Religion is very much a part of life here in Guatemala. Ancient churches...functional and ruins...are everywhere. There's a mixture of Catholic tradition with the old religion of the Maya. It is perfectly normal to see statues of saints alongside likenesses of less-saintly Mayan deities (my favorite is Maximon, to whom they offer cigars and alcohol. He looks a bit like Hemingway).
I noticed that something was up this week when I saw people walking around town with the sign of the cross on their foreheads. It was Ash Wednesday! I don't know much about this tradition other than it means that Easter is around the corner. When I lived in Philadelphia, many of my Catholic coworkers would get up early in the morning for Mass. They'd get the mark on their foreheads and wear it all day. It was always tempted to lick my thumbs and rub the smudges clean...but wasn't sure if they might take offense.
Anyway, Miguel and I went shopping in the morning for new chairs. We enjoy sitting on the roof of our Guatehouse and watch the world go by. The chairs that Kimberly relocated from the courtyard were weathered, and both of them were split. Getting a bit of arm fat pinched between the broken arms of a plastic chair is quite painful! Time for new chairs!
Miguel bought a blue one, and mine is green. We had to carry them from one end of Antigua to the other! I wanted to get a taxi to haul the chairs, but Miguel wanted a good work-out. Mission accomplished.
We stopped along the way to buy a couple of steaks. It seems that Elsa received a new electric grill as a reward for selling a certain amount of makeup in her side business for leClaire. It hasn't been used, and we were determined to break it in properly.
On the way home, we encountered the beginnings of the religious processions through town. Each church sponsors a float that is adorned with a scene from Christian mythology. Male parishioners carry the floats on their shoulders through the narrow streets. I was told that they do their best to find guys who are approximately the same height, but it never works out. As a result, some of the taller men have to hunch over while the short ones have to reach above their heads.
A marching band follows each float, playing rather somber music. As it gets dark, the floats are lit by floodlights. They literally trail a long extension cord behind each float...followed by some poor guy (presumably a big-time sinner doing penance) with an gas-powered electric generator.
The final destination for all of the floats is the town's central park. At midnight, they light the floats on fire and sacrifice a virgin. At least that's what I heard they do; I didn't stick around for the ending.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Lake Atitlan and Pearl Divers...
It was simply an awesome day! We woke up very early, and I made breakfast for Dana, Kim, Miguel, and myself. I decided to keep it simple, so we had cinnamon toast. I don't know if the family cat was hungry, or just needed some attention, but she was certainly intent on helping me prepare the meal by rubbing against my legs and checking out the oven.
Dana had arranged for a private van to pick us up at 8:00 to take us to Lake Atitlan. We swung by the Central Park to pick up Pam and Mike; a couple of friends from school. They came to Antigua for a few weeks to hang out and learn the language. I'm quite impressed with how much they were able to pick up in two weeks!
It was about a three hour ride to Lake Antitlan, and it was a very enjoyable. It was pointed out to us that we were traveling on the famous pan-American highway, which is surprisingly modern and well-maintained.
The lake is quite large; it's a few miles across, about 1,000 feet deep, and is surrounded on all sides by volcano and mountains. The water itself is a slight greenish-blue, and I was surprised at how clear the water is near the shore. Dana negotiated a boat ride with a local captain, and soon we were off...zipping along the water in a small tourist boat powered by a 90 HP Suzuki engine.
In the middle of the lake, we saw the Lake Atitlan Pearl Diving Operations...where some of the largest fresh-water pearls in the world are collected. Small boys are employed to get the pearls. They are taken to deep water aboard small wooden boats, have rocks tied around their ankles to help them sink, and tossed over the side. They have to hold their breaths for about 2 minutes as they sink 120 feet or so to reach the giant oyster fields. These molluscs can grow to 3 feet across and easily weigh 400 pounds. The boys use a bit of rubber hose to “tickle” the sensitive membrane that attaches the two halves of the giant shell. When the oyster “laughs,” the boy reaches his hand into the shell to feel around for a large, round, smooth growth. A pearl! The goal of his quest! If he finds one, he smathers the outside of the shell with a bit of red-colored grease. After a couple of tugs on his lines, he's pulled back up to the boat to catch a bit of fresh air and maybe wait out the bends before being sent down again.
