Making progress

 Lessons are going well with some revision of past topics which are becoming clearer, things such as the pluscuamperfect, the perifrastic future and subjunctive- lovely words aren't they! Conversations cover many topics from big world problems to politics to personal interests. I have managed to avoid my conservative mistake of last year! My greater fluency has enabled me to ask for and obtain some extra cooking utensils for the apartment- a sieve, grater, a baking tray, plus I have purchased a small plastic pot for the microwave, all very satisfying!

Carlos puts a fresh flower on the table each day.

We have a mid morning break when I see the other student, Sandra. Today I was able to ask her about birds I had seen in the garden. One of the advantages of waking up early ( because I have been in bed so early) is that I can watch the birds in the garden. Today I saw a toucanet, parrots, possibly a kiskadee, possibly an oriole amd all sorts of others I couldn't find in my pamphlet. I can watch from the picture window without disturbing them. I have now seen a Hoffman's woodpecker and this has been confirmed by my fellow student.

I have had extra learning experiences today, cooking with Beatrice, who it turns out comes from Nicaragua, so we chatted lots as it was just me. Then this afternoon I went to my yoga lesson, which seemed like a mixture of Pilates and meditation. There were a couple of other English beginners plus three Spanish speaking more advanced, so it was a dual level lesson. I managed to fall asleep in the relaxation bit and jumped out of my skin when he rang the bell!  Then had another fright on the way home, when, as I had forgotten my torch I had to walk partway in the dark until I got to the only street light. A dark shape came out of the hedge and walked across the road, but fortunately turned out to be a cat! Then whilst cooking my tuna on toast the smoke alarm went off. That's enough frights for one day!