I knew I would get my money’s worth, but little did I know I would get it in spades!
When my walking companion moved into her new apartment almost three weeks ago, I increased my time with a new partner. Though she cannot ever compete on the personal relationship level, my nano is offering me enormous benefits that I had not anticipated.
Originally, I was simply looking forward to listening to an hour of CBC every morning–an hour with no commercials and no outside commentary interfering with my concentration or enjoyment. And yes, that is welcome and totally worth the price I paid. But I also appreciate the fact that I can see my walking distance and the number of steps, and compare the details from day to day. It doesn’t really matter, but I’m addicted to the record-keeping. “Oh, today it was 8,304 steps and 6.59 km!”
OCD? Maybe.
What else? Well, I have listened to a number of audio books, including Born on a Blue Day, by Daniel Tammet, the autistic savant who memorized Pi to more than 22,000 digits. Wow! Check out OverDrive to download your own selections for free from your local library.
I’m learning Spanish by following a very successful free podcast from Discover Spanish, and I’m quite impressed with my progress. I believe that moving while learning really does make better connections in the brain. It’s also good for me because I am a visual student who always wants to take notes when I study. Since this is impossible to do while walking, I just repeat the lessons as often as I need to get the words to sink in. Bravissimo!
Recently I’ve been catching up on all the podcasts from Wise Traditions. Fabulous. They are so well done and so rewarding, and inspire me to go home and cook up some bone broth for my health!
And guess what! From time to time I even treat myself to some of my favourite old songs by Blue Rodeo or The Eagles, and sing along quietly, hoping not to disturb the neighbourhood.
Now here is one that you might like too: You Need a Break by David Myles. The song always reminds me fondly of the day in English class, close to final exams, when I totally surprised my students by insisting that one girl download the song on her iPhone and play it for everyone. She thought it was a trick to confiscate her phone. But not at all. I just felt that they needed David’s message more than the review of grammar. Check out this link to watch a really fun performance.
Yes, indeed, great results can come from small packages.
Sunflower Girls 
Hey there! Interesting post. I tried to use my mp3 player to download books and without the controls they came through all jumbled up, chapter 6 came in after chapter 1 or before chapter 2. It didn’t work. I haven’t given up. Soon I’ll have more time. Thank you for the suggestions, I will indeed dig into all this info deeper. By the way, when I clicked on your link, it didn’t open David’s song.
Prichie, bring your mp3 player with you on the 19th, maybe we can do it as a joint effort?
ok sis!
I fixed the link issues. Sorry about that.
no worries, just thought you should know! 🙂
Your investment inspired me to investigate whether or not I could use Overdrive to download audiobooks onto my I-pod shuffle. After several attempts and a few failures I managed to get it to play. I am on my second book and rather enjoy listening while on the treadmill or on my walks outside in nature. Thanks for the encouragement sis!
Reblogged this on AJ's Classroom and commented:
This seems teachable-worthy, so here it is.
🙂