In a few weeks, the villagers that live around Lake Atitlan will gather on their boats to harvest all of the oysters marked with red grease. With any luck, they'll find one or two perfect pearls that will sell for tens of thousands of dollars. Less-than-perfect pearls are sold for industrial manufacturing purposes and often end up in toothpaste. Ever heard of toothpaste that'll make your teeth “pearly white?” That's not just a clever marketing gimmick! So please be sure that your toothpaste contains powdered pearls from Lake Atitlan...those boys worked hard for that natural ingredient!
At least that's my understanding of the Lake Atitlan Pearl Diving Operations as explained by our Spanish-speaking boat captain as we motored across the water. My Spanish is still pretty limited, and it's possible that I may have misunderstood a detail or two...
Dana had arranged for a private van to pick us up at 8:00 to take us to Lake Atitlan. We swung by the Central Park to pick up Pam and Mike; a couple of friends from school. They came to Antigua for a few weeks to hang out and learn the language. I'm quite impressed with how much they were able to pick up in two weeks!
It was about a three hour ride to Lake Antitlan, and it was a very enjoyable. It was pointed out to us that we were traveling on the famous pan-American highway, which is surprisingly modern and well-maintained.
The lake is quite large; it's a few miles across, about 1,000 feet deep, and is surrounded on all sides by volcano and mountains. The water itself is a slight greenish-blue, and I was surprised at how clear the water is near the shore. Dana negotiated a boat ride with a local captain, and soon we were off...zipping along the water in a small tourist boat powered by a 90 HP Suzuki engine.
In the middle of the lake, we saw the Lake Atitlan Pearl Diving Operations...where some of the largest fresh-water pearls in the world are collected. Small boys are employed to get the pearls. They are taken to deep water aboard small wooden boats, have rocks tied around their ankles to help them sink, and tossed over the side. They have to hold their breaths for about 2 minutes as they sink 120 feet or so to reach the giant oyster fields. These molluscs can grow to 3 feet across and easily weigh 400 pounds. The boys use a bit of rubber hose to “tickle” the sensitive membrane that attaches the two halves of the giant shell. When the oyster “laughs,” the boy reaches his hand into the shell to feel around for a large, round, smooth growth. A pearl! The goal of his quest! If he finds one, he smathers the outside of the shell with a bit of red-colored grease. After a couple of tugs on his lines, he's pulled back up to the boat to catch a bit of fresh air and maybe wait out the bends before being sent down again.
In a few weeks, the villagers that live around Lake Atitlan will gather on their boats to harvest all of the oysters marked with red grease. With any luck, they'll find one or two perfect pearls that will sell for tens of thousands of dollars. Less-than-perfect pearls are sold for industrial manufacturing purposes and often end up in toothpaste. Ever heard of toothpaste that'll make your teeth “pearly white?” That's not just a clever marketing gimmick! So please be sure that your toothpaste contains powdered pearls from Lake Atitlan...those boys worked hard for that natural ingredient!
At least that's my understanding of the Lake Atitlan Pearl Diving Operations as explained by our Spanish-speaking boat captain as we motored across the water. My Spanish is still pretty limited, and it's possible that I may have misunderstood a detail or two...
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Country School and Dead Priests...
Today has been a very full day! This morning, it was class as usual for Miguel and me. When we got home, I skipped lunch so that I could get some work done. Then it was off to the tiny village of St. Mateo (St. Mathews) to visit a school for indigenous children.
The Prodesenh School is where Dana has volunteered to work for a couple of weeks for the past five or six years. He brings suitcases full of clothes, shoes, and books from the U.S. and distributes them to the children here. He also helps them with their course work; reading with them and teaching them a bit of English.
The school is run by a woman named Judith Lopez, who is a fascinating character. She is a native herself, and grew up in this village of 4,000 people. As a girl, her prospects in life were very limited. She was expected to work in the house or fields and not waste time with an education. She had other plans, though, and went to school in Antigua...walking 45 minutes each day to school, and 1 ¼ hours back. It's downhill and quick on the way to school, and uphill on the way back.
