Learning to walk

Saturday, Jan 29, 2011

I am learning that it might be advantageous to be half mountain goat around here. The sidewalks in Xela are really narrow and extremely uneven. There are chunks missing and holes where you don’t expect them and driveways that have short steep pitches to them, forcing to you walk kittywampus with one leg low and one leg high. To keep things interesting, windows occasionally jut out into the walking space, at just the right height to crack your head. I have to watch my feet continuously so that I don’t fall, so those windows are especially troublesome. When possible we walk in the street because it’s more level than the sidewalk; although, the street is perilous as well, what with the traffic and uneven cobblestones. I told my teacher (while using the verb “to learn”) that I was trying to learn to walk and look up at the same time. He replied No! Es muy peligroso. It is very dangerous. You must pay attention to where you walk and not get distracted looking around at anything else. Ok. Good enough for me.

Jeff had a board meeting with the Sister Parish board this afternoon, so he found an internet café to Skype in. That kept him busy most of the day, so I headed with a few friends to the Mercado Democracia, a massive market in Xela selling pretty much anything you might need or want. We caught one of the little beat up bus/vans, crammed with people, and climbed aboard. Cost 1.25Q apiece. At the market, we bought tangerines (4 for 5Q), avocados/aguacates (4 for 10Q) and limes (2 for 3Q). To give you a sense of what things cost, the Quetzale is currently 8Q to the dollar (more or less), so 1Q = 12.5 cents. We caught a taxi back from the market and that cost us 20Q, split between the three of us, in a creaky, broken down station wagon driven by an amiable fellow named Ricardo. Hey… it gets you where you’re going and it’s never dull.

It was nearly 3pm by the time I got back home for lunch. I warmed up the rice and cauliflower that Violeta left for us, then sliced half an avocado on my plate and squeezed fresh lime over everything. After I cleaned my plate, I smashed up the rest of the avocado and squeezed more lime on it, then ate that with tostados. Mmmm. At 25 cents apiece, I think I’m going to start adding avocado to my daily (or every other daily) diet. Muy delicioso.