The skies were a bit cloudy this month. Looking forward to a clean slate next month!

This month has had its ups and downs. I had a blast at the Charity Road Race and hanging out at the beach, but my computer died, my tooth broke, and my car needed repaired.  I also signed up for another year of this crazy life I live in Venezuela!

Around the Web:

I really really really want to go to Cuba for a few weeks and just dance salsa every day and soak in some of the local culture.  Maybe I can go this summer, hmm…. Whenever I see an article about how the ice is thawing between the US and Cuba it makes the dream seem a little more doable. Dance school and Cuba tips anyone?

My school requires us to dress up and participate in a Halloween party, but teachers don’t get to trick or treat! I want to make one of these giant peanut butter cups to make myself feel better. hahaha

How long should it take to learn one of the world’s most popular languages if you are a native English speaker and you can take 25 hours of language classes each week? Find out by reading this article. I can’t imagine fitting in 25 hours of classes with my 40 hour work week, but maybe I should try for five-seven hours a week to whip my Spanish skills into shape? Hmm?

If you don’t like waiting, be sure to check out this post about the average wait times for popular attractions around the world and remember to search for a skip-the-line ticket online first.

I always have to travel during high season because I’m a teacher with fixed holidays, but the rest of you should check out this hand infographic about low season travel.

Books I’ve Read:

Maybe because I’ve been without a computer for more than two weeks, I’ve had a chance to read more.  Not only did I read 8 books this month, but I really liked quite a few of them!

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee is a book that I had been meaning to read for a few months.  I fell in love with To Kill a Mockingbird in high school and read it twice over the course of those four years. However, I haven’t read it since then.  Then comes this novel released fifty years after Lee wrote the thing! Watchman is takes place after Mockingbird but was written before Mockingbird.  The characters are still the ones we loved from Mockingbird but they are all grown up.  This is one book that I was torn about because I didn’t want to put down and yet I didn’t want to finish it because it was so good.

Trail of Broken Wings by Sejal Badani was hard to read because it was just so sad.  I cried a lot during this book, but in the end you can see the power of truth and the effects that abuse can have on an entire family.  It was very powerful.

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr was another five start book (like the previous two in my list). Here is what I said on goodreads, “This is one of those books that you want to read slowly and savor. It is easy to do too since it has so many short chapters and timelines told from various narrators. The message I got from this novel is that we all need to take a risk to stand up for what we believe in, that we are all just humans, and that war is a terrible thing for both sides. I highly recommend this book!”  I didn’t even know that it was a Pulitzer Prize winner until I finished the book. lol.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins has been talked about quite a lot and I’ve heard that they will even be making it into a movie, so I was a bit hesistant (I don’t always love books made for a movie adaptation), but I would give it 4/5 stars. Here is what I wrote on Goodreads, “I read three fourths of this book in one day. It is a very intriguing and kept me guessing until the very end. Yes, all of the characters are a little horrible, but some of them slightly redeem themselves in the end.”

Music:

I am sure that everyone has seen/heard it already, but Adele always blows my mind with her music and her new single, “Hello” is just as amazing as everything else.  I still listen to her first and second albums regularly, but I cannot wait for the new album to come out!

I did not believe my eyes when I saw NE-YO’s name attached to “Friend Like Me”. I could not name a single other song by NE-YO so I didn’t expect much, but once I heard this cover of Robin Williams’ “Friend Like Me” I was shocked. I love it and it brings back so many good childhood memories. Why doesn’t NE-YO do more quality music like this?

TV:

Quantico is another new Fall show full of action and drama.  The main character is a recently graduated FBI agent who wants to save the world, but she has to save herself first.  Each episode tells you a little more about different characters in the show until nobody seems innocent.