Monday, March 03, 2014

Monday 3rd March 2014……welcome to Monday morning!!!

The usual lovely morning and it was a busy one first of all I went into town to buy some groceries and then came home and did a load of laundry…bored yet…..then got down to some serious sorting of what I am and what I am not going to take on my trip…….Scott from downstairs came and helped me with my new back pack adjusting the straps and the front pockets it is a great pack and will show you photos another time.  Weight is the main factor in this 6 week Camino hike I have read blogs and information sites that suggest that the ideal weight should not exceed 10% of your body weight so I am looking at about 18 pounds but I want it down less than that…..I have a good idea of what I shall be taking and I hope to be no more than 15 pounds.  It means only two pair of shorts, shirts, socks..some toiletries, some gadgets and my crocks……I will let you know how the packing list grows in the next couple of weeks.

As far as flights and accommodations I have it all booked and a good itinerary…the one unknown is how long it will take me to hike the 550 miles…what I do know is that I shall start the walk on 5th June at Irun on the border of Spain and France and I have booked a plane ticket from the destination Santiago on 17 th July…a total of six weeks.

More about the journey in the next couple of weeks.

Watered all my plants and some household chores and then went to get Paola and took her to see the councilor and picked her up one hour later and then drove her to her dance class….came home and finished my class preparation for tonight and went and got the kid again and took her home and then straight to class.

Amazing how things can change I had prepared to do a long 3 page reading in the text book and then answer 4 questions on the reading. Then I had printed off an interesting article about tomorrow which is Shrove Tuesday and intended for the class to read that and also had some homework for them but before all of this they had to do their homework from last Wednesday’s class which was to pretend they were the teacher and come to the front of the class and teach for 5 minutes!!!

Well was I surprised…. they took it in turns to come and teach and the seven of them did so remarkably well and obviously put a lot of thought and time into their presentations….they had word games, crossword games. spelling contest, stories….they each took much longer than the allotted 5 minutes and when we finished class 90 minutes later there was one student who had still not had his turn..so Diego will start  next class..they really enjoyed this and they did so well.

I always tell them they can bring their children to class and tonight Margarita brought her 10 year old son Lalo to class…he did some drawing and he was very talented…..a great evening!!!

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Scott borrowed my camera over the weekend and these are his shots!!

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Serena and Scott do a wonderful volunteer job at the Boy’s home with bikes and rides for the kids and here are some of the boys having lunch and me with my hand on Paola's brother’s head..I have not seen Leonardo for a while and it was good to see him again!!

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Scott caught and released this beauty!!!

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At the bull fight on Saturday.

Found this article on BBC news!!!

Bill Gates regains top spot as world's richest person

Bill Gates Bill Gates' total net worth was estimated at $76bn this year

 

Microsoft founder Bill Gates has regained the top spot as the world's richest person, according to Forbes magazine's annual ranking of global billionaires.

Mr Gates' total net worth was estimated at $76bn (£45.5bn) this year, up from $67bn in 2013.

His rise in wealth knocked Mexican telecoms tycoon Carlos Slim off the top spot into second place.

In total, there were a record 1,645 billionaires, according to Forbes.

The funds needed to make it into the top 20 ranking are now $31bn, up from $23bn last year, Forbes said.

Mr Gates has been top of the list for 15 of the last 20 years, according to Forbes.

 

How rich?

A billion:

  • 1,000,000,000
  • One thousand million

A trillion:

  • 1,000,000,000,000
  • One million million

Technology firms featured heavily in the list, with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg becoming the biggest gainer in net worth.

His fortune more than doubled to $28.5bn, boosted by a sharp rise in the price of the social network's shares.

The social network's chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, also made the list for the first time.

WhatsApp founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton entered the list at number 202 and 551 respectively, thanks to Facebook's $19bn purchase of the messaging app.

US continues to dominate

The world's largest economy, the US, continues to have the most billionaires, with 492.

By region, Europe boasted the most billionaires outside the US, with 468 in total, closely followed by Asia, which had 444 billionaires.

The list suggested that wealth was spreading, with four new countries featuring for the first time - Algeria, Lithuania, Tanzania and Uganda.

Nigeria's Aliko Dangote, Africa's richest man, became the first African to be listed in the top 25, with a net worth of $25bn.

Landlord Gerald Grosvenor and family were the richest British family to make the list, with a net worth estimated at $13bn.

Known formally as the 6th Duke of Westminster, he owns 190 acres in Belgravia, an area adjacent to Buckingham Palace and one of London's most expensive neighbourhoods.

Forbes list of world's richest people

Name
Wealth
Main business

Source: Forbes magazine

Bill Gates

$76bn

Microsoft, software

Carlos Slim

$72bn

America Movil, telecoms

Amancio Ortega

$64bn

Zara, fashion

Warren Buffet

$58.2bn

Berkshire Hathaway, investment

Larry Ellison

$48bn

Oracle, software

Charles Koch/David Koch

$40bn/$40bn

Koch Industries, various

Sheldon Adelson

$38bn

Las Vegas Sands, casinos

Christy Walton

$36.7bn

Wal-Mart, retail

Jim Walton

$34.7bn

Wal-Mart, retail

Liliane Bettencourt

$34.5bn

L'Oreal, retail

 

For sure I will not make this list!!

Yashi Kochi!!

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