Gualaca

Last night Luis drove us to Gualaca. Luis mother Rosalina teaches English there and another lady named Cindy travels there with her. Gualaca is a small sleepy town full of dogs and people. This was Luis´first day driving in a year. It started to rain on the drive there.
¨Hmmm...that´s a lot of rain,¨ I thought. ¨But, I am sure it will pass.¨ At first it didn´t seem out of the ordinary because from time to time it rains a little bit and then stops. But, before I could finish that thought drops bigger than I have ever seen began to fall and not just big, but with a lot of force. It was like snickering demons were hurling buckets at the windshield! Incredible! Two rivers quickly formed on both sides of the road and I have to admit I was scared. An old man drove by on a bicycle pelted by rain but unabeted. Two girls dressed in pink giggled and screamed trying to hide under a rose bush and then ran exhilarated down the road. When we got to the school Luis´mom and Cindy hesitated waiting to see if the rain would stop. Rosalina forgot her umbrella and bundled up in Luis´burgundy hoodie tying the hood tight like a strawberry headed gangster and they made a run for it.
While they were in the school Luis and I had a chance to catch up on a few things talking in English. I was happy to have the chance to express myself at a more adult level without the frustration of searching for what I want to say in Spanish. Although I want to speak with Luis in Spanish as much as possible. Before Luis arrived I didn´t watch any television because at the end of the day I was always tired and overstimulated from culture and language shock. It isn´t just the language, it´s the subjects people talk about too that are different. For example it is very common to make comments about some one´s weight and appearance and it is not considered rude. Can you imagine saying
¨So and so has gotten fat.¨right in front of them? hahaha. Well that´s very normal here. Being fat is not a bad thing, in fact I would even go so far as to say that some people seem to prefer it. However when Luis´89 year old great Aunt Nema who lives next door told Luis´mom the other day
¨This girl has gotten chubbier!¨ It was hard for me to take it the right way even though it was said only in a loving familiar way. Hahaha, well I am going to keep going with Rosalina to exercise class and continuing to eat less sugar. Although now that Luis´is here it´s a touch more challenging because he is eating like an absolute maniac! Last night after we went to Gualaca we went to Boquete so that Rosalina could pass back the students graded exams from last week. I smiled and said Hello to the students I recognized. Last week I administered the listening portion of the students exam. I spoke as slowly and clearly as possible and the students were quiet as mice. Rosalina was laughing that it was harder for them with me because they were used to her accent. After we stopped by the school we were all hungry and went to eat at a buffet in town called ¨El Sabrozón ¨ There, Luis filled up his plate with fried chicken, an Ojaldre (like a soft fried dough pancake,) and empanadas and washed that down with a can of squirt. Seeing few green things to eat I asked if they´d make a sandwich for me ¨sin carne¨ The lady behind the counter suggested a ham or chicken sandwich. When I asked for cheese and tomato she gave me a look that said something like
¨What? Are you crazy? When there is all this good meat here why would you want a meager sandwich like that?¨and it took her a moment before she took action of any kind. Hahaha! But in the end my little sandwich was very good and made with fresh homemade bread in the shape of a diamond.
Ok, more later! Hasta Luego!