Monday Musings

• Me and 12 of my closest friends in Xela went to the water park Saturday. It had lots of great slides and wasn't very crowded. We took a chicken bus about and hour and a half south of Xela, in a much warmer climate. The bus ride through the mountains was glorious. Most of the day was slightly overcast, which was brilliant as it didn’t ever get too hot. However, I forgot to put on sunscreen, which was not brilliant. You would think that, as a pasty white guy for 38 years, I’d have sunscreen figured out. So much for evolution.
• When we got back from the water park around 7 pm, we had planned on going to the fútbol game between Xela and some other schmucks. But most people, including me, were pretty exhausted and bailed. It’s definitely on the list though and we’ll try again in a couple of weeks. It’s a big party before and after the game, but no drinks are allowed in the stadium itself. The city was eerily quiet for those two hours, as everyone was either at the game or watching it on TV. Xela won, by the way.
• One of the things that simultaneously frustrates me and makes me happy is that there are very few behemoth stores here. I love that big cookie-cutter Walmart-type stores are rare. It’s every little-man for himself, with mom-and-pop shops dominating the streets. On the other hand, today I had to go to four different stores to find Chapstick.
• I love how many motorcycles are in this town, but they’re crazy. They pack as many people as possible on them. It’s not unusual to see a dad and his two kids in their school uniforms, one in front and one in back, hanging on for dear life. I just saw a dad with a kid that was maybe two years-old in front of him, not able to hang on himself, just being cradled by dad. This would be a dangerous scenario in any circumstance, but add the fact that the streets here are awful, and I have no idea how those kids aren’t flying off all the time. But hey, at least they’re going to school.
• Because we’re also a bit crazy, my amigos Annie de Los Angeles, Chris de San Francisco, and I want to rent motorcycles and take a trip. Unfortunately, Xela’s not a touristy hotspot, so it doesn’t have a place that rents motorcycles. But we hope to take a trip to Panajachel soon, where they do have a place that rents them. May the motorcycle gods love us.
• My housemate, Kelly de Minnesota, has gone home, leaving me and Maria de Xela alone. It was nice to have another person around to chat with at home in Spanish, so I’ll miss her. But, she had a room with it’s own bathroom. So yup, I’m in my third room in three weeks. I’ve downgraded my bed again, though it’s not nearly as bad as the first one. And not sharing a bathroom with five other people? Priceless!
• Two weeks down, seven to go. And I feel a bit overwhelmed by how much Spanish I don’t know. If my original goal was to graduate from the School of Spanish Fluency, I’m probably in 2nd grade right now and I’ll be happy to make it to middle school. I think I would need a solid six months, at least, to graduate. I’m frustrated because I keep looking up the same words over and over in the dictionary. Why won’t stuff just sink in once and for all? Stupid 38 year-old brain!
• I’m off to my final doctor’s appointment for the diarrhea study I participated in. Thank goodness all is back to normal. I’m tempted to eat some street food though, because I’ll miss the $20 US per visit they paid me. That buys a heck of a lot of chocobananos. Besos y’all!