She managed to graduate high school, and then became the first person from the village to graduate college. She went on to get a master's degree in administration. The villagers think that she's an attorney because she went to college.
Judith has devoted the last 13 years of her life to bring education to children in her hometown who would otherwise never go to school. People come here from all over the world to volunteer their time to help. Miguel and I wish her the best of luck!
On the way home, Dana wanted to show us a 5-star hotel in Antigua. It is certainly impressive! It's built on the ruins of several ancient monasteries dating from the mid-1500's. The hotel has incorpated the ruins into the architecture of the hotel itself. When they found an old mausoleum, they just made it into the centerpiece of the hotel courtyard...bones and all! How cool is it to be sleeping in a hotel with clearly visible skeletons in the yard? I'm getting inspired to write a ghost story about this place...maybe I'll ask if I can pitch a tent near the bones one night so that I might be inspired by the long dead priests...
The Prodesenh School is where Dana has volunteered to work for a couple of weeks for the past five or six years. He brings suitcases full of clothes, shoes, and books from the U.S. and distributes them to the children here. He also helps them with their course work; reading with them and teaching them a bit of English.
The school is run by a woman named Judith Lopez, who is a fascinating character. She is a native herself, and grew up in this village of 4,000 people. As a girl, her prospects in life were very limited. She was expected to work in the house or fields and not waste time with an education. She had other plans, though, and went to school in Antigua...walking 45 minutes each day to school, and 1 ¼ hours back. It's downhill and quick on the way to school, and uphill on the way back.
She managed to graduate high school, and then became the first person from the village to graduate college. She went on to get a master's degree in administration. The villagers think that she's an attorney because she went to college.
Judith has devoted the last 13 years of her life to bring education to children in her hometown who would otherwise never go to school. People come here from all over the world to volunteer their time to help. Miguel and I wish her the best of luck!
On the way home, Dana wanted to show us a 5-star hotel in Antigua. It is certainly impressive! It's built on the ruins of several ancient monasteries dating from the mid-1500's. The hotel has incorpated the ruins into the architecture of the hotel itself. When they found an old mausoleum, they just made it into the centerpiece of the hotel courtyard...bones and all! How cool is it to be sleeping in a hotel with clearly visible skeletons in the yard? I'm getting inspired to write a ghost story about this place...maybe I'll ask if I can pitch a tent near the bones one night so that I might be inspired by the long dead priests...
Roberto's Guatemalan Cell Phone Number...
You may have noticed in the last video that Miguel and I purchased cell phones in Antigua. We carry these phones with us mainly so that we can call each other if we get separated while wandering around town. It's not like our Spanish is proficient enough to call anyone else here...
There's no reason why these phones can't receive calls from the U.S. So, here's my cell phone number while I'm in Guatemala:
011-502-3080-3100
So, from the U.S., you would dial "011" from any phone to get an international connection. Then dial "502" for Guatemala's country code. "3080-3100" is my actual cell phone number.
If you call and I'm available, I'll answer the phone. If I don't answer, please leave a message. I can't return your call using my cell phone, but I'll call you back using Skype as soon as I'm able.
There's no reason why these phones can't receive calls from the U.S. So, here's my cell phone number while I'm in Guatemala:
011-502-3080-3100
So, from the U.S., you would dial "011" from any phone to get an international connection. Then dial "502" for Guatemala's country code. "3080-3100" is my actual cell phone number.
If you call and I'm available, I'll answer the phone. If I don't answer, please leave a message. I can't return your call using my cell phone, but I'll call you back using Skype as soon as I'm able.
Monday, February 13, 2012
$6.00 for 100 Pounds of Coffee is Too Much to Pay!!!
Well, Miguel and I survived our first week! We've been quite busy, which is why I haven't had time to update the blog.
I should begin by correcting a misconception that I've noticed in a couple of e-mails I've received. There are at least two places in the world known as Antigua. One is an island in the Caribbean full of white sand beaches, crystal clear waters, and beautiful, nearly-naked vacationers running around. The other is a small city in Guatemala; one of the poorest countries in Central America. It is located in the middle of one of the world's major earthquake zones, surrounded by volcanoes, and has half-starving dogs running around its streets.
