MasseyGooding248
We were enjoying our meal at a popular open-air restaurant on the main tourist drag in Panajachel, Guatemala, when some tourists about our age walked slowly by. Billy says "Hey, the food's great here, why not give it a go?"
The person looked interested, the girl looked horrified.
I chimed along with "Order the Amuerzo Economico and you will pay half the marked menu prices."
The person took two seconds to decide on this good deal, and made a proceed to spend time at a table alongside ours.
Spousal opposition
"We're likely to eat here?" The wife questioned.
Clearly she held resistance to entering this clean, brightly decorated eating establishment.
I'm telling you it had been no dump. There was a flat screen TV on your wall and lively Salsa music on the stereo system. Clean handwoven Guatemalan tablecloths covered every table that also supported flowers. Original indigenous artwork adorned the walls.
The woman, who was noticeably beautiful and well-kept, had her hesitation distinctly written all over her scrunched up face.
"I hope they speak English here," she said by having an audible sigh as she flopped down.
"I desire a Coke. Have you got Coke? Exactly what do you need to drink here?" She demanded in rapid-fire English. The bilingual waiter kept up together with her rush of questions pretty well.
"You have chicken or pork? I'll go ahead and take pork. Honey, they have chicken or pork."
Meanwhile, the husband and Billy were chatting away about retirement, finance and travel, having a grand ol' time.
The drama darkens
Bottles of Coke and empty glasses promptly arrived at the table and again, this poor woman looked stricken. Simply appalled.
I could not imagine exactly what the problem was, so I attempted to catch her reactions out of the side of my eye.
Mrs. Visitor had personal drama going on and I thought it was mesmerizing. Apparently a few of the syrup had leaked out towards the top of the Coke bottle, creating a tiny dark sticky blob to look.
She checked out her husband, then at me, then in the bottle, then at her husband, then at me, then again in the bottle. She disgustingly ran her finger at the top of the bottle and today she'd that tiny sweet dollop on her behalf finger. She again checked out her husband (who had been ignoring her by now), then at me, then at her finger, then at her husband, then at me, on the other hand at her finger!
Right now I'm thinking "She has no Kleenex in her own purse? If she's been blown off course by this small and common occurrence, what's she doing driving this country?"
If the innocent ooze of syrup upset her so much how her meal would go?
No disrespect intended
Since no one was rushing to her rescue to provide her a warm, clean, wet, soapy cloth or whisk her away to a 5 star restaurant filled with apologies, eventually Mrs. Visitor looked to her left, then to her right, and rather guiltily, wiped the syrup off on the tablecloth. I do not imagine it ever occurred to her to ask the waiter for any napkin.
Part of me felt badly because of not coming to her deliverance. She was afraid and from her element, and that i often see her frustration towards her husband to take her here to Guatemala. Lost in desperation without any help from her spouse, this well-groomed woman was face-to-face with the edge of her safe place... and it wasn't pretty.
I was both stunned and completely transfixed. I had forgotten that my twenty-two years of world travel had trained me to put a tissue within my purse for unexpected events such as this one.
Here are several quick survival tips for travel that I we do hope you find useful:
Bring baby wipes. Ladies have babies around the globe. If you're in a location that has some semblance of civilization, you will find baby wipes in the supermarkets. Go to the baby section, discover the wipes. Put them in your purse. Then when you travel on buses, want to sit inside a chair which has strawberry syrup onto it or discover that you need mouthwash within the bathroom, you have a clean wipe to come to your aid.
Put napkin or wipes down soda bottle necks. If you are eating outside in warm weather and are having a soda, flies or bees often gather for that sugary syrup. Place napkins or said wipes down the bottle neck and you can avoid an awful creature falling to your pop. When you are traveling overseas, it is commonplace to wipe from the mouth of beer and soda bottles even in upscale locations.
Use sliced limes to clean your fingers. Platters of fish or shrimp in many cases are served whole at the beach and eating seafood can leave your fingers messy. Using a thin napkin at your table could be unsatisfying. Apply the sliced limes first then utilize your napkin. In this way you won't have tiny items of paper stuck to your fingers to bother you extra.
Say "Provecho!" When entering or leaving a cafe or restaurant in Latin America, say "Provecho!" to other diners. This basically means "Enjoy your meal" and it is a really socially polite thing to say. It implies that you are an experienced traveler and that you are an all-around-nice person.
Don't let your comfort zone limit you. Every day life is for living. Grab a bite and relish it. Situations and circumstances are not always just like they're "back home" and that is not necessarily a bad thing. Who cares if you make an error? What exactly if one lunch wasn't your favorite? A grin goes a long way for those around you even though you're at it give one for yourself.
