Monday, November 11th, 2013

Happy Veterans Day to those of you in the States!  Here it’s Happy “Independence of Cartagena” Day!  The following is from the recent issue of Medellin Living eMagazine:

It was on November 11, 1811 that Cartagena declared its independence from Spanish Rule. In Colombia, this historic day is recognized as a national holiday, making for yet another 3-day weekend.
The main festivities, parties, and parades take place in Cartagena, of course, in conjunction with the country's national beauty pageant, the winner of which will represent Colombia in the Miss Universe contest.

Last night I watched episode 8 of Sleeper Cell.  It was unclear as to whether this ended the series or maybe just the season.

Upon further review, the waitress who said “quién le enseño?”, it might have been directed at me specifically, meaning “who is your teacher?”.

I went to bed at 10:45, got up once during the night, and woke/got up at 7:30.  This morning I feel great!

I was at Panaderia Los Mejores from 9 to 9:30 having my coffee and croissant.  (I usually give my loose change to the first homeless person I see.  Generally you just have to look for someone who looks like the dirtiest human being you’ve ever seen in your life or someone sitting on the sidewalk with their hand out.  This morning I gave a guy outside the bakery some change (a little over 1mil I think) and he immediately got up and bought something to eat from the bakery.  It’s nice when you know they’re not using it for drugs.)  I said “Café con leche oscuro” for the first time there and it appeared to work.  There were no further questions as to what I wanted and they gave me my coffee exactly how I like it.

The house cleaner should be coming tomorrow and last time she was here she gave me a note for a cleaning product she wanted me to buy “Fabuloso olor limpido”.  I checked Exito this morning and there is a Fabuloso brand and they sell several products.  The lady that was helping me seemed to indicate a general category of products including bleach, which I already have.  (The lady came up to my armpit and she asked for help from another lady who was even shorter.  Lol.)  I decided to give Olga 10mil tomorrow and ask her to make a trip to the store for whatever she needs.

I see Tom Hanks is going to be portraying Walt Disney in a new movie Saving Mr. Banks scheduled for a December 20^th release.  It includes a number of good actors (Colin Farrell, Ruth Wilson, Paul Giamatti, and Emma Thompson) and I’ve already read a good review on it.

I started RS’s Unit 2 Lesson 1Writing and I only scored 39%.  That topic always gives me trouble but it’s a good learning experience.

From 1:15 to 2pm I had the Pasta of the Day (Spaghetti Carbonara) with a 12oz Coke for 6,900 ($3.63).  That’s a pretty good deal.

From 2:15-3:45 I had an iced tea at the corner store and read my Nook book.  I checked today and the store’s official name is Salsamentaria la Chinca.  I tried translating it and Googling it but didn’t have any luck as to what it might mean.  The name is too complicated to use so I’ll probably keep referring to it as the corner store.

I posted an article from the current issue of Medellin Living eMagazine entitled The Best Bars in Medellin.  Unfortunately the pictures didn’t survive the transfer.  :(

At 6pm I was at Fresco Pan having a Café con leche oscuro with a ham & cheese pastry.  When I pointed at what I wanted in the display case the young man working there actually called it “pizza” although it sounds more like “pissa” because they pronounce their “Z”s like “S”s.  I saw the 1^st woman that was helping me this morning at Exito and she asked me something I didn’t understand so I just said mañana.  About 6:10 Beatriz came in, I had my back to her, I guess she bought something and left.

Church began exactly at 6:30 with the ringing of a bell.  (At 6:55 I took my medicine.)  It ended almost exactly at 7:15 when I was finishing my last (2^nd) cup of coffee.  I didn’t see any woman wearing a white hoodie like last Monday but it wasn’t cold enough to really need one.  I did see a similar looking woman, 40ish with long dark hair, come into the bakery and order something.  Her left side was partially hidden by a pillar when I saw an arm come out and go around her back.  When they came out the man looked too young (about 20) for a husband, most likely her son.  They walked down the street, he had his hand on her elbow, and they got into a gray car across the street and drove away.  She was driving which lends support to the fact he was probably her son.

Tables were getting full from the church goers so I left.

Now I’m going to try to watch Sleeper Cell on Netflix again.