Just so you know as I am typing this, a creepy old man just sat down next to me and is copying porn onto a disk. I looked over at one point and as a result he moved his screen (thank-you sir) and then reached down to get his bag. I was quite afraid of what he might pull out of his sack of goodies (insert your own thought here) but it was just a disk, I guess (because it seems the most logical) so that he could copy the photos and take them home for his viewing pleasure. From what I saw he likes chesty blonds. Oh the joys of Internet cafes.
So I have not written in quite a while, and in that time I have made a few decisions, in a moment of clarity I called American Airlines and changed my ticket to come home. I figured that I could pretty much buy the extra miles needed to fly to Central America with what I would save by not flying there right now. So decision made, I spoke with my sister who told me that she only thought there was a 20% chance I would come home or at least that is what she said to John, and ever since then that very statement has been echoing through my head, did I make the right decision... and suddenly I have started meeting people Tyler who was volunteering in Chiapas, working with farmers and teaching them about Genetically Modified Food (which they think is a plot devised by the US government to make them sterile so they will stop having children... but they also eat endangered species turtle eggs because it makes them more potent if you know what I mean). I wonder if he taught them about terracing their crops on the hill sides or that slash and burn is not the best method of harvesting. Then Dave the traveler from Upstate New York, with his friend Paul that I am not sure from where he resides, the two Isralie guys and then the two guys from Guatemala City, one that quite seriously asked me to be his girlfriend within the first 10 minutes, um no... Well decision made, I'm moving home... anybody know where I can find a Spanish style house with terra cotta tile floors and a courtyard.
So that very day (being Wednesday) I headed to Cafe 2000 to watch the Big Lebowski, hilarious, thanks Hutchins, and was feeling all right , laughed really hard, forgot how truly funny that movie is. So back to feeling all right (the way I imagine Paul Simon felt in the song
Late in the Evening), decision made, grilled cheese sandwich in my belly the tart yet sweet taste of frozen lemonade still lingering in my mouth and heading to the Plaza for coffee and a bench seat to watch the sun go down or stare mindlessly at the fountain in the center of the plaza contemplating why the fountain consists of four women around the center holding their breasts with water shooting out of their nipples and who it was that designed the fountain, and who it was that approved the design, when suddenly this woman popped out of no where, I say no where but really she stepped out of a store onto the sidewalk right in front of me and I stepped sideways to avoid her, lost my balance and slipped, now this was not the kind of fall that is no big deal, this was the slow motion, the record scratch in the soundtrack of your life, the try to catch yourself and think you might recover but instead seconds later find your self surrounded by (or looking up at) people who are speaking in Spanish, trying to help you up because you are laid out (imagine how one looks while napping or sleeping for that matter) on the ground or rather on the cobble stone streets of Antigua, and then when I finally stood up, in a daze (this is not happening), noticed I had broken my ring (damn), and looked the woman right in her eyes, well really through her glasses and then into her eyes (she was wearing glasses, but not flattering ones and she had the
I am old now so I am just going to cut my hair really short because it is low maintenance and wear sensible shoes thing going on) and I whispered under my breath,
I´m sorry, not sure why I apologized for falling at her feet, but I recall that it felt very surreal and since I did´t know what else to say (other than in a New York accent
Hey Lady watch where you're freakin going) I'm sorry worked its way quietly out of my lemonade mouth and I do remember that much.
Other than that I went to the Chi Chi markets (that being Chichicastenango, not some covert reference to the red light district in Guatemala), it was cool but not what I had expected, watched a few other movies including Gangs of New York which I forgot was pretty gruesome (I do not recommended eating while watching this flick), went to Guatemala City to hang with some people I met and ended up in an area similar to 6th Street / Bourbon Street, drank 23 year old rum on the rocks which I was told was the best
ron in todo el mundo but I think they were biased, and got a massage, manicure and pedicure to make myself feel better about my decision and because I needed one in the worst way (I have been wearing flip flops for over 50 days now). So... I have a few more days here and if anyone is looking for anything Guatemalan in order to relive their hippy days, please by all means send me an e-mail, I will be checking it and soon enough I will be home and can call you once I get everyone's phone numbers again.
Oh and just so you all know, because I know you are all very interrested... that old man is still going at it (and when I say going at it I mean looking for photos), Which beggs the question: how many pictures does one man need? ( A very similar question to
how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll tootsie pop)And on that note... I am not sure what he is going home to do but I am going home to read, my second Toni Morrison book in a week.
Thanks a lot, you have been a great audience.......
