Friday P.M.

I used the internet café that is across the street from the school today after lunch for a couple of hours. i was trying to log on to my work computer to help with a work project, but it didn't work out. this cafe charges Q7 for one hour, which is basically a dollar per hour, actually a little less than a dollar. So I spent about two dollars to use the internet and chat to people. :-) then when I paid, the guy gave me a stamp card for multiuse benefits. So if I use the café for five more hours I get a free hamburger or a free hour of usage. Pretty cool.

After that my butt hurt so bad from sitting so long that I decided to walk. I wanted to just walk around casually and see the city. I also wanted to try to find the movie theater advertised at my school. I hope to go see Lake House on Sunday afternoon, just for the fun of it. Hopefully it’ll be in English, but it’s ok otherwise. It’ll be a learning opportunity … just like everything else!

On my walk I passed a couple of internet cafes and inquired about prices and using my own computer. I found the café the school recommends. Looks like a fun little place, very trendy. It costs Q8 per hour. I can use my own computer there, but it’s not WiFi, so I guess I have to use their network cable to plug in. then there’s a place down central that advertises WiFi, but I don’t know how much it was. I tried to ask, but I didn’t understand the lady. She talked to fast and there was nothing written anywhere.

Next to the movie theater is the Mono Loco. That’s the place Kyle and Nell took me to on Sunday. I was surprised to find it there. I had no idea where we were that day. *L* As I was walking up the street I passed by the little ice cream/coffee shop that we went to later that evening as well. So I went in and bought an ice cream cone. The ice cream looked pretty good, so I thought “why not?” I got a single cone of chocolate and vanilla mixed for Q5. not bad since in America we’d pay a couple of dollars for one scoop of ice cream.

I passed a lot of restaurants as well. Almost all the actual restaurants look so pretty inside. There’s usually a garden area of some sort … that whole “half a roof” thing. I found one place with Italian food I think I’d like to try. The prices are comparable to American restaurants … Q70, which amounts to about $10 for a plate of spaghetti or something.

I pass by this little “tienda” every day and outside their door is a sign advertising “alo” cell phone cards. So I decided to stop in and ask if they have “tigo” cards. And they do! This means if I need minutes and don’t want to walk all the way to central, I can just go that far and get one. Yay!

All in all today I walked about 40 blocks. I sure hope this pays off in the long run, otherwise I am going to be mighty upset.

When I got home from my ventures there was talking in the dining room. So as I’m walking towards my room I say “Hola!” and when I got to the window and looked in there were a bunch of people sitting around the table and one woman was praying. Oh my! I was a little embarrassed. One woman looked up at me and I motioned that I was sorry. it would be nice to know when people are coming over.

after i ate my dinner Adolfo and Anna left to take another woman home so i took the opportunity to watch some TV in the living room. i found CSI playing in English with Spanish subtitles, so i watched while eating some chocolate (THANKS LINDSAY/MARCIE/TAMMY!). a little bit later their daughter comes home. and a little bit after that they return with their other daughter, son-in-law, and grandson. they all come in, sit down in the living room, and proceed to talk, loudly. hello? privacy? i guess not. i mean, i wouldn't expect them to not have people over. i wouldn't expect them to not use the living room. but there i was watching TV and now i can't hear anything. after about 10 minutes they went to the dining room. and after about 10 more minutes, i turned the TV off and went to my room. the company stayed pretty late, so i fell asleep listening to my music to try to drown out the noise. when i got up this morning the grandson was still there. i guess he spent the night. and apparently Annie, the youngest daughter, is now living in the room across from mine. when i asked her if she lived here she acted like she's always lived here, but that room was being occupied by the female student who left the day after i got here. so i'm confused, but i guess it doesn't matter.

anyways, it's interesting trying to figure out the lives of people you don't know and can barely communicate with. and even more interesting that i never get formally introduced to anyone. oh well.