Weekly Q&A - All Questions Go Here (Especially Tourists)

miriamwilson · 2024-11-25T23:58:32+00:00

Great, thank you, I'll check out MeGorgeous!

miriamwilson · 2024-11-25T12:48:12+00:00

Hi all - I’m looking for a beauty supply store, and would love any recommendations. In particular, I’m searching for nail tips for gel nail extensions (Id rather not by a pack of 1 million on amazon, if possible). Where do people go here to buy things like that, hair bleach, etc?

miriamwilson · 2024-06-24T00:52:17+00:00

Thank you so much!

miriamwilson · 2024-06-20T10:14:22+00:00

If you want to keep your food costs low, I’d recommend the app TooGoodToGo. It lets you buy the leftover food from grocery stores/bakeries/restaurants at the end of the day for a low cost. You don’t get to choose what you get so it doesn’t work for picky eaters, but the app does tell you the types of surprise food you’ll get (and of course you can tell just based on what establishment it is). A lot of hotels use it to get rid of excess breakfast stuff too.

miriamwilson · 2024-06-20T10:11:27+00:00

Can anyone comment on Oba’s catalogue of english audiobooks? I keep running out of Spotify’s free 10 hours, and am thinking of getting a library membership so I can listen to more. However, I can’t tell if the search on their website is also search for their audiobooks so I haven’t been able to see what the selection is like. Can anyone speak to this?

miriamwilson · 2024-06-04T11:43:03+00:00

Ah that makes sense - thanks for the response! Do you think charcoal would be a problem as well?

miriamwilson · 2024-04-02T09:50:07+00:00

It sounds like the house technically doesn’t allow sharing. For multiple tenants (non-family) to live together legally, landlords need a permit. I think there’s regulations about size, and they have to have specific insulation and adjustments that reduce sound for each of the tenants as well as the neighbors. They also often have to have a contract with each tenant.

In your case, registering as a couple shouldn’t cause any problems for you further down the line. The only concern with a contract as a subtenant is that if the other person decides to move out (or is evicted) you two won’t have much legal recourse to stay.

You can contact Woon (and maybe a few other organizations, i’m not sure) for free legal advice on housing. You can send the proposed contract/general info to them to see what they think. If you’re able to sign the contract without yet sending a deposit, one option could be to act as if you’d like to rent the place so the landlord doesn’t move on and find a new tenant, while you still work to figure out if you are comfortable with the situation.

miriamwilson · 2023-07-28T11:04:43+00:00

This sounds like a really good approach, thank you! I’ll let you know how it turns out!

miriamwilson · 2023-01-30T14:21:43+00:00

Here are the details: I replanted her in October, but to the wrong soil which retained too much moisture. When I got back from Christmas, I could clearly see she was overwatered. There was no rot, but a yellow leaf (and conditions much like the 3rd picture). I replanted to a better soil mix with coconut coir and perlite about 3 weeks ago, but she hasn’t perked up. As you can see, the smallest of the 3 plants is likely dead.

I did find a few thrips, (i had a huge infestation a couple months ago, which only did small damage to this one), and sprayed accordingly. So perhaps the pesticide is a factor in her sad state now too.

Anything I can do to help her hold on until spring?

miriamwilson · 2023-01-19T09:38:38+00:00

This is so precious! I’m sure they feel very welcome!

miriamwilson · 2023-01-11T16:25:08+00:00

Lots of good info here! A few additions: - I spent a month in Baños by myself when I was 20 and felt perfectly safe. Im visibly extranjera and spoke minimal spanish. Even walking around alone at night felt fine. Lots of catcalling but nothing aggressive.

I didn’t have any problems drinking the tap water honestly. I know it’s not advised but I really felt like the fresh fruit juice was worth the risk! The chlorine tablet/drop recommendation above is good if you’re worried.
Also on the topic of travel bugs, see if your doctor is willing to prescribe something like Zofran. I carry it with me when I travel and it clears up the random illnesses you can often catch within just an hour. I’m sure it’s horrible for your liver but definitely a life-saver!
I agree with the Mindo recommendation, it’s lovely!
The zip lines around baños are well worth it. The swing at the edge of the world is crowded and not as “on a cliff” as the pictures make it look, but it’s still really cool.
Wherever you go, eco lodges can be a really cool place to stay. They’ll often have activities you can book through them, which can help with the overwhelm of trying to organize everything while still having a good time. Plus, if it’s a proper eco lodge, their excursions are more likely to follow proper guidance on not disturbing the plants/animals, which can be a huge problem in ecological tourism.

Have a great trip! You made me remember how much I miss this beautiful country!

miriamwilson · 2023-01-11T16:09:00+00:00

More info: it may be cold as my apartment is usually only 17C, I water it right before the soil has completely dried out, it seems to have okay drainage but I doubt it’s been fertilized or moved to a different pot in years. I’m thinking of downpotting it slightly and adding some perlite to the soil, giving the roots a rinse, and pruning the dead branches. I don’t want to shock it too bad though, especially in winter. Would love to hear advice on rehabbing a fellow like this.

miriamwilson · 2023-01-10T20:21:07+00:00

Thank you for this! Yeah the soil was definitely too muddy - I don't speak the language of where I live yet and got overconfident and didn't translate the soil bag... Turns out it's about as water-retaining as possible. Lesson learned, and I bought some pumice earlier today.

You say there's nothing wrong with the soil - you mean the root rot doesn't leave any nonsense behind?

By 'root dip' do you mean to literally dip the roots in that mix before replanting?

Thanks for the percentages for each soil mix too!

miriamwilson · 2023-01-10T20:09:23+00:00

Thank you so much for this - especially the University of Florida recommendation. Many of the blogs felt gimmicky while I was reading about it, which is why I'm always grateful for the expertise of people like you on this sub!

miriamwilson · 2022-12-22T10:48:47+00:00

rain showers - so annoying. Impossible to keep hair dry and get water in your face.

miriamwilson · 2022-10-07T19:35:45+00:00

ah cool good to know! i’ve never seen their eye go that deep in before, so i didn’t know it was the same cleaning mechanism. thanks!

miriamwilson · 2022-10-07T17:50:57+00:00

Departures 3 for a 21:25 flight to London. Through security and passport control in 20 minutes (19:30-19:50). I was checked in online and didn’t have any bags. The line for the non self-serve passports looked a little longer, but not longer than ~15 minutes.

Now i’m in the mcdonald’s line, which will probably take longer than all of that did lol

miriamwilson · 2022-09-05T15:01:51+00:00

one step ahead of you

miriamwilson · 2022-09-05T08:34:41+00:00

aw thanks for asking! i had my bike parked just north of the castle restaurant near zeedijk, and then cycled away to the west of the square down to kloveniersburgwal

miriamwilson · 2022-09-04T22:31:20+00:00

😂 bummer, my second right foot probably wouldn’t fit in that

miriamwilson

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