For the first time after five years of living in Penang, I finally step foot into Hong Kong Bar at Chulia Street. For this, I must thank a friend, Simon Penny, because without his and his friends' postings on social media, I wouldn't have noticed this super cool, old-fashioned (but in a very good way) bar.

I took the bus, stopped at the Jetty and walked my way to Chulia Street.

A few weeks ago I finished reading THE ART OF HAPPINESS: A Handbook for Living by His Holiness The Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler. It was my constant companion every morning while commuting to work in the bus or while waiting for it.

Having just finished MINDFULNESS FOR EVERY DAY LIVING by Christopher Titmuss, I expanded my reading to include The Dalai Lama's book. These two books are some of the best things that have happened to me recently.

It's a wrap!

This is my final weekend geeking out in the Coursera course on MIRACLES OF HUMAN LANGUAGE by Leiden University. The course deadline for all quizzes and final exam is May 11. All good things must come to an end and I must say I LOVED THIS MOOC (massive open online course)!

Here’s my very brief Italian review: Mi è piaciuto molto la storia. È bella e i gattini sono carinissimi! Mi è piaciuto anche l'avventura. C'erano la gente gentili e un vecchio gatto bravissimo che ha aiutato i gattini persi. Mi manca Roma... (In English: I really liked the story. It is beautiful and the kittens are so cute! I also like the adventure. There were nice people and a great old cat that helped the lost kittens. I miss Rome...)

OTTAVIA E I GATTI DI ROMA (Octavia and the Cats of Rome) by Claudia Cerulli and beautifully illustrated by Leo Lätti is [...]

I started reading COLLINS EASY LEARNING ITALIAN CONVERSATION a moment ago and loving the “Introduction.” Here are some of my my thoughts (emphasis mine).

”Becoming proficient in a foreign language means being able to use and understand a number of different aspects—vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and so on. However, it takes a while to be able to put all these elements together and be sure that what you are saying sounds like natural Italian.”

Or, any language for that matter. […]