On the bus to clinic today, nearly everyone had a huge bunch of gorgeous flowers. Except the gringos. Calvario was also overflowing with flowers. On my way back from clinic, I yet again encountered a bus full of flowers. Xela does not strike me like a place that would have thousands of flowers. So, on the way home, I asked why everyone had flowers.
It's Father's Day, I was told. That didn't really answer my question. It turns out that giving flowers to your Dad on Father's Day (like orchids and daisies and stuff, NOT manly flowers) is the thing to do here in Xela. How strange.
In other news, they have begun to repair the road to Tierra Colorada. Today's photo of the day is a thrilling addition to my collection of "rural Guatemalan transportation" pictures - a dump truck filling in the lake that has developed on the road in front of the clinic. This really was a big deal, and I hope that it's significance is not lost on my audience.
A bit of other news - I changed Spanish teachers today, and my new one is phenomenal. He's a 24-year-old guy who's starting a Ph.D. program in Forensic Medicine at Columbia in August. He went to undergrad in Tokyo, and now he's back in Xela with his family for some time before he starts grad school.
He has had a wealth of experiences in life, which makes for interesting conversation. But best of all, we just talk, and he corrects me when I mess things up. I already learned that when I say things like me voy, se baja, o me disfruté (all of which are reflexive), each carries a sexual connotation. To bad I've said "cuando me voy" to about 1000 people in the last month...
Anyway, things are good in Xela, and we're really settled in. Robin and Jerry are flying in tomorrow and it looks like we're going to hike Pacaya together this weekend. Hasta mañana!
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