Okay, so first of all, what´s with those Aggies? They get absolutely everywhere!
So this blanket? covers something at a little store near to my house. No idea what they sell.. but I always think of it as the A&M Store.
There is actually a point here, though. It is amazing the amount of clothing and branded apparel from the United States here. Sure name brands are to be expected, but you would not believe the amount of junk that has been plastered with college logos, English phrases, etc. I used to think that the clothing trade was a one way street, from Guatemala to the U.S. via Old Navy... at least, half of my wardrobe is from Guatemala. John´s too. But apparently we trade our excess branded stuff for their ringer tees. My guess is that Guatemala makes a ready-made market for U.S. things that won´t sell. And here, the people will use it pretty regularly. There might be more college gear worn here than in the U.S. So sorry, Amy, Jason, Ashley.. despite the image, these guys *aren´t* whooping it up down here.
Second, can I just say that Coke in a bottle tastes a zillion times better than in a stupid plastic bottle.
I´m thinking of starting a campaign to bring back the glass to the U.S.
Thirdly, since I have already shown the host family, I figured I should complete the picture by showing my roommate for the first two weeks. Introducing, Doug...
Doug was here with his daughter, Bree for one month. He helped me negotiate around Xela when I first got here. Thanks, Doug!
This morning, I took Loyola out to breakfast to thank her for all her patience and hard work. She brought me to this nice little restaurant at the top of a building overlooking Central Park. Good food, good company, what else could you ask for?
How about a good view?
This afternoon, we had another cooking class. This time, Rellenitos, which is a simple dish. First you cook plantains in boiling water, then you mash them. (There seems to be some confusion as to whether bananas and plantains are the same fruit.. I had always believed that they were different.. since a banana is sweet, and a plantain is not.. but apparently it is not so simple.. in Spain, they are exactly the same.. and it seems that about half of the people in Xela do not distinguish other than size.. so the jury´s still out, but these were *definitely* plantains!)
In the meantime, you need to heat puréed black beans on the stove, mixing them with a fair amount of sugar.
Next, you roll the mashed plantains into flat tortillas and scoop some of the bean-sugar mixture.
You roll the tortilla closed, and then fry it in a bit of oil.
Next you cover with thick cream and some more sugar. What´s not to like? Shona from Scotland certainly like them!
¡Ay carumba! I´m late for dinner! (By the way, I´m not actually sure that that *is* a Spanish expression.. at least I haven´t come across it yet.. it may only be the property of Bart Simpson and Señor Don Gato!) Gotta run.. I´ll try to post again tomorrow on my last day (*sniff, sniff*).
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