Miguel and I are in that SECOND place named Antigua.
Not that I'm complaining! The people here are fantastic! It seems like everywhere we go, people are excited that we're here and are more than willing to help with our Spanish...
Several days ago, we welcomed a new house mate named Dana. He's from Texas, and has been coming here for the last five or six years to volunteer at an orphanage in the mountains. His Spanish is excellent, though even I can detect a VERY strong Texas twang when he speaks it.
Dana wasn't particularly happy to learn that I've lived on a sailboat for the past 15 years and that I proudly advertise my lifestyle. He explained that he has a daughter who mentioned a few weeks ago that she's been thinking about moving on board a boat, and he' afraid that I might be a bad influence on her. Like any good father, he doesn't want his daughter hanging out with the wrong types!
His daughter, Kimberly, arrived in Antigua on Friday. She and I have spent a lot of time talking about boats and how dangerous they are to live aboard. I explained how they sink in storms, catch fire easily, and often run aground (especially if the captain is Italian). They're noisy, filthy, cesspools of floating sin that no self-respecting woman should ever consider visiting...much less living on board!
I hope all that was enough to appease Dana, who had threatened me with bodily harm if I made my lifestyle appear even remotely appealing to his daughter.
On Saturday, the four of us went to a coffee plantation just a few miles from our home. It was an enjoyable day as we walked through a museum of musical instruments, watched a movie about the indigenous Guatemalans, and saw massive amounts of coffee being dried in the sun. I learned that the plantation participates in the Fair Trade program, and pays their field workers about 40% more than competing plantations. Even still, the workers only earn about $6.00 for picking 100 pounds of coffee beans.
You'll notice in the video that we later buy coffee from a shop just down the street from our house. We could have bought coffee from the plantation we'd visited that morning...but it cost about 8 cents more per pound than the Non-Fair Trade shops, and we're not about to pay those outrageous prices!
Our house mom (Guatemom?) doesn't cook on Sundays...not for her own family, and certainly not for us. She works very hard, and she deserves this day off. Since I like to cook, I decided to prepare an American-style steak dinner for the entire family. I bought the meat from a local butcher, the bread from a local bakery, and the fresh vegetables from the supermarket. Miguel baked a cake in his room. I used the grill on the roof of the house to cook the steaks, and the gas oven in the kitchen to prepare all the sides. Much to my surprise, the entire meal turned out well and everybody seemed to really enjoy it. Even Dana and Kimberly liked the dinner...which is amazing as they're both vegetarians and didn't even eat the best part!
I should begin by correcting a misconception that I've noticed in a couple of e-mails I've received. There are at least two places in the world known as Antigua. One is an island in the Caribbean full of white sand beaches, crystal clear waters, and beautiful, nearly-naked vacationers running around. The other is a small city in Guatemala; one of the poorest countries in Central America. It is located in the middle of one of the world's major earthquake zones, surrounded by volcanoes, and has half-starving dogs running around its streets.
Miguel and I are in that SECOND place named Antigua.
Not that I'm complaining! The people here are fantastic! It seems like everywhere we go, people are excited that we're here and are more than willing to help with our Spanish...
Several days ago, we welcomed a new house mate named Dana. He's from Texas, and has been coming here for the last five or six years to volunteer at an orphanage in the mountains. His Spanish is excellent, though even I can detect a VERY strong Texas twang when he speaks it.
Dana wasn't particularly happy to learn that I've lived on a sailboat for the past 15 years and that I proudly advertise my lifestyle. He explained that he has a daughter who mentioned a few weeks ago that she's been thinking about moving on board a boat, and he' afraid that I might be a bad influence on her. Like any good father, he doesn't want his daughter hanging out with the wrong types!
His daughter, Kimberly, arrived in Antigua on Friday. She and I have spent a lot of time talking about boats and how dangerous they are to live aboard. I explained how they sink in storms, catch fire easily, and often run aground (especially if the captain is Italian). They're noisy, filthy, cesspools of floating sin that no self-respecting woman should ever consider visiting...much less living on board!
