Tuesday and Wednesday - Being productive

Tuesday I returned from Iguazu and my afternoon class was canceled since the professor was ill. Therefore, I had the entire day free to get stuff done and relax from my trip. I steam rolled through some errands, including a trip to the grocery store.

The grocery store I went to was only a few blocks away and looks very nice from the outside. It looks like the most American supermarket I have passed since, so I was comfortable going in and giving it a go. The downstairs had very general products, almost like a pharmacy....basic everyday things you might need in your house. Then I saw a sign for the upstairs which had fresh food. The only way up was not an elevator or an escalator, but a moving walkway (similar to the airports) on a tilt. You rolled your cart onto the walkway, and the wheels interlocked with the material so that the cart did not roll back onto you. The incline was not to bad, but I thought it was a great concept and don't remember ever seeing it in America. Anyways, once I got upstairs it started looking like a normal grocery store. I went over the deli and ordered some Jamon Crudo and Queso. Everything is with ham here, and the Jamon Crudo is very much like Prosciutto. After the deli I went over to the bread section, picked out some rolls and kept cruising. I made it to the fresh vegetables section, picked out what I wanted, and brought it to the counter where a woman weighed it, and stuck a price tag on the bag to avoid confusion at the register. After I was done shopping I checked out, and for my lunch for the whole week, I got away with only spending about 30 pesos (1o dollars).

At dinner I had the best meal in my house so far. Although it sounds gross, it was Corn Lasagna. It is not lasagna like we think we meat and tomato sauce....instead it had layers of noodles with cream of corn, cheese, corn, and a white cream sauce. My description does not sound very good, but it was heavenly. I asked for the recipe, and I am waiting for Juana to write it down since she makes it by memory at this point.

After dinner I made my sandwich for the next day. I packed a lunch with my sandwich of jamon crudo, queso, onions, peppers, and carrots. I also brought some baby carrots to snack on and some green pepper in case it all wasn't enough. I was very proud of myself for being healthy and cost effective.

That night, since I had been so productive, as well as the fact I was still a little tired from my trip and the long bus ride the night before, I went to bed very early and enjoyed every minute of it.

Wednesday I woke up early for class at 9am. After class I met up with Alex and Elise and went with them to a deli to buy sandwiches so we could go sit in the park and enjoy our lunches. The park never happened, but we enjoyed them in the courtyard of our school with the sun out. I then had another class at 1pm, and got out of school around 2.30pm. I spent the afternoon going through my to-do list and checking things off.

At 6.30pm, I met up with some other guys on my program for a little pick-up soccer game in a park a few minutes away. We couldn't reserve turf time this week, so we found a paved court with goals and just played a little 3 on 3. It was a great feeling to exercise a little, and after running to the park, I decided that I will start running a few days a week to get my heart pumping and get some good sightseeing in as well.

I enjoyed my dinner tonight since the whole family sat down and discussed a variety of topics. Patricia said that after 3 weeks, my Spanish has improved better than past students at this point. That really made me happy, but I know I have a lot more work ahead of me.

I was supposed to go out tonight and meet up with some friends, but instead I am calling it an early night since I am exhausted from the soccer game. I might still be a little drained from that bus ride, and I think it is a good idea for me to go to bed early one more night before the weekend starts and I don't sleep.

All is well in my life, and I have nothing to complain about. Night.