Intensive Language Learning in a Third World Country Will Break You & Make You Cry. I Highly Recommend It

Oh goodness, I have so much to say but I'll try not to inundate you, dear reader, with too many  details.

On my side trip to Mexico last weekend, I had intended to study on the bus rides. This was an impossible task however, as the landscape was endlessly fascinating. The pictures I'm throwing in are from my return trip to give you an idea of what I saw. They have nothing to do with the accompanying text.

So, Guatemalan bus drivers have  a complex system of hand signals they use to communicate whenever they pass each other on the road.  And they MUST say hi to one another when passing. If the other bus driver didn't say hi, my bus driver would call him an asshole.

The weather in Xela reminds me of San Francisco. It's generally sunny in the morning but then the clouds and fog and haze roll in and it sucks. On my bus trip last weekend, however, after driving for only about 45 minutes we were down out of the mountains and in the coastal tropics where it is warm, humid and there are a lot of water parks. I can't wait to go back to that area. 

The food at my house has continued to be um, well, interesting. Monday morning for breakfast I was served a chicken drumstick in a thin gravy AND THAT'S IT.  Wednesday for lunch I was served a heaping pile of California mix vegetables in a light cream sauce. AND THAT'S IT.  I was so happy to see broccoli that I didn't care. At breakfast and dinner I'm always served hot tea, which I love. At breakfast it's chamomile and at dinner it's corn tea. Corn tea isn't bad; it reminds me of kukicha. Today at lunch for the beverage I was served atol de trigo. It's basically a mug of cream of wheat. I was thinking, "hmm, I thought we talked about wheat products pretty well......" I just didn't drink it. 

I'm getting a bit more used to things around here and am ever so slightly more comfortable. I feel like I've finally gotten a handle on how different the Spanish is. However, I don't think I'll ever grow accustomed to the extremely poor quality of the towels here.  Imagine a towel you've had for twenty years that is worn thin and threadbare.  I've purchased three from two different stores. Even though they are that thin, my house is so damp and dark that they won't dry if I leave them in my bathroom. 

I have a couple games I play everyday to make life more fun here. The first game is "how many new piles of dog poop will there be on the way to school today?" The answer is usually 3 -4.  It's also fun to notice which ones have been stepped in or kicked.   The second game is  "who wins the sidewalk?"  The sidewalks here are extremely narrow and there's not room for two people to pass each other.  So you have a stare down to determine which one of you is going to give in and step into the street and be immediately flattened by a chicken bus.

The other day, I was downtown hitting up all the pharmacies trying to find earplugs. I finally asked a cashier where I might find them. He suggested I go to Walmart. I had no idea there was a Walmart here.  It turns out it's at the fancy new mall out west.  Of course.  I went to Walmart and a young man called me over and said, "hey, can you come with me to translate something?"  I followed him to the home section where he pointed to a trash can that said, "Let's Get Trashed!"

I'll leave you with that for today and hopefully have another post tomorrow.