I hope all that was enough to appease Dana, who had threatened me with bodily harm if I made my lifestyle appear even remotely appealing to his daughter.
On Saturday, the four of us went to a coffee plantation just a few miles from our home. It was an enjoyable day as we walked through a museum of musical instruments, watched a movie about the indigenous Guatemalans, and saw massive amounts of coffee being dried in the sun. I learned that the plantation participates in the Fair Trade program, and pays their field workers about 40% more than competing plantations. Even still, the workers only earn about $6.00 for picking 100 pounds of coffee beans.
You'll notice in the video that we later buy coffee from a shop just down the street from our house. We could have bought coffee from the plantation we'd visited that morning...but it cost about 8 cents more per pound than the Non-Fair Trade shops, and we're not about to pay those outrageous prices!
Our house mom (Guatemom?) doesn't cook on Sundays...not for her own family, and certainly not for us. She works very hard, and she deserves this day off. Since I like to cook, I decided to prepare an American-style steak dinner for the entire family. I bought the meat from a local butcher, the bread from a local bakery, and the fresh vegetables from the supermarket. Miguel baked a cake in his room. I used the grill on the roof of the house to cook the steaks, and the gas oven in the kitchen to prepare all the sides. Much to my surprise, the entire meal turned out well and everybody seemed to really enjoy it. Even Dana and Kimberly liked the dinner...which is amazing as they're both vegetarians and didn't even eat the best part!
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
It's M-I-C-H-A-E-L!!! What's wrong with you people?!?!
A few followers of this blog pointed out that yesterday's video has a problem. Right after the first scene with Agnes walking down the street, there's five minutes or so of total blackness with no audio before the video resumes.
I suppose that these people never stopped to think that perhaps I'm creating an arte nuevo video experience. Perhaps that area of blackness in the middle of the video represents the hole in my Spanish language skills, and I'm trying to get my viewers to feel empathy for my situation. Maybe it is meant to provide a moment of reflection for the 30-year civil war here in Guatemala. Or maybe it's designed to make the viewer think and wonder, “I wonder what happened to that nice Korean girl who stepped off the curb in a poor country in Central America? She shows up later in the video, but what was she doing during that five minutes of darkness?”
Most likely, it's just a screw-up with my video editing skills. So, I've posted a new version to today's blog that doesn't contain a mysterious black hole...
Today was our third lesson. I had some sort of “Aha!” moment with my teacher, because I suddenly started to understand quite a bit of Spanish. I don't know how to describe it, but it seemed that something “clicked” for me. We were quickly able to go over the numbers from 1-1000, the names for basic colors, and how to conjugate verbs. Plus, I learned a whole bunch of new nouns. This must have been how Helen Keller felt when she first started working with Anne Sullivan! Fortunately, I wasn't blindly tripping over chairs and people at the time...and I bet my description of colors was far more accurate.
It might be back to “Miguel” for “Michael / Miguel.” The local population seems to naturally refer to him as “Miguel”...even when he introduces himself as “Michael.” I'm not sure what he can do about this, short of wearing a name tag or saying “No! Mi llamo es Michael! MICHAEL!!! M-I-C-H-A-E-L!!!” Oy, Dios Mio!
So everything is going great! We're still feeling a bit overwhelmed, but today was a really good day! Pretty soon, I'll be reading Don Quixote in its original form...
I suppose that these people never stopped to think that perhaps I'm creating an arte nuevo video experience. Perhaps that area of blackness in the middle of the video represents the hole in my Spanish language skills, and I'm trying to get my viewers to feel empathy for my situation. Maybe it is meant to provide a moment of reflection for the 30-year civil war here in Guatemala. Or maybe it's designed to make the viewer think and wonder, “I wonder what happened to that nice Korean girl who stepped off the curb in a poor country in Central America? She shows up later in the video, but what was she doing during that five minutes of darkness?”
Most likely, it's just a screw-up with my video editing skills. So, I've posted a new version to today's blog that doesn't contain a mysterious black hole...
