I can weave like no man...

...because men don't weave in Guatemala.

what's love got to do with it?

Love is differnt here. In a guidebook I read that if you want to tell somebody that you love them then you had better have a ring in hand and be ready to start a large family. I'm having a somewhat difficult time with this. I tell my friends that I love them, and I mean it. I find that I'm constantly thinking things like "no, I really enjoy camping, but I don't want to give people the wrong idea about why I like sleeping outdoors". It is hard to edit out our American idioms when trying to speak en Español. One morning at breakfast Ben tried to tell our host father that the food was delicious. Instead he looked Micho square in the eyes and said: "I love you, Beans". Everyone involved was deeply embarrassed, both because of what amounts to a taboo against discussing love here, and because Ben thought Micho's name was Beans. Despite the seriousness of the term, or maybe because of it, the song "I want to know what love is" plays nearly constantly here in the shops and cafes. It's a confusing concept, love.

short, sweet, distinct

Today is my sixteenth afternoon in Xela and the final day of my second week of language school. I've fallen back into the very familiar habit of spending a lot of time studying in a single coffee shop, but it's different here. I'm using more notecards now than I ever did in Anchorage.


In the bathroom of the aforementioned Xela coffe shop is a sign that reads as follows:

Please when it
uses the
sanatarium it
to tosses water.

This is a nice looking sign that somebody took time to create, laminate, and hang over the urinal.


I'm not sure if building codes exist in Guatemala, but if they do they say nothing about standardized lightswitch placement. Every room is different. I have used bathrooms with light fixtures but no switch that I could find and have had to feel my way about. That's no fun in any bathroom.