Sunday's scoop

Slept in, sort of. Walked to the Viejo Café where I ate breakfast and use their free wireless. Breakfast was a warm croissant with butter and marmalade and fresh fruit. It included coffee as well, but I don’t like it so I bought a bottle of water instead. Total cost for my breakfast with tip was Q25 (approx. $3.50).

When I walked in and chose a table I saw Jeanette and Brian. They live a couple of blocks away, so wasn’t too surprised to see them, but at the same time, of all the places we each could go, we end up in the same place. Small world.

After my computer battery reached 20 minutes or so left, I packed it all up and walked down to the McDonald’s. Lots of people. A man went into the ladies bathroom and used the stall I had just come out of. He didn’t seem to care he was in the wrong bathroom, but all of us females kinda laughed about it. I ordered some fries and a coke (Q16.50) and found a table outside by the fountain. But it was rainy and cold and so therefore wasn’t as pleasant as I had hoped for today. I ate my fries and did my homework until I got frustrated with the whole thing and decided I needed to try to find a quieter place to study.

I left and started walking towards the movie theater. I knew I would pass a few places that might be warmer and/or quieter to sit in. and they would have been, had there not been a football game on every television in the city with 100 people around each one.

There are some comfy chairs outside a bar-like place between the movie theater and the Mono Loco, so I sat down and started studying. About 10 minutes later the game was over and everyone left, so they played good music inside the bar place. But then teenagers decided to come sit around me and talk, laugh, and smoke for about half an hour. Ugh! By the time they left it was time for me to go to the bathroom and buy my movie ticket.

Before I sat down to study I decided to look the movie situation over a little more and discovered a parking garage where I thought the actual theater was. Come to find out, there is only one screen/theater through a door to the left of the concession stand. So now that it’s almost time for the movie to start, I went over to the concession stand and inquired about a ticket. I buy it there. Ok. Q15 ($2). Behind me stood a white woman who s poke pretty good Spanish. She bought a ticket as well. Turns out we were the only two people in the theater. No need to be early! :-)

The seats were short and VERY close together as far as up and down goes. If I had to sit with seats in front of me I would have been VERY uncomfortable. Thankfully there was at least one row half way up that had open leg room. The other patron chose a seat in the same place, but on the opposite side. I have a feeling these seats go first, if there ever is a busy time/movie. :-) the movie was in English with Spanish subtitles. It was raining, really hard, which drowned out the sound quite a bit. During those times I’d wished the languages had been switched so I could actually know what they were saying. The sound wasn’t the best to begin with, so having a non-sound-proof roof didn’t help at all. There were no previews, by the way.

After the movie I walked up to the BBQ place across from La Merced to eat dinner. Since my host family always serves dinner between 7 and 7:30, I can only assume I was early and that was the reason I was the only patron, it being only 6 en punto. the place is called K & Ribs and has maybe a total of maybe 10 tables, half of them being outside in a patio-like area with a little garden. It being chilly and damp, I chose inside. So far, from what I can tell, any regular place you can eat in you don’t have to wait to be seated, you just go in and help yourself to any table you want. That’s just the way it is, no signs to tell you so.

Anyways, I perused the menu and decided on the pulled pork sandwich. I also got a soda which was served as a glass bottle with a glass of ice. I decided to risk it, but prayed over it first. hopefully the Lord will sustain my health just this once. When the Stiffs took me to the Mono Loco the waiter brought us all glasses of ice. I waited to see if they would pour their drinks into the ice and they did. So I assume some places are ok and therefore took a risk today.

The sandwich was wonderful. Big. Soft bread. Pulled pork in BBQ sauce with cheese sauce over top, lettuce, and tomato. Accompanied by fries and coleslaw. The slaw was ok, but not good enough for me to eat. overall though, it was a very good dinner. When I was done eating it occurred to me that I didn’t have enough Quetzales to pay for my meal. Oh dear. After a few minutes pondering discreetly in my head about what to do, I called the waiter over and asked, “Puedo pagar con Visa?” he seemed hesitant. So I added, “o dollars?” and he seemed good with that. Phew! I gave him a $20 and he went off to convert and change it. my total bill there was Q48 + Q2 for a tip. So, about $6.65. I am way full too.

Then I walked home. In the dark. And wasn’t completely comfortable about it. I prayed and the Lord protected me. I know, I wasn’t being safe. I know I took too many risks today. I know. There’s no need to lecture me. Please. And thank you. :-)

Today’s costs … croissant, fruit, bottled water, fries, large soda, movie ticket, dinner, soda, two tips: Q106.50 = $14.20. What a deal man. In the States you’d pay $14 for just the dinner. Amazing!

Costs for the week: on Tuesday I converted $50 and tonight I converted $20. That would be approx. Q525. I bought two cell phone cards (200 minutes), a fruity drink, an ice cream cone, two meals, two 20 oz. bottles of Coke, one wafer cookie thing, an electrical adaptor, one movie ticket, three hours of internet usage, one museum school activity, and a bar of soap. I have Q108 and some change leftover. So in one week, I spent about $55.

NOTE: I used to convert stuff using a 7 to 1 conversion rate. Now I use 7.5 to 1.