Today was our third lesson. I had some sort of “Aha!” moment with my teacher, because I suddenly started to understand quite a bit of Spanish. I don't know how to describe it, but it seemed that something “clicked” for me. We were quickly able to go over the numbers from 1-1000, the names for basic colors, and how to conjugate verbs. Plus, I learned a whole bunch of new nouns. This must have been how Helen Keller felt when she first started working with Anne Sullivan! Fortunately, I wasn't blindly tripping over chairs and people at the time...and I bet my description of colors was far more accurate.
It might be back to “Miguel” for “Michael / Miguel.” The local population seems to naturally refer to him as “Miguel”...even when he introduces himself as “Michael.” I'm not sure what he can do about this, short of wearing a name tag or saying “No! Mi llamo es Michael! MICHAEL!!! M-I-C-H-A-E-L!!!” Oy, Dios Mio!
So everything is going great! We're still feeling a bit overwhelmed, but today was a really good day! Pretty soon, I'll be reading Don Quixote in its original form...
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
First Day of School...and the Second!
Yesterday was our first day of school. Elsa (our Guatemalan Mom), made sure that we were well-fed with a breakfast of fresh fruits. She chopped up a pineapple, mango, a plantain, and put them into a bowl for us. Normally, I'm not a huge fan of fruit...but like Michael, I agree that the extremely fresh fruit here is extremely good! I can't say I've ever tasted any quite like it.
Elsa then walked us to school and introduced us to the principal and some of the staff. We were given a quick tour of the facilities, signed our enrollment paperwork, made our first payments, and then met our teachers.
My teacher is named Lourdes (nickname LuLu). She was surprised that I could pronounce her name correctly; as most Gringos have problems with it. We have a couple of partners in work who are named Lourdes, so I had already perfected the pronunciation. No doubt this got me some brownie points!
The school is arranged so that each teacher / student pair has their own table and chairs that are set around an open courtyard. The area we were assigned happens to be directly next to the WiFi antenna. This is great, because it gives me an excellent Internet connection while I'm there. It was absolutely no problem to put on my headset and use Skype to check voice mail and make calls for work.
The lessons are pretty free-flowing. The school gave us several books, but the teachers prefer to write words on scrap paper and have us practice with them. I learned how to introduce myself and what to call the various members of someone's family (e.g., mother, father, aunt, uncle, brother, sister, son, daughter, niece, nephew, etc.). We used Lourdes' family (which is quite large!) as an example.
And so went the first day. I was amazed at how quickly it went by...but I think that Lourdes was pretty worn out! It's got to be tough repeating the same words over and over and over!
After school, Mike and I went to a restaurant for lunch (the same one we went to yesterday). The food was just as good. While we were eating, a mouse ran into the restaurant, and the staff were trying to catch it. This is when Mike thought it would be a good idea to practice his Spanish. As the waiter and owner were using a stick to corner the little guy, Mike joked with them “No more rat! No more mouse!” Not sure of the Spanish, he yelled “Mas rat! Mas mouse!” This Spanglish translates to “More rat! More mouse!”, which totally confused the staff. Mike had to explain to them why he did NOT want more rats in the restaurant.
After our relatively exciting lunch, we headed to the shops again. This time, we picked up some butter and olive oil for the house (Guatemala Mom sent me to the store with a shopping list), ice trays and a bucket, a coffee thermos to take to school, and yet another bottle of Johnnie Walker Red (according to Mike, the bottle he kept overnight is no longer suitable as a gift).
Our dinner was very simple but tasty...mushroom soup, bread, and a tostilla with beans. Afterward, it was off to do our homework.
Today was pretty much the same. A great breakfast (egg and cheese sandwich, fresh banana), private lessons with our teachers at school, a very satisfying lunch (different restaurant with no rats), and business calls / e-mails in the afternoon.
Elsa then walked us to school and introduced us to the principal and some of the staff. We were given a quick tour of the facilities, signed our enrollment paperwork, made our first payments, and then met our teachers.
My teacher is named Lourdes (nickname LuLu). She was surprised that I could pronounce her name correctly; as most Gringos have problems with it. We have a couple of partners in work who are named Lourdes, so I had already perfected the pronunciation. No doubt this got me some brownie points!
