I just got this photo today from Eve. It's now my new desktop. I get to see the wonderful faces of my kooky friends and me smiling in the midst of what was a zany trip from Marcia's wedding in North Jersey, through Manhatten and back to my parent's house in South Jersey. I love this photo, we all look so cute and so happy. Soon after we took this, I practically kicked Eve out of the car at Colombus Circle (we dropped her off there), cursed drivers, cyclists and pedestrians, got lost, drove to JFK, got lost, headed back to South Jersey and got lost, only to rush home and have to wait hours for my brother to show up for our last family dinner with the food. It was an insane day and I was not my usual calm and collected self. But this wonderful photo came out of it and I love it.I am feeling like a normal person again, almost. I had a slight fever last night and a little tummy ache, but nothing major. I took a tylenol before bed, slept fairly well (no moaning and groaning and holding my stomach), though I had some odd dreams. It is a beautiful sunny day and I have enjoyed hanging out, taking my time, trying to get some food in my stomach to see how it sits (so far it has been great), taking care of banking stuff and other minor details and just hanging out until I flee Norma.
She said she is going to be here around 3 today. I've done my best to clean up before she comes, but I refuse to put things back the way she wants to have them. Last week she moved my dish drainer off of the kitchen counter and put the dish soap and the sponge away. She rearranged lots of other things. Some things I have left, but the dish drainer, soap and sponge need to be where I want them, since I use them all so much. I can not see bending down, opening a cabinet, taking everything out, and then putting it all away again only to take it out in a few hours. We'll see what she does, but I don't want to be here to listen to her tell me how Argentines do things (she gave me a little lecture last time).
I don't know where I am going to go, but it will be good to see what it feels like for me to go out and walk around. Maybe I'll find a nice cafe and have a cup of tea or something.
I called the spa to make an appointment for this afternoon, thinking that would be a good way to escape, but they are booked. I have an appointment for Friday morning for a 3-hour treatment which includes a hot stone massage and a facial cleansing (I don't think that is the same as a facial). I think that I will be ready by then for a total pampering experience and with that will declare myself back to full health and ready to continue on with this adventure.
I also e-mailed my Spanish teacher to see if she still wants to meet tomorrow. I don't know what I will be feeling like, I will know better after going out today, but also I told her I didn't do, and didn't like the homework. I tried again to read this introduction to this book of comics by this guy Fontanarossa and got really irritated. It is written in a very long-winded literary style that irritates me because I get lost (it might be different if it were in English). I think it is too advanced for me, and not at all relevant to my daily needs. When I have problems getting what I need at the supermarket, I don't want to waste my time reading something that doesn't interest me. Yesterday I went to the supermarket and was looking for ginger. I asked the produce guy if they sold it and he pointed back to the section with wine and alcohol. Turns out I was asking for gin (ginebre vs jingebre) - they are close, and it's not something that my Spanish teacher could have really helped me avoid, unless she were right there, but it made me realize that there are a lot of names of foods that I do not know and I am very limited in what I can do.
I think Juliana will try her best to alter the lessons to fit my needs, but more than anything, it has reconfirmed my belief that language lessons need to spring from the needs of the students, if the language is for survival purposes. My Italian and Arabic teachers can have me read the Koran for all I care, I probably won't be speaking either language very much or very soon, but Spanish is something I am struggling with on a daily basis and if I am going to take the time to study it, I want those lessons to help me not have to struggle as much.
Ok, I need to start getting ready to leave. Norma will be here soon.
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