 3mil ($1.67).  The trail the guide was going to take us on was to be a 2 ½ hour walk but we decided we would walk for about an hour and then have lunch.  The first part was on paved road and then it went to unpaved road.  Before we actually veered into the woods Reina and I decided to turn around.  We said goodbye to the couple we had just met and headed back.  Then we walked about another 10 minutes further to a small restaurant for lunch.  Reina and I both ordered the typical Colombian meal; I didn’t care for it very much but at least it only cost 12mil each ($13.33 total).  I told Reina about my t-shirt not fitting and that I wanted to exchange it but she said they didn’t have anything in a larger size and it couldn’t be returned.  It looks ridiculous on me so I gave it to Reina to give to someone as a gift.  We may go back to Parque Arvi again someday, better dressed, but we’ll do our own thing.

When we left the park I was down to my last 2 mil so if the metro card wasn’t for round trip I wouldn’t have enough money left for the bus back.  It would be something like a 20 block walk back home.  I could do it but not after already walking such a long distance.  Anyway, it turns out I didn’t need a round trip ticket because I never really left the metro system.

An interesting thing I noted is that from the bus back, just before it turns onto the main road, I saw a couple of policemen on Segways.  And right by the bull ring I saw a lot of tents with Coca Cola logos on them so there must be some type of convention going on.

Later I stopped and talked to John for a little bit on my way to dinner.  He told me he went to a concert last night and then went out to a “cast party” afterwards and was basically up all night partying.  I always try to remember a joke or 2 to tell him.  Just as I was leaving one of his sisters came out – a nice looking woman though I wish she spoke more than just a couple of words of English.

I stopped at Deprisa on my way to dinner to ask about my postcards.  They appear to be a package deliver company and apparently share the building with the airline Avianca.  I handed the lady there my note but the lady who works for Avianca speaks English and stepped in as translator.  They quoted me a price of something like 8mil ($4.44) per postcard if I mailed them from there but they gave me the name and address of another company – 7/24 – that would be better and cheaper for that purpose.  It turns out they are in a building near Parque Berrio where I was earlier today.  So the next time I’m downtown I’ll check it out.

Dinner tonight was a bacon hamburger for 4,500 ($2.50) at Burger King and I found out they also have milkshakes so I had one of their large vanilla shakes for 6400 ($3.56).

Coming back from dinner tonight I saw a huge “boat” of a car driving down my street – an old Dodge Coronet.  I wonder how they park that thing.

I’ve been pretty busy all week but for lunch tomorrow I plan to have a Philly Steak sandwich at Phillysteaks – The Original of Philadelphia.  If I am accurate with my directions it should only be a few blocks away.  It’s restaurant #56 of 292 in Medellin per Tripadvisor.  Check it out:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g297478-d3703493-Reviews-Phillysteaks_Los_Originales_de_Philadelphia_USA-Medellin_Antioquia_Department.html

 

I finally got an answer from Rosetta Stone.  They sent me a URL to click on that is supposed to configure my new USB headset.  I’ll give that a try tomorrow.