Putting the smack down

A muchacho hurt Yogi today. As a result, I smacked him on the head. I didn’t care if he was in a wheelchair or not. I love that dog so much.

I want to bake a cake for Maria’s birthday next Friday, but I bet the Señora of the house won’t let me because she is a stingy cow that will not want to pay for the gas used.  As you can tell, I don’t really like her. I feel like she runs the home-stay like a business and doesn’t really care about creating a warm, sociable environment. Will probably have to go to the house a few doors down and use their oven.

Looking forward to Matt’s arrival. We have not seen each other in awhile. As he said, it will be like we’re meeting each other again, but in a good way. I was joking/talking with Rojelio about Matt’s impending visit. Rojelio, in his less than perfect English, asked me “When Matt is here, are you going to make…” and I said, “Make lots of children? No”. He was going to say, “Are you going to make (sic) married” :) Haha. Rojelio is cool. He is missing one leg and prefers to use crutches over a wheelchair.   

Matt is also replenishing my bathroom supplies. Hopefully customs will believe him when he says all the female catheters (they are shorter than male catheters) are for his own personal use. I am fortunate enough to have a boyfriend who will visit me in Antigua and bring a butt-load of stuff for me.  Another alternative to carrying a suitcase full of supplies is having someone mail them to you in intervals. I don’t reuse my catheters because I’m so paranoid about getting a UTI, but the guys here definitely have to reuse them (wash and dry) because of the high cost. I miss the days of traveling super-light. Being able to pack all my stuff into a lunch-box was something I took pride in.

Oh, also visited an artisanal chocolate shop near Parque Central. Guatemala is famous for its chocolate but, like its coffee, all the good stuff is exported and some awful tasting stuff takes its place in the tiendas. I wanted to buy chocolates as part of Maria’s present. I bought some extra and offered them to Maria later that afternoon. She gladly accepted but asked if it was expensive. Again, I felt that pang of guilt. Also went to an upscale delicatessen and was amused by the Trader Joe’s items (chocolates, granola bars etc) passed off as being some gourmet epicurean delight.

Oh, I also acted as a translator (I know, can you believe it??) between Maria and the volunteers. On the one hand, I was like, this is ridiculous, I’m speaking Spanish on behalf of someone else; on the other hand, I was rather chuffed with myself. I got a few compliments from los muchachos at Transiciones today about having learned a lot of Spanish in the short time I’ve been here. I know I still suck balls, but getting positive external reinforcement is always nice.