The school is arranged so that each teacher / student pair has their own table and chairs that are set around an open courtyard. The area we were assigned happens to be directly next to the WiFi antenna. This is great, because it gives me an excellent Internet connection while I'm there. It was absolutely no problem to put on my headset and use Skype to check voice mail and make calls for work.
The lessons are pretty free-flowing. The school gave us several books, but the teachers prefer to write words on scrap paper and have us practice with them. I learned how to introduce myself and what to call the various members of someone's family (e.g., mother, father, aunt, uncle, brother, sister, son, daughter, niece, nephew, etc.). We used Lourdes' family (which is quite large!) as an example.
And so went the first day. I was amazed at how quickly it went by...but I think that Lourdes was pretty worn out! It's got to be tough repeating the same words over and over and over!
After school, Mike and I went to a restaurant for lunch (the same one we went to yesterday). The food was just as good. While we were eating, a mouse ran into the restaurant, and the staff were trying to catch it. This is when Mike thought it would be a good idea to practice his Spanish. As the waiter and owner were using a stick to corner the little guy, Mike joked with them “No more rat! No more mouse!” Not sure of the Spanish, he yelled “Mas rat! Mas mouse!” This Spanglish translates to “More rat! More mouse!”, which totally confused the staff. Mike had to explain to them why he did NOT want more rats in the restaurant.
After our relatively exciting lunch, we headed to the shops again. This time, we picked up some butter and olive oil for the house (Guatemala Mom sent me to the store with a shopping list), ice trays and a bucket, a coffee thermos to take to school, and yet another bottle of Johnnie Walker Red (according to Mike, the bottle he kept overnight is no longer suitable as a gift).
Our dinner was very simple but tasty...mushroom soup, bread, and a tostilla with beans. Afterward, it was off to do our homework.
Today was pretty much the same. A great breakfast (egg and cheese sandwich, fresh banana), private lessons with our teachers at school, a very satisfying lunch (different restaurant with no rats), and business calls / e-mails in the afternoon.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Pizza, Alcohol, and Drugs
Today was another market day...perfect for a Sunday afternoon. We want to cook a pizza tonight, so we had to get the necessary ingredients; crust, cheese, sauce, mushrooms, pepperoni. So, if was off to the grocery store yet again.
We really lucked out today, because we found the ultimate supermarket. It has pretty much everything. They sell food, of course, but also clothes, stereo equipment, socks, floor mats for the bathroom. It's the Guatemalan version of Walmart!
I bought a bottle of Johnnie Walker Scotch for one of the neighbors we met the other day. He was standing in his doorway when we were walking back to our house. A conversation started, and we learned that his name is Sergio. He's probably in his late 60's, and his English is perfect. He was an international law professor in Pittsburgh, PA for 25 years. His wife wanted to move to Tampa, so he quit his teaching position and opened up shop as an attorney. He told us that he quickly grew tired of representing South American drug dealers and illegal immigrants. So, he came back home to Guatemala to live out his days.
We were invited into his home for a drink of Scotch, but for some reason Michael was hell-bent on getting back to our home. So, the conversation with Sergio was interrupted. I'd like to learn more from him...so I bought this bottle of Scotch and hope to visit him tomorrow evening.
You may have noticed that I just referred to “Michael” as “Michael,” instead of his Spanish-given name, “Miguel.” He's decided that he would prefer to be called “Michael”...not “Miguel,” and not even “Mike” while he's here. He thinks the name sounds exotic to the locals. So, I'll call him what he wants, but I'm not changing the name of the blog!
We stopped in a drug store here to pick up some relatively harmless medication (Ambien). They gave it to us right away as soon as the understood the generic name. This is a great medication to help with sleep, and we could get it here without a prescription (unlike in the U.S.). This got us thinking...what other types of drugs could we get?
We asked for OxyCodone...and it was no problem! The pharmacist simply handed over a package and told us to have a nice day. Tomorrow, I'm going to see if I can get medicinal marijuana to ward off any possible glaucoma attacks. I've got a sore tooth, and I've heard that cocaine will take care of it in a second!
I love Guatemala!
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